Year : 1991 (I.R.S. Records Edition)
Style : Hard Rock
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 131 mb
Bio:
Hall Aflame was a project launched by Metal Church founder/guitarist/main writer Kurdt Vanderhoof after quitting the band due to tour burnout. While there are trace elements of his main band in the sound. Guaranteed Forever is a weird amalgam of southern hard rock, blues and metal that borrows heavily from acts like The Cult, Jackyl, Tesla and The Four Horsemen. Vanderhoof brought an extremely high level of writing to the project and the result is one highly addictive rock platter that screams beers, bars, pickup trucks and good times. While the whole album is great, there are a few superb songs on here that really should be heard by everyone because they’re just that fookin good!Hall Aflame released their debut album “Guaranteed Forever” on I.R.S. record in 1991 right before the grunge explosion, and because of that, “It was the best album no one heard”, according to KDUX Program Director Pat Anderson. “It’s a great rock record from beginning to end. I’m excited for what they have in store”. Lack of support from the record company, coupled with a changing landscape in musical tastes didn’t due the album justice. Hall Aflame released the record and toured with ZZ Top in late 1991. At this point, Vanderhoof indicates that original members Brian Smith on bass and Tom Weber on drums will be included in the process of recording a second Hall Aflame album.
Kurdt Vanderhoof (born June 28, 1961) is an American guitarist, best known as the rhythm guitarist and founding member of the heavy metal band Metal Church.As early as 1976, Vanderhoof was ardently networking with local musicians in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, and had formed a band called Tyr, which included Kirk Arrington on drums and Vanderhoof on rhythm guitar. In 1978 he joined Seattle hardcore punk band The Lewd, adopting the stage name "Blobbo" and playing bass guitar, switching to guitar the following year.The Lewd relocated from Seattle to San Francisco in 1980.After his departure from The Lewd, Vanderhoof formed Metal Church, whose name was inspired by a nickname given to his San Francisco apartment. He later moved back to Aberdeen, with a vinyl single of "Kill Yourself" as proof of his time with the Lewd.In the summer of 1982, he formed a heavy metal cover band named Shrapnel.It consisted of Tom Weber on drums, Duke Erickson on bass (both from Hoquiam), Mike Murphey ("muff", from Montesano) and a guitar player Vanderhoof had jammed with at high school in Aberdeen. Shrapnel played four events to warm up, including a party at Pacific Lutheran University, after which the other guitar player quit, having had a religious experience and being unwilling to cover The Number of The Beast by Iron Maiden. His place was taken by Craig Wells of Aberdeen, and Weber was eventually replaced by Kirk Arrington (also from Hoquiam) on drums. When Murphey left the band, they recruited David Wayne for vocal duties. By 1983, Shrapnel had renamed itself under Vanderhoof's original band name, Metal Church.After Metal Church's second album The Dark in 1986, Vanderhoof left the band but nevertheless remained heavily involved in the songwriting process.He explained that he left the band to focus on learning "how to make records" from a production and engineering standpoint.Vanderhoof's first solo band was Hall Aflame, which released a single album before breaking up in 1994. Metal Church disbanded that same year. Vanderhoof later formed another solo band, Vanderhoof. This band released the albums Vanderhoof and A Blur in Time in 1997 and 2002 respectively.In 2005, Vanderhoof and several members from his solo band formed Presto Ballet, a band dedicated to recreating the progressive rock sounds of the mid-1970s.They released their debut album Peace Among the Ruins that same year, with Vanderhoof commenting: "We recorded the whole album in a somewhat 'old-school' manner, which means analog synthesizers, real Hammond organ and real mellotron sounds".
