Demo 2 - The Loco Studios Sessions

NWOBHM Rarities Review #2

I’ve been a long-time fan of StormQueen, based on the strength of their very strong debut demo, released as early as 1980, no less! I’ve more recently acquired the rest of their material, after yearning for it for quite some time. Coming out of Wales, these guys crafted a style that was surprisingly dark, and a bit heavy (especially compared with the majority of class of 1980 stuff that was largely boogie-influenced). Their debut however, would prove a hard act to follow, as initial listens to their later materials may fail to impress on that same level (at least initially). This 1982 is still solid, rockin NWOBHM, from a criminally underrated act that kicked butt. It contains two new tracks, as well as a re-recorded version of a track from their first demo, with vocals done by Paul Burnett, as opposed to Chris Glyn-Jones who handled the mic duties on the 1980 demo.

‘No piece for the wicked’ showcases a slight refinement of the bands sound, seemingly a touch more complex, and developed from the 1980 demo. Burnett’s vocals are smooth, clean and youthful, in the classic NWOBHM style, especially nice in the harmonized section, but former vocalist Chris was no slouch (and an all-round nice guy too), so I can’t really say if that side of things has improved on this one. Guitars are pretty heavy in this track, and it also seems lengthy (even though it’s under 4 mins) with differing sections. ‘Come Silent the World’ one of the fan favourite tracks, is very strong, and retains that same mixture of melodic vocals, and crunchy (and rather quick paced) guitars and crashing drums. Evident in this track is the songwriting talent of Dave Morse, the driving force behind the band. This track, along with the remainder of the demo, sounds softer and more melodic than they did on the first demo, though ‘quality’ is a word that comes to mind. Evident songwriting skill, though it would be nice if it rocked a bit harder. I really enjoy the Halford-esque screams by the new vocalist though – a welcome touch (and he also pulls some in the pounding track ‘Rasing the Roof’ – that sound like something from out of a Raven song). Recording quality is cleaner and better than the first demo too. Anyway, StormQueen is a great NWOBHM act that are criminally underrated. I recommend this one, though prefer the first demo as a starting point.

-DeathRiderDoom