Out to Get You

What are the chances that when Terry Gavaghan opened Guardian Records n’ Tapes, his at-home Durham recording studio, he had any idea its name would not only become synonymous with, but also vanguard (since there was really nothing to guard yet) a then-unrealized potential in the hard rock he’d been tuning into for years whenever his fingers touched a stereo? Mind you, we’re talkin’ the late ‘70s here, an unusually early time in the development and eventual advancement of hard rock into heavy metal. So if Mythra was the first act destined to come knocking on his door, then after eps from young roughhousers Hollow Ground and Hellanbach, Gavaghan’s small studio may have now been shimmering with brighter eyes looking at a promising prototype for a promising future, bigger possibilities made sonic right there for the taking, something of a ‘new wave’ in rock music to jumpstart the new decade, with recordings (like his late-1980 Roksnax compilation, for major instance) forged from youthful energy, the bending of rules, inflamed ideas, and the natural progression of times.

It’s pretty obvious I enjoy romanticizing things a bit for effect, and for all I know he didn’t care if he was recording the latest dance steps of disco as long as some business came through the door. These little fantasies can’t hurt anything though, and I guess we’ll find out the truth if we ever hear from the guy.

In any case, Hellanbach’s debut ep peels out somewhere in ’80 with the kind of burnt rubber smoke that grayed the air left by the very few underground indie bands in ’79/early-mid-‘80 who could break their tires loose, and the chances these four hairy henchmen smelled any of it at the time are probably pretty low. However, on the mainstream’s freeway, residual rubber smolders in long, white wisps from Motorhead’s on parole bomber, Priest’s hell bent killing machine, The Scorpions’ all night lovedrive, AC/DC’s helluva highway, and judging by influence, Van Halen’s fraternal twins, vehicles that left skidmarks blacker, wider, and with easier to read treads, which is where Hellanbach focus much of their inspiration.

Yeah, Hellanbach were purported by listeners and whatever small media as Van Halen upstarts, and I’ll tell ya, it’s an agenda that’s kinda hard to dismiss when the title track’s breakdown is as Edwardianly finger-picked and Rothian-styled plentiful as the spools of denim they’re wearing in the cover’s band shot, yet this is tribute made to motivation and inspiration rather than distinguished performance and talent, and with smaller commercial nuances aside, what’s left was theirs to use or lose.

Even though not quite as outwardly stimulating as Mythra’s “Killer”, Hollow Ground’s “Flying High”, Accept’s “Free Me Now”, or nearly anything on Maiden’s kick off, “Out to Get You” and “Let’s Get This Show on the Road” are the four-tracker’s closest to double barrel carburetion that, regardless, could’ve been conquerors of ground on some early metal compilations and light a notably commendable enough fire under typical rock’s butt to get it yelling for water. It’s however unfortunate that a few buckets of the stuff would spill over onto civilized “Nobody’s Fool” and “Light of the World”, surrounding their blondly charming and up-beat good vibes with the average approval for commercial dilution, but hey, you can’t expect marvels.

What happened in the three years of inactivity between this and their debut full-lengther, Now Hear This, is anyone’s guess save the still-intact band members themselves, and the new material featured on the One Take No Dubs compilation confirmed proof of life in ’82. Turns out ’83 will be their shine year.

Apparently released with and without a picture sleeve.