Twisted Sister "Under The Blade (1989 Reissue, Remixed, Japan, Warner-Pioneer Corp., 18P2-2745)"

Under the Blade is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on Secret Records in September 1982. It was produced by UFO/Waysted bassist Pete Way and featured an aggressive and hard-hitting sound, which was eventually ignored on a remixed re-release by Atlantic Records on June 13, 1985. The re-release also added a remixed version of the song "I'll Never Grow Up, Now!", the band's long-forgotten 1979 single. The Atlantic Records release was both an attempt to cash in on the commercial success of Stay Hungry and, by then (and for years to come), the only official way to get the album as Secret Records was no more. However, bootlegs with the original mix were still in circulation. On May 31, 2016, Eagle Records re-released Under the Blade in a digital remastered form with the original mix finally restored. Under the Blade has sold over two million copies worldwide.

The track "Bad Boys of Rock 'N Roll" is a new recording of a track that appeared earlier on the 1981 compilation "Homegrown Album"

In a long article about '80s metal, Tim Holmes of Rolling Stone wrote a contemporary review about Twisted Sister describing them as "the clown heir apparent to the gaping vacancy left by Alice Cooper" and a band who "write(s) songs that have a giddy, street-smart narrative approach and a gritty coherence that metal usually lacks." He also wrote that Under the Blade "is not technically a new album but rather a remix for modern ears" of older music.

Modern reviews are very positive. Greg Prato of AllMusic reminds how the band moved to the UK, which was having a "heavy metal resurgence (dubbed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal)", to record with UFO bassist Pete Way "many of the band's best compositions from their club days" and finds Under the Blade "one of Twisted Sister's hardest rocking albums... highly recommended to lovers of early-'80s British heavy metal." Also Exclaim! reviewer Ian Gormely considers the album "a must for anyone with an interest in the history of American hard rock". Despite "the raw production... and lack of an obvious hit... it laid the groundwork for their future success", thanks also to Twisted Sister's "tongue-in-cheek presentation that latter-day hair metal bands clearly lacked." Adrian Begrand of PopMatters reviews the album as a "near-classic" and "the most ferocious of the band's career." He writes that the musicians may have "bar band roots", but on the album "the fun side of Twisted Sister is set aside in favor of something a lot darker", which brought to "a hell of a debut that not only connected with British heavy metal fans, but would eventually lead to a contract with Atlantic Records, paving the way to stardom a couple years later." Canadian journalist Martin Popoff considers Under the Blade "dead serious despite the garish imagery, a good four-fifths of it rocking with hellacious clout, attitude and clever economy" and remarks how the influence of Judas Priest is evident in Dee Snider's compositions.

The album was ranked #24 on Metal Rules list of "The Top 50 Glam Metal Albums.

In 1985 the member of the PMRC committee Tipper Gore (wife of Senator Al Gore), found that the song "Under the Blade" referred to "sadomasochism, bondage, and rape", promoting violence, while Dee Snider testified at the Congress panel hearings that it was "about surgery, and the fear that it instills in people", concluding that "the only sadomasochism, bondage, and rape in this song is in the mind of Ms. Gore."

In 2005, Under the Blade was ranked number 387 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Tracklist:

1. What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You) 04:45
2. Bad Boys (of Rock 'n' Roll) 03:19  
3. Run for Your Life 03:27   
4. Sin After Sin 03:22
5. Shoot 'Em Down 03:52  
6. Destroyer 04:15
7. Under the Blade 04:39   
8. Tear It Loose 03:07  
9. I'll Never Grow Up, Now! 04:09
10. Day of the Rocker 05:00   

Time:  39:55  

- Issued with Obi-strip and alternate cover.

- From the label's Forever Young series.

- Bonus track 9 taken from the 1979 I'll Never Grow Up, Now! single.

Recording information:

Tracks 1-8 & 10:

- Recorded at The Barn at Kitchenham Farm, Ashburnham, England with the RAK Mobile.

- Overdubs recorded at I.C.C. Studios Eastbourne, England, and at Maison Rouge, London, England, and a studio near Battle, England.

