Description

Rare Japan only cd on Jailbait records

The late 70s and early 80s was a fascinating time for any newborn hardrock fan. Bands were popping up everywhere. America had softer acts like Van Halen, Journey and Aerosmith. England was abandoning their punk music and bands like Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, Saxon, Blitzkrieg etc was writing their first tunes. This would be material that forever would be the pattern which most ‘true metal’ bands would copy in the decade to come. Sweden had always been some sort of musical melting pot and ABBA was conquering the world at the time. Swedish 70s acts like November and Neon Rose had shown this country that it could rock but it would be the early 80s that would give birth, feel and sound to the phenomenon of Swedish Metal. One of these bands was a little Swedish four-piece act called Silver Mountain. It was a band that was formed in the late seventies by guitarist Jonas Hansson, whose influences ranged from Rainbow to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. It would also be Jonas Hansson as much as another Swedish guitarist, Yngwie J Malmsteen, that would take the guitar work of Ritchie Blackmore and mix it with classical music and lay foundation on what would become neo-classical metal. Silver Mountain released their debut single, Man Of No Present Existence in 1979 but they would go on to greater things when Jonas Hansson found a new line-up consisting of Per Stadin on bass, Anders Johansson on drums and Jen Johansson on keyboard. Their early demos were circulating among tape traders just like the bigger Nwobhm, Bay area thrash metal and others acts of the time were. Underground metal fanzines were picking up this band and even a mainstream magazine like Kerrang were aware of Silver Mountain on the guitar work of Jonas Hansson. This very rare and limited Japanese cd features a live show the band did back at Pildammarna in Malmo, Sweden on the 28th of May 1982 (before this line-up of the band debuted on vinyl with the track She Needs on the Skansk Rock volume 1 compilation album). The sound quality is rather bad but if you were a collector or follower of the band you just need to pick it up because it features so much material that never got officially released on any studio albums. You will find live versions of unreleased goodies from their early demos (some was re-recorded and released on the 2001 album Breakin Chains), a live version of She Needs, early version of tracks that would appear on their debut album Shakin Brain the year after and much more. Buy this and take a trip down the memory lane and you will be amazed what masters Hansson and the Johansson brothers were at this early stage.

Track listing:
1. Scarlet Pimpernel
2. Keep On Keepin On
3. Always
4. Spring Maiden
5. She Needs
6. Before The Storm
7. Universe
8. King Of The Sea
9. Light The Light featuring Jens Johansson keyboard solo
10. Lady Sunshine featuring Anders Johansson drum solo
11. From The Inside
12. Need Of The End featuring Jonas Hansson guitar solo
13. Dooms Day