Description
Uk pressed music cassette. Grey cassette with blue text.
The 80s were so much different than today in many ways. Before internet bands were depending alot on Radio stations and compilation albums as the opportunities to be heard. And fans were eager to find and hear new bands and new music. There are several classic compilation albums from the early 80s with NWOBHM artists that were massively important to the scene. You can also look at the important of the Metal Blade’s releases in the Metal Massacre series for the Us market. The 1985 compilation Metal Inferno draw many younger kids to the darker side of the Nwobhm music. To get on this album you needed to have an occult sounding name or being known for have a theatrical or occult stage show. Of course the album needs to open with Venom, the band that caused a sensation at the time due to their image. lyrics and sound. Being a Venom fan was the same as being lost to Satan. Music couldnt be more evil than Venom in the early 80s. Simple as that. Witchfinder General, Crucifixion, Cloven Hoof, Demon and Angel Witch probably ended up on this compilation due to their name sounding blasphemic and satanic. All of them except Crucifixion became legendary acts of the genre. Demon was the most melodic of them and after their two first albums the band would drop the occult and become even more melodic and catchy. Crucifixion put out two singles and an EP and the track here are from their last release that had been released in 1984. When Metal Inferno came out in 1985 then the band had more or less already disappeared. Two bands stands out on this album but maybe for the wrong reason as they really arent that suitable music wise. The London punk band Blood is here with a track from their 1985 EP Se Parere Nex and its a mxi of Oi!, punk and new wave. However the singer Colin Smith were dressed up as a Cardinal (long before Papa in Ghost) and called himself Cardinal Jesus Hate. I guess that was enough to end up on this compilation. Last out on this release is the old rock band from Leicester, Black Widow, that for some reason got their name shortened to just Widow on this release. The band was formed in September 1969 and were one of the first acts to use satanic and occult imagery (including the symbolic sacrifice of a nude virgin on stage). They had a reasonably long and defiantly varied career. But to anyone who cares, they will be remembered for just this song, Come To The Sabbat — not a hit single, but destined to live on for decades after the band. The track is a classic example of early psychedelic metal and though it may sound a little campy today, this really freaked people out back in the early 70’s.
Track list:
1. Venom -Black Metal
2. Witchfinder General -Friends Of Hell
3. Crucifixion -Green Eyes
4. Cloven Hoof -Laying Down The Law
5. Demon -Don’t Break The Circle
6. Demon -Beyond The Gates Of Hell
7. Blood -Incubus
8. Venom -Woman
9. Angel Witch -Dr. Phibes
10. Cloven Hoof -Gates Of Gehenna
11. Widow -Come To The Sabbath