Holocaust - Heavy Metal Mania: Complete Recordings 1980-1984, Vol. 1 (2023)

Holocaust might have ended up as a small, albeit important and influential, footnote in the annals of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, and heavy metal in general, if it wasn’t for the patronage of one very famous group of fans in Metallica. From the start, Metallica were more than happy to acknowledge the ongoing influence of groups from this side of the pond, especially those who were part of the NWOBHM, through various B-Sides and EPs. In 1987, they released The $5.98 E.P. – ‘Garage Days Re-Revisited’ EP, which included their faithful cover of Holocaust’s ‘The Small Hours’, and later also included it on the 1998 multi-platinum selling ‘Garage Inc’.

Right from the start, Holocaust set out their stall with one agenda, and that was to spread ‘Heavy Metal Mania’, which was suitably the title of their debut 45 in 1980, followed by the ‘Smokin’ Valves’ single the same year.

Releasing their full length debut in 1981, ‘The Nightcomers’ (CD1) features the raw and untamed energy that would give their NWOBHM peers south of the border a good run for their money, with the self-explanatory ‘Death Or Glory’, the aforementioned ‘Smokin’ Valves’, plus a re-recording of debut, ‘Heavy Metal Mania.

As most bands made their money selling albums, touring for an independent band could be an expensive venture for a band based in Scotland, so they made the admirable decision to film and record their 1981 show at the Nite Club in Edinburgh. Retailing at a hefty £29.95 (well in excess of over £100 in today’s money), the 80-minute film did capture Holocaust’s raw exuberance, with tracks such as ‘Bridge Of Impressions’, ‘Out My Book’ and ‘Jirmakenyerut’. CD2 presents the audio soundtrack to the live video, and includes the first airing for the above mentioned classic, ‘The Small Hours’.

The set is completed with their ‘No Man’s Land’ album and Ed Dudley’s Hologram band’s ‘Steal the Stars’ after he left Holocaust in 1983; plus all of the group’s original singles and B-sides.