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 Post subject: Forgotten 80's metal/rock bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 30 Jun 2013, 21:46 
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There were loads of hair metal bands from the 80's like Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Van Halen, Motley Crue etc which were very successful and there are many laserdiscs released featuring those bands.

What this thread aims to cover is the OTHER metal/hard rock bands from this same era - which didn't have quite the same level of success.
Bands like Enuff Z'Nuff, Rox Diamond, Pink Cream 69, Kix, Steelheart, Little Angels, Bullet Boys etc.

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It would be interesting to discuss these and similar such bands available on laserdisc to see what people think of them today.
Have they aged well like a good bottle of wine or is it a case of the less said about them the better! :lol:

Of the bands shown Rox Diamond is a personal favourite. Rox Diamond based around singer, songwriter and keyboard player Paul Daniels (no connection with the famous UK magician!) was a very melodic rock band in the same vein as say Giuffria. They struggled for a long time to get a record contract and finally when they got one grunge appeared on the scene and killed any chance they had of a career. Listening to their music now it seems it would have been perfectly placed if it had been released around 1985-86. As it was actually released in 1992 they never stood a chance. The band in general are great musicians, especially the guitarist Kevin Bach who would not look out of place in any premier rock band of the day. The idea that a laserdisc exists of a band virtually no one has heard of and which had no previous hit singles beggars belief but it does. In more recent times the band reformed and released a second studio album again primarily constructed from early demos they had put together. It has that same classic 80's feel to it.

Steelheart is another band I have a huge amount of respect for. Were it not for the fact the lead singer Miljenko Matijevic had a near fatal accident while climbing a lighting truss during a live performance they could have gone on to be a huge band. The songs were all built around really strong riffs and melodies. I'm thankful he survived the incident and was able to recover. It is just a shame their career came to an abrupt end so suddenly.

From my own perspective the one band shown that does deserve to be forgotten is the Bullet Boys. This band never had a decent tune to their name. Hailed by some as the new Van Halen - the singer might have looked a bit like David Lee Roth but in all other respects this band really sucked. :thumbdown: The one saving grace is the Bullet Boys laserdisc is very short (34 mins) so we are at least spared the tedium of having to watch these guys prance around for any length of time! It remains a mystery to me how this band EVER got signed by any record label never mind a major one like Warner Brothers!!

The band Extreme possibly don't deserve to get put here as they were pretty successful overall and there are actually 3 laserdiscs available but what the heck I lumped the first release here because of those early videos from their debut album. At least Nuno Bettencourt could play the guitar really well and I liked the way the band evolved particularly around the time of their Waiting for the Punchline album in 1995.


Last edited by laserdisc_fan on 07 Jul 2013, 11:31, edited 3 times in total.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 01 Jul 2013, 11:39 
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Just adding a few more candidates for this thread:

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The supergroup Bad English formed from the remains of The Babys and Journey were a superb band, despite what John Waite has said in more recent interviews.
The first album in particular was just bursting with hit singles and there is no better example than the track 'Forget Me Not'. This is the best Journey album they never released.

Bands like Lizzy Borden were all shock rock, not dissimilar to W.A.S.P. in many ways with their theatrics on stage which usually involved machines and amputations. I think Lizzy couldn't hold a candle to bands like Twisted Sister though. The first three Twisted Sister albums are all bona fide classics and if you want the full uncut version of the Stay Hungry concert then you'll only find it on laserdisc. Some copies of the US version of this laserdisc concert are badly rotted so watch out.

Vixen are another guilty pleasure. The girls could genuinely play really well and cranked out some very catchy songs which epitomised the metal scene in the 80's.

The Coney Hatch laserdisc shown is the Japan 12" edition of what was released as a little 8" LD in the US. The Japan edition is insanely hard to find. That is the ONLY copy I've ever seen in 7+ years of collecting LDs worldwide.

The Christian rock band Stryper also wrote a few decent power ballads. I was never sure about the whole black and yellow concept and I think they weren't either as they ditched that look on later albums.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 01 Jul 2013, 16:33 
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wow, i can't believe that i've only heard of less than half of these bands.
i used to be into 80s metal too.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 02 Jul 2013, 00:09 
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rein-o wrote:
wow, i can't believe that i've only heard of less than half of these bands.
i used to be into 80s metal too.