- Remixed in April 1985 at Bolognese Recording Studio, Long Island, NY.

Track 9:

- Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, N.Y.C. and Plaza Sound, N.Y.C.

- Mastered at Sterling Sound, N.Y.C.

Twisted Sister "Under The Blade (1999 Reissue, Remixed, USA, Spitfire Records, 5024-2)

Under the Blade is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on Secret Records in September 1982. It was produced by UFO/Waysted bassist Pete Way and featured an aggressive and hard-hitting sound, which was eventually ignored on a remixed re-release by Atlantic Records on June 13, 1985. The re-release also added a remixed version of the song "I'll Never Grow Up, Now!", the band's long-forgotten 1979 single. The Atlantic Records release was both an attempt to cash in on the commercial success of Stay Hungry and, by then (and for years to come), the only official way to get the album as Secret Records was no more. However, bootlegs with the original mix were still in circulation. On May 31, 2016, Eagle Records re-released Under the Blade in a digital remastered form with the original mix finally restored. Under the Blade has sold over two million copies worldwide.

The track "Bad Boys of Rock 'N Roll" is a new recording of a track that appeared earlier on the 1981 compilation "Homegrown Album"

In a long article about '80s metal, Tim Holmes of Rolling Stone wrote a contemporary review about Twisted Sister describing them as "the clown heir apparent to the gaping vacancy left by Alice Cooper" and a band who "write(s) songs that have a giddy, street-smart narrative approach and a gritty coherence that metal usually lacks." He also wrote that Under the Blade "is not technically a new album but rather a remix for modern ears" of older music.

Modern reviews are very positive. Greg Prato of AllMusic reminds how the band moved to the UK, which was having a "heavy metal resurgence (dubbed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal)", to record with UFO bassist Pete Way "many of the band's best compositions from their club days" and finds Under the Blade "one of Twisted Sister's hardest rocking albums... highly recommended to lovers of early-'80s British heavy metal." Also Exclaim! reviewer Ian Gormely considers the album "a must for anyone with an interest in the history of American hard rock". Despite "the raw production... and lack of an obvious hit... it laid the groundwork for their future success", thanks also to Twisted Sister's "tongue-in-cheek presentation that latter-day hair metal bands clearly lacked." Adrian Begrand of PopMatters reviews the album as a "near-classic" and "the most ferocious of the band's career." He writes that the musicians may have "bar band roots", but on the album "the fun side of Twisted Sister is set aside in favor of something a lot darker", which brought to "a hell of a debut that not only connected with British heavy metal fans, but would eventually lead to a contract with Atlantic Records, paving the way to stardom a couple years later." Canadian journalist Martin Popoff considers Under the Blade "dead serious despite the garish imagery, a good four-fifths of it rocking with hellacious clout, attitude and clever economy" and remarks how the influence of Judas Priest is evident in Dee Snider's compositions.

The album was ranked #24 on Metal Rules list of "The Top 50 Glam Metal Albums.

In 1985 the member of the PMRC committee Tipper Gore (wife of Senator Al Gore), found that the song "Under the Blade" referred to "sadomasochism, bondage, and rape", promoting violence, while Dee Snider testified at the Congress panel hearings that it was "about surgery, and the fear that it instills in people", concluding that "the only sadomasochism, bondage, and rape in this song is in the mind of Ms. Gore."

In 2005, Under the Blade was ranked number 387 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Tracklist:

1. What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You) 04:45   
2. Bad Boys (of Rock 'n' Roll) 03:19  
3. Run for Your Life 03:27
4. Sin After Sin 03:22  
5. Shoot 'Em Down 03:52
6. Destroyer 04:15   
7. Under the Blade 04:39
8. Tear It Loose 03:07   
9. I'll Never Grow Up, Now! 04:27  
10. Day of the Rocker 05:00  

Time:  40:13  

- Bonus track 9 taken from the 1979 I'll Never Grow Up, Now! single.

Recording information:

Tracks 1-8 & 10:

- Recorded at The Barn at Kitchenham Farm, Ashburnham, England with the RAK Mobile.

