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CHATEAUX
“Spirit Of The Chateaux”
Boxed Set Review by Iron Mathew
10/10
Chateaux are a heavy metal band from the UK formed in 1981, releasing three albums during a prolific three year period – ‘Chained And Desperate’ (1983), ‘FirePower’ (1984), and ‘Highly Strung’ (1985) – before disbanding in 1986. And now, forty years after the bands incredible emergence into the burgeoning NWOBHM evolution, comes the boxed set ‘Spirit Of The Chateaux’…released in 2024 featuring all three of the bands albums.
The NWOBHM evolution during the early eighties was spearheaded by the likes of Angel Witch, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Raven, Samson and Venom who, with a plethora of other bands, shaped and defined the sound of heavy metal. I was fortunate to have grown up as a teenager during the eighties listening to heavy metal evolve, with each and every one of the bands I listened to moulding me into the metalhead I am today!
So from the first bands I ever listened to, the likes of Angel Witch and Samson, I quickly moved on to (among many others) Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon, Grim Reaper and Chateaux – with Chateaux’s debut album featuring guitarist Tim Broughton, drummer Andre Baylis, bassist Alex Houston, and (Grim Reaper) vocalist Steve Grimmett (Onslaught, Lionsheart, The Sanity Days).
The bands debut ‘Chained And Desperate’ was highly evocative of the heavy metal sound at the time, consisting of eight songs across thirty six minutes. The boxed set version includes two bonus songs, ‘Young Blood’ (released as a single in 1982), and ‘Fight To The Last’ (appearing on the B-side to ‘Young Blood’).
For the bands second album ‘FirePower’, only Broughton remained, with vocalist/bassist Krys Mason (ex Confessor) and drummer Chris Dadson (ex Aragorn, ex Wolfbane, ex Sam Thunder) replacing Baylis, Houston and Grimmett. And just like its predecessor, ‘FirePower’ consisted of eight songs, clocking in at just thirty two minutes.
Third and final album ‘Highly Strung’, featured nine songs over thirty six minutes, and proved to the bands swan song, the band breaking up just a year later. Yet for the heavy metal enthusiast and every fan of the iconic NWOBHM evolution, Chateaux are just as much a part of the NWOBHM as the likes of Iron Maiden, Raven and Venom – and although the band were only around for a relatively short period of time, their influence in helping to define the sound of heavy metal cannot be denied.
Overall, a great boxed set featuring the entire discography from one of heavy metals pioneering NWOBHM bands – Chateaux.
BOXED SET INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING ALBUMS
Chained And Desperate
FirePower
Highly Strung
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