Description

Cannon are a German teutonic but melodic hard rock band from Hannover, founded in August 1986. The recordings for their debut album Thunder And Lightning began in Hildesheim in January 1987 and were finished some 9 months later. At the beginning of April 1988 the album finally hit the shops, followed by a massive promo tour. Thunder And Lightning were positively met by the rock press at the time and the band were able to play numerous gigs throughout Germany. To give a quick comparison of this band, I'd say they're something of a mix between German metal ala Accept to hair metal giants like Def Leppard. At times the band pours out some great German tracks like Lies, Evil Shadows etc. Then we have catchy tracks like Heavens On Fools Side and good songs like Fireblade and Thunder And Lightning that unfortunately suffers from the typical L.A. lyrics about sex. Whatever you think about the album its still very well done. Thunder And Lightning is a solid album that are walking on the razors edge when it mixes the heaviness of 80s power of metal with the cheesiness from the sugar band from the States. The album has some sweet solos and comes with a good production so I would say that this mixed dish deserves to hit the plate and not the thrash bin. A second album was planned, but the band failed to secure a deal, partly because recorded materials were stolen and partly because of the onrushing grunge scene. In January 1994 the band recorded new songs and released them as a 7-track demo on cassette. The first signs of an approaching split came at the end of April 1994, when Mats Toralf left the band but it was when vocalist Mat-Rein Jaehnke also left in October 1996 that the band finally broke up. A real second album however would be released in no less that 17 years after the debut. Track listing: 1. Lies 2. Stand The Fight 3. Fireblade 4. Nuclear Light 5. Evil Shadows 6. Thunder And Lightning 7. Heavens On Fools Side 8. Rockamania 9. Metal Forever (M.E.T.A.L.)