EDEN Eden (1984) Remember Terracuda? That was a band covered in Metal Forces issue 5. Well, like a lot of bands they have undergone another line-up change as well as changing their moniker again – this time to Eden. The line-up is now Mike Henry (vocals / guitar), Rick Crocco (guitar), David W. Henroyd (bass) […]

MANIA Break The Silence (1984) Mania come from Hamburg and have been around since early 1983. They’ve had two demos released, the first eliciting response from the grand daddy of underground metal mags, Aardschok. The German band’s most recent demo, Break The Silence, found its way into Metal Forces’ hands. A six-track affair, it does […]

METAL FORCES – Issue 9 Magazine Cover (1985) « Previous Cover Next Cover »

HAVE MERCY Pleading For Mercy (1984) Maryland isn’t exactly renowned for producing hot metal acts. But Have Mercy, formed in October 1983 by drummer John Knoerlein and bass player Rob Michael, sure have the ability to thrash alongside the best. Despite the poor production of the band’s debut demo, Pleading For Mercy, the six numbers […]

EARTHSHAKERMidnight Flight Music For Nations (1984)Rating: 7/10 Well, I must admit that Earthshaker’s strongly American-influenced hard rock has never really done anything for me. I’ve always found the Japanese band’s past albums too pedestrian to warrant any serious wear and tear on my turntable. With Midnight Flight the direction is pretty much the same, though […]

EXODUS – Violent Breed K.J. Doughton Metal Forces, Issue 9 (1985) Exodus (l-r): Rick Hunolt, Ron McKillop, Tom Hunting, Paul Baloff and Gary Holt San Francisco has long been reputed as the premiere stomping ground for American metalmeisters, and it’s no secret why Metallica abandoned their previous Los Angeles homestead in favour of Franciscan ‘terrortory’ […]

EXODUSBonded By Blood Music For Nations (1985)Rating: 10/10 Well, the debut album that has probably been even more eagerly awaited by the hardcore thrashers than Kill ’Em All, is finally about to see the light of day. Exodus have already accumulated a vast underground following through a now nearly four-year-old demo and numerous live tapes […]

MIDNIGHT VICE Midnight Vice (1984) Midnight Vice are a young Canadian band from Richmond, British Columbia and have been together since November 1983. The band have had many personnel changes, but the current line-up reads: Steve Jack (vocals), Rob Furland and Rick Hart (guitars), Rod Bruno (bass) and Sandy Hyde (drums). The Vice, as they […]

ZILLION Zillion (1984) Hailing from Buffalo, New York comes Zillion, a four-piece powerhouse who I’m putting my money on to cause an impact on the metal scene during ’85. The band have been doing the rounds on the New York club scene playing Judas Priest, Accept, Iron Maiden and Dio covers. But having won Buffalo’s […]

TROY Troy (1984) Troy are the band formed by ex-Tytan and Angel Witch drummer Dave Dufort. The line-up was finalised in September 1983 and alongside Dufort are Mike Baron (vocals), Frederic Avesque (guitar), George Hayes (guitar) and Richard Vernon (bass). Instrumentally, Troy remind me a lot of early Iron Maiden which is not a bad […]