DEFENDERS OF METAL

Monday, May 18, 2026

OZZY OSBOURNE "THE ULTIMATE OZZY" VHS AD (RIP MAGAZINE, JANUARY 1987)

IRON MAIDEN ... THE SPACEWARD DEMO STORY

THE BACKGROUND

Recorded over New Year's Eve in 1978, the famous Spaceward Demo was Iron Maiden's first recording session. It cost the band £200 to record four songs at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. Its underground popularity ignited the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and paved the way for their debut EP.

THE SESSION
In late 1978, finding gigs difficult to book outside East London, the band decided to invest in a professional demo. To save money, bassist Steve Harris booked an overnight weekend session at Spaceward Studios over New Year's Eve (December 30–31).

The official story is that the 4-piece lineup of Steve Harris, singer Paul Di'Anno, guitarist Dave Murray, and drummer Doug Sampson recorded four songs: "Prowler", "Invasion", "Iron Maiden", and "Strange World".

Iron Maiden outside The Clarendon Arms, December 31st 1978, right next to
Spaceward Studios were The Soundhouse Tapes were recorded.
From left to right: Paul Di’Anno, Paul Cairns (with his dog, Nelson), Dave
Murray, Steve Harris and Doug Sampson. Photo: Spaceward Studios

Other information suggest that it isn’t really so. The credits for The Soundhouse Tapes tells you that the now infamous demo, Iron Maiden’s very debut as recording artists, was recorded by the personnel Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Paul Di’Anno and Doug Sampson. As it happens, several sources are now claiming that there was a fifth person involved in the recordings, Paul Cairns.

According to former Iron Maiden roadie Steve “Loopy” Newhouse the band toured as a four-piece for several months in 1978, but Steve Harris decided that they needed to go back to the original configuration with a two guitar line-up so they could pull of the harmonies. Subsequently an add was placed in Melody Maker and auditions were held.

Paul Cairns was chosen, a guy with both the skills and the looks. Newhouse remembers the ordeal in his blog:

“Then suddenly, just when things were about to wrap up for the evening a guy called Paul Cairns turned up with his dog, Nelson.

If I could describe his look, Paul, not the dog, the shaggy hair style and opened shirt, I would say that Jon Bon Jovi stole Paul Cairns’ look, without even knowing it. Even though Bon Jovi came along a few years after Maiden and musically was of a different genre, they went on to become a huge selling act and, after my stint with Iron Maiden, I worked for them a couple of times. But that’s another story.

Paul slotted in quite well during the initial audition. He had everything. Musically, he was what the band wanted, and he looked the part too. But that was where it ended as far as I was concerned.”

In a later blog post, Newhouse details the events in Cambridge and points to several factors that suggests that Cairns actually was involved in the recordings too:

– The photo of Paul Cairns with the rest of the band, standing outside the pub next to the studio was not doctored in any way. Nelson, Paul’s dog taking center stage, was a clue. I actually remember Paul saying he had slept in his van, and Nelson had kept him warm. I have no idea what triggered this memory, but I’m stuck with it now.

And then there is Paul’s account of his part in the recording of the Demo, according to Stjepan Juras‘ book, The Clairvoyant.

– Paul’s very detailed account of the part he played on each track was enough to get me thinking that the only way he would know this stuff was if he was actually there.

If it is the case that Paul Cairns was involved in the recordings, why is he not credited for his effort on the EP? One possible explanation was that he was booted from the band before the the demo was printed as The Soundhouse Tapes and thus the band didn’t want to profile themselves with a member that was no longer in the band.

(The Paul Cairns story is from maidenrevelations.com)

THE LOST MASTER
The band returned to Cambridge a week later to mix the tracks but needed an additional £50 to do so. While they scrambled to raise the cash, the studio owner accidentally deleted the original master tapes. As a result, the demo was released in its rough, unmixed form.

Another version of this event comes from Mike Kemp:

"There have been some cruel comments by IRON MAIDEN that "they went back to get the multi-tracks some weeks after the sessions (because they couldn't afford them at the time) but the nasty studio had wiped them". My side of the story has never been heard - i.e. that we were as poor as they were and couldn't afford to keep £60 multitrack tapes for every band either! (A session cost about that I recall) We did our best - I think for £5 a week we would hold them until either they were paid for or the band decided not to keep them any longer, e.g. after a remix. Presumably they did not take that option."

