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-THE KILLING SUN-
The name conjures up
images of crushing Metallic fury combined with a sublime classic
musicality. In choosing this moniker, a group of San Francisco rockers
realized the irony of their name and were inspired by it. THey were
excellent musicians and fine writers of tight, concise metal tunes that
somehow got overlooked in the burgeoning and overwhelming Northern
Californian Thrash Blitzkrieg of the early eighties.
Anvil Chorus stood out in the S.F. scene with a line-up of talented
multi-instrumentalists, masterful dueling guitars and swirling keyboards.
Utilizing a vast, and quite divers array of musical influences, their
sound was melodic yet heavy and extremely original for the time. Though
they lasted less than three years, A.C. wrote at least 50 amazing tunes
of hard progressive power with a pop edge.
Why weren't these guys huge?
Well...timing, location, and yes luck.
Why location?
Because Northern California is not the best place to play the record
industry signing game. BAnd toil for decades here and don't get noticed!
Unless you're very lucky (like Metallica), and can get some recognition
despite being way outside the Hollywood / New York musical money axis,
then you're kind a doomed.
Why timing?
Because if it had been just a few years later, The Chorus would have
beena staple of MTV (like Y&T, or Primus) with their interesting,
visionary, galloping monsters like "Man Made Machines" or "Deadly
Weapons". A few years earlier and they might have had radio hits with
such ditties as "After Time" or "Phase to Phase" and others with their
catchy harmonies and heavy rocking sound.
Anvil Chorus could do it all!! THey had the chops and the originality to
be HUGE, but just like a Vegas crapshoot, the odds are against most
bands, even the best, no matter how great they are. Anvil Chorus truly
were an undiscovered gem!
It all began in the late seventies, in the center of San Francisco, near
the heights of Twin Peaks Several McAteer high school students, who had
been lucky enough to be exposed to all types of great music in the
wide-open City scene, discovered and gravitated towards the more complex
and extreme music from around the world. Listening to Rush, Geneis,
Judas Priest, Scorpions, and other foreign groups, provided the
inspiration to write similar heavy music which they could play for their
friends. With disco, new wave.
Journey and Van Halen ruling
the American airwaves true local hard rock fans were looking for
something weightier by 1979!
Soon, a heavily European-influenced sound began to emerge in S.F. bands
like Leviathan, Vyking Cobra, and Delta who would begin playing in
living rooms, at warehouse parties and self promoted concerts. Many of
these band's members were good friends and would often jam together,
which created a whole new metal conglomeration almost overnight!
This gang officially called themselves "The Church of Metal/AnvilChorus"
adn would hang out together at Kurdt Vanderhoof's apartment at 34
Sheridan Street deep in the city's SOMA District, and listen to bands
like Saxon, Trust, Budgie, Praying Mantis and Maiden, as well as
progressive bands such as U.K., Saga and F.M. In 1981 as Leviathan came
to an end, Aaron Zimpel put down his guitar to drum for Kurdt's speedier
original Metal Church. Later, Aaron rejoined Leviathan bassist Bill
Skinner to form Vienna and they jammed with Vyking's Thaen Rasmussen and
Doug Piercy, woh by now had adopted the infamous ANVIL CHORUS tag as
their own in late 1981 after Kurdt Vanderhoof gave up on City life and
moved his Metal Church to the far Northwest...whew! Got that?!?
With the addition of Leviathan drummer Ken Feragen, the Anvil Chorus
classic quintet of Feragent - Skinner - Piercy -Rasmussen - Zimpel was
complete by early 1982.
By summer, the new San Francisco supergroup was opening for the likes of
Motörhead, Mötley Crüe and a host of others bands visiting town. A.C.
recoreded and released their own 45rpm (on Leviathan Records).
"Blondes in Black" / "Once Again," that got attention all over the metal
world! Several official and unofficial demo tapes were released in the
following years that also revived notic in Europe and Japan as the band
continued to play all over the Bay Area. We played them on our KUSF "Rampage
Radio" constantly because they rocked and their varied songs fit into
several styles of metal, from commercial to almost thrash. I put them (somewhere)
in almost every issue of Metal Mania, as they were always gigging and
writing and recording new original music and making local news!
In late 82 Joe Bennett replaced Ken on drums, and Bleu Food's Gere
Fennelie brought her keyboards over to complete the six piece that
became the quintessential Chorus lineup. For the nest to plus years. A.C.
wrote, experimented and gigged incessantly. In 1983 and 1984 they played
with Y&T, Yngwie Malmsteen and many others at all the local clubs coming
very close to signing with several record labels, but things never quite
panned out.....Location, luck and timing cnspire against some of the
best, no?
In 1985 Anvil Chorus called it quits. The six amazing musicians then
went on to such diverse projects as Heathen, Control, Release, Redd
Kross and many other unique outfits over the years. Since then there
have been one-off reunions in 1987 and 2004 to please their friends and
die hard fans.
Fortunately, fifty or so songs have made it, in varying degrees, into
the stereos of real metal fans arouind the world, and that has kept the
Chorus buzz going!!
These ne recordings on this disc are representative fo some of the best
moments of those years when metal was evolving from the dephts of
obscurity to becoming the huge force it was in the eighties. This music
is Awesome! There's the crushing "Red Skies," the rampant power metal of
"The Blade" and the overwhelming guitar blasts of "Blue Flames,"
counterpointed by catchy pop like "European," "Tales" and more
complex progressive music like "Such Is Life."
These guys play it all! Anvil Chorus is Thinking Man's Metal for the
ages!
Ron Quintana
metal Mania Magazine / KUSF Rampage Radio
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