HeavyHardMetalmania: October 31

At long last, OCTOBER 31's classic debut album, The Fire Awaits You, is seeing a long-overdue reissue, courtesy of the band's new label home, HELLS HEADBANGERS. Released in 1997 to a small yet fervent throng, OCTOBER 31's The Fire Awaits You saw DECEASED vocalist/drummer King Fowley team up with bassist Jim Hunter (WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, TWISTED TOWER DIRE) and guitarist Brian Williams to create a rollicking ride of horror-themed heavy metal. Classic metal songwriting is the order of the day here, as the band ably sweep from speed metal surge to NWOBHM-inspired melodicism to occasionally an epic metal moment or two. At the forefront are King Fowley's clear 'n' commanding vocals, as the erstwhile DECEASED frontman decided to use a cleaner register that lost none of his trademark bite. Amended to this new edition is the band's first demo, Voyage to Infinity from '96, as well as tribute covers of IRON MAIDEN and OZZY OSBOURNE. Finally, The Fire Awaits You!

ORIGINAL ALBUM
1. The Warlock
2. Salem's Curse

3. The Fire Awaits You

4. Prelude / Lost City

5. Voyage To Infinity

6. Day Of The Saxons

7. Vindication

8. A Million Goodbyes

BONUS TRACKS

9. Voyage To Infinity

10. The Fire Awaits You

11. Child Of The Damned

12. When Darkness Covers The Sun (Warlord cover)

13. I Don’t Know (Ozzy Osbourne tribute/cover)

14. Public Enema Number One (Iron Maiden tribute/cover)

(Tracks 9-12 from Voyage To Infinity demo 1996)

To coincide with the reissue of the band's classic The Fire Awaits You debut, HELLS HEADBANGERS is reissuing OCTOBER 31's celebrated second album, Meet Thy Maker. Originally released in 1999, Meet Thy Maker saw DECEASED vocalist/drummer King Fowley once again command his troops onward to heavy metal glory, this time with an even darker and more epic aspect. Much of this can be credited to the addition of Kevin Lewis on rhythm guitar, allowing original guitarist Brian "Hellstorm" Williams to work his magic on lead guitar, with the lo-end anchored as always by Jim Hunter (WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, TWISTED TOWER DIRE). Capped off by an emblematic cover of SAXON's "Power And The Glory" that they nearly make their own, Meet Thy Maker is truly the album where OCTOBER 31 solidified their unbending, still-enduring aesthetic. With this reissue, HELLS HEADBANGERS - the new label home of OCTOBER 31 - adds 1998's Visions of the End EP along with four live/demo bonus tracks. Classic heavy metal never goes out of fashion, so time to Meet Thy Maker!

ORIGINAL ALBUM
1. Meet Thy Maker

2. Just an Illusion

3. For There Is War!

4. Far from Danger Now

5. Power and the Glory (Saxon cover)

6. The Verdict

7. Behind the Castle Walls

BONUS TRACKS

8. Visions of the End

9. The Chosen One

10. Servants and Slaves

11. Give 'Em the Axe (Lizzy Borden cover)

12. The Legend of the Haunted Sea

13. When Darkness Covers the Sun (recorded during Meet Thy Makersessions)

14. The Chosen One (1997 demo)

15. Meet Thy Maker (1999 demo, with Chuck Parsons on vocals)

16. The Chosen One (live 2000, with Shawn Pelata on vocals)

(Track 8-12 from Visions of the End EP 1998)

hellsheadbangers

At long last, true metal institution OCTOBER 31 return with their first new recordings in eight years! Entitled Gone to the Devil, this quick-hitting 7" EP is the band's first release for new label home HELLS HEADBANGERS and is a precursor to their next full-length. And while it's been a good, long while since OCTOBER 31 have caused any heavy metal mayhem, their fires are burning brighter than ever with these two instantly headbanging tracks. The title track rides a fist-pumping gallop, guided as ever by erstwhile DECEASED frontman King Fowley's unmistakable voice, while the B-side is a faithful-yet-OCTOBER 31ized cover version of Uriah Heep's "Too Scared to Run." The next OCTOBER 31 album is just around the corner...in the meantime, get Gone to the Devil!