THE SOUNDHOUSE TAPES
The band made copies of the tape and handed them to DJs, most notably Neal Kay. Kay played the tracks at his heavy metal club in London, prompting "Prowler" to hit #1 on the club's charts. To satisfy fans asking to buy the music, the band self-released three of the tracks in November 1979 as the The Soundhouse Tapes EP. The three tracks - "Prowler",

"Invasion" and "Iron Maiden" - appear in rougher form than they would later be heard on the first album and subsequent singles. The tracks are played a bit slower and therefore more groovy as they appeared later on their debut. "Invasion" was not used until 1980, when it was released as a b-side to the "Women In Uniform" single. The fourth song from the demo - "Strange World" - would also be re-recorded for 'Iron Maiden'. The song was not included in 'The Soundhouse Tapes' because the band was not happy with the recording quality.

THE LEGACY
Only 5,000 copies of the original EP were printed. The overwhelming demand from fans and the buzz created by the Spaceward Demo caught the attention of manager Rod Smallwood, ultimately securing the band a major record deal with EMI in 1980.

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BLACK FUNERAL (US) (I CAME FROM DARKNESS #3, 1995)

STEELER (GER) (METAL FORCES #21, 1986)

SEANCE (SWE)

MICHAEL SCHENKER (ROCK POWER, JANUARY 1992)

Sunday, May 17, 2026

PLAYING RIGHT NOW ... MANILLA ROAD "OPEN THE GATES" [LP]

Genre: Heavy Metal
Year: 1984
Country: USA
Note: For me, Manilla Road is the most underrated Heavy Metal band of the 1980's. They should have been up there on the big stages with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ozzy etc. More or less all their releases during this period was nothing short of FANTASTIC.

Please report dead links!

LITA FORD (OKEJ MAGAZINE #10, 1983) < TRANSLATED

English translation from the Swedish Pop Magazine OKEJ. OKEJ was more or less the only music magazine in Sweden during the 1980’s and almost 90% of Swedish youth read it and then talked about in school.

LITA FORD

MAKES A CONVINCING COMEBACK

She graduated from Runaways and since then she has developed musically, gained self-confidence and ideas and is now debuting with the album "Out For Blood" and her new group, The Lita Ford Band.

Lita Ford's album is now in the record stores and in the charts and it's actually a very pleasant return - "Out For Blood" is a visually convincing comeback!

"We're not at all what Runaways fans expect," says Lita. "Neil and Dusty are so insanely talented sometimes I can't believe this is my band!"

INVALUABLE ASSET

And certainly musically this band is significantly better than the Runaways ever were, even though the focus and spirit are the same. It's about hard and tough rock'n'roll from the first track to the last, the bass is heavy and pumping, the guitars scream and whine and Dusty Watson's thunderous drums create a compact and impenetrable wall of sound.

The songs on the LP are written by Lita and bassist Neil Merryweather, with two exceptions: "Rock'n'Roll Made Me What I Am Today" is written by Pete Heimlich and the fine "Any Way That You Want Me" is written by Chip Taylor.

Neil is a very experienced and talented rocker and he has been an invaluable asset to The Lita Ford Band since the beginning. He writes songs, is a fast and creative bass player, produces and was even the group's manager until very recently. That role has now been taken over by Allen Kovac.

GOOD GUITAR PLAYING

The album "Out For Blood" doesn't really offer any direct surprises, but it doesn't matter much, this is well-played and brutal hard rock, exactly the way the audience wants it. It rocks best in the title track, "Ready, Willing And Able" and in the closing "I Can't Stand It", and Lita's guitar playing is consistently very good. She was praised for that already in The Runaways and she has always had the ambition to develop and mature as a musician.

- With Runaways, I always knew I could be much better, she says.

I wanted to try new things and develop myself.

Since the group's split in 1979, Lita has disciplined herself and practiced hard every day, which has also paid off on the new LP - she is cheeky and cheeky enough to occasionally play the part of several of her male colleagues!

ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING

As far as the singing is concerned, there are a few shortcomings here and there. Lita is far from a great singer and her voice often sounds too thin and uncertain amidst the noisy, high-pressure music. Neil, however, disagrees with this:

- Lita is absolutely outstanding, he thinks instead. A few years ago she didn't care one bit about her voice, now she's become a fantastic rock vocalist. I think she's even surprised herself!

