Customer Reviews

Demolition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the 1980 debut from Girlschool.

Not quite as superb as the follow up, the magnificent "Hit and Run" which also just got Sanctuary's reissue treatment, but close.

All the same elements there. Punk-inspired/fuled NWOBHM (let's face it, all the NWOBHM bands really reveal their essential rock 'n' roll qualities 25 years later) with a heavy dose of Motorhead.

The songwriting and production would improve on the next release, but all the spirit, fire, drive and rock 'n' roll attitude is present right here.

A must own!

I pray Sanctuary now reissues 1982's "Screaming Blue Murder" with it's original U.K. mix. That would be the final icing on the cake!!!!

Cheers, you lot!

Any NWOBHM fan should be aware of Girlschool. In 1980/81 some of the seminal releases in the blooming heavy metal genre came out, though they were and remain to be underground albums, the music still holds up as the early stage of metal, although by todays standards the more basic hard rock and punk roots really show themselves. Whether or not directly inspired by the first ever female rock band the Runaways, Girlshcool offer a similar dose of bone crunching rock n roll. Incredible hooks, dirty guitars, that raw drum sound, and a stand alone dose of infectious energy. Demolition Boys is probably the ultimate classic here, featured in the NWOBHM '79 Revisted compilation released in 1990 by Lars Ulrich and fellow NWOBHM guru Geoff Barton, the whole album contains plenty of key cuts like Race With The Devil, Take It All Away, Midnight Ride, the fast rocking Deadline, and the hooky hard rock anthem Breakdown.

The remastered edition on Castle from 2004 is the one to get, 9 bomus cuts, featuring a few B-sides, a segment from the BBC Friday Rock Show, and 2 demo's. Also a nice booklet inside with a few photos and liner notes. In other words, its a great package for fans of the band and early 80's hard rock mogules in general. There's just something about the time, or era that makes rock music so much better than todays bland scene and Girlschool capture that perfectally. If you've never heard them before, its basically Motorhead only with chicks, with a hint of AC/DC thrown in. This album is a lost classic and sadly Girlschool remains largely unknown with the average rock fan. If you're into the real stuff, get this and the bands second album Hit & Run.

The Girlschool debut record is a great rock'n'roll record. The band sounds exactly like Motorhead, only they're all female and much easier on the ear. Demolition is relatively light in comparison to their second album Hit and Run in which they to my mind lost some of their charm, with songs sounding heavier and a bit tired. But here every song is like a single, the album is jampacked with hits!

Recorded during April and May of 1980, Girlschool's debut LP "Demolition" was released during the peak of the NWOBHM movement. That particular year would also see a string of classic first sets being issued from the likes of Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang and Angel Witch. And I'm happy to report that these four ladies hold their own quite nicely against their male NWOBHM counterparts of the day.

Opener "Demolition Boys" is a masterpiece and is guaranteed to blow the roof off the place in no time flat. I first heard it on Lars Ulrich's essential "NWOBHM: '79 Revisited" compilation from 1990 and it has remained a favorite ever since. Probably the best song the group ever recorded. While none of the other tracks here rock quite as hard as this one, the whole album has that excitement and energy that was characteristic of all the best early NWOBHM. Then 21-year-old vocalist Kelly Johnson was a born frontwoman, exuding tons of charisma and sex appeal throughout. (In fact, ALL the girls in the band look very cute in the photos on the reverse of the LP, particularly Kelly revealing her shapely and lanky body in her skin tight slacks.) The band's sound seemed to fall somewhere between 1970s AC/DC and Girlschool's pals and Bronze labelmates Motorhead. The only reason I'm rating this album just shy of five stars is that the 1981 follow-up "Hit and Run" proved to be even better.

Girlschool's early LPs are insanely rare to find on CD, as is most old NWOBHM. I had to settle for the Japan mini-LP sleeve CDs that were issued by Universal Japan in 2008, and even those are quite pricey, but the lesser of two evils when you consider what the out of print Castle pressings from 2004 are currently commanding here on Amazon. But get this band's music any way you can. Their early releases come highly recommended to any fans of vintage NWOBHM.