Review Summary: A compromised debut from a band with mounting internal tensions, but nonetheless with some high points on offer.
It is often claimed that Diamond Head is the one, single touchstone linking two movements: the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the thrash metal movement which spawned across the Atlantic. But while Diamond Head provided the compositional influence, ambition and technical complexity which characterised the first wave of thrash metal bands, it is Holocaust that provided the sound and attitude. This was a band which sounded as much thrash’s forebear as any proto-thrash band – even the mid-range vocal of Gary Lettice is a dead ringer for the shout of a young James Hetfield.
And that is why Holocaust’s 1981 debut,
The Nightcomers, is likely to leave most people scratching their head in confusion after reading what has just been said. This album paints a very different picture: a hard-rocking Scottish metal band along the lines of Tygers of Pan Tang, but torn between mid-paced, almost radio-friendly rockers and balls-out heavy metal – a Jekyll and Hyde routine, if you will – and there’s no prize for guessing which of the two Holocaust are better at pulling off. The album starts convincingly enough with the extremely juvenile, but nonetheless fun, “Smokin’ Valves”, before leading straight into the album’s first high point, and the band’s first gold standard, the instant classic “Death or Glory”, which boasts one of the simplest yet most aggressive riffs found in any genre, heavy metal or otherwise.
The Nightcomers seriously trips up, hitting its lowest point, when the ‘other’ side of Holocaust reveals its hard-rock aspirations with the soppy “Come on Back”, which needs little more mention. However, the following “Mavrock”, an excellent, crushingly heavy, doomy, Sabbath-esque number, makes up for this transgression, despite not sounding quite fully formed in a couple of places. The album reverts to its Jekyll persona for “It Don’t Matter to Me” and “Cryin’ Shame”, but do not fear, for both are far more interesting than the aforementioned “Come on Back” – while the former offers some weak lyrics, the fast pace does make for some interest, and the indelible riffs and grooves of the latter denote the clear winner (and obvious potential single) of the two.
The album’s second high point follows in the excellent “Heavy Metal Mania”, which is equal parts cheesy and anthemic - but enduringly so, and a stone-cold classic which has been covered countless times by many heavy metal bands, big and small, and tellingly, survives to this day in the current Holocaust set-list. “Push It Around”, another song of the lighter variety, follows before leading into the doomy title track, and while it’s not quite as good as “Mavrock”, it possesses a hallucinatory quality which sets it apart and closes the album in good fashion.
So why the about-face in musical direction? Well, as it turns out, vocalist Gary Lettice and guitarist Ed Dudley had differences with bandleader John Mortimer, who wished for Holocaust to be a heavy metal band, while the other two wanted it to take a more commercial direction. While this influence showed through on this album, it was not to be, for the band line-up would soon change, granting Mortimer new allies. For now, though, it is best to appreciate
The Nightcomers for what it is: a competent debut by a band still struggling with internal tensions, trying to find its way. There are few complaints to be made about other aspects of the album, however; the production is indeed quite pleasant. And last, but not least, the true Holocaust was yet to reveal itself…
