Vault. No More Escape. NM Heavy Metal Hard Import LP. No Bar Code

$

34

Vault. No More Escape. Non Records(33008). 1983. Netherlands Import.
The dissemination of heavy metal into areas outside of the central hubs of the early 80s, namely the U.K., Germany and the United States, provides a rather interesting combination of evolutionary strides and late-to-the-game additions who provide a more gradualist degree of change. Among the earlier adherents to the small and often overlooked Dutch metal scene that provides a curious case of the latter eventuality stands Vault, a sadly short-lived project that didn't quite qualify as innovative in a stylistic sense, but nevertheless provided some truly exceptional examples of heavy metal bluster that might well challenge the historical hegemony of the NWOBHM had they been released a couple years earlier and had been subject to a wider audience. Their 1983 debut outing No More Escape is about as clear of a throwback to a 1980 sound as one could manage, possessing many remnants of the 70s progressive and hard rock sound that were all over Angel Witch's debut LP, and packs about as much of a punch as the riff-intense Diamond Head debut from the same year. Of course, what sort of listening experience would one expect from an album donning cover art that looks like a amalgam of Conan The Barbarian and a Dinosaur monster from the Heavy Metal animated film?
Interestingly enough, this album largely accomplishes its metallic splendor by doing what is expected, even from the standpoint of a style that was still fairly new at the time. The commonality that the aforementioned album art shares with the visuals employed by Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, and the short-lived late 70s epic outfit Legend dovetail with a similarly epic heavy metal type character, featuring an almost doom-like and definitely bass-heavy atmosphere, while the vocal work has the screaming intensity of Kevin Heybourne with a somewhat huskier timbre that is less nasally than Mark Shelton, but equally as dense. It's a very interesting blend of 70s rock and metal aesthetics, culminating in a sound that basically accomplishes the atmospheric character and songwriting scope of an epic album, but is riff-happy and busy enough to rival a lot of the shred-masters of the early 80s that would influence the early thrash scene. Interestingly enough, the one outlier element that this band brings to the table is the mighty kit work of Norbert Sulmann, who makes such an intense racket during the bulk of this album and particularly during the speed-infused thrill ride "The Gambler" that he sounds like he's been possessed by the spirits of Cozy Powell and John Bonham simultaneously, no small feat considering that the former was still alive at the time.
In keeping with this album's already noted epic proclivities, the songs tend to be long, but tend to lack the heavy repetition that goes along with said style in favor for a more dynamic experience. For example, the depressive ode to despair dubbed "Suicide" that kicks this album off has an upbeat shuffle that almost has a power metal-like quality to it, pushed along by a series of lead guitar breaks that sound fairly close to Iron Maiden territory. Occasionally things take on a more subdued and dreamy feel, such as the introductory material that kicks off "On Forever" and the even more restful clean guitar streams that begin and finish off "Leader Of The Pack", but for the most part this album has a notably up tempo character to it. This isn't necessarily to say that the majority of this album is steeped in proto-thrashing NWOBHM territory, as the principle riff work that kicks off the guitar happy rocker of a title song "No More Escape" leans a bit more into older 70s rock territory that's only slightly heavier than what was heard on Riot's 1977 debut. There are no slouch points to speak of, though generally this band is at their absolute best when things are in up tempo territory and the drums fight the guitars for prominence, i.e. the speeding brilliance of "Suicide", "Desire", and the aforementioned drum solo steeped thriller "The Gambler".
t is a bit of a shame that this album didn't make the same degree of impact as other noteworthy endeavors of the same period such as Crystal Logic and Battle Hymns, though much of that was probably due to the limited attention that was being given to bands outside of the existing centers of influence of the day, and the rest maybe to the band's somewhat more conservative take on the British part of their influences. It's the same sort of lower fidelity, atmospheric romp that was brought back to prominence thanks to the more recent output of bands like Slough Feg and Dawnbringer, but it has a bit more of an archaic charm to it that makes it a tad bit more enticing. Subsequently this band would opt for a more polished sound that was a bit more in keeping with the standard practices of its time in 1985's Sword Of Steel, which sadly never really got beyond the demo stage and became something of a lost treasure that has likewise only been rediscovered fairly recently thanks to renewed interest in the style. Though all the musicians involved in this album's creation are long retired, this is something that shouldn't be relegated to the vault (pun intended) of lost metal history.



Conditions Rated: Cover 8 or EX medium gloss cover, with light corer bumps///Record 9 or NM- black and shiny, heaavy vinyl.

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