TYRANT — Demo '81 (review)

Demo · 1981 · NWoBHM

4/5 · 2010-09-07
Certif1ed

OK, I'm cheating...

I'm not really reviewing from the near-impossible to locate 1981 demo cassette, but from the almost as difficult to find double CD anthology released last year - but hey, they're the same tracks, and the only difference is that there's none of that sudden mangled noise you get from chewed-up cassettes.

I'm pleased to report that the quality of the music here is pretty much of the same standard as the later Eyes of a Stranger killer 7". The vocals are of the same hot water bottle bursting edge-of-a-scream quality, the guitars are perfectly synched like a well-oiled machine, the riffs are that pleasing blend of being stylistically similar to other NWoBHM bands, with satisfying twists giving a far more modern sound to the whole of Tyrant's output.

Take it to the Dragon is hard to pin down - maybe the nearest would be something from Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell album - one of the slower numbers, perhaps - and clocking in at nearly 5 and a half minutes, it's a bit of a monster for a first demo.

Captured, on the other hand, is pure Tyrant - really, there are none of the usual Priest/Maiden citations, only nods and winks to those luminaries - just big, chunky riffs and immaculate licks and tempo changes. The guitar solo is a wondrous concoction of arpeggios, modal scales and blues licks with plenty of Blackmore flavours, but with a far sharper edge. Metal classic waiting to be discovered.

We've surrendered is a little less convincing as a composition - but the musicianship remains exemplary for the time - and there are certainly less talented individuals in more famous current bands. From anyone else at the time, this would be a stand-out piece, but compared to Captured, it's almost filler.

For You begins a Journey-esque ballad with competent harmonies, then slams into something a bit more tasty, with strident, aggressive riffs, more tempo changes, twin guitar harmonies, some big surprises in the arragement - the motherload really. Definitely not yer standard ballad, that's for sure!

A bit of Iron Maiden influence creeps into the next song, Clash of The Titans, which pans out bearing more resemblance to Cirith Ungol than Maiden, and sounding a lot more like the direction that Maiden were to take than anything prior to Number of the Beast, released the following year, it should be noted.

The demo wraps up with the pretty tune Shadows of the Night. OK, it's not pretty, or meant to be - but that opening riff really is a monster, with a hugely infectious hook resting neatly atop as if it were moulded there. Despite sharing the Iron Maiden gallop, this is a song that's very nearly as strong as the single Eyes of a Stranger - and that's saying something. If anything, it has even more of the same breathless urgency and crisp chukiness of the latter, it just lacks the je-ne-sais-quoi. Very important in metal, yer je-ne-sais-quoi.

Fans of Progressive metal should dig this a lot for its complexities, but it's wrapped up in strong melodies so well that the music of Tyrant is equally suitable for those who just want a good headbang and sod the twiddly bits.