{"id":6693,"date":"1986-02-01T00:00:29","date_gmt":"1986-02-01T00:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=6693"},"modified":"2012-09-10T22:41:05","modified_gmt":"2012-09-10T22:41:05","slug":"feature-avenger-mf16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-avenger-mf16\/","title":{"rendered":"AVENGER – Pick Of The Brit Metal Killers (MF16, 1986) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

AVENGER – Pick Of The Brit Metal Killers<\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\nDave Reynolds<\/span>
\nMetal Forces, Issue 16 (1986)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Avenger (l-r): Greg Reiter, Gary Young, Ian Davison Swift and Mick Moore<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nHello America! Lock up your Mothers. Lock up your grandmothers. Hide those old-age pension books \u2019cos Avenger are on the prowl. The band whose motto is \u201cNothing\u2019s too wild \u2013 or old \u2013 to tame\u201d<\/em>, are heading your way. Don\u2019t touch that dial. Read all about it.<\/p>\n

\u2019Twas a fine, sunny December morning when I left the South far behind from London Kings Cross, on board one of those British Rail Inter-City 125 trains speeding northwards bound for Newcastle. By the time Doncaster came round I, and all the other fortunate souls aboard, were thrust into a grimy, wet, dark afternoon. So this is the North eh? Dull and dreary? I hadn\u2019t banked on Newcastle. Despite winter conditions \u2013 cold and rainy \u2013 I had a great time.<\/p>\n

One of the finest (and too few) British metal bands, Avenger, are based in Newcastle, which is kinda weird \u2019cos they only have one bona fida Geordie in the line-up. That man is drummer Gary Young, a guy who loves his heavy metal and the pleasures of touring. Not that Avenger have been doing much of that recently. The rest of the crew are vocalist Ian Davison Swift, bassist Mick Moore and, newest recruit, Greg Reiter on guitar.<\/p>\n

\u2019Twas the diamond duo of Swift and Moore who met me at the station once I\u2019d set foot on Geordie tarmac. Greg Reiter was back home in America, (yes, the guy is 100% all American) while I dread to think what Mr. Young was doing at the time. Probably on autopilot! First stop was at Wallsend and the home of the Neat Records operation for a viewing of the Metal City<\/em> video due out on the market shortly. This features Venom, Warfare, Saracen, Avenger plus cameos by Dave Wood (Neat\u2019s boss) and the lovely Diane (PR person), along with various scenes of Newcastle that would put the opening credits of the British soap Brookside to shame. To be honest, I couldn\u2019t help but fall on the floor laughing at some of it! I mean, howz about the bare breasted nubiles running through a wood for Saracen\u2019s benefit; Cronos on a horse and then, the (intentional) Twisted Sister piss-take during the \u2018Under The Hammer\u2019 clip by Avenger! I\u2019ll give Neat credit, the video does entertain, but perhaps not in the way they planned.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Neat who have been responsible for the release of all Avenger product so far, including the legendary \u2018Too Wild To Tame\u2019 single (featuring legend in his own lifetime, Brian Ross on vocals) and two of the best British heavy metal albums in Blood Sports<\/em> (1984) and Killer Elite<\/em> (1985), even if the production on both does, to all intents and purposes, leave a lot to be desired.<\/p>\n

In the case of the Blood Sports<\/em> album, the blame can be attributed to the producer, Martin Smith, as it was the first album he\u2019d produced. As Mick rightly points out, \u201cYou can\u2019t hear my bass at all.\u201d Since the release of the musically stunning second album Killer Elite<\/em>, Avenger\u2019s rise to fame and fortune seemed to have ground to a halt. Why?<\/p>\n

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Ian Swift: \u201cWe\u2019ve had problems regarding support tours, which wasn\u2019t our fault but the particular band we were supposed to have toured with. Another problem was with having Greg in the band. The powers that be don\u2019t like having \u2018foreigners\u2019 in English groups because it\u2019s depriving a fellow countryman out of a job, so anything in the UK tour-wise has been out of the question.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not as if Avenger hadn\u2019t tried getting a fellow Briton in the band. They auditioned countless would-be guitar heroes, but none came as good as Philadelphia\u2019s Greg \u201cMy axe is packed\u201d Reiter. He\u2019s a pretty reserved guy by all accounts, but not when it comes to crankin\u2019 out the metal. Greg is a guitar fanatic and has that certain guitar hero image that slays the girls at 50 paces. But don\u2019t get too mad girl\u2019s \u2019cos that\u2019s his wife Nancy in the Avenger vids on Metal City. Apparently she\u2019s a model (I\u2019m sure I\u2019ve seen her somewhere before) and cuts a kind of Pantera (Thor\u2019s wife \u2013 not the band!) type image to boost your viewing time. The video should project Avenger\u2019s name into at least the homes of Venom fans, but will it, in the long run do them more harm than good?<\/p>\n

