(NWOBHM, Heavy Metal) MainEEaxe (Discography) - 1984 - 2010, mp3, VBR 256-320 kbps

Members

S= Flight>>MICK ADAMSON
G= ZEFF STEWART – Syar>>GRANT KIRKHOPE>>Syar, Little Angels
B= I.J. Greensmith - Syar>>ROGER GIBBONS>>Syar
D= Doc - Syar>>NIGEL HARRISON>>Syar, Solo

History

UK metal band MainEEaxe formed in 1981, from the ashes of punk band Cyanide. The heavy metal band had a flashy image. The last EP – The Hour Of Thunder from 1985 - was toned down and comparatively tame. The tour with Magnum was an obvious give-away. The band called it a day when Adamson left the band in 1985.
*Written for the 10th MA Virgin Reviews Challenge

Maineeaxe were a rather long running (in NWOBHM terms) heavy metal act that managed a considerable output of good quality NWOBHM in about 5 years in the game. This York act, while certainly not being of the top tier, or even the second, manage to stand above the shoulders of many of their third tier contemporaries, with a rather hard rockin’ blend of NWOBHM somewhat reminiscent of ‘Power Games’ era Jaguar, Tokyo Blade and other strong acts from the scene. This EP bridged the gap between two other main releases, in quite satisfactory manner. The quality of the songs pretty much right through easily cuts down other mid-way bridging EP’s (I’m looking at you Persian Risk, and is certainly a worthwhile record to check out.

This EP is really quite solid; pretty much all the songs are decent NWOBHM, and it does make for a rather addictive little record. Pretty straight up, middle of the road style heavy metal, but fun. The opener ‘The Hour of Thunder’ kicks things off with a bit of a crunch; pleasing to the ears in a straightforward fashion, with very Rhabstallion/Jaguarish guitar riffs. I like ‘Call of the Wild’ best, with its dirty, classic NWOBHM riffage; Phasslayne, Persian Risk and others – these riffs are definitive of the style. This one also has a nice booming chorus – the most memorable of the album, with a strong effort on vocals by Mick Adamson – it almost sounds like an Angel Witch song with its catchiness.

If you love the NWOBHM style, and can’t get enough of finding decent new records of the genre, give Maineeaxe a try for sure. They’re easily as good as better known bands like Gaskin, Tygers of Pan Tang but aren’t nearly as widely respected – I don’t know why. If you’re familiar with either of their full-lengths, this one shouldn’t disappoint you either – it’s more of the same really – pretty straightforward stuff – with those classic, dirty NWOBHM riffs in bounty. I really quite like the guitar tone, and the recording isn’t too bad, though not being at the level of the creme de la creme of NWOBHM records from this date (budgetary). Go ahead and grab this one if you consider yourself a NWOBHM fan; not amazing, but good.