That is a surprise because of the 28 different bands shown so far:
21 are from USA
2 from Canada
3 from UK
1 from Germany
1 from Switzerland

Believe it or not all are still going today - even the Bullet Boys!
The one thing you get with rock /metal bands is longevity.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 02 Jul 2013, 01:38 
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A few more worthy of adding to this thread:

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Video Meltdown features a plethora of bands signed to Metal Blade Records label all of which are household names like Armored Saint, D.R.I, Fates Warning, Candlemass, Anvil. Masi, Anvil etc!

British band FM who released a very synth laden debut album Indiscreet in 1986 show they can really turn up the volume when they do an impressive rendition of Enter Sandman by Metallica alongside their own material on the laserdisc shown.

Magnum are another british band who had some success in the US in the late 80's. They will be eternally remembered for their On A Storyteller's Night album from 1985 however check out any of their albums as they are all excellent.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 02 Jul 2013, 03:46 
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TESLA -
Saw them several times LIVE .......
Epic performance band, if they ever tour again, check'em out !
No glam rock here kids, just pure talent.
One heck of a underated band !

Gonna have to dust off some jackets and spin some rockin tunes !
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 02 Jul 2013, 20:54 
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laserdisc_fan wrote:
A few more worthy of adding to this thread:

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Video Meltdown features a plethora of bands signed to Metal Blade Records label all of which are household names like Armored Saint, D.R.I, Fates Warning, Candlemass, Anvil. Masi, Anvil etc!

British band FM who released a very synth laden debut album Indiscreet in 1986 show they can really turn up the volume when they do an impressive rendition of Enter Sandman by Metallica alongside their own material on the laserdisc shown.

Magnum are another british band who had some success in the US in the late 80's. They will be eternally remembered for their On A Storyteller's Night album from 1985 however check out any of their albums as they are all excellent.


If you would, take a look at that Warlock LD and let me know if my friend Tommy Bolan is on that one. Tommy's recording & touring with Richie Ramone now.

Another friend Tom Cavanagh plays with Lita Ford, but I know he's not on those discs.

je
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 03 Jul 2013, 01:25 
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jdeavs wrote:

If you would, take a look at that Warlock LD and let me know if my friend Tommy Bolan is on that one. Tommy's recording & touring with Richie Ramone now.

Another friend Tom Cavanagh plays with Lita Ford, but I know he's not on those discs.

je


I checked and the Warlock concert features Doro Pesch, Rudy Graf, Peter Szigeti, Frank Rittel and Micha Eurich so Tommy Bolan isn't on it.
It was recorded in 1985 at the Camden Palace in London but released on laserdisc in 1990.
The disc itself was manufactured in UK but as it was sold in the US only it was obviously NTSC format.
I've seen some copies of Warlock that have mild rot which is quite common with some UK manufactured LDs but decent copies of that same title do exist.
Odd that a German band recorded in the UK should only be released in the US and manufactured in the UK!
I guess the same could be said about Stryper Live in Japan where it was a US band recorded in Japan which was only released in US.


Last edited by laserdisc_fan on 04 Jul 2013, 02:59, edited 1 time in total.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 03 Jul 2013, 02:26 
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Really it makes sense to put 80's bands like Cinderella and Warrant in this thread as well because they floundered in the 90's when grunge appeared:

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Don't get me wrong too, as I really like Cinderella especially the first few albums. Their Heartbreak Station album didn't do much for me though - it just sounded like they were jumping on the same old cowboy wagon that Bon Jovi had milked dry. Poison tried the same trick as well with mixed success.

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I think the Cult stand above all of the other bands as true innovators. Every album was different and even during the peak of grunge in 1994 they released what might be their best album simply titled 'The Cult' it was like they had reinvented themselves, which they literally had.

