Randy Bishop

KICK AXE! Grant’s Rock Warehaus tackles one of the best Canadian bands with whom you’re not familiar enough! All albums ranked!

This weekend on Grant’s Rock Warehaus, we tackled a band that needs and deserves more attention:  Canada’s Kick Axe!

“Nobody’s talking about Kick Axe!” said Grant.  We aim to change that with this show.  Please give it a watch!  What are your favourite Kick Axe songs?

This show almost didn’t happen.  I wanted an expert on Kick Axe, so I asked Derek Williamson of Thunder Bay Ontario, who saw Kick Axe live back in the day and also interviewed the guitarist Larry Gillstrom.  He stonewalled me three times, so we decided to do it without him.

Show notes are below, if you want the Cole’s Notes version, but you’ll have to watch the video to get our album rankings.

Formed 1976, Regina Saskatchewan as “Hobbit”.

Original lineup:

  • Victor Langen, bass, vocals
  • Gary Langen, drums
  • Larry Gilstrom, guitar

Ray Harvey added on guitar.

Moved to Vancouver BC, Gary Langen leaves band replaced by Brian Gillstrom, Charles McNary hired as vocalist.

1981 – Playboy Street Rock – live track called “Reality is the Nightmare”.

1981 – Weekend Ride / One More Time (Harvey on vocals).

Produced by Bill Henderson and Brian Too Loud McLeod of Chilliwack.

Wrote “Heavy Metal Shuffle” which opened Vices later on.  Attempted to record an album but never released it.

McNary replaced by George Criston, who brought in power, range and soul as well as a unique sound.

1984 – Signed to CBS in Canada, approached Spencer Proffer to produce because they wanted the same sound as Metal Health by Quiet Riot.  Proffer liked the band personally and thought highly of their musicianship.  Album Vices released on Pasha in the US.

Recorded existing material (2 songs re-written with Proffer) in Hollywood at S.I.R.  30 Days in the Hole – a cover, like Cum On Feel the Noize, but not intended to be a hit, just a showcase for their talents.  Released on the soundtrack to Up the Creek.

Ran into Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler – supposedly approached Criston to replace Ian Gillan in Black Sabbath.  Proffer was working with both bands.

Vices is their best album.  Proffer intended it to be a concept album about vices.  Not a bad song.  Bangin’ backing vocals.  Music video for On the Road to Rock made major impact in Canada, with the comedic video attracting attention.  The Vices mascot was one of my first “rock buttons”.

Vices did not perform to expectations, but Kick Axe wrote three songs for the next Black Sabbath album:  “Wild in the Streets”, “Hunger”, and “Piece of the Rock”, later recorded by W.A.S.P. and King Kobra.  Kick Axe did not want to lose Criston to Sabbath.  “Piece of the Rock” is one of the rarest Kick Axe tracks, only released on a 2005 issue of Rock the World.

1985 – Second album – Pasha wants band more streamlined for radio.  Brought in Pasha staffer Randy Bishop to help on lyrics.  Co-wrote 5 songs and co-produced Welcome to the Club.  Some of the heaviness is blunted, in favour of better song structure and melodies.  Recorded at Metalworks in Toronto.  Cover art by Hugh Syme, which the band never understood the meaning of.

Band brought in cover of Joe Cocker’s version of “With A Little Help From My Friends”.  Rik Emmett, Lee Aaron, Andy Curran, Alfie Zappacosta and more on backing vocals.  Very cool music video made of the recording session.

Pretty solid album, though not as banging throughout as the original.  The cover tune is completely different, but really excellent.

The band and Proffer blame lack of sales on parent label Epic.  No support.  Toured with Autograph, Krokus, Night Ranger, Helix and Triumph.

1986 – Ray Harvey returns home to deal with family matters.  Joins Rock & Hyde as touring guitarist (Bob Rock & Paul Hyde).

The Transformers soundtrack released.  Hunger, and Nothing’s Gonna Stand In Our Way released as Spectre General.  All done by Proffer, without knowledge of the band.  Due to pseudonym used, no benefit to band happened.

Still signed to CBS in Canada.  Next album picked up by Roadrunner in US.

Rock the World (initially “Fuck the World”) recorded as four piece.  Self-produced primarily by Larry due to lack of funds provided by CBS.  Recorded at Right Trak in Vancouver.  Also forced to mix the album themselves.  The cover tune this time is The Chain by Fleetwood Mac.

Band breaks up – sherrifs seize equipment due to unpaid debts.  Later immortalized in the song Rocking Daze on Kick Axe IV.

2002 – Kick Axe reunite with Gary Langen returning, this time on lead vocals.  George Criston remains active in country and more soulful music.  Has expressed no interest in returning to rock.  Has not participated with reissues.  Has worked as a guitar tech for Sarah McLachlan, Dido, Avril Lavigne, and k.d. lang.

2004 – Kick Axe IV self produced.  Best song Rockin Daze written by Brian Gillstrom.  Decent album but not memorable long-term except for Rockin Daze.  Gary Langen has a style of voice reminiscent of Phil Naro.

