Review Summary: A roaring debut and a gem of the NWOBHM era from a band whose fortunes would soon change considerably.
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal produced a swath of bands, big and small, which would really solidify the classic, pre-glam, pre-thrash heavy metal sound. And among the best of the smaller bands from the musical movement that would see the likes of Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, and Saxon is a humble group of Scots called Holocaust. Holocaust would go on to become one of the most tragically overlooked progressive metal bands, but before guitarist and general bandleader John Mortimer would take his music in a much more adventurous direction, they were cranking out good old fashioned headbanging anthems, and with song titles like Heavy Metal Mania and Death or Glory, it's safe to say you know exactly what you're getting.
A dose of raw, hard rocking action is just what you'll find on
The Nightcomers, Holocaust's debut LP which remains their most well-known release by far. This album isn't truly spectacular or boundary-pushing, but it is a fun time. The mood is set perfectly right out of the gate with the opening drum fill and ensuing riffage of Smokin' Valves, my personal favorite number off the album. To me, that song is just completely emblematic of the spirit of this era of metal, with riffs that exude raw power, energetic drumming to match, and dumb fun lyrics about pissing off your neighbors shredding all day. Most of the album follows in this direction; in Heavy Metal Mania, singer Gary Lettice is joined by shouted backup vocals as he declares "I've got HEAVY...METAL...MUSIC in my blood!" atop a classic 80s metal riff.
This album isn't completely bereft of stylistic variation, however. Some songs skew more towards classic hard rock than outright metal. Cryin' Shame, for example, could've been a big radio hit in '81, with a catchy chorus and a main riff that's a dead ringer for late 70s hard rock. Push It Around also keeps things simple in terms of riffs and has some pretty juvenile sexual lyrics; no points for guessing what the "it" in the title is. But then you've got a song like the aforementioned Death or Glory, with a title and riffs that are 80s metal attitude incarnate, or Mavrock, which sports a damn heavy chorus riff and some wicked shredding, especially as the outro rapidly picks up the pace in the record's fastest moment. While there are some more "commercial" spots, in general the rawness and heaviness in this album's music and production are pretty high for NWOBHM, and it's not hard to see how this group would be influential to the coming thrash metal scene.
Even with the energetic punch it packs, though, sometimes the album feels a tad slow paced. Heavy Metal Mania is an anthemic jam and no doubt a Holocaust live staple, but when the band re-recorded the song years later at a faster tempo and sans the overlong intro, I couldn't help but feel those changes were for the better. The title track is one of the heaviest songs on here, but its wings are clipped a little by whole song feeling a bit sluggish; if it were a kick faster, it could've been truly great. But while
The Nightcomers may fall short of ranking among almighty NWOBHM classics like
Number of the Beast and
Lightning to the Nations, it's still a solid, fun debut album with a number of memorable tracks that established Holocaust as a talented act. It's not particularly innovative, but rather a very competent and fairly raw take on the NWOBHM sound. If you're looking for something in that particular style and era of metal, this is a damn good choice. Unfortunately, Holocaust would crumble in the few years following, splitting up after John Mortimer wanted to take the band in a heavier direction while other members wanted to go more commercial. This meant the loss of all the momentum this LP brought, but after singing and playing nearly every instrument on the shoddy bow-out
No Man's Land, Mortimer would revive the Holocaust name in 1989, and that's where the band's best work really starts.
