Issue 2024-057

Andrew Wild — A Mirror Of Dreams: The Progressive Rock Revival 1981 To 1983

10

Jerry van Kooten

In the early 1980s (although it arguably started in the late 1970s) there was a shift in what a larger group of people preferred, musically. A few years before that, punk became more popular, and now it was back to more melodic music (or properly played music, as some would call it). These things happen all the time of course, it comes in waves, like fashion.

And when in historical context something is sudden or massive or important or has a lasting impact, such a shift or wave can be called a movement.

Bands have played prog even when punk was popular. Prog was never dead, other music just got more attention. I think that especially the British press had a big role there. First in writing that prog was dead, then ignoring prog bands when they kept on playing and got more followers, and finally even slashing the musical style for a large part. Unknowingly or probably unwillingly that played a part in letting the thing become a movement, because the prog fans probably felt united and stronger.

The enormous amount of cassette albums released (also a sign of the times of course) shows there were a lot of bands. People are still listening to those bands and even those cassettes. It was not just a passing fashion thing. It meant something.

So although it was not sudden, it was not massive, it was not earth-shatteringly important, but it had a lasting impact on musicians and listeners. The bands did not consciously join a movement, their respective musical styles were quite different, a lot was under the progressive rock banner and still we talk about NWOBPR (New Wave of British Progressive Rock). That is reason enough for me to call it a movement.

There have been several books on parts of what was happening, like Sonicbond's series On Track or Decades, although they were mostly on the more commercially successful bands like Marillion. But none were actually documenting the movement itself. Why and how did it become a movement?

The much anticipated book A Mirror Of Dreams: The Progressive Rock Revival 1981 To 1983 finally fills that gap.

Andrew Wild, author of a few dozen books already (like the official biographies for bands like Twelfth Night, Galahad, and Geoff Mann, or the On Track episodes for the solo Beatles, Eric Clapton, CSN) tells the story by following the timelines of the six biggest bands in the timeframe: IQ, Marillion, Pallas, Pendragon, Solstice, and Twelfth Night.

The timelines of these bands start differently, at different times (between 1974 and 1981) and different places (from around London to Scotland), but they cross many times.

Wild tells the story almost chronologically, guiding the reader through the world and its relevant changes. A tiny jump in time is made here and there when one story has to be finished before the other one can start, to keep the story making sense. But the flow of the story is never affected. It is a wonderful read, and it was hard to put down the book.

A few hugely impacting factors in the whole story get a separate chapter. There is the Marquee club in London, the phenomena of cassette albums, and the sometimes overlooked but cherished world of newsletters that would bond fans all around the country. It is more than just nostalgia in the smile I sported when reading those chapters.

The type of readers / collectors that are obsessed with dates and other data (erm, like me) can be happy that throughout the story dates are mentioned (releases, gigs, recording sessions) so you know exactly where you are on the timeline. They are never in the way for the more casual reader or someone not interested in chronology. There's a (supposedly complete, but who can tell for sure) list of dates at the Marquee for the six bands as well (useful for identifying some mislabelled Pallas live tape!).

Wild has interviewed an enormous list of people for the book to get as many views on that part of the past as possible. It feels like every bit of knowledge from all sources has found a way into the book, told in that continuous, readable flow. Interviewing people always triggers the subject's memories, so although I have talked to a lot of the same people through the years, I am still reading things I didn't know.

And look at all those photos! So many archives have opened up for this beautiful production, printed on quite heavy and high-quality paper.

A book documenting something that has actually happened, something that was not just a blip on the radar, but something that touched the taste of a lot of people — that is an important book. The fluent writing and an interesting take of six bands travelling their own paths on the timeline, makes it such a wonderful read. Because of all this, I cannot but rate this a perfect score, the first book I have ever reviewed to get one.

I was looking at the movement from a slight distance, both geographically and in time. I was just a few years too young even if I were living in the UK at the time. I made up for part of it by collecting LPs and cassettes, newspaper clippings, tour programmes, and newsletters — every bit of information gave me a tiny insight into the movement I missed.

This book made me feel like I was part of it.

Barry Wood — On Track... Metallica

6

Andy Read

When you write a book on one of the biggest bands in the world, you are in a field with some very stiff competition. Your writing, your angle and your research has to be something special. This book struggles to meet the grade on all three counts.

Based in Lincolnshire, UK, Barry Wood is clearly a passionate fan of Metallica; something that he manages to convey throughout this 144-page book.

