Author: kostas_gallery

Dragonsclaw was conceptualised in 2007 by guitarist, Ben Thomas and inspired by the epic compositions and raw technicality of bands such as Symphony X, Adagio and Kamelot. Dragonsclaw remained an idea until Thomas could find a line up of like-minded metal virtuosos to bring his compositions to life. During this time Ben built up a local reputation as an up and coming six-string shredder, playing guitar with Sydney thrash metal band, Paindivision. Thomas was also featured as a guest guitar soloist on the Empires of Eden album’s, “Reborn In Fire” and “Songs Of War And Vengeance”.

New Zealand born vocalist, Giles Lavery, joined Dragonsclaw in 2010. He brings to Dragonsclaw an immense vocal range and a fine ear for catchy choruses and vocal melodies. Giles’ influences run deep in the ether of metal & hard rock music, from Iron Maiden, Judas Priest , Manowar and King Diamond to A.O.R groups such as Survivor, Journey and Foreigner. Lavery fronted NZ metal group, Bloodwych, through the late 90’s and has most recently been singing with the Australian Ronnie James Dio Tribute Show.

Giles’ faithful renditions of Dio classics lead to him being invited to sing on several local and international projects. Lavery has recently recorded with New Zealand metal band, Beltane, on their album, “Auld Toby” and with the Australian traditional metal band, Doomed Beast, which has drawn acclaim from legendary Darkthrone drummer, Fenriz.

Keyboardist, Ray Martens, has a long history in Australian rock and heavy metal having played in bands such as Paindivision, Shock Therapy, Scoundrel and Mr Scary. A reformed Mr Scary supported Danger Danger frontman, Ted Poley on his 2010 Australian Tour. Martens has most recently been playing alongside Giles in the Australian Ronnie James Dio Tribute Show to packed venues and audience acclaim.

The band is rounded out by Ben’s brother, Aaron Bryn Thomas, on bass and orchestration. Aaron recently graduated from the Australian Institute of Music, and runs Llewellyn studios where Dragonsclaw’s debut album “PROPHECY” was tracked.

