Despite the many modern trends of the last 30 years, it is the traditional forms of heavy metal that keep the engine running and to which fans young and old keep returning. This box set features three albums from the ‘golden eighties’, whilst the LP by OBLIVION proves that, even in the nineties, there was music in the underground scene beyond grunge and crossover. The US metal legends GRIFFIN are the best-known band in this box set. Their two albums on the Steamhammer label (released in the US on Shrapnel) are now regarded as classics, and they still perform sporadically, including at the Keep It True Festival. Included is their second album, ‘Protectors Of The Lair’, as a double LP featuring a new remix as well as the original remastered version. HAMMER’S RULE are among the best underground US metal bands.In Germany, their EP and LP were combined into a single release, meaning it wasn’t possible to purchase the band’s work in its entirety. Golden Core have now resolved this by including an additional 7” single with the LP. This means that ‘Show No Mercy’ and ‘After The Bomb’ are finally available in their entirety – and remastered at that. Hammer’s Rule stand out for their melodic yet heavy and at times epic style, as well as for having one of the best rhythm sections in US metal. SQUADRON from Germany were only recently ‘discovered’ and have since been regarded as one of the best unsigned German metal bands of the 1980s. It is also the first band featuring drummer Klaus Sperling, who went on to make a name for himself with Primal Fear, Sinner and Nitrogods. Squadron recorded two professional-sounding demos, which are now available here for the first time, restored and remastered. Fans and the press are in agreement: had this band released an album on one of the major labels of the time, they would be as well-known today as Running Wild or Helloween. OBLIVION released a CD independently in the nineties – a very difficult time for a creative yet traditional style of heavy metal. ‘Reflections’ gradually became a rarity and a collector’s item, but calls for a vinyl release grew louder. Golden Core have responded by releasing this hidden gem on LP.
