ALBUM REVIEW: Tygers Of Pan Tang – Bloodlines


 

One of the stalwarts of the early NWOBHM scene, like many others in the genre, Whitley Bay rockers Tygers of Pan Tang were signed – albeit briefly – to celebrated Geordie label Neat Records along with the likes of Venom, Raven, and Saracen. However, while many of those acts were to remain on Neat a while longer (original vocalist Jess Cox even left the band to run the label), the commercial potential of Tygers… had not gone unnoticed, the band being signed almost straight away by prominent international label MCA.

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Influential Rocker Burke Shelley of Budgie has Died, Age 71


Legendary proto-Heavy Metal artist Burke Shelley of of Budgie has died. He was 71 years old. The news of the influential bassist and vocalist’s passing was shared earlier today by his daughter Ela in a Budgie fan community on Facebook. Shelley has been in poor health for several years according to published reports (Blabbermouth.net). Budgie was huge in the pre-New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and Thrash Metal era, inspiring praise, covers, and love from bands as major as Metallica and Iron Maiden, and all of their followers. Metallica broke out their cover of “Breadfan” at their recent 40th Anniversary shows, and the song has been a staple of their shows for decades. They previously recorded “Crash Course In Brain Surgery” and “Breadfan” on several covers records and single. Maiden has covered “I Can’t See My Feelings.” RIP Burke.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Butterfly – Doorways Of Time


Butterfly’s full-length debut isn’t the least bit shy about its Seventies Rock inspirations. That is made immediately apparent with the cover art contrasting Vikings and a mystical title with an innocuous band name, but the music plays out like a grab-bag of Montrose, Uriah Heep, and Budgie among others. Its free-spirited attitude is comparable to their contemporaries in Freeways and one can occasionally detect hints of otherworldly haziness in line with Tanith and Brimstone Coven.Continue reading