Killer - The Mausoleum Years 1981-1990 & Only The Strong Survive 1988-2015 Vol. 1-2 [Remastered] (2019)

Whilst the nascent "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal" movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s was raging just across the English Channel, spearheaded by debuts from the likes of Iron Maiden, Saxon and Angel Witch, and in part inspired by well-established bands such as Motorhead and Judas Priest, Belgium was fomenting it's own highly influential rock and metal scene. At it's forefront was Belgian heavy metal group Killer. A power trio founded in 1980 around lead guitarist and vocalist Paul Van Camp, joined by Fat Leo on drums and Spooky on bass guitar and vocals, Killer released their debut "Ready For Hell" on WEA Records, soon finding a cult following at home and abroad. Hailed, not unreasonably, as Belgium's Motorhead, "Ready For Hell" can sit proudly alongside any NWOBHM debuts of the era, and would in turn be a major influence a few years later on the burgeoning thrash metal of Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer in the early 80s. The bonus tracks on CD1 are 'From Nine To Five', 'Too Wild To Tame', 'Crazy Circus' and 'Chinese Woman'. At the end of 1981, Fat Leo was replaced on drums by Double Bear for 1982's "Wall Of Sound" LP, which saw Killer making a greater impact beyond Belgium, becoming a popular fixture on European festival bills. The bonus track on "Walls Of Sound" is the self-explanatory 'Walls Of Hell'. Killer's management formed the highly influential metal label Mausoleum Records, and unsurprisingly, Killer were a perfect fit for the label, recording the "Shockwaves" LP. Mausoleum would also launch cult Belgian bands such as Ostrogoth, Crossfire, Danger, FN Guns, and Lions Pride, as well as non-Belgian acts Wildfire, Faithful Breath and Warlock, all becoming highly collectable releases. The bonus tracks on "Shockwaves" demonstrate what Killer did best with live versions of 'Shock Waves', 'Scarecrow', 'In The Name Of The Law' and 'Kleptomania'. Although the band disbanded in early 1987, with Paul Van Camp releasing his self-titled solo debut the same year, thankfully Spooky and Shorty decided to start Killer again in 1989, but with new drummer Rudy Simmons and a second guitar player, Jan Van Springel. Their fourth album, "Fatal Attraction", was recorded in Germany and released by Mausoleum Records in 1990, with the band focussing and capitalizing on their popularity in Germany. Once again, unfortunately, partly due to the growing popularity of grunge, Killer decided to call it a day in 1991, which is where this 4CD collection ends. Killer would, of course, reform later in the decade, and were proud to release their seventh album, "Monsters Of Rock" in 2015, in time to commemorate the band's 35th Anniversary. But that's another story

In the history of Belgian heavy metal there are just a handful of bands who stand apart as being influential and impressive; of these, Killer are perhaps the most crucial of all. While there have been others - notably Acid, Ostragoth, Crossfire and FN Guns - who have all made their impact, it is Killer who are regarded as the most important metal name ever to come out of Belgium. Our highly influential heavy metal heroes originally formed in 1980, by Paul "Shorty" Van Camp on lead guitar and lead vocals, "Fat Leo" on drums and "Spooky" on bass guitar and lead vocals. Inspired by the UK's New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene that gave us Iron Maiden, Saxon and Diamond Head, Killer's heavy and aggressive sound, alloyed to their power trio format, led to favourable, and not unfounded comparisons to Motörhead. After a mere four months they released "Ready For Hell" on WEA, becoming a cult draw across Europe. They would release "Wall Of Sound" in 1981, "Shock Waves" in 1984 and "Fatal Attraction" in 1990, all of which have been collected together by HNE Recordings on KILLER: Volume One - The Mausoleum Years Boxset 1980-1990 [HNEBOX114]. Although the advent of grunge put Killer on hiatus for the remainder of the 1990s, the band reformed around Paul "Shorty" Van Camp for 2003's "Broken Silence", happily resurrecting their classic 80s metal sound, but now augmented by the inclusion of keyboards, reflecting the influence of the classic hard rock of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. Killer now featured a line-up completed by Spin on bass, Vanne on drums and Dave on keyboards. The same band recorded the follow-up in 2005 with "Immortal", continuing the keyboard augmented sound developed on "Broken Silence", and with "Shorty" now the sole vocalist. There was a ten year gap before 2015's "Monsters Of Rock", with a band featuring Jakke on bass and vocals and Vanne on drums. Without the inclusion of keyboards, Killer returned to their more metal driven sound. As an extra bonus, this set is rounded off with Paul "Shorty" Van Camp's 1988 solo offering "Too Wild To Tame". With "Shorty" taking vocals and lead guitar, he was joined by Olaf Van Deuren on rhythm guitar, Apache on vocals and bass, plus former Killer bandmate "Double Bear" on drums. The set includes liner notes from Classic Rock's Malcolm Dome based on new interviews with Paul "Shorty" Van Camp. Killer are currently working on an album new of new recordings, based on their classic material, and continue to tour until the present day.