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Brocas Helm

 
Artist: Brocas Helm
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Similar Artists:

The Lord Weird Slough Feg, Manowar, Hammers of Misfortune, Cirith Ungol, Warlord, Omen, Armored Saint, Manilla Road

Influenced By:

Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden
  • Formed: 1982, San Francisco, CA
  • Genres: Rock

Biography

Even though they came into existence at around the same time and place (1982, the Bay Area) as the speed metal movement, San Francisco originals Brocas Helm shared only a few thrash-like tendencies with neighbors Exodus, Metallica, et al. Instead, like similarly overlooked contemporaries such as Manilla Road and Warlord, Brocas Helm members Bobbie Wright (guitars/vocals), Jim Schumacher (bass) and Jack Hays (drums) blazed a less popular trail closer to traditional metal powers like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and, of course, Black Sabbath, before them. This purist's philosophy quickly translated into a contract with Germany's Steamhammer label, which released Brocas Helm's medieval-minded debut album, Into Battle, in 1984, but to little critical acclaim. Fact is, band and label were separated by too great a distance to work together effectively, and the demos that would become Brocas Helm's, second album, Black Death, would languish unreleased for nearly four years before finally coming to light in 1989 -- and then via the band's own Gargoyle imprint. By then, the group (now augmented by second guitarist Tom "T-Bone" Behney) had become a truly underground enterprise, and would issue nothing but demos (1994's "Ghost Story," 1997's "Time of the Dark") until giving up their battle at last in the late ‘90's. Brocas Helm's retirement was short-lived, however, and when Greek promoters invited them to tour that metal-mad country, they eagerly reformed and issued a single entitled "Blood machine" to coincide with their live dates. Perhaps even more surprisingly, 2004 finally saw the release of a third Brocas Helm L.P. entitled Defender of the Crown. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Brocas Helm
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Brocas Helm
Origin USA
Genres Power metal
Years active 1982 - present
Labels Unsigned
Members
Bobbie Wright
James Schumacher
Jack Hays

Brocas Helm is a power metal band from San Francisco, CA founded in 1982.

Contents

History

The band was founded in 1982 by Bobbie Wright (guitars, vocals), James Schumacher (bass), Jack Hays (drums) and John Grey (guitars). With this line-up, Brocas Helm released their first demo in 1983. In 1984 the band signed with First Strike for the USA and Steamhammer for Europe, and in the same year they released their first opus, Into Battle. After several disagreements (for example, about the cover used for Into Battle, which was used without consent of the band), they mutually agreed to end the relationship with the labels, even though Brocas Helm still had an obligation for another album.

After a lot of searching for a new label that could fulfill their needs, the band decided to create and release a new LP themselves. For 5 years, the band worked hard in their "Caverns of Thunder" basement-studio, and the result was the album Black Death (with Tom Benhey on guitars). Brocas Helm recorded the Helm's Deep demo primarily to get a label deal with the goal of a high-quality CD release. Brocas Helm didn't find any label which could suit their needs, so the band self-released the Ghost Story EP in 1994, the Time of the Dark and the Blood Machine/Skullfucker singles (respectively in 1997 and 2000). In 2003 the band signed with Eat Metal records, which released the Live Album Black Death in Athens and re-released their two full-length albums with some bonus tracks and a new artwork. In 2004 the band recorded a highly anticipated new full-length album, Defender of the Crown, once again self-releasing the record.

Their songs "Cry of the Banshee" and "Drink the Blood of the Priest" are on the soundtrack for the video game Brütal Legend

Moniker

The name Brocas Helm comes from a piece of armor placed in the Tower of London. The band chose it because "It was fitting for us to use as a symbol, as we fought against the common trends of music. We surged into battle with our songs as our weapons, our fans as our blood, the force of right in our veins. And we continue to do so."

Line-Up

Current members

  • Bobbie Wright - guitars, vocals
  • James Schumacher - bass
  • Jack Hays - drums

Past members

  • John Grey - guitars
  • Tom Benhey - guitars

Discography

Albums

Live Albums

EPs

Singles

Demos

  • Demo I (1983)
  • Helm's Deep 1989)

References


External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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