TYRANT

NWoBHM • United Kingdom
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Tyrant is one of the most popular names for a metal band ever (at least 18 and still counting!) - a most befitting tribute to Judas Priest, whose song spawned such a legion.

This NWoBHM outfit from Gloucester were not the first to use it, although they were the first to release material other than a demo under this name.

Their early influences cane from early Iron Maiden, The Scorpions, Thin Lizzy & vocally melodic rock bands such as Journey and Def Leppard. Oh, and Judas Priest.
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TYRANT Demo '81 album cover 4.00 | 1 ratings
Demo '81
NWoBHM 1981
TYRANT Hold Back The Lightning album cover 5.00 | 1 ratings
Hold Back The Lightning
NWoBHM 1983
TYRANT Demo '84 album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Demo '84
NWoBHM 1984

TYRANT re-issues & compilations

TYRANT Days at the Farm - The Tyrant Anthology album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Days at the Farm - The Tyrant Anthology
NWoBHM 2006
TYRANT The Complete Anthology album cover 4.50 | 1 ratings
The Complete Anthology
NWoBHM 2009

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TYRANT Reviews

TYRANT Demo '81

Demo · 1981 · NWoBHM
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Certif1ed
OK, I'm cheating...

I'm not really reviewing from the near-impossible to locate 1981 demo cassette, but from the almost as difficult to find double CD anthology released last year - but hey, they're the same tracks, and the only difference is that there's none of that sudden mangled noise you get from chewed-up cassettes.

I'm pleased to report that the quality of the music here is pretty much of the same standard as the later Eyes of a Stranger killer 7". The vocals are of the same hot water bottle bursting edge-of-a-scream quality, the guitars are perfectly synched like a well-oiled machine, the riffs are that pleasing blend of being stylistically similar to other NWoBHM bands, with satisfying twists giving a far more modern sound to the whole of Tyrant's output.

Take it to the Dragon is hard to pin down - maybe the nearest would be something from Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell album - one of the slower numbers, perhaps - and clocking in at nearly 5 and a half minutes, it's a bit of a monster for a first demo.

Captured, on the other hand, is pure Tyrant - really, there are none of the usual Priest/Maiden citations, only nods and winks to those luminaries - just big, chunky riffs and immaculate licks and tempo changes. The guitar solo is a wondrous concoction of arpeggios, modal scales and blues licks with plenty of Blackmore flavours, but with a far sharper edge. Metal classic waiting to be discovered.

We've surrendered is a little less convincing as a composition - but the musicianship remains exemplary for the time - and there are certainly less talented individuals in more famous current bands. From anyone else at the time, this would be a stand-out piece, but compared to Captured, it's almost filler.

For You begins a Journey-esque ballad with competent harmonies, then slams into something a bit more tasty, with strident, aggressive riffs, more tempo changes, twin guitar harmonies, some big surprises in the arragement - the motherload really. Definitely not yer standard ballad, that's for sure!

A bit of Iron Maiden influence creeps into the next song, Clash of The Titans, which pans out bearing more resemblance to Cirith Ungol than Maiden, and sounding a lot more like the direction that Maiden were to take than anything prior to Number of the Beast, released the following year, it should be noted.

The demo wraps up with the pretty tune Shadows of the Night. OK, it's not pretty, or meant to be - but that opening riff really is a monster, with a hugely infectious hook resting neatly atop as if it were moulded there. Despite sharing the Iron Maiden gallop, this is a song that's very nearly as strong as the single Eyes of a Stranger - and that's saying something. If anything, it has even more of the same breathless urgency and crisp chukiness of the latter, it just lacks the je-ne-sais-quoi. Very important in metal, yer je-ne-sais-quoi.

Fans of Progressive metal should dig this a lot for its complexities, but it's wrapped up in strong melodies so well that the music of Tyrant is equally suitable for those who just want a good headbang and sod the twiddly bits.

TYRANT Hold Back The Lightning

Demo · 1983 · NWoBHM
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I'm normally hyper-critical of anything released after 1983 that is filed under NWoBHM, because, to me, the NWoBHM represents a continual progression from what is effectively hard rock on steroids in the early days to the full blown metal it always promised to become in '83.

After this date, pretty much everything had been said, and the formulae started creeping in, which goes completely against the point of NWoBHM to my mind.

Tyrant, then, releasing this demo at the tai-end, had a lot to live up to, and, frankly, this demo doesn't really have anything new to say - yet the atmosphere of the NWoBHM is almost tangible in Hold Back the Lightning, with its obvious Maiden roots, yet startling freshness.

Even better comes when you turn the single over and are coshed between the eyes with the stonking Eyes of a Stranger, a metal classic that never was. It's that HUGE guitar tone that really impresses at first, then the sheer might of the songwriting which makes your jaw drop, or perhaps it's the hot-water-bottle-burstingness of the Dio-in-a-cement-mixer inspired vocals, then the clever contrivances of the musicians in the arrangement (some nods and winks towards Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, methinks!) - stunning guitar solos and duels, drawn together by tighter than a gnat's chuff performances and wonderful rough production, all make this an absolute must-listen, and arguably a good investment of £700.

But don't just take my word for it - the songs are available for you to listen to right here!

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