Year : 1984/1985 (Golden Core Records Edition 2025)
Style : Heavy Metal , Hard Rock
Country : Germany
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 172 mb
Bio:
German metal/hard rock band formed in 1983 in Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany in 1983 and split-up in 1987.Very few metal fans will have heard of the band SQUADRON and there are many reasons for this: The guys from Baden-Würtenberg have never officially released anything except two demos and are the first signs of life of the still well-known musicians Klaus Sperling ((NITROGODS, ex-PRIMAL FEAR, SINNER) and Michael Moretto (TYRAN PACE) from 1984 and 1985 (!). At that time, these two demos were recorded without overdubs, these 13 songs here were then reworked and turned into the album ‘Squadron’ with cover 2024. According to the information letter, the band from the Stuttgart area had a lot of success live at the time, but a label never took the bait, which is why the band, founded in 1983, disbanded in 1987! Bassist Martin Goranov has even passed away in the meantime (RIP!) and the album was practically dedicated to him. The raw songs are fun and reminiscent of some of the icons of the eighties, which is normal for young musicians. In the end, however, what remains are damn strong songs that are also skilfully conveyed by the mid-range vocals. Every time I listen to the album I discover something cool and realise how much potential there was in this very young band. With a label and money behind them, which was really important back then, the band could certainly have taken off. The listener gets 73 minutes here, which was easily two albums back then, and I'm also surprised that there are several long tracks of eight minutes included here, which wasn't that common for this kind of music back then.
Album:
Recordings From 1984 (1-9) And 1985 (10-14), fully restored and remastered.I’ve been hoping to hear more from Squadron since they piqued my interest with their appearance on Golden Core’s ‘Sound And Action – Volume 4’ compilation last year. Playing the album blind, the first song that really stood out was ‘No Heroes’, a demo recording by the Esslingen five-piece dating back to 1984. Neudi and the lads at Golden Core have now followed this up with a full Squadron album: the story goes that the band sent a tape to Golden Core to offer a song for inclusion on the compilation and the material was so good that a deal to issue a whole album was slapped on the table. The resulting self-titled ‘Squadron’ features their nine-track 1984 demo (from which ‘No Heroes’ was taken) with a further four tracks from 1985 on the CD; the LP features the 1984 demo, but replaces the drum solo-opening weakest link ‘Nightmare No.3’ with ‘More Power’ from the 1985 tape.‘Squadron’ is a trad metal fan’s dream. Fronted by former Tyran Pace vocalist Michael Moretto, and settling into a line-up that also featured guitarists Peter Thalheimer and Alexander Christ, bassist Goran Martinov (to whose memory the album is respectfully dedicated) and drummer Klaus Sperling, Squadron sound unashamedly NWOBHM and certainly capture the essence of the time. Citing Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy, Dio and Warrior amongst their influences the band are Eighties to the core (no pun intended). And as both demos were recorded live in the studio the band’s individual talents, collective approach to songwriting and precise execution are evident for all to hear. There’s so much going on here that pulling out individual highlights is not an easy task, but ‘Child Of The Universe’, ‘Why D’ You Try’ and the aforementioned ‘No Heroes’ are all great songs in their own right. And so what if the mid-section of ’67 Camaro’ is undeniably influenced by a few plays of Priest’s ‘Rapid Fire’? A great song is a great song...Unfortunately, despite the five-piece’s undisputable talent, the majors sniffed around a little but never bit and the band hit the buffers in 1987. A shame, as Squadron can easily be added to the list of bands who should have / would have / could have, if only they’d had the breaks.
Line Up:
Michael Moretto - Vocals - See also: ex-Kymera, ex-Tyran' Pace
Alexander Christ - Guitars
Peter Thalheimer - Guitars
Goran Martinov (R.I.P.) - Bass
Klaus Sperling - Drums - See also: MP, My Darkest Hate, Nitrogods, ex-Donnerkopf, ex-Insanity, ex-Prolopower, ex-Wasteland, ex-Freedom Call, ex-Primal Fear, ex-Sinner, ex-Chinchilla (live), ex-Mystic Prophecy (live), ex-Saidian
Tracklist:
01. Wild Romance 04:57
02. No Heroes 08:05
03. 67 Camaro 04:20
04. Child of the Universe 06:35
05. Display of Feelings 04:15
06. Why'd You Try 04:27
07. Witchhunter 06:18
08. Nightmare No. 3 04:39
09. Just Another Band 02:53
10. More Power 04:19
11. Fire of the Damned 05:33
12. Kill the Killer 08:51
13. At War with the Gods 08:10
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