Live Fast, Die Fast

Wolfsbane, ??????? | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 14, 1989)
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000008MEX
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,172 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Man Hunt

2. Shakin'

3. Killing Machine

4. Fell Out Of Heaven

5. Money To Burn

6. Greasy

7. I Like It Hot

8. All Or Nothing

9. Tears From A Fool

10. Pretty Baby

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Warmed over NWOBHM, July 12, 2008

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live Fast, Die Fast (Audio CD)

1989's Live Fast, Die Fast was the debut album from British hard rock act Wolfsbane, which is perhaps best known for featuring vocalist Blaze Bayley before his (mercifully) brief stint with the legendary Iron Maiden.

Live Fast, Die Fast is essentially a New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) album that came about 8 years too late. It wasn't metal by 1989's standards, and aside from some very "metal" solos didn't seem relevant to the types of metal that were popular at the time. The basic, fast paced dirty hard rock of Live Fast, Die Fast sounds more like a leftover album by Dragster or Trespass. I keep trying to hear what might have made Bayley such an appealing choice to replace Bruce Dickinson, but nothing here is convincing me.

Wolfsbane's debut is a completely decent, completely forgettable late 80's hard rock album. Unless you're a major Blaze fan or are compiling some kind of Maiden tie-in collection, I can't give this album a very strong recommendation.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great debut, August 12, 2010

By 

Deimos "." (Alberta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live Fast, Die Fast (Audio CD)

Awesome debut album from an amazing band with a tremendous singer Blaze Bayley. Here even in his early years his voice is killer. Great album, awesome metal songs.

4.0 out of 5 stars Late to the party, kept it going, June 1, 2009

By 

R. F. Smit (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live Fast, Die Fast (Audio CD)

Wolfsbane came late to the Heavy Metal party, but injected a(n) (un)healthy dose of much needed energy into a flagging genre.

Blaze Bailey's voice coupled with Jase Edwards's guitar made a great partnership; especially considering Edwards seldom recorded a separate "rhythm" track - his solos are backed by the hard-hitting rhythm section of Jeff Hateley (bass) and Steve "Danger" Ellett (drums). It was a refreshingly underproduced record in a time of overproduction and shoegazing to see where Metal went wrong. It was the same approach going on over in Seattle, but instead of creating a new subgenre of sub-par rock/pop, these guys took Metal, shook out its pockets, and picked out the best bits.

Subtitled "Wicked Tales of Birds, Booze, and Bad Language", the album spans ten tracks. Plenty of birds, evidence of booze, but strangely no bad language. Stand-out tracks are Man Hunt, Shakin', Killing Machine, Fell out of Heaven, Money to Burn, and All or Nothing. The other four tracks aren't crap -- they're just in need of editing. What's makes this album perfect is that Side A segues all the way from start to finish, yet they stand alone.

Shades of early (80s) Ozzy, a bit of Priest, definitely British though, with no Americanized overtones of grandeur: these are the little guys standing up for themselves and the music they love instead of trashing it. They rose from the gutter, and unfortunately, fell right back there a few years after.

Addendum: It's pretty plain what caused Steve Harris to pick Bailey to replace Bruce Dickinson. He had energy, was hard working, and had a distinctive voice. He was the life of the party at the live show. There's also an element of his image. What puzzles me is why his work in Iron Maiden was so listless and dull. It seems he was sapped of all creativity with Steve Harris at the helm. Oh well, that story ended well enough...