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The various first and second editions of the Japan only Night Ranger laserdiscs are shown. Early editions of Japan Tour are sometimes rotted so watch out.
I was chatting with some colleagues at work and the concensus was absolutely no one (except me) had heard of Night Ranger. Hardly surprising I guess
given they had zero hit singles in the UK, even though I know they are considered almost a national treasure in the US. When I visited the US a few years ago
one of the adverts on US TV had the theme song of one of their big hits 'Sister Christian' as the background music which I instantly recognised yet no one
in the UK would have a clue who they are. Good band although the hairstyles and clothes they had back in the 80's make them look like they were clowns just back from the circus!


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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 03 Jul 2013, 05:15 
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Its amazing how super popular some of this stuff was in the 1980s and equally amazing that hardly any of these bands could actually get a store to stock a full length CD of their's today. The world is %100 totally over these clowns forever. :)

Mind you, not all of these bands were actually terrible. Twisted Sister and Cinderella were decent. Warlock was more genuine metal that hairband crap. Triumph, frankly, is way to good to be grouped with the rest of these guys.

On the other hand, Warrant, Nigh Ranger, Damn Yankees, LA Guns, and Bullet Boys are so terrible...if there were any justice in the world they'd be pleading their case from behind bullet proof glass in The Hague*.

*stole that from Saxondale.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 03 Jul 2013, 11:10 
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Did another spot check and the only 2 bands mentioned so far that no longer exist are Warlock and Britney Fox.
Since Doro from Warlock went solo decades ago and is still going strong no one really notices the absence of Warlock since her own music is pretty much identical
In addition Britney Fox did reform in the 2000's for 8 years till 2008 and there have been recent attempts to reunite the original band again so watch this space...! :lol:
Even Anvil and D.R.I. still exist!! :o

The bottom line is metal music continues to sell and has a massive very loyal worldwide fanbase.
I've actually sold more metal music laserdiscs than all other genres of laserdisc added together and they generally fetch top book prices for the best titles.
Although most of these bands got dropped by the labels they were originally signed to, there are many that still cling on signed to subsiduary labels like Sony Legacy or independent record companies like SPV GmbH or Frontiers Records.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 03 Jul 2013, 17:38 
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Thanks Laserdisc_fan for sharing your great collection.

Warlock : "All We Are" can be found on LaserJuke : 16.34.03

Doro : "A Whiter Shade of Pale" Doro: A whiter Shade of Pale (1989) [080 834-2]

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More Doro can be found on LaserJuke :
"Last Day Of My Life" : 17.74.05
"Unholy Love" : 17.36.11
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 04 Jul 2013, 02:43 
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laserdisc_fan wrote:
jdeavs wrote:

If you would, take a look at that Warlock LD and let me know if my friend Tommy Bolan is on that one. Tommy's recording & touring with Richie Ramone now.

Another friend Tom Cavanagh plays with Lita Ford, but I know he's not on those discs.

je


I checked and the Warlock concert features Doro Pesch, Rudy Graf, Peter Szigeti, Frank Rittel and Micha Eurich so Tommy Bolan isn't on it.
It was recorded in 1985 at the Camden Palace in London but released on laserdisc in 1990.
The disc itself was manufactured in UK but as it was sold in the US only it was obviously NTSC format.
I've seen some copies of Warlock that have mild rot which is quite common with some UK manufactured LDs but decent cooies of that same title do exist.
Odd that a German band recorded in the UK should only be released in the US and manufactured in the UK!
I guess the same could be said about Stryper Live in Japan where it was a US band recorded in Japan which was only released in US.


Thanks for checking. Pretty sure Tommy was on the next album ("Triumph and Agony"?) in 1987 or so.

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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 06 Jul 2013, 20:32 
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A few more additions:

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Mr. Big were really pretty small in the UK and didn't make much impact except for one top 5 single "To Be with You" in 1991.
They do however have an excellent bass guitarist in the form of Billy Sheenan who had previously worked with David Le Roth prior to joining Mr. Big.

Ratt - I have all their albums. The only album that I feel was disappointing was "Dancing Undercover". It felt a bit rushed and it is interesting to note that none of the singles from this album made it onto laserdisc whereas there are tracks from all the other Ratt albums, even their debut EP. The vocalist Stephen Pearcy actually sounds like a rat when he squeals which is an accomplishment in itself! The band split in 1992 - they could clearly see the writing on the wall by that stage and it was the right thing to do. Their Infestation album released in 2010 is worth checking out.