After Blackkout’s Ignorance of Man release Blackkout members changed reaching a peak in 1990 with the line up of Jerry Outlaw on guitar, Lee Gibson on drums, Darren McFarland on bass, and myself. We reached a high point in the summer of 1990 winning the Best Metal Band award at the Tampa Bay Music Awards. But by the end of the summer things had disintegrated through a series of unfortunate events. Including bad advice from management and my life spiraling out of control. The fact that we just couldn’t seem to get signed or afford to continue recording led to the eventual break up of the band.
Several months later I would ask Darren to join me on a new project, The Last Things. With Lou Buffo on Drums we started a new journey recording the first 6 songs professionally. Soon after the recording sessions Darren left and joined Atheist. Lou and I moved forward asking Jeff Cinotti to replace Darren on bass. Jeff recorded the remaining songs for us on Circles and Butterflies and performed with us at the Southeastern Music Conference, and at the St. Petersburg Science Center. We added guitarist George Harris. He would perform with us at the SMC. Guitarist Matt LaPorte would replace him when a schedule conflict would no longer allow George to perform with us. Matt performed with us at the St. Petersburg Science Center, and at the Ritz Theater at the Tampa Bay Metal Awards. Darren would return for that show also. It should also be mentioned that keyboardist Jeremy Wilkins from the band Rosewater Elizabeth performed with us at all 3 live gigs.
Another thing that should be mentioned here is that while Jerry Outlaw didn’t record on this project, I am sure that his influence was still affecting us. And his presence if not his writing was definitely with us, especially on the song “The Circle of Willis”.
The Last Things recorded in June of 1991 at Platinum Post Studio in Orlando, Fl. Returning to Platinum Post in December of that same year I mixed the first 6 songs on Circles and Butterflies with Bruce Marshall. Shortly after those sessions while still under the management of Tom Marzullo, things began to stand still. Communications all but stopped as Lou and I continued writing and working on pre production for the remaining songs. Waiting to hear word on new recording sessions it seemed as if the project was falling apart. With Darren leaving to work with Atheist I was forced to take things into my own hands securing several student sessions at Full Sail Studios.
Lou and I tracked the remaining songs together, adding friend Jeff Cinotti on bass. Producer Bruce Marshall had all but abandoned the project by this time. Tom Marzullo became ineffective as a manager and I realized how destructive his advice had been at times in Blackkout as well as TLT. For all the good he had done, the bad had begun to far outweigh the positive. My relationship with Tom Marzullo ended at this point. I learned the hard lesson that just because someone has gold and platinum records on their wall doesn’t mean they can help your music career.
Finishing the project became very difficult and we were forced to use student session demo versions of the remaining songs, as we couldn’t afford to mix them professionally. In hindsight we should have called them bonus tracks. We decided to put the CD out on our own anyway, hoping the last 5 tracks would hold their own as songs. We were hoping the listener would forgive the mix and enjoy the songs anyway.
Cutting a CD was quite different in 1993. The DAT Master was transferred to a PMCD and 1000 CD’s were burned from that. Our friend Chuck Majewski did the artwork. With the help of friends and family we learned how to get our CD booklets and J card printed and cut. We ordered our jewel cases through our friends at a local record store. I then put together 1000 CD’s by hand. We took them to all the local record stores in the Tampa bay area. We went on the radio with Austin Keys from 98Rock. On July 4th the first 6 songs were played over the airwaves by 98Rock during the Fireworks celebration. Several CD’s were sent to Bernd Siegle and Jürgen Tshamler of Thunderbolt magazine. They sent them out to many other magazines and contacts. Kirsten Vammen Larsen of Metalized Magazine out of Denmark contacted Bernd. He passed the contact information on to me and we began to talk business. At first Metalized bought the remaining CD’s I had left. I think it was around 700 CD’s. Nordic Metal offered a deal that would cover our manufacturing cost. I don’t remember how many CD’s Nordic pressed. I do know that our original pressing had dark purple silk screened on the CD with a black and white cover and Nordic Metal’s were done with green silk screening and color airbrushed over our art. I believe Nordic Metal was affiliated with Metalized magazine. At one point we talked with Rising Sun records but nothing ever came through. Nordic Metal may have done a deal with them but I’m not sure. The promotion for the CD was very limited. It just never received the distribution or advertising needed to get off the ground.
Once again lack of funds would limit our recording until I became the audio engineer for American Music Works, a studio located in St. Petersburg Florida. It would be at this studio in 1994 where Lou, Darren, and I would record together for the last time. I would ask several friends to sit in on these recordings, including, Triad from Blackkout, Chris Brown (the original drummer for Blackkout), my good friend Mark Shelton, and Melissa Rae Mileski from Rosewater Elizabeth lending her beautiful voice on Bloom, another song written for my daughter Morgan Jade.
Once again I allowed my life to interfere with the band and that chapter ended.
Over the years I have recorded and written many songs. The Last Things and Blackkout are an important part of my life and I hope to have the new Last Things recordings available soon so keep an ear out for a new release.
The Spirit Lives!
Thank You,
Richard W. Elliott IV

