Artist: Chateaux
Genre(s):
Other
Discography:
Highly Strung
Year: 1985
Tracks: 9
FirePower
Year: 1984
Tracks: 8
Of all the ridiculous names elect by New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands, Cheltenham, England's Chateaux english hawthorn only submit the cake -- at least in terms of patriotic inappropriateness, if not inexplicability (Split Beaver or Ethel the Frog, anyone?). In whatever case, the stripe was formed circa 1981 by guitarist Tim Broughton, bassist Alec Houston, and drummer Andre Bayliss, and cursorily launch a home base with upstart Ebony Records, which selected their vocal "Thomas Young Blood" for inclusion on 1982's Metal Maniaxe compilation, and and then for single passing as a unmarried. By then, vocaliser Steve Grimmett had been added to the lineup, and it was his voice that graced Chateaux's full-length debut, Chained and Desperate, just a year later on. But, for reasons unknown, the rest of the grouping made it a point to take a firm stand at every opportunity that Grimmett was zero more than than a guest, going the exit door assailable for him to refocus on labelmates Grim Reaper, with whom he went on to recover far greater fame.
Ironically, as it shortly transpired, only guitarist and chieftain ballad maker Broughton was guaranteed a chairman at the tabular array, and by the release of the next year's sophomore Firepower LP, both Houston and Bayliss had been replaced by vocalist/bassist Krys Mason and drummer Chris Dadson (ex-Aragorn). Arguably, and even though Grimmett was for sure a more than gifted isaac Bashevis Singer overall, many observers believed that the change was for the better, with this album pursuing a more target and energetic route than Chateaux's sometimes overwrought debut -- which itself had shown quite a spot of assure, psyche you. The same could non be said for 1985's candidly water-treading Highly Strung album, whereupon headbanging free energy had clearly taken precession o'er anything remotely intelligent or original, and, when unsatisfying gross sales combined with the band's reluctance to circuit outside its local region, the time was near for the members of Chateaux to invite their fans sayonara and go their carve up shipway.