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The Quireboys LD shown is very prone to laser rot which often only affects the sound so be very careful if you are buying that one.

Survivor are easily one of my all time favourite bands. They managed to remain a very credible rock band throughout the 80's releasing a string of classic albums. The Survivor laserdisc is really about as good as it gets featuring a live concert in Japan circa 1985 when they were promoting their Vital Signs album which was their best album. This title was top of my wishlist when I first started collecting music laserdiscs and it did take me several years to obtain. I now have several copies. It is a pity a video compilation of their hits did not make it to laserdisc, as a VHS version exists. Some individual Survivor videos do however exist on promo and laserjuke laserdiscs.


Last edited by laserdisc_fan on 22 Jul 2013, 22:18, edited 1 time in total.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal/rock bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 07 Jul 2013, 20:12 
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These belong here as well:
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It seemed Queensryche could do no wrong in the 80's with a string of great albums culminating in Empire in 1990. This was a thinking man's metal band. Some of the singles from Empire even charted in the UK. EMI stuck with them till the late 90's I guess hoping for another cash cow like Empire but it did not materialise. The Live in Tokyo laserdisc is the rarest of the set and highly sought after today. Although the audio from this concert has been re-issued on CD in 2003 as extra tracks on their debut EP, the video remains unreleased for what will soon be 30 years.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal/rock bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 08 Jul 2013, 21:15 
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After a short stint in Alcatrazz (see previous photo), Yngwie Malmsteen would start a long and successful career as a solo artist.
He remains particularly popular in Japan however I still think Vai or Satriani are better guitarists.

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Spinal Tap are also worthy of inclusion - it's a shame the laserdisc version had to spoil the classic all black 'Smell the Glove' cover with the inclusion of lettering when we all know who it is anyway! The CD front cover is genuinely all black.
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal/rock bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 09 Jul 2013, 16:21 
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laserdisc_fan wrote:
After a short stint in Alcatrazz (see previous photo), Yngwie Malmsteen would start a long and successful career as a solo artist.
He remains particularly popular in Japan however I still think Vai or Satriani are better guitarists.

Image

Spinal Tap are also worthy of inclusion - it's a shame the laserdisc version had to spoil the classic all black 'Smell the Glove' cover with the inclusion of lettering when we all know who it is anyway! The CD front cover is genuinely all black.


Now you need this one...

http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/09942/CLV ... -The-(1992)

That Criterion Tap LD has unique commentary, no? Pretty sure it's different from the DVD versions.

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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal/rock bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 09 Jul 2013, 16:55 
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Whow Colin, I very much appreciate your contributions super music collection you have :thumbup:
Unfortunately mayby but not all shown are my cup of coffee ;)

This one also belongs here, with more Warlock, etc Rock'N'Roll Meltdown (1988) [080 728-1]

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Japanese version : Rock & Roll Meltdown (1988) [VAL-3094]

Also some Warlock on this one : (you own both of them, I assume both belong in this category)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Breakin-Metal-Japan-Laserdisc-Venom-Warlock-Goddess-LD-/120691240796?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item1c19c22f5c

Breakin' Metal Live: vol.2 [SM058-3126]
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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal/rock bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 09 Jul 2013, 22:08 
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The US version of Rock & Roll Meltdown (1988) [080 551-1] is about 10 mins shorter since it is missing the last two tracks from the PAL version (Whitesnake and Magnum) but makes up for it with the cover!:

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The two Breakin' Metal Live laserdiscs cross several genres - classic rock (Sabbath, Lizzy), thrash (Venom) and heavy metal (Rock Goddess, Thor, Warlock):

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 Post subject: Re: Forgotten 80's metal/rock bands on laserdisc
PostPosted: 10 Jul 2013, 23:00 
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No metal collection would be complete without some Ozzy. The various first and second editions of the Japanese LDs are shown below:

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Great to see the legendary drummer Tommy Aldridge who worked with Ozzy in the early 80's and appears on several of these LDs still going strong after all these years.
He is incorrectly credited though on the back of Speak Of The Devil laserdisc as Tommy Aldredge!
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