The history of Cyperus (as told by Randy) All start at the early of 80’s… where do I begin… Drummer Jimmy Rositer introduced me to Jason when I was 15. Jason was down in his basement playing his guitar along to KISW…FM 100 “Seattle’s Best Rock”… which he spent most of every day doing. Jason was the best guitarist I had ever seen. A short time later I tagged along to a jam session out at Evergreen Shores. Standing behind the drums and listening to an AC/DC jam I asked what was missing. They said “The Bass line”… I went out and got a bass. Our friend Waylon ran into Scotty at Capital Mall… Said hi to him because he had drumsticks in his back pocket. He told us to check out this drummer who could play “YYZ” perfectly! I didn’t have my driver’s license yet but managed to take my mom’s car with our amps over to Scotty’s. It was all smiles… We bonded instantly and soon began writing our own songs. Next we had to decide on a name. Jason & I were watching a PBS show on how guitars were made and they were using cypress wood. We liked the way it sounded but decided to spell it our own way (where we high?). We almost picked “Mercenary” but decided on Cyperus because we wanted a name that wouldn’t limit our genre (as we planned to be in this band forever). Bruce basically hunted us down and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He walked into practice and nailed “Victim of Changes”… The job was his. I think our first show was the Tumwater High School talent show. The Tropicana in downtown Olympia was our stomping ground. We played The Astor Park in Seattle as well as The Gorilla Gardens and many others. Capital Lakefair vowed never to have rock bands again after we packed the fairgrounds with screaming metalheads. Bruce wanted to tour but we voted him down (damn us). Jason & I also played in the high school jazz band with drummer Barrett Martin (who went on to bigger and better things including Skin Yard, The Screaming Trees, Mad Season, and REM.…). Queensryche was the hottest thing… so following in their footsteps we went to Triad Studios and made a 5-song demo recording we released as “CYPERUS” on New Year’s Eve 1987 at the Temple Theater in Tacoma opening for Diamond Lie (Jerry Cantrell’s band before Alice in Chains). Local fanzine editor Brad Brink sent out 10 cassettes to fanzines in Europe and it was received extremely well. We received massive fan mail and several favourable reviews including one in Rock Hard Magazine of Germany. After several great shows and parties we went back to Triad and recorded full-length album in 1988 that was never released (except for a few cassette tapes produced in 1991 titled Blow It Out Your Ass). Things were really starting to roll. The recording was completed and we had played with (or would play with) several great bands… Metal Church, Heathen, Defiance, The Accused, Celtic Frost, Nuclear Assault, Death Squad, Fitz of Depression, The Melvins, Forced Entry, Nevermore, Bitter End, Alice in Chains, My Sister’s Machine, Neil Zaza, Chemikill (Wargasm), Blind (Godhead) and several more that I just can’t remember. We had just received our first (and only) recording contract. Our attorney told us we would get screwed… eight years seamed like a long time when we were 20… so we blew it off (oops!). We made a new 5-song demo produced by Kurt Vanderhoof in 1990 that was never released (Bruce’s last recording). Shortly after that Bruce got arrested (again) and sentenced to a year in jail. We had also learned that Scotty was HIV positive. He had received a contaminated blood transfusion in California while having knee surgery (this was before anyone had ever even heard of AIDS). Scotty now felt a sense of urgency and did not want to wait for Bruce to clear his legal problems so… Bruce was out. Sonny Harper’s band had recently disbanded so we gave him a shot at vocals. He had a “Bruce Dickinson” quality to his voice. We set up some shows and a Canadian Tour with Forced Entry. Sonny quit the day of our first Seattle show. Instead of cancelling the show I sang. We did the tour as a three piece. I had a “Lemmy” quality to my voice but never felt confident that I had the bands approval. “Dive ta Dat” -featuring me on vocals- 4-song demo recorded in 1991 and never released (except for a few copies sold at Canadian Tour with Forced Entry). We decided to give Sonny another shot (bad idea? I think so). Things went extremely well at first. In 1992 we recorded “Sanity Management” a full-length album with all new material more reflective of the driving metal band that we wanted to be. With several regional tours under our belt we had established a circuit throughout the Northwest: Canada, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Oregon, and of course Washington. We hit the studio again in 1994. This time we created the 5-song demo “STRESS” and we departed on a national tour. A show in Lubbock Texas with Nuclear Assault was the keystone. Unfortunately Scotty had health issues and had to leave the tour in the first week. We were joined by drummer Brett Schreiber and then later by drummer Eric Carlson who finished the tour with us. Again… Sonny quit the band… this time he left us in Dallas Texas (during a show) without telling us. We started playing and wondered why no vox. I looked at Waylon (crew) and he just shrugged. I thought maybe Sonny was having mic problems… it was more than just mic problems! So I sang. Within a few days Pat Aga graduated from road crew to singer and we finished the tour. We went on thru Oklahoma, Indiana, all the way to the East Coast and back. (Someday I may write the “Bus Chronicles”… Hi Booger Man… wherever you are!) Once back home we were faced with the harsh realization that Scotty could not continue, and that, as Led Zeppelin said when Bonham died, “we could not continue as we were.”

