Album review: WARFARE – The Lemmy Sessions (3 CD Boxset)

Cherry Red/HNE [Release date : 24.03.23]

Late on in the last century’s timeline, around 1990, Co. Durham’s one and only anarchic metal band, Warfare, were outselling stablemates, Venom and Raven.

On stage and off stage they were living up to their “anarchic metal” label.

Their innovative approach included signing up with Hammer Horror to release an album of horror movie themes.

Their fan following just grew and grew.

Five years earlier :

In 1985, the band began their recording life with two EPs, Two Tribes and Total Death.

The band’s brutal, chaotic heavy metal immediately found a home. Storming versions of Frankie’s ‘Two Tribes’ and the direct, clanging, tightly torqued up axework of ‘Burning Up’ and ‘Destroy’ turned these EPs into best sellers in the Heavy Metal market.

Consequently, the band’s first full length studio album, Metal Anarchy, came less than a year later.

Band leader / drummer/ vocalist Paul Evo, better known simply as Evo, approached Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilminster to produce. The two bands had each other’s respect, and of both the Punk and the Metal community. It was the perfect decision. Both in idea and in execution.

Once again, the Cherry Red label’s research and development team have come with the goods.

This 3 CD boxset contains the original album, now dusted down and polished up. Plus the “Lemmy Mix” on a separate CD.

Evo had a very specific mindset as to how the music should sound. Consequently, Lemmy presented him with a cassette of his production for approval, prior to the final mix down. It’s a rough, raw presentation of elemental heavy metal. You can see why the label and its A&R team were excited to get it out on CD.

The big hitters, ‘Psycho Express’ and ‘Disgrace’ have been moved up to the front in the running order. ‘Living For The Last Days’ doesn’t sound hugely different and a much darker ‘Wrecked Society’ somehow seems a fitting finale.

These two versions comprise CD 1 and CD 2.

The two EPs make up CD3.

The Boxset features expansions of the original artwork, and new liner notes written by Evo and NWOBHM expert, John Tucker. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)