At the dawn of the revolution that would become known as the NWOBHM that shot up toward the tail end of the 70's and reach fruition in the early 80's stood four men that took rock music by the scruff of its neck and throttled it to the point of near death… in the process truly awakening a fledgling art form that would go on to scale new heights.

Led by guitarist Paul Samson and a still very green singer who went by the name of Bruce Bruce, this band was an up and coming talent that epitomized the true heavy metal spirit.

Bruce of course would go on to front Maiden, while Paul and the rest, well… Samson went on to do a few more albums that had little if any impact on the rest of the world.

However, these four reissues mark the original and best Samson that any metal listener worth their weight in studs and leather would do well to add to their collection… and anyone who's reached that thirty-something plateau should already possess them.

If not, here's your chance graciously offered again from Sanctuary Music and their American imprint Never Records!

Furthermore, if these four originals were not among your listening catalog back in the day, what's the excuse?

There really wasn't a whole lot better during that time as the Priest's and Maiden's and Saxon's of the world were only just beginning to come into their own… and of course Grim Reaper hadn't surfaced till '84!

"For Best Results Play Loud When Wrecked!"

That's all any true metal head needed to get them through the day when "Survivors" roared through those shoddy looking excuses for stereo speakers!

The first Samson album actually featured Mr. Samson himself behind the mic as well as blasting out the powerful chords that led the way with the prophetic "It's Not as Easy as it Seems," and for them, it never would be.

And where else in the world can you get a song title as whacked out as "I Wish I was the Saddle of a Schoolgirl's Bike?" Sheer Genius!

The Dickinson we've all come to know and love did his bit backing up the vocals and some six string work as the 'Lizzy-appeal of this crude form of noise-pollution quickly spoke volumes that they would soon belong at the top of the heap much like the album cover indicated.

"Head On" was all of that by the time this sophomore effort landed on store shelves. This 1980 release ironically sounded a bit rawer and marked the emergence of Bruce taking over vocals. As unrefined as the production process that was available at the time, Bruce delivered an expansive sound to Samson that roared forth recklessly with the opening "Hard Times," "Take it Like a Man," and the sing along fave "Vice Versa."

Well maybe "sing along" isn't quite the way to put it yet it represented one of the catchier moments in an otherwise caustic creation. "Too Close to Rock" was the seminal metal classic here; subdued, slowly writhing rhythmically back and forth before unleashing a pleasant dose of pedal to the floor speed with Paul's fingers working overtime and Bruce giving advance notice his best days were not too far off!

And could that be the infamous "Thunderstick" striking the threatening pose on the album's front?

A little pre-Maiden glimpse roars quickly in and out of the background with "Thunderburst" before busting loose with "Hammerhead…" Wait. Wait. I think… yes, I CAN still hear it! What "Ride the Lightning" was to Metallica or "Screaming for Vengeance" was for Priest, "Shock Tactics" was for Samson… if not for comparable sales figures.

Their third release from 1981 had everything firing on all cylinders. A beefed up and clear production served well the magnificence displayed on the fired up opener, "Riding with the Angels," the oft-disturbed outcry of "Earth Mother" and the spicy boogie-whip appeal of "Nice Girl."

Not only did Samson put their ever broadening talents on full display here, the cohesive progression they'd make in only a few short years culminated in one of the year's best releases-and their best release!

For future Maiden fans, this is basically the point that Bruce arrives to do his worst when some little known wretched work-I believe it went by "Number of the Beast" came about a year later to little or no fanfare and equally forgettable to this day!

Of course that's a joke, but if taken into context, "Shock Tactics" wasn't very far off the level of greatness that one would go on to achieve… remember, Samson was more like an AC/DC type-little flash, a lot of heart, but in this case, no direction. Still, "Shock Tactics" from beginning to end was a fireball of a record that explored every imaginable space the improving yet still restrictive environment would allow.

"Communion" was one of those show-closer types where the lighters flickered in the air and Bruce's impassioned pleas over your not-so-conventional power-ballad style still sounds as moving today as it did then…

How's that for a lead in to "Live at Reading '81," the fourth and final reissue in this latest series. Originally seeing the light of day back in '90, this one captures Samson at their palpitative best… on stage.

Probably won't be too many lighters flickering anywhere here, it's full speed ahead and my guess is there wasn't one person standing still long enough to reach into their pockets anyway!

"Live at Reading" features ten slabs of pure rock chipped right off the old… statues of The Quiet Man himself as depicted on the previous "Shock Tactics" cover-so now we know what happened to the poor devil's arms!

With all due respect to Mr. Wayne, I doubt very much he'd care for this type of abuse. Sounding surprisingly fresh as far as live albums go, and considering its original age, their first three records are featured here in all their splendor.

Opening with the old favorite from the first record, "Big Brother," other reasons to shake, rattle and roll right out your bedroom window include "Earth Mother," oft-requested "Vice Versa" which sounds almost unbelievable for the live environment and Bruce really lets it fly here!

"Walking out on You," "Hammerhead" and "Riding with the Angels" provide several more fistfuls of pounding metal fury that sends an overactive audience into uproarious delight before closing off with the previously unreleased "Gravy Train."

The liner notes feature Bruce on the receiving end of an interview reminiscing about his former band that although never met with much fame and fortune as others of the time, managed to raise the standard for heavy rock in their era.

They met their unfortunate demise shortly thereafter right at a time when they might well have finally leapt to the next level as anyone could readily hear that they kept improving with every new release.

It was not to be and of course the rest is history. But these four classic Samson reissues present the true spirit of the NWOBHM and even more importantly, present a band whose reputation has remained untarnished as the underground leaders of a new code of conduct that continues to inspire to this day!

Released by Sanctuary Music

Review By Vinnie Apicella