Gotthard - Gotthard (1992)

Country: Switzerland
Year: 1992
Line-up: Steve Lee (vocals), Leo Leoni (guitars), Marc Lynn (bass), Hena Habegger (drums).

Track Listing:

1.	Standing in the Light	3:53
2.	Downtown	3:01
3.	Firedance	6:12
4.	Hush	4:02
5.	Mean Street Rocket	3:52
6.	Get Down	3:19
7.	Take Me	3:43
8.	Angel	5:20
9.	Lonely Heartache	3:44
10.	Hunter	4:13
11.	All I Care For	3:08
12.	That's It	1:16

Fletchanator's comment: Switzerland's Gotthard arrived late in the heyday of hair metal but have been one of the busiest and most consistently-good hard rock bands since, releasing a total of nine studio albums with original singer Steve Lee. Sadly Lee was killed in a road accident in the US in 2010, and they have since put out two more albums with a new singer.

This is their debut album and definitely one of their best, strong from start to finish. Lee's amazing voice (eerily similar to David Coverdale) and the kickass guitaring (from Leoni and also Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard as guest lead guitarist on a couple of tracks) lead the way and the songwriting is solid. An excellent cover of Deep Purple's Hush, a great ballad in Angel and a rocking track in Lonely Heartache are the highlights for me, but there aren't any weak songs.

Because of Lee's canny Coverdale sound, the easiest comparison is 80s-era Whitesnake, which these guys definitely sound a lot like. I'd also throw in a pinch of Kingdom Come and Europe, but regardless of the influences this is an album every melodic hard rock fan needs.

I have all the Gotthard albums, so leave a comment if you'd like to see more of this great band posted on House of Hairspray.

 

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China - China (1988)

Country: Switzerland
Year: 1988
Line-up: Math Shiverow (vocals), Freddy Laurence (guitars), Claudio Matteo (guitars), Mark Lynn (bass), John Dommen (drums).

Track Listing:

1.   Intro   0:59 2.   Shout it Out   4:11 3.   Back to You   3:42 4.   The Fight is On   4:19 5.   Wild Jealousy   4:26 6.   Rock City   3:08 7.   Hot Lovin' Night   4:44 8.   Living on the Stage   4:11 9.   I Need Your Love   4:15 10.   Staying Alive   3:22 11.   One Shot to the Heart   3:26 12.   Don't Look Back   3:29

Fletchanator's comment: Swiss hard rockers China have become a bit of a running joke in the business for their inability to make it stick with any one lead singer, going through four front men in the space of their first four albums. This is their debut and the only appearance of singer Math Shiverow, who was replaced by ex-Crown vocalist Patrick Mason a year later, then American Eric St Michaels (ex-Trouble), then Douglas McCowan, before St Michaels returned a few years ago. Hell, Krokus singer Marc Storace even fronted this band for a few shows between permanent singers in 1992!
Okay, so despite the fact China went through singers like Spinal Tap went through drummers, what do they sound like? They play a brand of music that I can only describe as melodic hard rock that has AOR tendencies, or AOR that has melodic hard rock tendencies. In other words, their music straddles the line between AOR and melodic hard rock. They remind me of Trixter and Danger Danger - lightweight hard rock with lots of gang vocal harmonies and infectious grooves. It's good stuff, check it out!

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Black Angels - Hellmachine (1982)

Country: Switzerland
Year: 1982
Line-up: Clive Murray (vocals), Mark Egg (guitars), Andy McKay (guitars), Walt Lion (bass), Brian Irving (drums), Harry Stone (keyboards)

Track Listing:

Side A
1.	Hellmachine	04:43
2.	Midnight Rider	03:19
3.	Seamer Station	04:25
4.	Amsterdam	03:00
5.	Rock It	03:50
Side B
6.	Over the Limit	03:53
7.	Juvenile Delinquent	03:35
8.	Tell Me Why	04:04
9.	Problem Child	03:52
10.	Don't Look Back	03:54

Fletchanator's comment: This one is a bit of a departure from the usual stuff that I post on this blog, but I ripped it from vinyl for my own purposes and figured I would share it anyway. It's not glammy, it's not sleazy, but it is hard rock. Black Angels are a Swiss band that play a brand of 1970s-ish keyboard-laden hard rock reminiscent of Deep Purple, with some NWOBHM thrown into the mix. This album, their first, was recorded in the studio owned by their Swiss compatriots Krokus.

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Zero - From Zero to Hero (1995)

Country: Switzerland
Year: 1995
Line-up: Claudio Schiliro (vocals), Angi Schiliro (guitars), Enzo Butta (bass), David Pisano (keyboards), Diego Rapachietti (drums)

Track listing:

1.   Zerock   5:20 2.   Last of the Teenage Idol   4:16 3.   Waiting for Your Love   5:11 4.   Cryin' Out for Mercy   4:48 5.   No Time for Lyin'   4:44 6.   Space Shuffle   6:03 7.   The One and Only   4:48 8.   Breathless   3:53 9.   Billy Boy   4:29 10.   Eternally Yours   4:45 11.   I Still Want You   6:22 12.   Is This the End   2:59 13.   Cryin' Out for Mercy (Acoustic) (Bonus track)   7:52 14.   Johnny's On the Run (Acoustic) (Bonus track)   5:01 15.   Eternally Yours (Acoustic) (Bonus track)   5:13

Fletchanator's comment: Although formed in Switzerland, Zero was fronted by the Italian Schiliro brothers. This was their only album under the name Zero, but a year prior this line-up had recorded the second of guitar hero Angi Schiliro's solo albums, White Lady 2. A car accident involving singer Claudio Schiliro spelt the end of Zero, which is a damn shame because these guys are awesome! They play a very polished style of melodic hard rock, along the lines of Fair Warning, Jaded Heart and 1987-era Whitesnake, while their catchy ballads sound a lot like Journey. Claudio has a powerful voice and Angi shreds on guitar. Highly recommended!

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Transit - Dirty Pleasures [1989]

Country: Switzerland
Year: 1989
Line up: Oliver Fehr (vocals), Rene Baiker (guitar), Louis Kasper (bass), John Bayler (drums)

Track Listing 1. Go To The Party

2. Running Out Of Bad Times

3. Alright

4. You Can't Stop The Fire

5. Daughter Of The Moon

6. Bad Boy

7. Heartbreaker

8. Rock It

9. Take Your Love

10. Cry For Attention

11. Wild Love

12. Good Emotions

Fletchanator's comment: This is a great slice of party rock, in the vein of Poison and Warrant, with lots of harmonising and a real party attitude. It's great fun - turn it up loud!

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