R.I.P. Scott Gerard Munger 04/14/1996

Deep in the bowels of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the early 1990’s gave birth to a group of dreamers. Inside the brick and cement walls of an old dilapidated building, an aspiring drummer answered the call of Hal Dolliver, Chris Brush, and Gary Goldsmith, a threesome of unique musical axmen who deemed themselves Mercury Rising. Grounded in the footsteps and the influence of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Queensryche, they aspired to create a new sound – not to satisfy the masses, but to do justice to the music, and satisfy their own craving for something just a little more mature; a “thinking man’s metal”, if you will. In the years to come they would discover such bands as Fates Warning and Dream Theater, and pursue their desire to create more complex music accordingly. Beforehand, and in the wake of discovering this new “progressive metal”, Mercury Rising recorded their first 2 songs, “Slowly Killing Me” and “Under A Big Sky” in Falling Sound Studios – the basement of a budding, now well recognized engineer named Drew Mazurek. The 2 song demo featured their original singer Joe Nichols. After acquiring vocalist Clarence Osborne, the band continued writing and soon released a 5 song demo recorded in Oz Studios, again with the irreplaceable talent of Drew Mazurek, simply titled “Mercury Rising”. The help of producer Brad Divens, best known for his membership in the band Wrathchild America, gave the release an additional boost. This 5 song demonstration of a raw, uninhibited love for power metal was soon overshadowed by the release of their first full length CD “Upon Deaf Ears”, but the pure desire and determination of that first demo release was, and always will, remain the anchor of all that was yet to come. With that said, all thanks go out to Kostas Athanasoglou from Arkeyn Steel Records for reviving this release and offering it to those who care to listen. God bless you all.
Jeff Moos, 2010

Darren Godfrey (drums) and Noah King (guitar) met through a mutual friend in 1988, but another year would pass before they came together to make music. They immediately saw in each other the uncompromising partner that both had been searching for. They slowly began to forge the principles and direction of a new band as yet unrealized.    The first talented soul to join this vision (once again recommended by a mutual friend) was Doug St. John. As soon as he began to sing Darren and Noah exchanged excited glances, knowing that they had found the voice to front their fledgling project. And what a voice, strong and true, clear and passionate, a man who could sing far beyond his years. It was a good day.    The Bass player for this particular project? Not so easy….. after trying out many, many bass players they still had no one. It was then that they turned to a young guitar student of Noah’s.     John Freeman had only been playing for a few years, and had only recently decided to switch to bass. What he lacked in ability, he made up for with sheer will, and dedication. It was only a matter of months before he was a complete “monster” on the bass. And his approach and contributions became an enormous part of the “Moriah Sound”.    Thus solidified, the rest is history……    Moriah released their self titled demo in 1990. It was recorded and produced by the members themselves in their practice space.    In 1991 they released “Speak”. This MCD somehow found it’s way around the globe. And is probably why you’re reading this today.    1993 brought the release of “Moriah Live” a stellar showcase of the band at the height of it’s powers.    And in 1994, Moriah recorded the unreleased and untitled “last demo” just before disbanding.