Mick Moore, always the optimist: \u201cWill it do us any good at \u00a320 a shot? I can\u2019t really see it selling. We didn\u2019t have much of a say in that at all, we just did what we were told to do by the director, but at least we did the thing which is the main thing I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian: \u201cPeople will enjoy \u2018Under The Hammer\u2019 because they can see it\u2019s a piss-take. The other two\u2026 well, one isn\u2019t really worth looking at, while \u2018Run For Your Life\u2019 is acceptable because at least it\u2019s got some sort of story line to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good at the time because it was a first for the band. It\u2019s like your first record, when you get it out you\u2019re really pleased with it and then you sit back and think about it and you find out how terrible it is. After the fuss had died down over Blood Sports<\/em> I listened to it and put my head in my hands and almost cried. It was a rushed affair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a tour of Holland and as soon as we got back we were asked to do the album and went straight into the studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, now things seem to be looking up for Avenger as Neat seemed to have realised that there are people out there who look to Neat for good, solid British metal bands and that there is more to life than shoving Venom down our throats all the time. Hopefully the band will be given full encouragement and support from the label.<\/p>\n

As you read this, Avenger should be embarking on their first ever American tour taking in about 20 or so dates on the East Coast. Up until now the major support fanwise has emanated from Holland where Avenger have toured several times and from which many a lewd story has come from, most of which are unprintable and that Gary Young features quite regularly in them! I met Gary Young between pubs one night in Newcastle city centre. What can I tell you? You\u2019ve really got to meet the guy to believe him; he\u2019s a laugh a minute. And was I drunk or did he really tell me that he thinks Metal Forces<\/em>\u2019 Dave Constable has got his head screwed on?!?<\/p>\n

It was during one of these pub visits, in the Jubilee if I remember correctly, that Mick and Ian introduced me to their OAP following, notably one lady of advancing years who delighted in telling us that she\u2019d had her \u201ctubes cut\u201d!! I quite liked the one in the black\u2019n\u2019white candy striped trousers though. \u201cSwifty likes to be mothered,\u201d quoth Mick Moore.<\/p>\n

The up \u2019n\u2019 comin\u2019 US dates should be a turning for Avenger. For one thing, the fans will be considerably younger unless they bring their mothers with \u2019em, and for another they\u2019ll be able to really thrash out their frustrations at not playing a live gig in ages which should provide for quite some performances.<\/p>\n

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As Mick says, \u201cIt\u2019s been really frustrating sitting around doing nothing for so long. We were badly let down last year with that support tour of Europe that fell through, so we\u2019re raring to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian: \u201cThe tour is about twenty dates down the East Coast of America, the rainy part, so we\u2019ll feel at home!! Greg\u2019s the one who\u2019s been arranging everything for the tour and we\u2019ve got support from Neat, so we can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was talk of doing a few gigs with another of my raved over bands, Liege Lord. If that comes off, what a bill eh? I just wish I was able to get over at such short notice to see that!<\/p>\n

Mick: \u201cI\u2019ve corresponded with Liege Lord\u2019s bass player Matt Vinci for quite a while now and we both have the utmost respect for each other\u2019s music, so it would be good if we could do some gigs with \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mick is the member of the band who has handled most of the group\u2019s promotion and remarked to me about the letters he receives from Avenger fans worldwide, even as far apart as Brazil (where he\u2019s known as a \u201cfuckin\u2019 friend\u201d by admirers there!) and Poland.<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019know I feel sorry for them, I try and send \u2019em things now and again. One guy wrote to me praising the Blood Sports<\/em> album which he\u2019d bought on the black market for which he\u2019d saved up a month\u2019s wages for!\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that\u2019s dedication. Anyway, if you\u2019re lucky enough to have Avenger playing near you on that American trip get the hell over to see \u2019em. It should be a hot time and, talking of hot times and places, I gotta tell ya that there\u2019s one helluva lot of pussy in Newcastle, and I\u2019m not talking about Brian Ross\u2019 cats! Take your pick. As for the pick of British heavy metal, I\u2019ll choose Avenger every time. Got me?<\/p>\n

Interview taken from Metal Forces, Issue 16 (1986).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AVENGER – Pick Of The Brit Metal Killers Dave Reynolds Metal Forces, Issue 16 (1986) Avenger (l-r): Greg Reiter, Gary Young, Ian Davison Swift and Mick Moore Hello America! Lock up your Mothers. Lock up your grandmothers. Hide those old-age pension books \u2019cos Avenger are on the prowl. The band whose motto is \u201cNothing\u2019s too […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-avenger","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6693"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6706,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693\/revisions\/6706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}