Year : 1989 (Koch International Records Edition)
Style : Heavy Metal , Speed Metal
Country : Austria
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 91 mb
Bio:
Austrian Heavy Metal band from Imst, Tyrol.Formed in 1983, split up in 1990.With the members sharing writing and lyrical credits on various tracks Maniac, featuring Christoph Just (guitars/vocals (backing), Markus Überbacher (guitars/vocals (backing), Mark Wederell (vocals) and Werner Ranftl (bass/vocals (backing) would release Maniac (1985). Andy Marberger (bass/vocals (backing)) and Tom Peroutka (drums) would be featured on the follow-up Look Out (1989). The band would loose its contract with record company 'Koch' soon after. After two unsuccessful demos they called it quits in 1990.
Album:
Second and last full-length album.Recorded and mixed at Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik in 1989.Austrian heavy/speed metal upstarts Maniac were in a rather unique position circa 1985 when their self-titled debut hit the shelves. Having planted their flag on an older stylistic approach that was more in tune with where metal had been in Germany and England during the early 80s, they were in a position to really stand out from the pack with a reasonably solid British-born singer in Mark Wederell, giving them a unique blend of Teutonic and NWOBHM stylings. Flash forward a couple years and this fold would find themselves without their aforementioned front man and also with an entirely new rhythm section, which on the upside included a permanent drummer. Now featured on the larger New York-based Koch Records, this four-piece had seemingly adopted a more time-appropriate aesthetic by the time their 1989 sophomore outing Look Out was finalized, though what came along with the seemingly glam-themed cover art was a fairly different beast.Arguably the only thing that has really been changed about Maniac's stylistic proclivities here is that the production is fuller and more closely approximated the pomp and power of the late 80s. That being said, their commitment to the older form of heavy metal with a speedy edge that was all over their debut is still very much present, if not a tad more so, as the parallels to Accept and Judas Priest have become even more pronounced. An interesting curveball that is thrown into the equation is that guitarist Markus Überbacher has taken over lead vocal duties, and when combined with the aforementioned musical influences, the result can be best described as what the child of Defenders Of The Faith and Russian Roulette would sound like with Klaus Meine at the helm. That's right, Markus' voice is so much of a dead-ringer for that of the noted Scorpions front man that one would have to check the CD liner twice to be sure he wasn't hired as a session singer.Putting aside the question as to why Überbacher didn't take up lead vocal duties earlier given how powerful of a presence he is, song for song this is about as solid of an entry as could have been heard in 1989 in the straight up heavy metal style, as both Judas Priest and Accept had largely veered away from this sound in favor of something closer to the L.A. sound at the time. Bludgeoning speed metal anthems like "Cities Burn" and "Armageddon's Day" could easily trade blows with the likes of "Freewheel Burning" and "T.V. Wars" while having a decidedly more melodic, late 80s twist on them to boot, while the heavy-ended cruiser "Power Metal Addicts" could stand as a veritable sequel to "Jawbreaker" with a fist-pumping lyrical set from a smoother voice in the place of the innuendo. Even scaled back, mid-paced anthems like "Confused Hearts" and "Bell Of Doom" spare nothing in the metal department, laying down pummeling riffs after the example of Herman Frank and keeping the vocal hooks tasteful and with plenty of bite.Why this masterwork of late 1980s proto-power metal has been allowed to languish in obscurity is beyond logical comprehension, as it has diamond in the rough written on every second of its 38 minute duration. With punchy, shaking the earth to its core odes of metal majesty like "Fighting With The Ryche Of Mordor" and "Lambs To The Slaughter" rounding out an album that almost perfectly melds every significant element of the early German and British metal scenes into a late 80s speed metal machine of an album that all but predicts the ensuing early 90s carnage that would be Painkiller, Timebomb and Domestic Booty, it's an album that has unsung classic in its blood. Don't let the visual of a long red-nailed 80s groupie from the Turbo Lover days fool you, this is top of the line Teutonic speed and heavy metal delivered straight from a nation with one of the least prolific scenes of the 80s.
Line Up:
Markus Überbacher - Vocals, Guitars (1983-1990) - See also: Supermäääx
Chris Justin - Guitars (1983-1990)
Andy Marberger - Bass (1988-1990) - See also: No Bros, ex-Shabby Maggot
Tom Peroutka - Drums (1988-1990) - See also: ex-Axework
Production:
Recorded At – Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik
Mixed At – Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik
Mastered At – Tonstudio Rico Sonderegger
Cover, Artwork – Sissy Just
Cover, Photography By – Fotostudio Mario, Austria
Engineer – Robby Baumann
Mastered By – Rico Sonderegger
Musical Assistance, Engineer – Chris Justin, Markus Überbacher
Tracklist:
01. Evil 05:18
02. Cities Burn 03:54
03. Bell of Doom 04:03
04. Hot Shots 03:23
05. Confused Hearts 04:36
06. Fighting the Ryche of Mordor 05:53
07. Power Metal Addicts 03:44
08. Armageddon's Day 03:05
09. Lambs to the Slaughter 04:14
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