…Frustrated with the disillusioned corporate bullshit, KRAKEN in early 1982 decided to record their first LP With $5,000.00 from a government grant and another $5,000.00 from Phase One recording studios. Kraken also had another alley to make this LP a reality. It was Lips of Anvil himself. It was a big boost for Kraken. Kraken is doing an Album with Lips. They had toured together for close to a year and really enjoyed the Anvil experience. Lips understood and believed in the KRAKEN dream and it was great having him as their producer, mentor. There was a great vibe and spirit that Lips captured on the two-inch with the help of Joe Premeau. It felt as though the Gods were granting up new life.         We were all pleased with the project. It took us three weeks to record and get a rough mix. We would love to get a hold of the original masters but they were destroyed many years later. Fortunately, Spike had an original tape that was never played and was kept in a very safe place. Transferred to a CD, the quality still sounds great.        From 1984 to 1986 Kraken kept rocking and recording new material. It felt like the KRAKEN was cursed. We had great energy from fans in Europe, North America and even Japan but it failed to be recognized by the record companies. Frustrated Kraken decides to go their separate ways for a while till a fan in Europe took it upon himself to make a limited edition coloured Vinyl Album of the Kraken. It started to appear in Magazines, Metal Festivals and websites. Band members were hearing from hard-core metal fans worldwide via letters and now e-mails. The boys could not believe that a demo tape has created such a buzz on KRAKEN.        Then in 2006, one day Robbo said, “Kleave why don’t you call Spike?” We talked about the old days and how cool it would be if Kraken were put together again. Rome had other commitments and could not participate. Karm & Spike were excited and called Remy Cincinatto, a powerful drummer and pal to join in. Karm also at the time was working with Scott X, a great singer and friend and also asked him to join. The KRAKEN was ready to take flight and record again.       From 2006 to 2009, Kraken have been active in searching for a record company to release/distribute all 3 Kraken CD’s: Kraken Bootleg, Kraken Underground & Kraken I. Kraken has finished recording Kraken II at Powerlines Studio. Mixed, mastered and overdubbed at K.H.O.S. studios. KRAKEN is presently writing, recording new material and doing selective local shows. It’s been 30 years since their un-released debut album and with Kraken III scheduled to record in 2010 THE KRAKEN will be active for years to come…         After so many years Kraken come again for all their fans with a rare release! Arkeyn Steel Records found them and made them a really interesting proposal. They thrilled with the idea, so now you can meet them again inside two different CDs in the limited edition of 1000 copies. The first one contains the 1981’s recording, five live songs of 1981-83 and for bonus the 1980’s demo! In the second one all their metalheads can listen to the record that Kraken did with Lips in 1983. Both of the CDs are digital re-master, with lyrics, bio and many unreleased pics all in 12-pages full color booklets!
Fly Dragon Fly Spike Audia, Karm Kleaver Nov 15, 2009

After so many years Kraken come again for all their fans with a rare release! Arkeyn Steel Records found them and made them a really interesting proposal. They thrilled with the idea, so now you can meet them again inside two different CDs in the limited edition of 1000 copies. The first one contains the 1981’s recording, five live songs of 1981-83 and for bonus the 1980’s demo! In the second one all their metalheads can listen to the record that Kraken did with Lips in 1983. Both of the CDs are digital re-master, with lyrics, bio and many unreleased pics all in 12-pages full color booklets!        In 1975 five years prior to Kraken, the spark began when Karm was inspired after seeing Michael Schenker with UFO. Karm & Rome were neighborhood friends who had a common inspiration & goal to play and write heavy rock music.       Once upon a long time ago as one morning Karm was walking to school discovered an electric guitar (Harmony Stratotone) tossed in the trash in front of a house ready for the disposal truck pickup. Karm excited as seeing it, grabbed it and went straight to Rome’s house. Karm figured out how to wire it into the family record player and used that as an amplifier. Rome had borrowed a set of drums from a friend, and they started to jam without realizing that they both just skipped a whole day of school. They were practicing every day after school and sometimes during school. Rocking, playing copy tunes, writing songs. As their creativity began to sprout, they found themselves looking for other musicians to enjoy their passion and vision.       On the other side of town Spike at 13 was already gigging. Playing and promoting his own band for weekend dances and social events. He played with various local musicians in various bands in many styles. In 1975/76, Spike was studying classical bass via correspondence with the University of Miami Music. Later that year he went on the road with a band called TRUTH for a year and half before his calling with Karm & Rome.       In the spring of 1980 in Toronto, Canada, he and Karm Kleaver, Rome Steeler, & Spike Audia formed Kraken. The band practiced day and night, becoming tighter with each practice. Karm and Rome did most of the singing it those days. One day they heard Spike singing “Tush”, a ZZ Top tune. It was mind blowing, so the rest is history. Throughout early 80’s Kraken was one of a handful of original metal bands touring Ontario & Quebec. Rocking out in Bars, Theatres, Arenas, Festivals, M.C. Private Club Parties. At the beginning due were paid. Long frozen white knuckle driving in the Canadian frozen north were common. Rocking out for hard rock miners they were doing 4 sets a night for 7 days a week. When there was no work they wrote and practiced. That’s all Kraken did, practiced & played shows every day honing their respective talents for a solid 6 years. A Kraken’s performance was a must to see. They had power & conviction in lives or on discs. The band was becoming a name in the metal underground and was doing well. Fans & fancies everywhere were letting Kraken know that they rocked their world.       Kraken felt that it was time, to record their first demo tape at Music Media an eight-track studio. The cost and Spike’s 73 Sunburst Les Paul, 6×10″ VT amp and Karm’s burgundy Gibson SG made them be short on cash. When Spike got back from Italy three trax were recorded, The Kraken, Kill The King, & Executioner. They sent the demo around to the record suites, but alas no bites! In 1981 Kraken snuck into Phase One recording studio with the help of Anvil & Chris Tsangarides and recorded the infamous live off the floor tape. It was to be used as Kraken’s Profile Package for record companies. Kraken almost sealed a deal with Warner, but a week later Warner decided “not to go in that direction”. Frustrated with the disillusioned corporate bullshit….to be continued.
Fly Dragon Fly Spike Audia, Karm Kleaver Nov 15, 2009

