Grim Reaper - "Walking in the Shadows"
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The average life cycle of a NWOBHM band involves a brief period of brilliance in the early 80s, followed thereafter by tumultuous lineup changes coinciding with record label conflicts. Hopefully things end with a string of independently released albums of pretty good quality which almost never enjoy decent distribution. Let us call this the “Praying Mantis” trajectory (side note: I didn’t know Clive Burr was in Praying Mantis for a minute).
An alternate path is forming, bolstered by the internet. Usually it involves a long period of isolation and a from-out-of-nowhere comeback. Let’s call this the “Satan” trajectory. Grim Reaper are on the Satan trajectory.
If you don’t know Grim Reaper, the back of the novel reads:
Grim Reaper were a short-lived but well received British heavy metal band from the 80s whose last album Rock You To Hell ought to have been a big hit. The title cut is a monster. Unfortunately legal battles delayed release of the record from 1985 to 1987, and by that point thrash was in and Grim Reaper sounded dated. The band broke up not long after and lead singer Steve Grimmett went on to sing in Onslaught and Lionsblood.
Well, Grimmett is back with a new version of Grim Reaper, and while the band features no other original members they have been playing the classic material live for about as long as the original lineup existed. Also, the group’s current drummer Paul White was in Blitzkreig – yes that Blitzkrieg – whose singer, Brian Ross, was also in Satan and thus the loop is closed and all is well.
Oh wait. The new record! Is it any good? Yes, it is, but only the title track is currently streaming, so for now just take my word for it. Oh, you want to hear the song? Lucky you. Here it is. Dig those layered harmonies on the chorus.
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