The NWOBHM threw up a lot of bands that were not essentially metal, but because they rocked, they were tagged with the genre anyway. One such band were Newcastle’s Hellanbach, who were touted as Britain’s answer to Van Halen. The comparisons are obvious, especially with guitarist Davey Patton, who style-wise, was a ringer for EVH and had obviously studied early Van Halen closely. And with cocalist, Jimmy Brash, who did his best DLR impressions – complete with an American accent to his vocals. The only thing that lets it down is a somewhat flat production.
Dancin’ kicks things off and it’s the raw energy and enthusiasm that hits you, and of course Dave Patton’s guitar playing. The ending to Times Are Getting Harder is pure VH, and you have to give them 10/10 for getting it almost right. Look At Me is pure Dave Lee Roth and is a great tune. All Systems Go is fast as hell and reminds me of Women An Children First era VH – with a total feedback fest at the end. Maybe Tomorrow is up next and is the weakest track so far. Side closer Motivated By Desire is the best track yet. Awesome raw guitar on the edge of feedback all the time, and it riffs hard.
Over the flip we go and Taken By Surprise starts with a standard blues groove and with overdriven guitar riffs over the top – you have to check that this is not a VH demo it’s that close. Let’s Get This Show On The Road follows and takes the speed up a notch or two. Kick It Out is an ok track, but is let down by the drumming as it’s way too basic for the track – killer guitar though and the rip off VH middle section. All The Way is next up, and is the only track that feels NWOBHM with DLR on vocals. The last track is the only cover on the record, and ironically it’s my favourite. It’s the band’s take on Disney’s Aristocats’ Everybody Wants To Be A Cat – and it’s an absolute belter of a take. A quite traditional opening leads to a superb solo and a very metal ending.
So did the world need another Van Halen? Well, these kids from the North East thought so, and for a small window of time they were in with a shout, but due to them taking forever to get the next record out (and it not being as good) and also crap management, they disappeared as quickly as they came.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
how do you manage to get obscure albums like this?
When I was doing the Groove Machine I used to buy from Jess Cox as he was the head honcho at Neat Records. He let me have a look around their old tape room where they kept the master tapes from all their recordings. In there I found a box of Helanbach albums, the first and the second so I bought them from him. I still have a couple of each.