2008 – Gary Langen leaves band, replaced by Daniel Nargang.

2023 – Run to the Thunder, first new song in decades, to be followed by new album.

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: Kick Axe – Welcome to the Club (1985, 2016 remaster) – Kick Axe series Part Five

Part Five of a series on classic KICK AXE!

KICK AXE – Welcome to the Club (1985, 2016 Rock Candy collector’s edition)

Kick Axe may have had a slight identity issue.

They certainly didn’t benefit at all when two of their songs (“Hunger” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stand In Our Way”) were released under another name on The Transformers soundtrack.  Nobody knew that “Spectre General” was in fact Kick Axe.  Unicron may have been defeated, and Rodimus named as the next Prime, but Kick Axe didn’t gather any of the spoils.  There’s also the issue of their critical second album.  Vices was clearly a metal album and the band had an obviously heavy image, complete with toothy mascot.  When the second album saw its release, the mascot was gone and the lead video was a ballad!

The twist in the tale is that Welcome to the Club is considered by many fans to be Kick Axe’s best album; and they may be right.

The record label Pasha was trying to steer Kick Axe in a lighter direction.  Producer Spencer Proffer couldn’t be there, so staffer Randy Bishop was sent to Toronto to write and record the next album with the band.  They did this at the legendary Metalworks, and then the album was sent to Proffer in California to mix.  You’d expect this kind of operation to be detrimental to the music.  You’d be wrong.

The songs are tighter than those on Vices.  Yes, opener “Welcome to the Club” lacks the full-fisted punch of “Heavy Metal Shuffle”, but they are traded in for a dusky, cleaner vibe.  This is an older, wiser band and the lyrics reflect that.  “If you’ve had your share of heartache…welcome to the club.”  The drums are still thunder on tape, and George Criston could bellow like few others, so the “softening” of Kick Axe was actually quite minor.

“Feels Good – Don’t Stop” lets the bass lead the way, for a bangin’ chorus that any band would have given their nuts to write.  Another flawess chorus is found on the powerful “Comin’ After You”, which may in fact be the perfect 1985 hard rock song.  Softer verses build up to the kick of the first chorus, with backing keyboards providing unobtrusive texture.  “Make Your Move” is another expertly written rock song, something like Bon Jovi circa 7800° Fahrenheit.  Did Sambora spend time studying this album?  Then a dramatic “Never Let Go” has a creeping, dark vibe that makes one wonder just what Black Sabbath would have sounded like with George Criston on lead vocals.  When Ian Gillan left to join Deep Purple, Criston was one of the singers that Tony Iommi was very interested in.  This song is a glimpse into what that might have sounded like.

The side two kick-off, “Hellraisers” is a cold steel classic.  A signature guitar lick and a chorus plumbed straight from the most melodic depths of hell is all it takes.  Well, the solo cooks pretty hot too.  “Hellraisers” is most likely the best tune on Welcome to the Club, which goes a long way to making it the best Kick Axe song, period.  By the next track, “Can’t Take It With You”, Kick Axe discovered a time machine and somehow came up with a cool wah-wah riff right out the 2000s.  There is no way we’ll ever know for sure, but it’s not out of the question that this riff was lifted by time travel from John Norum of Europe during the sessions for Start From the Dark.

Anyone who felt Welcome to the Club underdelivered in terms of heavy metal probably thought “Too Loud…Too Old” was the best song.  Heavy groove and speed co-mingle, and the result is one of the heaviest hard rock tracks in the history of the genre.  “Feel the Power” dials it back in terms of heavy, but is no slouch of a track, not with all those Brian Gillstrom drumquakes.  Guitarists Larry Gillstrom and Ray Harvey had a knack for harmony guitar solos, as heard on “Feel the Power”.  Not to mention the capable backing vocals by the entire band, rounded out by Victor Langen on bass.

The oddball ballad goes last, and it really is a surprising one.  Continuing a tradition that would follow through on all their albums, Kick Axe did a cover.  This time it’s the Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”, but via the Joe Cocker arrangement.  The good news:  George Criston was more than capable of handling the difficult song without sounding like an asshole.  Not an easy task!  He is accompanied by Canadian stars like Alfie Zappacosta, Lee Aaron, Rik Emmett, and Andy Curran which gives the song some authenticity and serious star power.  Lee Aaron in particularly kicks the song right in the nuts when she steps up to the microphone.

It was this track that was chosen as the lead video, and immediately confused all the kids sitting at home watching MuchMusic.  This was the “On the Road to Rock” band, clearly, but they didn’t sound like that anymore.  The music video almost looked like a charity single, with everybody singing together in the studio.  We didn’t know what to make of it, and the clever but tame Hugh Syme cover artwork really didn’t speak like Vices did.

It is always a shame when a great album by a deserving band gets ignored.  Thanks to Rock Candy and their awesome CD reissues, it’s not too late to get into the Club.

5/5 stars