Year : 1986 / 1987 / 2000 (Cherry Red Records Edition 2022)
Style : Heavy Metal
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 350 mb
Bio:
Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958)better known as Paul Di'Anno, is an English singer best known as the first vocalist to record with heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from 1978 to 1981.In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albums over the years, as both a solo artist and as a member of such bands as Gogmagog, Di'Anno's Battlezone, Praying Mantis, Killers and Rockfellas.After the breakup of his self-titled band, Di'Anno formed Strike with DeeRal (guitar) who recruited drummer Bob Falck (who had used the name Sid Falck while playing drums in Overkill) and the Hurley brothers John (2nd guitar) and Chaz (bass). The project was eventually named Battlezone, after a name straight from a comic book,upon the vocalist's return to Britain in 1985.Paul had previously known guitarists John Wiggins and John Hurley from bands such as Deep Machine and Iron Cross.The band's initial line-up comprised Di'Anno, guitarists John Wiggins & John Hurley, bassist Laurence Kessler and Adam Parsons on drums. The latter had gone under the stage name A.D. Dynamite whilst in Aunt May. However, Parsons left shortly after to replace Vince Hoare in the London-based glam band Belladonna (formed by former Hell's Belles vocalist Paul Quigley, with Paul Lewis, Jeff Fox and Neil Criss)and Falck reappeared on the scene in time to record the band's first album written by Di'Anno & DeeRal Fighting Back. 1986 also saw the enrollment of former Lonewolf and Tokyo Blade guitarist John Wiggins.Battlezone performed a club tour of America in 1987 to promote the début Fighting Back, but musical differences, arguments and physical fights within the band led to the departure of John Hurley and Bob Falck after the first tour. According to Di'Anno's book The Beast, Hurley had become an "egomaniac" and the drummer Falck a "liability", so they were thrown out the band. Their places were taken by ex-Persian Risk members Graham Bath and Steve Hopgood respectively, following the tour's completion.The second album to be released was entitled Children of Madness and achieved considerable commercial success. It featured a track entitled "Metal Tears", which is about a guy who was unable to have a steady relationship and built a female robot who he subsequently fell in love with. The original idea came from a book titled "Clone".However, the track received criticism from the media for being very similar to a track (entitled "London") on Queensrÿche's Rage for Order lbum.Guitarist Graham Bath, who had been recruited to play second guitar, wasn't enthusiastic about touring, so he was fired from the band. Peter West, the bassist, recommended a replacement Alf Batz, who joined just in time to go to New York for the video shoot."The video for "I Don't Wanna Know" was played in rotation on MTV in the US.Drugs and infighting again put a strain on the band. Towards the end of the final tour, most members had quit leaving Di'Anno to complete the tour with a backing band in order to fulfil his contract.Subsequently, American guitarist Randy Scott, along with Dave Harman on guitar and Eddie Davidson on bass, signed up with Battlezone. However, the band were without proper management and disbanded shortly after.Following the breakup of Battlezone, Di'Anno and Hopgood formed the power metal band Killers releasing four albums. Hurley would later form glam rock band L.O. Girls and release the "Twelve Bore Honeymoon" single in 1990 and "Just Can't Say I Love You" in 1993. During 1990, Di'Anno fronted Praying Mantis for a tour of Japan, which was recorded for the subsequent Live at Last album release with ex-Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton. Wiggins joined a reformed Tokyo Blade in 1995.By 1998, Di'Anno had resurrected the name Battlezone. Joining him were Wiggins and fellow ex-Tokyo Blade members bassist Colin Riggs and drummer Marc Angel. Second guitars were supplied by the Brazilian Paulo Turin. This line-up cut the album Feel My Pain, released by the fledgling "Zoom Club" label. Working titles for the album included "Spoon Face" and "Smack", both containing references to heroin use. The album had a heavier edge compared to the first two Battlezone albums. The band undertook a sold-out Brazilian tour in January 1998, with erstwhile Killers colleagues bassist Gavin Cooper and guitarist Nick Burr joining on this South American tour.The band toured Brazil in the same year playing a three-week tour to sold-out audiences up to 6000 fans a night. Being brought back down to earth, Battlezone upon their return home put on a gig at the Walthamstow Royal Standard with an audience of only a hundred or so and a gig at JB's Dudley in the West Midlands attracting fewer than a dozen fans. A live track from the Walthamstow gig later appeared on a compilation of all three Battlezone albums, entitled Cessation of Hostilities. Ex-Battlezone bassist Gavin Cooper joined Lionsheart in December 2004, then moved onto Statetrooper in May 2005. The bassist subsequently joined the ranks of Magnum singer Bob Catley's solo band for UK dates in April 2006.In mid-2008, a Battlezone compilation entitled The Fight Goes On was released as on the Phantom Sound & Vision label as a 3-CD box set featuring all 3 Battlezone studio albums.
