Hailmary – Disturbing The Peace
Hailmary – Disturbing The Peace
Eönian Records
Release Date: 08/07/22
Running Time: 43:44
Review by Simon Black
8/10
A very long time ago, a nineteen-year-old me spent some months backpacking around the USA, which culminated in a couple of months as a Californian beach bum at a youth hostel in L.A.’s Venice Beach. It was a fantastic time, but what brought me there was that drive to dip my toe in the twilight of the Sunset Strip’s boom period, although ironically by then it was in already in decline before the 80’s had even burnt out and after four months of back-packing with no cash coming in I couldn’t afford to go out to the clubs anyway!
What I did do is buy shed loads of vinyl to ship home, which funded the trip and one of those records was Leatherwolf’s “Street Ready”, a copy of which I still have. That record blew me away at the time, despite their cheesy name. What impressed me about this band, who hailed from Huntington Beach forty or so miles south of where I was then living was it was my first real exposure to the American version of Power Metal, fusing the street elements of the tail end of big hair music, with the soul of old school Metal and no small amount of musicianship, given that they were fairly unique in having three guitar players in the act.
Leatherwolf never made a dent over here in the UK, which is a shame and to be fair never realised their potential Stateside either, given they were plagued by line-up problems and the misfortune of hitting their stride at just the point when musical changes were changing in favour of the Seattle sound. The band had been going for a while at this point and fizzled out for the rest of the century and have reappeared on and off ever since.
So what the hell is the relevance to this act? Hail Mary were formed when Leatherwolf went on hiatus in 1992, and this material was cut around that time, until the label got cold feet and pulled the plug halfway through the recording process and went off in search of flannel shirts. The three core players in Hailmary have all played a key part in the history of Leatherwolf and perhaps more pertinently were all a part of that crucial “Street Ready” album. It’s Leatherwolf in all but name, but with a stripped back and soulful sound that genuinely feels like it’s a continuation of that opus and it’s a shame that this has been languishing on a shelf somewhere for thirty years.
Musically this is top notch though, with infectious catchy tracks and that lovely “triple-axe attack” that I fell in love with back with a vengeance. I know that’s nothing new in 2022, but the chemistry between Gayer, Howe and Oliveri is as underscored as it is effective and the band were probably well ahead of their time, forging a sound that would help Metal emerge from the aftermath of Grunge like a post apocalyptic survival shelter with a stripped back, honest and unpretentious focus on delivery. Oliveri’s voice is at its peak here and the song-writing is strong, buoyant and whilst still having catchy appeal that the Strip crowd would have loved is forward looking and unpretentious to boot.
That stripped back feel makes for a mixed bag in terms of recording quality though, as the tracks here were still unfinished and may well not have been laid down, mixed and mastered at the same time, as the sound jumps around somewhat. It doesn’t affect the music, but it jars somewhat when the mix jumps significantly in tone and you have to remind yourself that this is effectively an unfinished work in progress.
As a piece of history and a chance to get your hands on a cracking missed opportunity, this cannot be faulted. Leatherwolf may still be going, but “Street Ready” was for me their peak, although this missing gem comes a damn close second.
‘Media Lobotomoy’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Mr. Keeper
02. The Way I Am
03. Media Lobotomy
04. Be My Suicide
05. This Kid
06. Friends
07. Killing My Dreams
08. Crush Of Love
09. D.A.D.
10. I Don’t Understand (Demo)
11. What’s Your Civilization (Demo)
LINE-UP:
Michael Olivieri – Vocals & Guitar
Geoff Gayer – Guitar
Carey Howe – Guitar
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Simon Black and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.