- Overdubs recorded at I.C.C. Studios Eastbourne, England, and at Maison Rouge, London, England, and a studio near Battle, England.

- Remixed in April 1985 at Bolognese Recording Studio, Long Island, NY.

Track 9:

- Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, N.Y.C. and Plaza Sound, N.Y.C.

- Mastered at Sterling Sound, N.Y.C.

Twin Obscenity "Where Light Touches None (Norway, Head Not Found, HNFOcd26)"

Twin Obscenity is a Norwegian death/black metal band. They borrowed their name from Zhar and Lloigor, collectively known as the Twin Obscenities, in the Cthulhu Mythos.

Discussions about starting a band (which later became Twin Obscenity) started in 1989 with drummer Knut Næsje, who went to the same primary school as bassist Jo-Arild Tønnessen. Twin Obscenity was founded in 1991 when, in high school, singer/guitarist/keyboardist Atle Wiig met Tønnessen, who had previously been playing with Naesje. Over the next few years they recorded three demo tapes.

Twin Obscenity's debut album, Where Light Touches None, was released in the summer of ‘97 on the Norwegian label Head Not Found. The group toured Europe after the album's release.

Tracklist:

1. Dark Millenium's End 04:48  
2. When the Chains Are Broken 04:24
3. Enchanted by the Empress' Beauty 03:50   
4. Like the Death of a Sorceress 04:08  
5. Tribute to Mortality 04:24   
6. The Infernal Dance of Prince Kaleth 04:52  
7. Dreams of a Holocaust Night 03:22  
8. Revelations of Glaaki 04:46
9. Where Light Touches None 03:45

Time:  38:19  

The cover art is by John Martin (1789-1854) entitled "The Great Day of His Wrath" - oil on canvas 196 x 303 cm.

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Sound Suite Studios between September 9th-22nd, 1996.

Turisas "Turisas2013 (EU, Digipak Limited Edition, Century Media, 9983188)"

Turisas2013 is the fourth studio album by folk metal band Turisas. It was published on August 21 in Finland, and August 26 in Europe, while the UK followed on September 2 and North America on September 3.

The album was produced by vocalist Mathias Nygård and the majority of the album recorded by Nygård and guitarist Jussi Wickström in a remote house outside of Helsinki that served as the Turisas2013 command centre and headquarters. Additional recordings were conducted in two other studios: the drums at Atomic Spa Studio and orchestral recordings at 5 by 5 Studio, both in Helsinki. Many of the vocals and numerous additional elements were tracked at Sound Supreme Studio in Hämeenlinna where Turisas also recorded The Varangian Way and Stand Up and Fight.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mathias Nygård, except where noted

1. "For Your Own Good" Mathias Nygård, Jussi Wickström 4:34
2. "Ten More Miles" 4:16
3. "Piece by Piece" 5:37
4. "Into the Free" 3:50
5. "Run Bhang-Eater, Run!" 4:43
6. "Greek Fire" Mathias Nygård, Jussi Wickström 5:00
7. "The Days Passed" Mathias Nygård, Olli Vänskä 4:33
8. "No Good Story Ever Starts With Drinking Tea" Mathias Nygård, Olli Vänskä 2:51
9. "We Ride Together" Mathias Nygård, Jussi Wickström 6:33

Limited edition digipak, which comes with alternate cover art and a patch.

Mathias Nygård is shown on the cover

Release dates:

August 23rd: Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland

August 26th: Rest of Europe

September 2nd: UK

September 3rd: USA

Music by Nygård except 1, 6 and 9 by Nygård/Wickström, 7, 8 by Vänskä/Nygård. The songs have been written and composed from the summer of 2012 by the three in Helsinki.

Recording information:

Recorded at Hästhoimen between September 2012—May 2013.

Additional recordings at Sound Supreme Studio, Hämeenlinna.

Drums recorded at Atomic Spa Studio, Helsinki.

Orchestral recordings done at 5 by 5 Studio, Helsinki

Mixed and mastered at Orgone Studios, London.