Ege Özgün (PHYS/PhD)
ozgun@fen.bilkent.edu.tr
Steve Ramsey and Graeme English are two extremely talented musicians, and they are highly underrated. They started their musical journey in the late 70s and are still pursuing their careers. Among the genres they have been involved in are NWOBHM, thrash metal and folk metal. Their bands are credited as having been among the first in both the NWOBHM and folk metal movements, and moreover their proto-thrash/speed metal playing style has influenced many bands in the genre. Let’s travel back to 1979 and witness their stunning voyage from the beginning.
In that year, Ramsey and English started their careers with Satan. Satan was (and is) an NWOBHM band, and their ’83 debut “Court in the Act” (CitA) was a brilliant demonstration of the genre as well as some proto-thrash/speed metal riffing. Ramsey played the guitar and English the bass for that album (and for all the other albums that I am going to talk about). Brian Ross was the vocalist for CitA, and he did an exceptional job. He has quite a wide range, can easily hit the high notes and has a clean and powerful voice.
After CitA, Satan changed their name to Blind Fury (actually, Blind Fury was formed by Angel Witch members; one of them, Lou Taylor, replaced Brian Ross of Satan for the vocals, and then when Satan changed their name, they used the name Blind Fury) and released “Out of Reach (OoR)” in 1985. OoR is a straightforward NWOBHM album, and it is on a par with the top albums of the genre, such as “Killers” by Iron Maiden and Angel Witch’s self-titled debut.
They subsequently switched their name back to Satan and released “Suspended Sentence” in 1987, with Michael Jackson (not, of course, to be confused with the King of Pop) on vocals. Then the same lineup changed their name to Pariah and started to make decent thrash metal. In 1988 they released an album called “The Kindred” (TK). This, rather than Pariah, was supposed to be the band’s name, but they stuck with Pariah instead, and Kindred became the name of their first release under that name. TK is a fun-to-listen-to thrash metal album. Then came my favorite release from Ramsey and English, “Blaze of Obscurity.” It carries the band’s NWOBHM roots but also has a significant techno-thrash sound.
This band then dissolved, and Ramsey and English next formed Skyclad. With former Sabbat vocalist, the legendary Martin Walkyier, they released their debut, “The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth,” which is a blend of thrash metal and folk metal.
At this point I will stop going year by year, and briefly summarize what has happened since then. Skyclad and Satan are still active bands. Satan released another record two years ago, and Skyclad has 12 full-length releases. In 1997 Pariah released “Unity,” which I believe was recorded in the early 90s.
Ramsey and English have swept through many genres, some of which they pioneered. They are still active in both Satan and Skyclad. You can choose which of their bands to listen to based on your own taste, but I suggest checking out all of them. Stay connected to music.
Some song suggestions:
-Satan: Trial by Fire, Blades of Steel
-Blind Fury: Do it Loud, Back Inside
-Pariah: Puppet Regime, Unity
-Skyclad: Sky Beneath My Feet, Emerald