Wolfsbane...is...BACK!!!!

[bueno bob]

Time for some more tales of birds, booze and bad language!!!

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=141712

The reunited U.K. rock band WOLFSBANE, featuring former IRON MAIDEN frontman Blaze Bayley, has commenced work on material for a new studio album. Tentatively due in 2011, the LP will be followed by a tour and select festival appearances.

Formed in 1984 in Tamworth, England, WOLFSBANE signed to Def American Records, and Rick Rubin produced the band's first album, "Live Fast, Die Fast", released in 1989. WOLFSBANE's second release, an EP titled "All Hell's Breaking Loose Down", followed in 1990. The band's second studio album, "Down Fall the Good Guys", was released in 1991, giving WOLFSBANE its only U.K. chart entry, with the single "Ezy" landing at No. 68.

After Def American dropped WOLFSBANE, the band released a live album, "Massive Noise Injection", through the Bronze label in 1993. The group's third studio album, the self-titled "Wolfsbane", followed in 1994.

On September 9, 2007, WOLFSBANE reformed for a one-off short set at the Rock of Ages festival in Tamworth. This was followed by their first U.K. tour in 13 years, with the band playing five dates as support for the THE WILDHEARTS in December 2007. Their next tour came in December 2009 supporting THE QUIREBOYS on their "A Little Bit of What You Fancy 20th Anniversary Tour".

Video footage of WOLFSBANE performing live in December 2009 can be viewed below.

[bueno bob]

All I can say is THANK GOD!!!!! I LOVED LOVED LOVED every second of Wolfsbane's output from 1984 up!!!! The most criminal aspect to them was that they were never bigger than what they were (and definitely should have been...had Rick Rubin done them right from the first album he produced, who knows?).

IMO, their debut album is one of the top 10 debut albums EVER recorded and the sheer energy behind it rivals even that of Van Halen's debut...I don't give a shit who wants to argue with me on that either, I will take you HEAD ON...

Even though their later material got more aggressive, I still remained a big fan...their live shows are things of legend...I REALLY hope an awesome, awesome full length U.S. tour comes out of this!!!!

[Diamondjimi]

The perfect band for Blaze Bailey...

[Seshmeister]

I amazed you two remember them.

I really liked their very early stuff.

Nice blokes as well as I remember.

[Seshmeister]

Wow someone has put up the demo that got them signed back in the day.

I lost my copy years ago - bit of a solo Roth vibe back then.

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[Seshmeister]

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[Seshmeister]

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[Seshmeister]

Fucking bizarre - another band that got totally stiffed.

They get signed by Rick Rubin who somehow manages to produce their stuff far less well than the demo they did themselves.

It was almost like it was deliberate attempt to fuck it up - makes no sense to me.

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[Seshmeister]

Guitarist has had a few sandwiches in the intervening years. :)

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[bueno bob]

Yeah...you know, I don't know why they never hit it in the U.S., but I'd be willing to bet good money that Rick Rubin's (mis)production of their first album and almost non-existant promotion for it hurt them quite a lot. Had they signed to a different label and had some more promotion going their way, and a better production on Live Fast Die Fast, who knows? Jase Edwards was the next guitar god as far as I was concerned back then, their early demos absolutely KILL and Blaze was one of the best, most energetic frontmen since the almighty Roth himself...

Just absolutely criminal that they never found their audience here, especially with how notorious they were in Europe during their heyday...

[Seshmeister]

I saw them a few times back then just before and after they were signed and had a few beers with them too as we had the same promoter.

They were so pissed off with the production when their album came out they couldn't even speak about it.

Blaze was just about the only front man apart from Roth who I have seen have audiences laughing their asses off with chat in between songs but that was never going to work in Maiden which is a serious business.

It would be like Roth joining Sabbath.

Thing is that they came from an unfashionable area of England and there was never a bidding war or anything like that when they got signed.

Their roadie gave their demo to a roadie in a touring US band and somehow it ended up on Rubins desk so they never had much choice and at the time it would have seemed like a no brainer for them to sign.

[binnie]

Outstanding news!

Great band, and one of the greatest live records ever. Saw them a few years ago opening for The Wildhearts and they were exceptional.

Not too sure about that 'Top 10 Record of All Time' tag though Bob :D

[bueno bob]

Outstanding news!

Great band, and one of the greatest live records ever. Saw them a few years ago opening for The Wildhearts and they were exceptional.

Not too sure about that 'Top 10 Record of All Time' tag though Bob :D

Well, with the exception of Rick Rubin's production on it, song-wise, I think it ranks right up there with the debut albums from the likes of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Savatage, Van Halen, Kiss...to this day I've never gotten tired of listening to it. I honestly think, material wise alone, it's one of the stronger debut albums I've ever heard in rock music.

Honestly at times I've considered remastering it myself on my computer just to see what I can do with it, heheh...

[binnie]

I am certainly looking forward to the tour :D

[bueno bob]

I am certainly looking forward to the tour :D

In the event that they don't make it here stateside (grr...), I may enlist you to get me a copy of whatever show you attend, if you have the ability...

[Seshmeister]

I am certainly looking forward to the tour :D

If you see the dates could you post them here so I don't miss it?

Probably be small venues.

[binnie]

No probs Sesh, I'll post 'em when I come across 'em. They will be toilets.......

[ThrillsNSpills]

No probs Sesh, I'll post 'em when I come across 'em. They will be toilets.......

One of the advantages to playing in the toilet is you get great natural reverb.