I, too, have followed the band from their debut album. I've a few of their early demos as bootlegs and have seen them live many times. I somewhat lost interest after Load, and haven't heard anything since throwing away their 2003 album in (St) anger. So I was hoping that this might add a bit of detail to my knowledge and maybe persuade me that I should investigate some of their other recordings.

Covering a band's 40-plus-year career in one small book is quite a challenge and Barry does a pretty good job of succinctly running through all the albums, with a commentary on the various comings and goings along the way. However, with a plethora of covers and live albums, Metallica have been pretty prolific. Thus, large parts of this book do appear more like a train-spotter's catalogue, than an easily readable book.

And if you are writing a book that promises with a title "Metallica - every song", then you need to make sure you cover every song.

Poster for the UK leg of the ...And Justice For All tour

There are a series of fascinating early demos that Metallica recorded before their debut album. Only one of these gets a cursory mention. With that "every song" promise, I think readers would expect a more comprehensive run-through of these demos, with commentaries on the different versions and at least a mention for one-off early songs like the hard-to-find cover of Savage's Let It Loose.

Nor does there appear to be any mention of Metallica's contributions to various tribute albums such as those for Ennio Morricone and Dio. For a book like this to become a useful reference for any Metallica completist, it has to be complete.

Mick Wall has already done the definitive job on the band's history and personalities in his excellent biography. Barry borrows some quotes from Mick's book but doesn't even try to add anything new to the story.

Barry is a drummer. I am not. His critiques of the songs lean heavily on a drummer's perspective, and an assessment of Lars Ulrich's contributions. Non-drummers may find this approach a little dull and repetitive.

I could over-look all of this if the book was just a good, entertaining read. I have just reviewed the excellent overview of Talk Talk by Gary Steel in this same On Track series. His writing style is one I really enjoy, being full of wit and insights.

Barry's style of writing is very much in the format of an online discussion. Lots of thoughts joined together by hyphens. Hyphens everywhere. If an editor did read this first, then they need some punctuation training. It's often more a series of notes than free-flowing sentences. As with musical taste, there are many different styles of writing. Barry's might be one that you enjoy. I have to be honest and say that the bizarre punctuation made this a very laborious read.

Overall, this is sadly one of the weakest books I have so far encountered in the On Track series.

Fans of the band are unlikely to learn much they don't already know from this book. It's too incomplete for completists, and the hyphen-dominated style of writing made it a difficult read for me.

It's target audience will be those who are curious about Metallica and want a potted history and a few clues about where to begin.

Metallica — ... And Justice For All

10

Andy Read

To ask whether this milestone release should be classified as a prog-metal album, is somewhat misplacing its place in the history of heavy metal.

No genre is suddenly created and emerges overnight. It is a slow evolution of a sound; a gradual coming together of often diverse musical styles and influences.

In the early days of what we now call rock music, this evolution was largely aided by advances in instrumental and recording technologies. Multi-track recording allowed bands to add more instruments and complexity. New guitars and keyboards allowed artists to experiment with innovative sounds and textures.

Young musicians listened to and were influenced by multiple older artists. They took and blended those sounds, and added their own voices. Thus through the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s a maelstrom of new sounds and new genres were created.

Metallica was amongst a cohort of mainly American bands who took those influences and created thrash metal. In the case of Metallica, the influences relied heavily on NWOBHM bands such as Diamond Head and Budgie, and US punk outfits such as Ramones and The Misfits. Elements of their sound also incorporated the individual band members' love of particular artists. For example guitarist Kirk Hammett has made no secret of his love of Rush; Original bassist Cliff Burton has a strong background in classical music.

Back in the mid-80s, the genre loosely described as heavy metal was a melting pot of experimentation. Thrash metal was just one of the sub-genres that quickly established itself. In the same cities and on the same stages, other musicians were taking a slightly different set of influences and laying the foundations for what was to become known as progressive metal.

Just look at the time-line.

By 1985 Watchtower had already taken thrash into more extreme waters of complexity with Energetic Disassembly. That same year, Fates Warning took their initial traditional heavy metal format into a new direction with Spectre Within. Then in 1986 Queensrÿche released their Rage For Order album. King Diamond's Abigail emerged in 1987, at the same time as Psychotic Waltz (then known as Aslan) released their first demo.