Blackkout started at St. Petersburg, Florida in 1984 and with the first line-up (Richard W. Elliott IV: Vocals, Lead and Rhythm Guitar, Gale P. Morse: Rhythm Guitar, Triad: Bass, Jeff Patton: Drums) released a 7” vinyl EP with the songs Black & Blue/Fallout. This came out in 1000 copies without cover and today someone can find it in a very high price!

After some changes in the line-up there are three members (Richard Elliott IV: Vocals, guitar, flute, bagpipes, Jeffery Klaus: Drums, Triad: Bass) who enter in Graveyard Studio, St. Petersburg, Florida from October 1988 till February 1989 to record the amazing and for that time pioneer “Ignorance Of Man” with 17 songs of 70’mins duration. Their “in your face” strong power style, together with their technique and the addition of the violin and flute made them be one of the most odd and promising bands in many mags of that era. They were also nominated as the “Best Metal Band” (beating Savatage and Iced Earth) at 1990 Tampa Bay Music Awards. That album was pressed only in tape and in 1000 copies, so today is considered to be precious for many collectors want lists as it is very rare!

After the “Ignorance Of Man” release they change once again the line-up (Richard Elliott IV: Vocals, guitar, flute, bagpipes, Jerry Outlaw: Vocals, lead guitar, Darren McFarland: Bass, Lee Gibson: Drums) and in 1990 the band records another 3-songs demo that unfortunately never saw the light. Although the split-up came, the leader Richard Elliot IV together with Blackkout bass Darren McFarland formed the also pioneer band The Last Things that in1993 released the real good “Circles and Butterflies”.
Kostas Athanasoglou

In March of 1991, Nick Proscia, former member of Prophecy (dream28) was looking to get into a serious project. A friend and also former member of Prophecy (dream28) Dave Thomas, was jamming with a drummer, Dean Volaro. Nick got a call to jam with them. Dave, Dean and Nick were soon joined by guitarist Chris Rifkin. Nick had a ton of music as so did Chris. Within two sessions together, the band began collaborating in their styles. A month into their creation, Nick got in touch with an old friend to record a 4 song demo. Need of a singer, the search was easy and ironic. Jeff Kimpland had moved to Long Island to peruse his singing career. Jeff jammed with a friend of Nicks, Will Angeloro. Will mentioned to Jeff about Nick and that he and the project he is in were looking for a serious singer. The meeting between Jeff and Nick happened and both had the same musical interests. Jeff came down to the studio and recorded vocals for Hands across the void, Circles, Fading away, and Piracy.
The next step was to set up local gigs and they also needed a name. One of the recorded jams session got into the hands of Chris Rifkin’s friends. He sent to MCA records with a title that said SAHARAH Music. MCA responded and said they wanted a real recording with a singer and had some interest. So hence the name SAHARRA was born and by that time we had found our frontman Jeff Kimpland. Just before their first show and finished recording, Dave Thomas left the project to peruse other interests. Nicks good friend Dan Weiner was a bass player and quickly filled the slot. The band began playing the local clubs. At this point, Dean Volaro left the project which halted playing out for a bit. Saharra began drummer auditions. The first audition, Jeff Stelmok, and the last. Jeff fit the slot without question. Within a few weeks, Saharra was back playing out and began working on their next recording, Times Forgotten Sands. Dan Weiner left the band. Mike Pusculli played bass on the recording. During this recording, tensions were high. Chris Rifkin left the project to follow other musical interests and a solo career. Eric Zimmerman stepped in to replace Chris but only stayed with Saharra through the recording of Times Forgotten Sands. The agonizing search for a guitarist and bass player began. Eddy Kernz a local bass player came and auditioned and became part of Saharra. After about 28 guitar player auditions, Dennis Fermin stepped into light. Dennis was our missing link. The final line up was complete. Saharra began its journey. Playing all over the New York circuit and began writing new material for their next recording….”The Final Voyage”.
Jeff Kimpland -Saharra-