Album:
Three classic albums from NWOBHM stalwart and former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno.Includes his two mid-80s albums as Battlezone where he was joined by Tokyo Blade’s John Wiggins.Plus his later band Killers, caught live in 2000.Paul Di’Anno’s name will probably always be inextricably linked to that of Iron Maiden, the world conquering metal band he fronted from 1978-1981, recording their first two ground-breaking albums, ‘Iron Maiden’ in 1980 and ‘Killers’ in 1981. After Bruce Dickinson joined at the end of 81, with Iron Maiden going onto worldwide success, Di’Anno fronted a series of bands in the early 1980s, including Lonewolf, Di’Anno and the NWOBHM super-group, Gogmagog, before forming Battlezone in 1985.Battlezone came about when Di’Anno joined forces with Tokyo Blade’s John Wiggins plus John Hurley from Deep Machine, both on lead guitar, with the line-up completed by Peter West on bass and Bob Falck on drums. Signing to Powerstation Records, they released ‘Fighting Back’ in 1986, produced with Ian Richardson.By the time Battlezone came to record 1987’s ‘Children Of Madness’, for Raw Power, Hurley and Falck had been replaced by guitarist Graham Bath and drummer Steve Hopgood, both from Persian Risk. Making plenty of headway in the States due to some heavy touring, they even made it onto MTV with the track ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’. Unfortunately, the band were unable to capitalize on their hard work and split up shortly after.Joining forces with Battlezone’s Graham Bath and Steve Hopgood, Paul Di’Anno’s new band, Killers, was completed by Cliff Evans on bass and Gavin Cooper on guitar, that line up is featured on CD3 recorded live at Los Angeles’ Whisky A Go Go in 2000. A real treat for Iron Maiden fans, the band revisits and embraces the songs that originally made their singer famous, with versions of ‘Wrathchild’, ‘Remember Tomorrow’, ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ and ‘Sanctuary’, alongside originals such as ‘Impaler’ and ‘Protector’, as well as T Rex’s ‘Children Of The Revolution’.‘Rising Star’, a track which originally appeared on the ‘Warchild’ compilation is included as a ‘Fighting Back’ bonus track on CD1, and ‘To The Limit’ originally only a Japanese exclusive, plus ‘Drawn Under’ from the 1989 ‘Elementals: UK HM’ compilation, are added as bonus tracks to ‘Children Of Madness’ on CD2. This 3CD set is completed with an essay from rock and NWOBHM expert, John Tucker.
Line Up:
Paul Di'Anno - Vocals - See also: Paul Di'Anno, ex-Battlezone, ex-Gogmagog, ex-Killers, ex-Di'Anno, Rockfellas, ex-Iron Maiden, ex-Praying Mantis & Paul Di'Anno, Dennis Stratton, ex-The Almighty Inbredz, ex-The Pedophiles
John Hurley - guitar, backing vocals
John Wiggins - guitar, backing vocals
Pete West - bass
Bob Falck - drums, backing vocals
Additional musicians:
Dave Montgomery - backing vocals
Tracklist:
CD1: Fighting Back (1986)
01. (Forever) Fighting Back
02. Welcome To The Battlezone
03. Warchild
04. In The Darkness
05. The Land God Gave To Caine
06. Running Blind
07. Too Much Heart
08. Voice On The Radio
09. Welfare Warriors
10. Feel The Rock (Bonus Track)
11. Rising Star (from Warchild)
CD2: Children Of Madness (1987)
01. Rip It Up
02. I Don’t Wanna Know
03. Nuclear Breakdown
04. Torch Of Hate
05. Whispered Rage
06. Children Of Madness
07. Metal Tears
08. It’s Love
09. Overloaded
10. The Promise
11. To The Limit (Japanese Exclusive Track) (Bonus Track)
12. Drawn Under (from Elementals) (Bonus Track)
CD3: Killers: Live At The Whisky (2000)
01. Impaler
02. Wrathchild
03. A Song For You
04. Marshall Lokjaw
05. Children Of The Revolution
06. Three Words
07. Protector
08. Die By The Gun
09. Remember Tomorrow
10. Phantom Of The Opera
11. Sanctuary
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