Album:
I’ve been meaning to write a retro-review of this bad boy for a long time since it’s the very definition of “buried treasure.” Sadly, it’s an equally good example of a winning release that slipped through the cracks and fell into oblivion. Hall Aflame was a project launched by Metal Church founder/guitarist/main writer Kurdt Vanderhoof after quitting the band due to tour burnout. While there are trace elements of his main band in the sound. Guaranteed Forever is a weird amalgam of southern hard rock, blues and metal that borrows heavily from acts like The Cult, Jackyl, Tesla and The Four Horsemen. Vanderhoof brought an extremely high level of writing to the project and the result is one highly addictive rock platter that screams beers, bars, pickup trucks and good times. While the whole album is great, there are a few superb songs on here that really should be heard by everyone because they’re just that fookin good!The rowdy, southern-friend, hard rock urgency of opener “Shake the Pain” should clue listeners in that they may have found something a bit special. Vanderhoof rocks out some simple, but huge, driving riffs and vocalist Ron Lowd delivers a barn-burning performance falling somewhere between Jackyl’s Jesse James Dupree and Mike Howe (Metal Church, Heretic) who provides guest vocals on one track. The inclusion of harmonica adds to the moonshine and alligator vibe and the whole song just rocks hard and rides free. Things continue on in high gear with the bad attitude and biker charm of “Child of Medicine” and Lowd again shows himself to be a top-notch hard rock singer full of bourbon, brawn and buckshot.One of the huge standouts comes with “The Money” which has some similarity to the darker stuff from theHall+Aflame Mike Howe era of Metal Church, but it still has a bluesy, hard rock swagger that sets it apart. Everything about this song just clicks and the band catches white lightning in a dirty beer bottle. The acoustic refrains amid the generally hard music are genius and Lowd outdoes himself jumping back and forth between a raspy roar and softer, emotional singing. The chorus hits like a tractor loaded with napalm and replays are guaranteed forever.The middle section of the album is full of enjoyable, memorable cuts like country-rock ballad “Cold Wind”, the Texas biker bar rumble of “No How, No Way” and the beers-to-the-sky anthem “Pirate’s Life” which is about as rabble-rousing as hard rock gets. Also of note is the macho bravado of “Feed the Fire” and the southern boogie of “Pray to God.”Things wrap up with yet another must hear tune called “Another Heartbeat” which is firmly ensconced in my best songs of all time list due to it’s hard-edged, rough and dark vibe and super hooky chorus. Lowd outdoes himself on this one and it’s a perfect hard rock song.KurdtVanderhoof was the only musician of note here, and he delivers a ripping performance, laying down catchy riff after riff. More impressive still is his writing which dabbles in several genres and hits all the right notes while remaining amazingly accessible. Surprisingly, the real star is Ron Lowd who proves his worth on every track and shows a great deal of versatility as the material flows from country to hard rock and into metal. The man has a powerhouse voice and a true flair for knowing when to power up and dial back. I have no fucking idea where Vanderhoof found him or where the hell he went after this album (nor can I even find a real picture of the guy), but I love his voice and wish he did something… anything else! The rest of the band is also excellent and Brian Smith’s bass adds extra swagger as Tom Weber provides a hard-driving, heavy-handed performance behind the kit.When Guaranteed Forever was released, it went nowhere fast. Metal Church fans wanted it to be harder and it never found an audience of its own, which is a shame because this should’ve gotten a lot of radio play on hard rock stations. Although a second album was allegedly written, Vanderhoof eventually went back to Metal Church and the rest of the band faded into the woodwork. There have been scattered rumors of a reunion and that mythical second album seeing the light of day, but after twenty-one years, I’m a bit skeptical about that happening. Regardless of the stillborn band history, if you love hard rock and want to unearth a true diamond in the genre, look no further (though finding this may take some looking in and of itself). You’ve probably slept on this record your whole life. The sleeper must awaken!!
Line-Up:
Ron Lowd - vocals
Kurdt Vanderhoof - guitar, vocals - See also: Metal Church, Presto Ballet, ex-Vanderhoof, Hall Aflame, Todd Michael Hall, ex-Chris Caffery (live), ex-The Lewd
Brian Smith - bass, vocals
Tom Weber - drums - See also: ex-Metal Church
+ guests:
Backing Vocals – Mike Howe
Harmonica – Randy McCoy
Production:
Recorded At – Steve Lawson Productions
Mixed At – Red Zone Studios
Mastered At – Oceanview Digital Mastering
Cover [Design] – Hugh Brown, Neil Kellerhouse
Producer, Mixed By – Kurdt Vanderhoof
Mastered By – Joe Gastwirt
Photography By – Michael Wilson
Producer, Mixed By – Brett Eliason
Tracklist:
01. Shake the Pain 4:44
02. Child of Medicine 4:17
03. The Money 5:52
04. Cold Wind 4:13
05. No How, No Way 4:29
06. Feed the Fire 4:57
07. One Time Winner 4:43
08. Pirate's Life 4:23
09. Pray to God 3:36
10. Slippin' Through My Fingers 3:50
11. Another Heartbeat 4:33
12. Country Angel 4:39
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