She is the absolute toughest girl in the hard rock scene and the title of the album suits her perfectly - as does the photo job. Lita is dressed in mesh and leather with hundreds of studs, her hair is blond and bushy, she is heavily made up and she seems to have her sights set on one thing only - to be the best and toughest!

So listen to Lita Ford - the girl who plays bleeding hard rock!

Photo: Polygram, SPS

SLAYER (US)

IRON MAIDEN "SOMEWHERE IN TIME" ALBUM AD (RIP MAGAZINE, JANUARY 1987)IRON MAIDEN "SOMEWHERE IN TIME" ALBUM AD (RIP MAGAZINE, JANUARY 1987)

DECEASED (US) (DEATHVOMIT ZINE #1, 1989)

DORO

SWEDISH THIN LIZZY FAN CLUB SHOP (1981) < TRANSLATED

Courtesy of Jörgen Holmstedt, who run the Swedish Thin Lizzy fan club. Here are two pages from their shop, translated to English. The original ones in Swedish you can find down below. And for those who are curious, the prices stated in Kr (Swedish Kronor) is today about $1 = 10 kr. So a T-shirt was about $4 in 1981.

SWEDISH ORIGINAL

GONE ... NEVER FORGOTTEN: ALGY WARD OF TANK (UK) (JULY 11, 1959 – MAY 17, 2023)

Alasdair Mackie "Algy" Ward (11 July 1959 – 17 May 2023) was an English punk rock and heavy metal bass guitarist and singer. He began his career in 1977, as a bassist for the Australian proto punk garage band the Saints. Afterwards, he joined The Damned, before founding Tank in 1980. Tank were part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement.

During his career with the Damned, and influenced and inspired by Lemmy Kilmister and his band Motörhead, Ward began to express interest in the burgeoning new wave of British heavy metal movement, which was kicked off by bands like Witchfynde and Saxon. Ward planned to create a new band, which he called Tank inspired and influenced by Motörhead. He hired Peter and Mark Brabbs to play with him, and in 1980 Tank was officially formed.

In 1982, they released their debut album Filth Hounds of Hades recorded and produced by Motörhead Guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke, considered by some to be a landmark album in the NWOBHM movement. Fast Eddie Clarke produced the Tank album before going on to produce Motorhead's Iron Fist (album). Initial copies of the album came with a free 7", featuring The Snake, a cover of a song originally written by Larry Wallis and Mick Farren's proto-punk psychedelic band, The Pink Fairies. Tank were asked by Motörhead to join them as support band on the Iron Fist tour in 1982.

Shortly before Tank's third record This Means War was released, Mick Tucker became the second guitarist, and shortly after the release, the Brabbs brothers left. They were replaced by Cliff Evans on guitar, Graeme Crallan on drums, and later Michael Bettel on drums. After their fifth album (which was self-titled) was released in 1987, growing disputes over musical direction and lack of commercial success grew more frequent, which led the band to split in 1989.

Ward died on 17 May 2023, at the age of 63 at a hospital in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, apparently after suffering from serious health issues for some time. The news was confirmed by Tank guitarist Mick Tucker on his Facebook page.

KISS EGYPTIAN MASCOT 'LEON THE SPHINX' (1989)

Leon, the stage main character and the nickname given to the sphinx found on the band's 1989 "Hot in the Shade" album cover. A giant version of Leon dominated the tour's new stage design, taking the spot traditionally occupied by a lighted version of the band's logo. The Leon stage didn't arrive in Europe until 1992. Allegedly Leon is now spending his days in a L.A warehouse.

Considering the fact that the "Hot In The Shade" tour was an enormous success, it's really odd, that so few good pictures from the tour exists!! In fact KISS almost did not go on tour with Hot in the shade. The album was not doing that well at the beginning when it came out in September 1989, but when "Forever" became a TOP 10 hit in early 1990, the interest was there and they went on tour in May 1990 with 2 opening acts (Slaughter (US) and Faster Pussycat.

The new stage set were the most amazing thing KISS had used since the '70's. The stage was dominated by a large Sphinx that was nicknamed Leon The Sphinx.

