Description

Very rare original Portuguese pressing

Xeque Mate was an early eighties heavy metal band, being a formative stepping stone for latter day Tarantula guitarist Paulo Barros. Founded in September in Porto, Portugal in 1979 in a times when most people still lived in the traces of a badly ended revolution. In a frustrated time like this a lot of bands started to appear and singing in Portuguese so in the 1980 and 1981 there were some sort of boom on the Portuguese rock scene. Xeque Mate released their first single among all these bands in 1981. The “Vampiro Da Uva” EP hit the shops in May 1981 and in spite of the terrible recording conditions, production, edition and promotion, the record got a reasonable success and the band were suddenly on several radio and tv programs. They were among the first hard rock and heavy metal bands to come out of the country and were soon labeled the “Parents Of Portuguese Heavy”. They packed their bags and drove down to Lisbon to the Angel Studio to record their debut album “Em Nome Do Pai, Do Filho, E Do Rock ‘n’ Roll” (“On Behalf Of The Father, Of The Son And Of Rock n Roll”) in 1983. The music was laid down in just one week and the final result was a totally unique album for the Portuguese scene. The pure 80s metal music however wasnt liked by the local record labels and it would take two years before the finally found a label willing to release it. The record company Horizonte however dont do much promotion for the album but it still sale rather well showing that there were a growing interest in this kind of music. The band continues to tour and even get the chance to play support act to Diamond Head. A few years later the band tries to introduce keyboards to their music (as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden did at the same time) but they band would never make another album again and in 1989 the band was no more. The band has become a cult act and were one of the most important bands for their kind of music in their home country. They did one reunion show in February of 2007 and the opening track from their album “As Do Volante (The Ace Of The Steering Wheel)” has become an obligatory theme at many heavy metal radio stations. If you have any interested of the history of the Portuguesen metal scene, just like pure 80s metal or just want a hell of a rare album then this ones for you

Track listing:
1. As Do Volante
2. A Prisao
3. Partiste
4. Ritual
5. Nao Tenho Tempo Miúdo
6. Escrava Da Noite
7. Lai
8. Paraiso (Lugar De Sonho)
9. Filhos Do Metal