This is the “One Small Voice” album with the added bonus of “Two Hearts” (featured only on the original Japanese issue), “The Haunting” (never released before!) and a different version of “Alone Again” that will see the light of day from Terry Gorle’s archives for the very first time!!! But what is the biggest surprise is the extra bonus DVD. Inside the disc you’ll find a live show from 1988 in Riviera clocking in at about 60 minutes! This recently discovered 1988 video footage is the only complete Heir Apparent concert with this legendary line-up. The show took place about 3 months after they recorded the “live in studio” demo that was released by Hellion in 2000 as the Triad CD. It’s the ONLY video with Steve Benito on vocals and it has never ever been released. Audiovisual quality is fantastic and as you will hear Steve’s voice was near always perfect!

DVD tracklist:
Crossing the Border
Just Imagine
Two Hearts
Young Forever
Tomorrow Night
Alone Again
Cry For Rome
The Fifth Season
The Sound of Silence
Another Candle
Keeper of the Reign
We, The People

Founders of Blackstorm Greg Sablan and William Santos (William) are blood relatives that grew up together on the tropical island of Guam. They had dreams of putting together a music project that would take them on an adventure of a lifetime. While Greg Sablan was attending college at the University of San Francisco, he was reunited with his childhood friend and relative William who was living in the South Bay. A year later in the spring of 1986 Greg and William had a meeting that would change the course of their lives. While the plans to create the new group were being discussed, Led Zep’s “Achilles Last Stand” played on the radio some prophetic lyrics that would set the tone for the project … “it was an April morning when they told us we should go”. That was a sign of the beginning.     Later that summer the duo left for Guam to form the band that was a childhood dream that would emerge from the mysterious Asian Pacific region. They met with many potential members and worked with two key guitarists, Peter Gutierrez and Frank Emmi. After four months things weren’t happening as quickly as planned and Greg and William decided to relocate back to the Bay Area. After months of auditions, Frank Emmi rejoined the group and collaborated in writing Blackstorm’s first 3 songs Bad Winds Rising, Merciless Peril and House of Dreams. Emmi soon moved on to Florida. Greg and William started auditions again and this time hit the jackpot. First to join was former Hellhound guitarist Robert Kolowitz. Then the duo of David Matela and Marko Parker of Ascending Power completed the Quintet. A many hours of practice and determination, the group released its first demo album “Twist of Fate” in 1987 recorded at Suspect Studios in Santa Clara. Soon after, the band played its first live gig on Halloween Eve at the world famous club “The Stone” on Broadway St. in San Francisco.     The band loved to perform live and its popularity grew quickly among bay area metal fans and club owners. Soon after the band’s first performance, Blackstorm would be opening for big name acts in the metal world such as, Apocrypha, Cacophony, Armored Saint, David T. Chastain, and Vicious Rumors. Geoff Thorpe (guitarist for Atlantic Records’ Vicious Rumors) and engineer Dennis Hulett (Death Angel, Vain) enjoyed the groups sound and offered to produce the band’s sophomore demo album “Tales from the Wishing Well” in 1989. Blackstorm continued its quest for a record deal and were offered several distribution deals in Europe. In the meantime, the band continued to headline shows in the major bay area clubs such as the Omni, One Step Beyond, The Cabaret and Puma’s. The band also opened for acts such as Racer X and Nitro.
Blackstorm’s demo releases gained recognition in international publications with articles and reviews in Rip, Kerrang, Rhythm, Metal Forces, Thunderbolt and Metalized magazines as well as numerous world-wide fanzines. Guitarist David Matela was featured in Mike Varney’s “Spotlight Solo” column in Guitar Player magazine. Drummer Greg Sablan was also was featured in Marquis De Rhythm column in Rhythm magazine. Both demos received airplay throughout the United States, the Far East and Europe.
In 1990, after rejection from record labels such as Atlantic and Metal Blade, the group went on a short hiatus. The band soon reformed with frontman David Locken and continued to write and work on its third demo album. Now a four-piece group, the band recorded the first set of tracks at San Jose’s “The Big House” studio with producer Bill Durham. The band continued writing and decided to diversify the production and recorded the second set of tracks with engineer and producer Doug Caldwell (Forbidden and Testament). The demo album “The Lands of Yesterday” was complete in 1992 and the band was back out supporting the release. Blackstorm was still headlining venues around the Bay Area and was selected to open for major shows with Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Michael Batio, and White Zombie. The band also taped a studio performance video that showcased three songs off the latest album with award winning local film producer Emerson Dong.
Just as the total package was coming together for Blackstorm, the Grunge scene was now the preferred flavor for rock music and this suffocated everything coming out of the Bay Area rock scene. Soon after Grunge took over MTV, it was apparent that the band was out of vogue and David Locken left the group. The remaining members Greg, David and Marko also parted ways to pursue other projects. In 1999 the original group reunited not to play but to rekindle the friendships that were established. As of 2009, there is talk of a performance reunion.
Greg Sablan -Blackstorm-

