Crowley - The Scream of Death EP (1985)

Crowley were a Japanese band who never really got their act together enough to make an impact on the expanding 80s scene, falling well below the shadows of an Anthem or Loudness. I have discussed in the past how the band's brief full-length Whisper of Evil left little impression upon me. I was very surprised to find that this short EP, The Scream of Death, from just a year earlier, showed an immensely higher level of potential, kicking the ass of just about any song on the album. It leads me to question how or why this band lost such inspiration and fantastic songwriting in such a brief time, because for 10 minutes, The Scream of Death could run the gauntlet with any of the country's bigger metal acts of its day.

There are but three tracks here, including the title intro, which is a creepy guitar piece lasting under a minute in duration, supposedly to set the tone for the ensuing material. This is not really needed, because the second track, "In Despair' is a very uplifting power/speed metal piece with flowing rhythms and an out of control vocal performance from Takashi Iwai. The riffs are huge and catchy, very much reminding me of Anthem, and the bass is excellent throughout, as it wrangles with the beat below the lead spikes. "Midnight Dream" is a slower track, with a rocking street rhythm to it, and more menace to the riffs, often bordering on thrash. Iwai once again gives a lilting, expressive performance that only the Japanese in their syllabic tongue can do, and you are left with a very positive impression of the band's skill.

It is so unfortunate that the following album could not pick up the pace where this left off, because Crowley might have become a bigger band within the Japanese circle. Granted, there is very little meat on this bone, just two tracks worth hearing, but if they had produced a full-length of equivalent quality I would have bought several copies, since I've always had a soft spot for this country and genre. In hindsight, it makes Whisper of Evil seem all the worse by comparison, since much of the band's energy seems to have been leeched out of them after releasing this.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

Crowley - Whisper of the Evil (1986)

I have an admittedly deep seated fascination with a great deal of Japanese culture and entertainment. Though my fluency with the language is limited to a few intensive courses I took as a minor at university (and now growing dimmer as cobwebs have begun their interior design of my brain), I still find myself inexorably drawn to their music. Whether that's the harsh violence of Merzbow, the sugary, delightful reconstruction of 80s new wave and dance of the J-pop scene, sexually ambivalent visual kei bands, the scores of both classic and modern videogames by Japanese composers, or the staggering array of metal the nation has produced, it makes very little difference to me. There is generally something so disarming and memorable about what they contribute to record. Of course, as with anything, there are exceptions to be found...

Crowley was not a very well known band, coming up in an 80s scene that produced such prolific and talented beasts as Loudness, Anthem, Tilt, Blizard, Earthshaker, and EZO among others. Compared to most of these, they produced very little in their career: a split release, an EP, a demo and this sole full-length offering. And even Whisper of the Evil itself is rather quaint, just six songs at under 30 minutes of music. The style is pretty stock heavy metal for its day, drawing on the NWOBHM influence of bands like Judas Priest and Def Leppard and applying the characteristic, heavily accented Japanese frontman. Crowley likely fancied themselves a somewhat darker entrant into this vast field, with their necromantic cover art, leather and spikes, but what crops up on this album is actually a pretty subdued approximation of the first few Loudness records. In particular, I was reminded of Devil Soldier or Anthem's self-titled 1985 debut.

Unfortunately, Crowley, despite having such a cool band name, were simply void of much of the attitude and resonant writing that made those other acts such a success. This is very simplistic street metal with incredibly minimal, derivative riffs that do little else than service the linear transmission of the song structure. Though I don't mind Takashi Iwai's vocals, they lack the presence and bite of an Eito Sakamoto or Minoru Niihara. The writing is somewhat weak, with only a few dominant riffs, and even these were not up to date with the times. It's surprising, because the opener "Stalker" has such an intense recklessness to it that mirrors the prototype speed and power of other countries of its day. But though it's perhaps the best single track on this offering, very much akin to older Anthem, it's just not enough to save the other, dreary contents.

Iwai uses his vocals to good effect in "Bad Stone", creating a tranquil, dark and bluesy atmosphere for the wee hours of the city night, but the riffs are simply not there. "Night Angel" has some promise, due to the sleek but subtle flow of its main riff (similar to old Savatage), but once again, the vocals build to a climax and the guitars are merely average. "Pretender" also reminds me of a mix of Judas Priest and Savatage, with a half-decent, sporadic lead, and a little bridge before 2:00 where Iwai adds a little torment to his vocals. Once more, not enough force in the guitars. "Woman in a Black Cape" is a power ballad, but at over 8 minutes it does little but lull the listener to sleep. "Floating Man" is the closest the band gets to speed metal, with a steady momentum, and some roiling riffs, but it's another example of how the singer showed up with his A-game (listen to him at 1:30, that shit is craaaazy) and the other musicians seemed to phone in their writing.

Yet, for all its strange imbalance of subdued, hollow rhythm and a passionate, over the top front man, Whisper of the Evil is hardly a 'bad' album. It just wasn't enough to stick its spiked, leather collared neck up above the stirs of the metal beast, rumbling deeply in the belly of Japan. Were I to compile a mix of obscure bands of this era and nation, it's possible I might throw a "Stalker" or "Night Angel" in out of some sense of completion, but this is a band lacking the chops to compete with even mid-level acts like a Tilt or Blizard. It's like showing up for a katana fight with a butter knife.

Highlights: Stalker, Night Angel

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]