Geddes Ax

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Geddes Ax
General information
origin Sheffield , England
Genre (s) New Wave of British Heavy Metal , Rock
founding 1979, 2016
resolution 1983
Current occupation
Andy Ritson
Craig Taylor
Andy Barrott
Electric guitar
 Martin Wilson
Tony Rose
former members
Drums
 Dave Clayton
Electric guitar
 Nick Brown
singing
 Andy Millard
Electric bass
 Mick Peace
Drums
 John Burke

Geddes Ax is an English new wave of British heavy metal and rock band from Sheffield that was founded in 1979, split up in 1983 and has been active again since 2016.

history

The band was formed in 1979 and took its name from a book about economic reform. The term describes the parliamentary ordinance from the years 1921/1922 by Eric Geddes , which cut all teachers' salaries. The founding was inspired by the success of other Yorkshire bands such as Def Leppard and Saxon . The band was founded by guitarists Martin Wilson and Andy Barrot. Shortly afterwards, the line-up was supplemented by singer Andy Millard, drummer Dave Clayton and bassist Mick Peace. The first local appearances followed, whereby Geddes Ax was also able to perform together with the two bands Def Leppard and Saxon. During their first appearances, the group also played cover versions of UFOs Doctor, Doctor and the Thin Lizzy song Emerald . In the summer of 1980 a first EP was recorded, which contains three songs, and was released at the beginning of the following year under the name Return of the Gods on ACS Records . The sound carrier reached first place in the heavy metal charts in Sounds and Melody Maker . The group was also represented in the first edition of the Kerrang . In the meantime, the band has been able to make major appearances, for example in London at the Marquee Club or in the Rainbow Theater together with A II Z and More . In 1982 the band continued their live activity, playing songs such as Sharpen Your Wits , Valley of the Kings , Six-Six-Six and a cover version of the Kiss song Detroit Rock City . Towards the end of the same year, drummer Dave Clayton and guitarist Andy Barrott left the band and were replaced by John Burke and Nick Brown. During this period, the band considered moving to London. However, she discarded this idea as it was incompatible with the jobs the members had outside of the band. In the middle of the year the single Sharpen Your Wits with Rock and Roll Is the Way was released as B-side on Steel City Records . The sound carrier was sold in large numbers. The single was the final release with singer Andy Millard, who left the cast and was replaced by Tony Rose within a few months. Further appearances followed with a different line-up. In early 1983 the group got an interview at Kerrang . A short time later, the EP Escape from New York appeared on Bullet Records , which includes the title song, Six-Six-Six and The Day the Wells Ran Dry . However, this was the band's last release for the time being, as they broke up that same year. This was due to financial problems.

In 2016 the compilation Aftermath was released via High Roller Records . It contains the first two singles, the EP and previously unreleased demo material such as When the Lights Go Out , Life in London , Into the Wilderness and Valley of the Kings . In the same year the group could be seen at the Brofest . The line-up consisted of Wilson, Barrott, Millard and bassist Andy Ritson and drummer Craig Taylor. The performance was preceded by a private "warm-up performance" in Sheffield.

style

According to Malc Macmillan in The NWOBHM Encyclopedia , the music on Return of the Gods is powerful and sounds quite epic. The single Sharpen Your Wits is cheekier and more straightforward rock , which shows Def-Leppard influences, especially on the B-side of the single. Escape from New York , the first recording with Tony Rose, contains vocals that are reminiscent of Norman "Kal" Swan von Tytan . The song Six-Six-Six sounds strongly like Diamond Head from the electric guitars . The song as well as the title song are complex and interestingly structured, while The Day the Wells Ran Dry is a bit more accessible. Otger Jesker wrote in NWoBHM New Wave of British Heavy Metal The glory Days that the group was often compared with Rush , but they resisted this comparison. The International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal summarized the style as classic hard rock . rockdetector.com assigned the group to Melodic Rock . According to Martin Popoff in his book The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties , Escape from New York includes commercial pieces like The Day the Wells Ran Dry and power ballads like Six-Six-Six , which is reminiscent of Iron Maiden and the one the progressive metal would be able to assign, if the instrument mastery went with it.

Discography

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Malc Macmillan: The NWOBHM Encyclopedia . IP Verlag Jeske / Mader GbR, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-931624-16-3 , p. 236 ff .
  2. ^ A b c Matthias Mader, Otger Jeske, Manfred Kerschke: NWoBHM New Wave of British Heavy Metal The glory Days . Iron Pages, Berlin 1995, p. 108 .
  3. ↑ a b Geddes Ax. Allmusic , accessed December 22, 2016 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Matthias Mader: GEDDES AX - Aftermath LP. hrrecords.de, accessed on December 22, 2016 .
  5. ↑ a b Tony Jasper, Derek Oliver: The International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal . Facts on File Inc., New York 1983, ISBN 0-8160-1100-1 , pp. 124 .
  6. ↑ Geddes Ax - Aftermath. Discogs , accessed December 22, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Biography. (No longer available online.) Rockdetector.com, archived from the original on March 14, 2016 ; accessed on December 22, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rockdetector.com
  8. ↑ Martin Popoff : The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties . Collectors Guide Ltd, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 2005, ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5 , pp. 130 .