Eventually, after a long term period of continuous discussions with the band, Arkeyn Steel Records managed to obtain the rights to release one of the best US power metal bands. Initially, the band’s project was to release this CD private somewhere in the late 2007 but right after Arkeyn Steel’s suggestion for totally digital re-master, new artwork and worldwide distribution, Commandment change their view and trust this gem to company’s hands!  Commandment, together with Slauter Xstroyes (fellows from the same city), were one of Chicago’s premier power metal bands although they were only playing for four years, from 1986 to 1990. Their story begins when Johnny and Mike meet Dave Marshall (the original first singer before Dave Nava). The bass player Kevin Clayton is in no time found as he is playing with Dave Marshall in the group before joining Commandment. They start working on their own songs and so they record one demo tape called “Law of the Streets” containing 6 tracks. With this line-up Commandment work for about a year. The next change of the band is on the 18th of September 1987 when Dave Nava takes Dave Marshall’s place as a singer. The songs come together quickly and they become the winners of the Z-Rock radio demo contest in the end of 1987. This earns them free air play rotation for a month on Z-Rock. This leads to Commandment signing with Amethyst Records just to release “Engraved in Stone” in the fall of 1988.   Company’s goal is to put on the market a forerunner of an oncoming album so as to promote the band and be known to the audience. So, a 7” EP with 2 tracks (Oriental Maiden, Engraved in Stone) and without cover is released in the early 1989 (with a small delay as it was supposed to be out in the end of 1988). While Amethyst Records has not released not even the first album of Commandment, they are supposed to give their money to record the follow up recording called “No Mercy” in the fall of 1989!! Of course this never happens and the band gets tired of waiting, so they start spending their own money for the record. They are real tight on money at the time. They have their cassette “Engraved in Stone” for sale at all of the shows….but that’s why they want to sign to a label to get that extra support they need. They get to the mixing part before they ran out of money. At this point Amethyst Records goes out of business. “No Mercy” album is tracked and rough mixed but never finished. The musical climate starts to change in 1990 and Commandment can’t find another label to release their work something that leads to the demise of Commandment in 1990.
Kostas Athanasoglou