Description
Clear vinyl with 4 page insert and 7”. Limited 350 numbered copies
A band like Triarchy definitely needs no long introduction on this site. They are a true N.W.O.B.H.M. legend in their own right. Due to their unique sound, incorporating heavy use of keyboards, the band from Kent has secured their very own place in Heavy Metal history. In 1979, Mike Wheeler (vocals, bass, keyboards), Graham Legg (guitars) and Mark Newbold (drums) released their debut single called ’Save The Khan’ (re-issued one year later), followed by the aptly titled ‘Metal Messiah’ in 1980. The two 7” singles Triarchy put out during their lifetime between 1979 and 1983 were of great quality. I am pretty sure a full-length Triarchy album would have gone down very well indeed. Mark Newbold gives us the whole story: The first pressing of ‘Save The Khan’ (the one with the picture sleeve, just 1,000 copies) was entirely self-financed, although it was later repressed by Bullet Records without a picture sleeve. The recording of ‘Metal Messiah’ was again paid for by the band, while the pressing was paid for by Bullet. We were undoubtedly more than a little naïve in our dealings with the music industry, and were never professionally managed or contracted to a major record company. In hindsight, we should have gone straight to the major record companies for a deal after the success of ‘Save The Khan’, considering that the single charted in both the Heavy Rock and Independent charts in the ‘Sounds’ music paper, and was also receiving national airplay by some of the major rock DJ’s at the time. We got some great exposure. We featured in a centre page article in ‘Record Mirror’ titled ‘The New Boys of British Heavy Metal’, had a featured track in Geoff Barton’s weekly playlist in ‘Sounds’ and were even a clue in the paper’s crossword! Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman played ‘Save The Khan’ and ‘Hellhound’ on his Capital Radio ‘Monday Rock Show’ in 1981, as did Tommy Vance, who after playing ‘Hellhound’ said, “… this band were going places”. And even John Peel, who generally played only new wave and punk music back then, aired ‘Save The Khan’ on his evening show. It was definitely a missed opportunity. But instead of actually going places the band broke up in 1983. This anthology album compiles everything Triarchy ever recorded, including all songs from the two singles plus superb compositions such as Rockchild, Ghost Of An Emotion, Before Your Very Ears and Hiroshima. As a special treat, there are two previously unreleased tracks as a bonus single: Play To Win (according to drummer Mark Newbold “a reasonably straightforward mid-paced rock track”) as well as a live recording of a number called “Suicide City” recorded at the Dartford YMCA in 1980, with the Galibardy-Newbold-Wheeler line-up. The tracks has been carefully re-mastered and Mark Newbold is delighted about how the material is sounding in 2015: The remastered tracks sound great. They seem more dynamic sound-wise than the earlier versions. The recordings were always punchy, but now the songs really leap out at you.
Track list:
1. Save The Khan
2. Juliets Tomb
3. Metal Messiah
4. Sweet Alcohol
5. Hellhound On My Trail
6. Wheel Of Samsara
7. Rockchild
8. Ghost Of An Emotion
9. Marionette
10. Before Your Very Eyes
11. Hiroshima
7” track list:
1. Play To Win
2. Suicide City-live