As the houselights dimmed, the humming sound would be heard from the speakers, while Leon opened his mouth, and let hundreds of thin laser beams out. The laser curtain had already been developed for the Dynasty show, but it had not worked properly, and was discarded after the first show. On this tour it worked perfectly. As Leon's mouth opened fully, KISS would be revealed standing in silhouette, in the mist of laser beams!

There was no "You wanted the best, you got the best" introduction on this tour; KISS would just walk down on the stage and open the show with "I Stole Your Love" and an amazing firework display.

KISS sounded better than they had for years on this tour. It helped a great deal that there were no solo's this time around... well, not at first that was. Eric was so unhappy about this decision, that he eventually got permission to do a solo. And he didn't disappoint this time. The solo has to be heard, but I'll do my best to describe it: The solo came in the middle of "God of Thunder", just like in the good old days, and started with Eric playing along to some Egyptian themed choir (played via the electronic drum pads). It sounded awesome. This was followed by his usual drum/electronic tune drum part, and then ended with Eric playing some disco styled stuff, which actually sounded good, too! But as I said, it has to be heard!

Just before the solo, Leon's eyes had lit up, and searched the crowd, and just as KISS kicked into the song again after the solo, he would shoot rockets from his eyes, just like Ace and Gene had done on previous tours. And then came the biggest surprise: Leon sang the verse that came after! The effect was done, by having the laser cannon displaying the vocals as an oscilloscope readout on a small screen inside Leon's mouth. It might sound silly, but it really looked like Leon was singing!

At the end of the last song, Detroit Rock City, Leon would collapse, amidst a giant fireworks display. The first encore would be I Want You, which started with Paul and Bruce playing the intro while a big mirror ball was hanging over the stage bathing the entire arena in thin purple light beams. As the heavy part of the song started, a big, metallic KISS logo would come up. The logo looked a lot like the one used from 1976 to 1984, but it was not the same. Look carefully at the K, and you will see it had a wrong shape. This version of the logo was last seen in the concert segment of the "Detroit Rock City" movie!

Aside from this most of the signature things were missing from the show... Gene didn't breathe fire, there was no confetti in Rock And Roll All Nite, and Paul didn't break his guitar. The latter was probably because Paul for the most part of the tour played a Gibson Les Paul model, which are rather expensive... certainly too expensive to break. Instead Paul misjudged a jump one night and ran into a metal barrier, and broke a couple of ribs.

Above text is mainly from KissFanShop, with additional information by me and some parts removed.

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Saturday, May 16, 2026

ELECTRIC MAGIC - THE LED ZEPPELIN CHRONICLE (VOL.I NO.III, 1990)

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT ON OUR PATREON,
EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A SUPPORT MEMBER

CLICK HERE

OSSUARY (URY) (INFECTED VOICE FANZINE #3)

Infected Voice was a fanzine from Peru written in Spanish, but here's an interview translated to English for you.

OSSUARY

Formed in 1992 by Sebastian and Marcelo, two months later they recorded the demo CEMETERY, the first death metal recording from outside Montevideo.

In 1993, after several shows with Corpses, Auschwitz, Morbid Blood, Orion, Crematorium, and Sacred (Argentina) in Montevideo and Maldonado, a new member joined: Francisco (vocals), completing the lineup with Nestor (bass), Marcelo (drums), and Sebastian (guitar). Months later, Gino replaced Nestor. The band continued writing until February 1994 when they recorded the demo preview, "Inquisition Dreams," at Maxi Music Studios, produced by Ossuary and Claustr of Mayhem (Argentina).

Months later, Francisco left the band, and Daniel joined on guitar and vocals. During that time, they played several shows in Montevideo with: Eclampsy, Abside, Inner Sanctum, and Satanica (Argentina).

1995 began with concerts in Maldonado, and in May, they recorded the EP "The Black Wind Whisper from the Coast" at Maxi Music.

Ossuary presents a style oriented towards Dark Death Metal, with melody, speed, and violence, seeking an original sound. Currently, American Line of Mexico has professionally released the EP for Central America, and it is distributed in: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Canada, Greece, Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, and several other countries.