Metallica released ... And Justice For All on August 25th 1988. It was the year that can only be described as a landmark in the history of progressive metal with the release of Queensrÿche's Operation Mindcrime and Fates Warning's No Exit. Meanwhile in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania a band called Dream Theater were recording their debut album. It was also the year that saw Iron Maiden release what is often considered their most progressive album, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.

That very same year, several other thrash bands were taking their sound into new directions. Four albums stand out from 1988: Into The Mirror Black by Sanctuary, Deathrow's Deception Ignored, Realm with their Endless War and Voivod's creation of yet another sub-genre via Dimension Hatröss. Another year later and Megadeth would reinforce this direction-of-travel for certain thrash bands with their Rust In Peace tech-opus.

With all that going on around them, Metallica entered the One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles with producer Flemming Rasmussen to record their fourth album over four months in early 1988. The clear intention was to consolidate the sound that they had built across their first three albums.

Metallica were, Metallica are and Metallica always will be a thrash metal band. However, even from their earliest albums there are distinct elements that come from elsewhere.

Andy Read's copy of the album

Kill Em All has (Anasthesia) Pulling Teeth with that intro, and some oddly-daring moments, especially in Phantom Lord and Motorbreath.

Trapped Under Ice and a nine-minute instrumental on Ride The Lightning suggested an increased progressive tendency, that was taken another step further on their third album with Disposable Heroes and Master Of Puppets.

Speaking on MTV in 2013 drummer Lars Ulrich conceded that with Justice they took the Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets concept as far as they could take it. "There was no place else to go with the progressive, nutty, sideways side of Metallica, and I'm so proud of the fact that, in some way, Justice is kind of the epitome of that progressive side of us up through the 80s."

James Hetfield added: "Song-writing-wise, it was just us really showing off and trying to show what we could do. 'We've jammed six riffs into one song? Let's make it eight. Let's go crazy with it.'"

And there can be no doubt that ...And Justice for All features many of the common indicators of prog, featuring long and complex songs, fast tempos, virtuoso performances and very few verse-chorus structures. Every song has multiple sections, heavy guitar arpeggios and unusual time signatures. Plus we have thoughtful lyrics centred around a unifying concept (injustice). Very prog!

Recording songs of over nine minutes was not a regular occurrence in metal during the height of its popularity in the 80s. With a playing time that stretched my hastily-acquired vinyl version into a gorgeous two-disc package, Justice was again setting a new trend.

Speaking in 2018, Ulrich described Dyers Eve, the last song here, as "five minutes of, basically, what we jokingly call math-metal."

It is impossible to find one stand-out track on this album, as each song holds its own unique attraction. Harvester Of Sorrow and the title track would be top of most people's lists, however the one song that always leaves a lasting impression for me is the stunning, slow, acoustic build that leads to the dramatically-dark explosion of the lyrically-moving One. The way that the drum beat quietly foreshadows the brutal guitar riff is pure genius. One is simply one of the best songs in the history of metal.

The album does have its detractors due to the dry, crowded mix and the nearly-inaudible bass guitar. And owing to its intensity and length, I have always found its onslaught-of-the-senses difficult to digest in one go. I now handle it, one disc at a time.

The influence of Metallica, and especially this album, on prog bands can not be denied. Sure, all the songs have a pretty well-defined structure, but it's one that prog-metal giants such as Mastodon and Gojira have readily taken on-board. Dream Theater, too, have happily stated Metallica as a key influence. To Live Is To Die, the proggy instrumental on this album, is often given as a comparison to Dream Theater's Stream Of Consciousness (just listen to the opening guitar tones).

Progressive elements would be used by the band on odd tracks in the future but never to the same extent, nor with the same impact.

Metallica's follow up (the Black album) would deliberately utilise a slower, heavier, and more refined sound. It was a direct kick-back to the complexity shown on Justice.

During an interview with Guitar World in 2008, Hetfield admitted: "We had pretty much done the longer song format to death." There was a desire to do songs with just two riffs and "only taking two minutes to get the point across".

But back in 1988 Metallica were a thrash-metal band that pushed their boundaries to record not only one of the greatest metal albums of all time.

So to answer my initial conundrum, I think a fair assessment is that ... And Justice For All is a thrash-metal album with very clear progressive elements. Progressive-thrash might be the most accurate description.

Whatever you wish to call it, there is no doubt that this album has to be considered a foundation stone for what would become known as progressive metal.