[SparkieD]

I LOVE Wolfsbane and all of you know how I feel about Blaze (I'm probably his biggest fan in the world), but I am not one bit impressed with this. Not at ALL. This is something that should have been done after Maiden, or perhaps Blaze should have passed on that offer in the first place. I know, what singer wouldn't jump at the offer of that gig? Maybe one who believed in the band he was currently fronting? I love ALL of Blaze's work, but maybe he should have just concentrated more on Wolfsbane. Blaze has put a lot of effort into his solo band. To put them (other working musicians, some who have been through hell just to be in it) on the back burner while he tries to relive his youth is just wrong. History does indeed repeat itself, because didn't the guys in WB get fucked when he joined Maiden?

BTW, I cuntpletely agree with Bob that LFDF is top ten, maybe even five.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Fucking bizarre - another band that got totally stiffed.

They get signed by Rick Rubin who somehow manages to produce their stuff far less well than the demo they did themselves.

It was almost like it was deliberate attempt to fuck it up - makes no sense to me.




That's a shame. Same thing happened to Zebra. Unbelievable band but their records were terrible.
All the energy was sucked out of it.

They should have recorded their concerts and put that out. They failed at Atlantic despite being a major draw live.

[chefcraig]

Fucking bizarre - another band that got totally stiffed.

They get signed by Rick Rubin who somehow manages to produce their stuff far less well than the demo they did themselves.

It was almost like it was deliberate attempt to fuck it up - makes no sense to me.

That is astoundingly baffling. I just don't get Rubin's fascination with horribly recorded seventies stuff. It's like listening to a awful Savoy Brown album: the guitars are mush, the vocals questionable sounding, the drums might as well be made of cardboard and was the bassist even invited to the session?


That's a shame. Same thing happened to Zebra. Unbelievable band but their records were terrible.
All the energy was sucked out of it.

They should have recorded their concerts and put that out. They failed at Atlantic despite being a major draw live.

Great call on Zebra. On the weekends in the early eighties, there was a late night show that featured hard rock acts. The name escapes me, but it featured Zebra and Quiet Riot in one episode. Zebra sounded amazing, and performed a cover of the old Larry Williams tune "Slow Down" as Zeppelin would have played it. I immediately went out and bought the album, and was stunned by how crummy it sounded. Even their live album (which featured Zep's "The Ocean") wasn't much better.

[bueno bob]

That's a shame. Same thing happened to Zebra. Unbelievable band but their records were terrible.
All the energy was sucked out of it.

They should have recorded their concerts and put that out. They failed at Atlantic despite being a major draw live.

Well, at least they got Savatage signed to Atlantic...

:)

[bueno bob]

I LOVE Wolfsbane and all of you know how I feel about Blaze (I'm probably his biggest fan in the world), but I am not one bit impressed with this. Not at ALL. This is something that should have been done after Maiden, or perhaps Blaze should have passed on that offer in the first place. I know, what singer wouldn't jump at the offer of that gig? Maybe one who believed in the band he was currently fronting? I love ALL of Blaze's work, but maybe he should have just concentrated more on Wolfsbane. Blaze has put a lot of effort into his solo band. To put them (other working musicians, some who have been through hell just to be in it) on the back burner while he tries to relive his youth is just wrong. History does indeed repeat itself, because didn't the guys in WB get fucked when he joined Maiden?

BTW, I cuntpletely agree with Bob that LFDF is top ten, maybe even five.

You know, put in that context...I can agree. I thought you'd be over the moon with the news, but when the rest of the guys Blaze works with are having to wait it out, that does kinda suck and those solo albums...they're just phenomenal and they're such great musicians.

Don't they have any other gigs they can work?

[Seshmeister]

I LOVE Wolfsbane and all of you know how I feel about Blaze (I'm probably his biggest fan in the world), but I am not one bit impressed with this. Not at ALL. This is something that should have been done after Maiden, or perhaps Blaze should have passed on that offer in the first place. I know, what singer wouldn't jump at the offer of that gig? Maybe one who believed in the band he was currently fronting? I love ALL of Blaze's work, but maybe he should have just concentrated more on Wolfsbane. Blaze has put a lot of effort into his solo band. To put them (other working musicians, some who have been through hell just to be in it) on the back burner while he tries to relive his youth is just wrong. History does indeed repeat itself, because didn't the guys in WB get fucked when he joined Maiden?

BTW, I cuntpletely agree with Bob that LFDF is top ten, maybe even five.

He's probably at the wrong end of 40 and his solo band were basically playing pubs. I read a rumor that he was working in Halfords (a car parts store).

If he thinks he can play clubs with Wolfsbane rather than bars with he's bound to go for it.

To be honest I wasn't too impressed with the solo band anyway, too metal for me.

[SparkieD]

Honestly, I don't hold much faith that there will even BE a Blaze Bayley Band this time next year. He has a revolving door of managers and musicians while he claims that it's always a band effort. The man can't make a decent business decision to save his own ass. I don't know if the other guys can find something else to do. Perhaps Dave and Nico can resurrect Under Threat. Larry (the drummer) has already split as has Anna, the best manager he ever had. Funniest thing about that is Blaze should have begged them to stay as those two did so much more behind the scenes than anyone in the band, and that includes Blaze himself.

As for the Halford's rumor, it is 100% true. He lost that gig several years ago after attacking an asshole of a patron. He ended up leaving in handcuffs, though he was never put into a cell.

[binnie]

Oh man, that is a sad story.

I have quite a lot of time for Blaze's solo career, but I fully respect the Woldsbane reunion - they should have been huge, a British metal institution. Maybe this time round wil go some way to repairing the damage....