In 1996, Ossuary played numerous shows throughout Uruguay and four times in Argentina, twice with the legendary SARCOFAGO, in their farewell performance, and once with the Paraguayan band SABAOTH

The concerts continue, and in August the South American TOUR begins, covering Argentina, Bolivia, and Uruguay. Lasting six weeks, they play with countless bands for a total of 13 dates, touring Northern Argentina, Bolivia (Sucre, Santa Cruz, Potosí, La Paz), and Uruguay (Maldonado, Montevideo, and Canelones), even playing twice in each city.

By early '97, the Bolivian label Catapult Records released the band's new material, which included the tracks from the EP, a new song, and two covers of bands that have influenced their formation. Manta Negra Records will also reissue the legendary '92 demo "Cemetery" with the promo track "Inquisition Dreams" as a bonus.

Now, let's move on to the interview answered by Sebastián:

1- Of all your work, which is your favorite?

I think this one, "Show No Thirsty," since it combines both demos onto a single cassette. Of course, I'm very fond of the debut demo, "Cemetery."

2- How did the idea of forming OSSUARY come about?

The main idea was to bring extreme metal to the interior of the country. I think this goal has been achieved.

3- What do you think of Catapult Rec's work? How did you make contact?

Very good. It all started when we played in Bolivia (La Paz).

4- Do you know anything about the Peruvian scene?

Yes, quite a bit. I really like Mortem, "Vomit of the Earth," the album too, but not as much. Hadez, Kranium, Necropsya (the best), Fosa Común, Sarcoma, Disinter, etc. I also know many zines, although some from your country have ripped me off. They should die.

5- Do you have a tour planned, and if the opportunity arises, would you play in Peru?

The tour is still in negotiations, but when it happens, we will definitely play in Peru and in several cities, since we have to cross over to Ecuador and then Colombia

6- How did you get into the underground scene? Any particular band(s) that impressed you from the start?

I think it was a natural thing. We started corresponding, and that's how more flyers arrived, and that's how we got into the underground scene. There were many bands, Rotting Christ (with whom we still correspond), Merciless (R.I.P.), especially those that included their addresses in their releases.

7- Your opinion on: Black, Death, Noise, and Heavy Metal.

Black Metal: It's super trendy. I like the '80s stuff (Assassin, Celtic Frost, Venom, Destruction, Sodom), although this one is also becoming fashionable.

Death Metal: My passion and the most brutal music on the planet.

Noise: I honestly don't understand it.

Heavy Metal: My life, my way of being, my spirit, one of the reasons I'm still alive

8- What is your greatest desire and what do you hate most in this world?

Our greatest desire is to keep playing everywhere and not let so much disappointment break us, so we can keep going with all of this. What we hate most in this world are fake people and enemies (of which there are many!!).

9- Before listening to Metal, what music did you listen to, and what attracted you to Metal?

Some post-dictatorship Rock, The Police, The Doors, Steppenwolf, The Cure, many things I don't remember. I've been listening to Metal for over 10 years now, and it's become a part of my life. I was attracted to Metal by the power of the music and the whole image surrounding Iron Maiden, Dio, W.A.S.P., etc.

10- The South American scene. What do you think of it, its bands, fanzines, bangers, etc.?

The South American scene is very good, but also quite new, which means that in 5 years we'll be able to talk about the people who are still standing firm and those who fell in this great metal battle. Surely those who never listened to Manowar and King Diamond and started with Pantera will fall. As for bands, there are many good bands and zines too; the problem is that there are many teenagers putting out flyers to get free material and then never putting out the zine again. The same people who make zines should expose these little shits. Anyway, we must keep going, even though many people surround you and supposedly are into the same thing as you, reeking of falsehood.

11- Any words to the metal readers of Infected Voice?

Don't take everything I said too seriously, or I'll look like a Reverend son of a bitch (ha, ha!!), just take care and do your own thing, always being honest. We'll be playing in Peru for all of you soon. If you want to get our merchandise in Peru, we have the tape available for only $6 (shipping included). Zines, send a number as proof of existence and you'll receive the tape + promo stuff. Bangers, write for an immediate response, include one dollar.

12- Anything you'd like to add? Goodbye.

Thanks Guido for the interview, good luck with the zine, we hope to stay in touch. DEATH TO FALSE METAL!!!

Thank you very much, Sebastian. I hope that when you start your tour you'll come to these lands. Those interested in contacting this brutal Uruguayan band should write to

OSSUARY
p.o. Box 52278
Maldonado (20000)
URUGUAY