METAL JUKEBOX

Ghandi - Destruction Forever ? (1988) (Metal Giant Records Edition 2020)









Year : 1988 (Metal Giant Records Edition 2020)
Style : Melodic Heavy Metal
Country : Germany
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 89 mb

Bio:

Ghandi is German heavy metal band from Willebadessen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The band was founded in 1986 by guitarists Arnie Ghandi (real name: Arnold Sprenger) and G.R. Klik (real name: Gerd Klik). Both had previously played in the band Vicious Circle, which released an EP on Noise Records in 1984. The first line-up was completed by singer Tino Timm, bassist Guido Berendes and drummer Wolf Degering. The band was signed to the Metal Giant record label and recorded their debut album in the same year at Eastwood Music Studios in Bielefeld over a period of eleven months. However, Destruction Forever? was not released until 1988 and received extremely negative reviews from the specialised press. Stefan Kerzel from the German magazine Metal Hammer wrote of a ‘more than embarrassing’ result and awarded two out of seven points.The song Entertainment of War appeared on the compilation Teutonic Invasion Part Two in the same year. Ghandi played various tours supporting bands such as Uriah Heep, Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Golden Earring.A year later, Tino Timm, G.R. Klik and Wolf Degering left the band and were replaced by singer Jones, bassist Peter and drummer Gonzo. The single Baby, It's You was followed in 1990 by the second and final studio album Grateful Message, which was also recorded at Eastwood Music Studios in Bielefeld. Martin Groß from Metal Hammer magazine attested to the band that the musical quality had ‘improved considerably’ compared to the debut album and awarded it four out of seven points.Holger Stratmann from the German magazine Rock Hard wrote that the music ‘sounds a bit bland’ and could ‘never stand up to international comparisons’. According to Arnie Ghandi, the album placed in the top 10 of the Japanese album charts, ahead of bands like Deep Purple and Iron Maiden.A short time later, the band disbanded.

1988: Destruction Forever? (Album, Metal Giant)
1989: Baby, It´s You (Single, Metal Giant)
1990: Grateful Message (Album, Metal Giant)

Album:

Debut album recorded at Eastwood Music Studios, Bielefeld January-November 1986.I only find the motivation to review an album when it really kicks my ass and I want tell people how awesome it is. Especially when there is not a review for the album at all. This is one band that is an excellent, hard-rocking blend of melodic musicianship and that twinge of ridiculousness that permeates a few great metal bands (you know who you are.) Anyway, I have to say that the only real reason I even checked this band out was because of the band picture I saw here on this very site. That is one colorful damn metal band. I can't tell if they're some sort of metal ninjas or maybe magicians? Regardless, I am so glad that I did. The profile for the band says the band has religious themes, but I couldn't tell, not that I would mind if it did. Every song on this album is catchy and I found myself unable to restrain myself from fist-pumping every once in a while. I don't know how accurate the religious themes thing is, but the music on this album just sortof makes you feel good. Whilst rocking at the same time. I love the solos, very intricate and melodic.Great heavy riffs, with a nice 80s sound. The vocals seem top-notch to me as well. Pretty straight-forward metal as far as overall genre, but I have to say I enjoyed this record right from the beginning.So, this is one of those mid-80s German bands who basically sound like early-Dickenson Maiden. And if you ask me, that's a pretty cool sound to have.

Line Up:

Tino Timm - Vocals
Arnie Ghandi - Guitars - See also: ex-Vicious Circle
G.R. Klik - Keyboards, Guitars
Guido Berendes - Bass
Wolf Degering - Drums

+ Backing Vocals – Arnold Sprenger

Production:

Recorded At – E.M.S. - Eastwood Musik Studios
Mixed At – E.M.S. - Eastwood Musik Studios
Published By – Eastwood Music GmbH
Published By – Maldoror Musikverlag
Manufactured By – KIVI
Artwork [Front Cover] – Mike Neudorf
Cover [Concept] – Arnold Sprenger
Engineer – Andreas Torkler, Karl Godejohann, Manfred Wahl
Illustration [Inner Sleeve] – Sabine Volkmer
Mixed By – Andreas Torkler, Ghandi
Producer, Written-By – Arnie Ghandi

Tracklist:

01. Safe Your Life 03:41
02. Rock 'n' Roller 03:04
03. We Wanna Rock You 03:00
04. Hard Days 03:40
05. Entertainment of War 05:45
06. Down the Highway 03:28
07. Journey into Paradise 04:02
08. Baby It's You 04:02
09. Let Us Rock 'n' Roll 03:14
10. Destruction Forever? 04:44




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

Ghandi - Grateful Message (Japan Edition) (1990)











Year : 1990 (Japan Edition)
Style : Melodic Heavy Metal
Country : Germany
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 126 mb

Bio:

Ghandi is German heavy metal band from Willebadessen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The band was founded in 1986 by guitarists Arnie Ghandi (real name: Arnold Sprenger) and G.R. Klik (real name: Gerd Klik). Both had previously played in the band Vicious Circle, which released an EP on Noise Records in 1984. The first line-up was completed by singer Tino Timm, bassist Guido Berendes and drummer Wolf Degering. The band was signed to the Metal Giant record label and recorded their debut album in the same year at Eastwood Music Studios in Bielefeld over a period of eleven months. However, Destruction Forever? was not released until 1988 and received extremely negative reviews from the specialised press. Stefan Kerzel from the German magazine Metal Hammer wrote of a ‘more than embarrassing’ result and awarded two out of seven points.The song Entertainment of War appeared on the compilation Teutonic Invasion Part Two in the same year. Ghandi played various tours supporting bands such as Uriah Heep, Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Golden Earring.A year later, Tino Timm, G.R. Klik and Wolf Degering left the band and were replaced by singer Jones, bassist Peter and drummer Gonzo. The single Baby, It's You was followed in 1990 by the second and final studio album Grateful Message, which was also recorded at Eastwood Music Studios in Bielefeld. Martin Groß from Metal Hammer magazine attested to the band that the musical quality had ‘improved considerably’ compared to the debut album and awarded it four out of seven points.Holger Stratmann from the German magazine Rock Hard wrote that the music ‘sounds a bit bland’ and could ‘never stand up to international comparisons’. According to Arnie Ghandi, the album placed in the top 10 of the Japanese album charts, ahead of bands like Deep Purple and Iron Maiden.A short time later, the band disbanded.

1988: Destruction Forever? (Album, Metal Giant)
1989: Baby, It´s You (Single, Metal Giant)
1990: Grateful Message (Album, Metal Giant)

Album:

Second and last album.There are some genuine curiosities floating around from the early 90s that often escape the eye of even the most fervent of 80s metal enthusiasts, even when the original run of this unique blend of raucous hard rock and technical flair didn't fully subside until 1991 for much of the world. Among the fringe players over in Germany that made a few minor waves before being largely forgotten was the Westphalia quintet Ghandi, in all of their misspelled glory. Often conflated with the Christian metal movement of the late 80s due to their general positive lyrics and their stage getup being somewhat similar to the early uniforms rocked by Stryper, they seemed all but destined to relative obscurity despite having most of the right things going for them when their hard rocking debut Destruction Forever? hit the market in 1988. Though it would prove a minor player in the vinyl market of the day, it would be followed by a fairly sizable change in stylistic direction a couple years later with Grateful Message, an album that both embraced their generally AOR-tinged formula but would also throw in a more metallic edge into the mix.One look at the interstellar art work that graces the cover in comparison to the more mundane one adorning its predecessor and it becomes pretty clear that this album is driving at something a bit different. In most respects it sticks fairly close to the big melodies and big choruses approach to songwriting that was a staple of Dokken's and W.A.S.P.'s mid-80s material, and the vocal gymnastics on display by front man Jones (no proper name given) fits the typical mold of Ian Gillian-inspired singers from said era with maybe a hint of the more soulful character of Don Dokken when in his middle register. On the other hand, there are times when this album seems to be glomming onto the recent strides made by Helloween and at least temporarily morphing into a full on power metal assault, though more along the lines of Chroming Rose rather than an outright nod to the Keeper Of The Seven Keys albums. It isn't merely a faster and more ferocious display out of the drums that accomplishes this either, as in addition to some notable speed metal riffing episodes, both Arnie Sprenger and his axe-mate Peter (no surname provided) share a dynamic comparable to Hansen and Weikath.In keeping with this album's lofty exterior, the game of back and forth between heavy and early Euro-power sounds has an elaborate character that, while still bound to the party hearty excesses of the 80s, has an almost storybook-like structure. Things begin on an overtly epic note with a massive, keyboard-steeped intro track with a brilliant melodic guitar display in "Floating Space Odyssey" that could easily have been heard on a late 90s power metal album from Europe. This auspicious fit of cosmic sounds is immediately chased by a fast paced, riff happy anthem in "Chilly Winter Nights" that, while not too far of a cry from a faster Ozzy song like "Bark At The Moon" or "Shot In The Dark", has a distinctly melodic structure that results in something more along the lines of a missing link between Accept and Helloween. Things take on a less innovative character for a bit with the more blues rocking romp "The Way I Am" and the more melancholic power ballad "Baby It's You" (which sounds pretty close to the ballad approach heard on Russian Roulette), but with the entry of "All In All" in all its Judas Priest-infused, high octane majesty, the melodic contour of things results in a close cousin to Chroming Rose's "Power And Glory". Following another brief keyboard interlude to usher in the album's B-side, the same basic combination reprises itself on "Tales Of Pain" and at key points of the closing epic half-ballad "By The Sea", culminating in the two standout moments of the album.Although this isn't quite a pure expression of fast-paced power metal after the mold of Chroming Rose, it's almost as good as said band's riveting debut Louis XIV. The sappier moments of this album are reasonably well accomplished, coming off more as respites from the more energetic moments and containing a good mixture of charming melodic hooks and expressive guitar playing, mimicking the sort of nuanced balance of saccharine and punch that was so masterfully accomplished by Accept on their less abrasive works. No one person completely carries this album and everyone turns in a solid performance, but for the most part this is a vocals and guitar-oriented album that only occasionally showcases the technical chops of the rhythm section, with perhaps the most visible example being that wild bass solo section on "Tales Of Pain" that rivals the one Markus Grosskopf put to "Eagle Fly Free". For those able to track down the Japanese edition of this album, there is an exclusive bonus track called "Charming Boy" that further accentuates the Helloween influences on this album in more of a comical fashion, definitely a keeper. That's the basic story of this album, it's more fun than it is serious, but it's a solid listen for any fan of over-the-top heavy metal with a speedy edge. Score another one for the misspelled spiritual leader of modern India!

Line Up:

Jones - Vocals, Percussion
Arnie Ghandi - Guitar , Keyboards - See also: ex-Vicious Circle
Peter - Guitar
Guido Berendes - Bass
Gonzo - Drums

+ guests:

Backing Vocals [Back Up Vocals] – Thomas Schröder
Bass – Joz No (tracks: 4, 5)
Drums – Nicky Grand
Drums [Drumming] – Joey Gad

Production:

Recorded At – E.M.S. - Eastwood Musik Studios
Liner Notes – 和田誠*
Liner Notes [対訳] – Marie Nishimori
Mastered At – Studio-Nord-Bremen
Booking – Metal Giant Records
Cover, Artwork By – Mike Neudorf
Engineer, Recorded By – Andreas 'Stock, Aitken, Waterloo' Torkler
Illustration, Sleeve [Inner] – Arnie Ghandi
Mastered By – Bernd 'Masterblaster' Steinwedel
Mixed By – 'El Torro' Torkler*, Ghandi
Photography By – Helmut 'Urmel' Uhrmann*, Stefan Beuse
Producer – Arnie Ghandi
Written-By, Composed By – Arnie Ghandi (tracks: 1 to 13), Gerald Schröder (tracks: 8), Peter Coller (tracks: 1), Uli Namaschk (tracks: 8)

Tracklist:

01. Floating Space Odyssey 01:50
02. Chilly Winter Nights 04:58
03. The Way I Am 05:38
04. Baby It's You 04:03
05. All in All 04:52
06. S.H.K. 01:00
07. Tales of Pain 04:23
08. Big City Life 03:34
09. In the Heat of the Night 06:12
10. By the Sea 06:27
11. Charming Boy 04:11 (Japan Bonus Track)
12. We Wanna Rock You 03:04 (Japan Bonus Track)
13. Down the Highway 03:44 (Japan Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/