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Brats - 1980

Obscurities: Brats- 1980 - 98%

stenchofishtar, March 23rd, 2014

The Danish outfit Brats still remain obscure to metal audiences, despite being the foundations of Mercyful Fate. Their only full length album, ’1980′ features the guitar pyrotechnics of both Hank Shermann and Michael Denner. King Diamond would briefly join them as vocalist the following year, before they abruptly broke up and evolved into the outfit they became best known as.

Brats are at heart a punk rock band. That is the central aesthetic and ideal that runs through their music and lyrics. But they have a rare sophistication which highlights the importance of the punk/metal synthesis, and the need for new ground to be created. Brats aren’t overly aggressive on the surface, in part due to their infectious songwriting and catchy choruses of singalong proportions. However, the attitude is largely present, and the musical prowess is distinctly nuanced with a virtuosity that would end up influencing a generation of underground metal musicians on the likes of ‘Melissa’ and ‘Don’t Break The Oath’.

Songs follow a typical verse/chorus structure, and like the Ramones, everything is catchy and accessible. One can also sense the harder edges of American punk rock bands such as The Dead Boys. There is an abundance of hard rock and early metal technique, and a warm, organic production job that sits comfortably with a lot of new wave and post-punk releases from the same era. Choruses are strikingly similar to American power-pop band Cheap Trick, with bubblegum backing vocals stating the obvious. The singer fits a typically punk range, which although not unfitting, has restraints, but plenty of swagger.

Shorter songs, such as ‘Fuel’ and ‘Punk Fashion’ strangely hint towards the style of fast, melodic crossover of the Japanese band G.I.S.M. but with more subtlety, and more polished. The acoustic/vocal Stooges-esque intro to ‘Tame Me (Insomniac)’ gives way to a dual guitar build up that is distinctly Mercyful Fate, technically and structurally. Throughout every song, the perfectly queued soloing is quite typical of Shermann and Denner would explore on later ventures.

Whilst Brats are saccharine, palm-muted rhythm guitar technique in the vein of Judas Priest always works its way into the song structures. The most obvious example of this is one of the two longer songs ‘Heavy Rocker’. ‘Complex’ is more laid back, and maintains a groove similar to the song ‘Stranglehold’ by Ted Nugent. It’s this myriad of influences and their successful amalgamation that makes ’1980′ a thoroughly enjoyable, repeatable listen.

The notion of ‘pop sensibilities’ will alienate some, no doubt, though all of the influences incorporated here work together well and compliment each other, not work against each other, as is too often the case. The top tier songwriting and musicianship, along with the chronological importance makes this essential.

http://stenchofishtar.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/obscurities-brats-1980/

A very good start! - 86%

Brat1983, April 1st, 2006

Brats… the band in which Hank Shermann and Michael Denner both started their career… (and on a little historic note, Yenz also who currently is the bass player of German act Iron Savior). I had first heard the 3 tracks Brats played on the Pære Punk compilation through one of my friends who had an old tape copy of them… Despite them being punk at the ultimately most simple plan ever imaginable, they possessed an energy that I couldn’t resist.

Hence I checked the local library (it’s a good resource of many great things!) and they eventually got me Brats – 1980 on tape. I liked it right away. The simplicity of the 3 aforementioned tracks were more or less gone although the album does contain 3 tracks that I would consider punk (Fuel, Punk Fashion, Accepted), but the tracks were much more complex and structured. The songs are mostly written by Yenz with a few contributions from Hank and they are well written and well played. On this album Hank Shermann and Michael Denner really proves what a great pair of guitar heroes they are!

The rest of the songs are hard rockin’ and heavy. A track such as Heavy Rocker is a favourite of mine. The influence from the NWOBHM scene is undeniable here.

Some people might say that this kind of music is old and dated, but I really like it for what it is. A good punkish heavy rock album with lots of good songs, and it’s also interesting to hear what Mercyful Fate evolved from.

A rare gem in my book and a good album to track down.