Rough Justice

“…feel the silent eyes of truth on an ever spinning wheel…”

There’s something about London’s underrated and often ignored Tytan that rings different compared to most NWOBHM groups. Stylistically, the five-piece spend some mileage on the line between hard rock and metal. Yeah...whoa, now that’s different. Naw, I’m leaning toward the upper confidence that radiates off these twelve tunes as well as the guys performing them; while they’re technically fence-sitting, it tells me that second guesses and apologies for this are far from their thoughts and that the album’s been purposely left in this spot so we’d have to ponder its mystery. It’s not a mystery to Tytan, who know exactly where their sound is on the food chain even if many of us aren’t quite sure where that is; basically fans would have to hold Rough Justice up against albums with a similar station on the same fence-sat line, but later for that.

Knowing Tytan has ties to a bonafide and fully respected metal act that was recording even before the movement made its first eye contact with the world could part a cloud or two for some people, yet that’s highly unlikely; Tytan’s sound is nothing like the band who was left behind five or so years before, not even in ‘82 when these ties were stronger when former Angel Witch sticksman Dave Dufort performed alongside fellow Angel Witch casualty, bassist/keyboardist Kevin ‘Skids’ Riddles, on their exceptionally cool debut ep Blind Men & Fools.

Originally recorded in 1982-83, the band’s debut full-lengther inhaled its first fresh n’ free air a few years later, but not before advance cassettes of the session made by soon-to-bankrupt Kamaflage Records broadjumped across the scene and got the ball rolling into the lap of Rock Machine sub-label Metal Masters (not to be confused with the Italian Metalmaster label). Despite being recorded quite on the heels of Blind Men & Fools, drums are performed by ex-Judas Priest pounder Les Binks as well as what appears to be some guest spots by Simon Wright, then of AC/DC. Regardless, the band’s soul remains intact with Riddles as well as Kal Swan, whose highly distinctive vocals in my opinion coin Tytan’s sound marginally more so than its other elements.

The album’s magnetism comes from its daring drivers that not only steer this craft toward the heavier spectrum often, but do so under executive orders issued by a clear and custom-made battle plan, one that happened to spend the last few years in the band’s brainpan percolating to precision, evidently without any known attempts to change things come ’85. Fast moving “Don’t Play Their Way” and “Ballad of Edward Case” (except where a sloshy, bar rag piano interlude divides the otherwise explosive track) are without question the straight to the point, chest-beating alpha males anchoring Rough Justice to the metal realm. With these riveting that allegiance in place, it’s at this point where revealed is the quartet’s true stylistic character - a consolidation of atypical patience, maturity bordering on wisdom and exceptional critical thinking as it pertains to songwriting fixed in mid-paced, riff-heavy and contagiously-crafted creations – places where Tytan shine tallest.

Indeed, the tall shine of Rough Justice comes from compellingly cool “Cold Bitch”, chorus-heavy “Forever Gone”, melodious “Far Side of Destiny” and especially chilling “Rude Awakening”, an initially modest song that with each chorus grows increasingly bold ‘til fearless, ultimately fading to silence only after unrolling such an uplifting, atmospheric carpet of heroism and courageousness during the track’s final 1:17 that it can bring tears to one’s eyes and I personally can’t hear without being overcome by gallantly goosebumped daydreams. Trust me on this.

The commercially accessible material isn’t something audiences will have to ‘deal’ with in a derogatory sense either, ‘cos spinning this connotation that comes with ‘dealing’ with anything is their sense for infectious songwriting that’s everywhere on this fine disc. Even the most commercially-faced, such as “Money For Love” and the establishing rhythm and chorus of “Women on the Frontline” (w/ Rock Goddess’ Jody Turner providing backline vocals), are catchy enough to keep most impatient hands away from the skip button.

On other restless, yet more multi-faceted journeys are “The Watcher”, “Far Cry” and “Far Side of Destiny”, three aggressive specimens softened by areas of melancholy and spiritual etherealness reducing their combined blood pressure, a juxtaposition that should easily combat criticism of potentially boxed-in songcraft should it ever arise. The dirtier and down with Sabbath trek known as “Sadman” (“Sad Man” on the ep) has solemn safe zones holding aloft the main riff’s Heaven and Hell/The Mob Rules-era act of heavy. Meanwhile always appealing “Blind Men & Fools” with its methodical step, yet inspired and fluid chorus remains a personal fave and lost hit shoulda-been.

Riddles’ keyboards play a minor, though relevant part augmenting various moods already having foundations in several songs - mystically in hard-nosed softie hybrids “Far Side of Destiny” and “Far Cry” (more piano, here like vaudeville), new wave-y in “Money for Love”, sociably airy in “Women on the Frontline” and light under the vocal layers of “Blind Men & Fools” – and even former guitarist Steve Mann and Dark Star guitarist Dave Harrison forgot their axes at home to tackle backing vocals on a few tracks.

Tytan, however, wouldn’t be as recognizable without the coolly melodic, yet forceful mid-range of Kal Swan, a vocalist whose dynamism generates much of the character and appeal found in these tracks, yet over time hasn’t spawned any doppelgangers of his personal sound that I know of.

Simply put, broad-shouldered, yet still elegant Tytan is more metal than hard rock, at least from where I’m throwing stones, despite the damned fence and any hard-to-persuade audience members. Meanwhile comparisons should be made between Rough Justice and less-heavy, same era White Wolf, Highway Chile, Odin and 44 Magnum to hear which shine taller.

“…the power that you had had dissipated slowly…”

Tytan is one of the many lesser known bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. They have released a single and a full-length, in 1982 and 1985 respectively, when the moment just began dying and explains why the band did not get much recognition, which is surprising as it consisted of Kevin Riddles from Angel Witch and Les Binks from Judas Priest (at least on this particular release).

Rough Justice is a very good heavy metal album and my personal favorite album from the movement. The album places itself apart from other NWOBHM bands with its fairly mid-paced songs, cutting down on the aggression factor and going for an early Judas Priest-like sound, which makes it tend a little towards hard rock than heavy metal. The vocals are by Kal Swan, who was also the vocalist of the glam metal band Lion. His vocals are not over-the-top shouts, but powerful at the same time. The vocals dominate and stand out in most tracks. I could compare his vocals to quite a lot of hard rock vocalists. The guitar work is very unlike what you would expect from NWOBHM. It lacks the punk-like aggression of Tank and the crunchy sound of Jaguar or Raven, and the sound is cleaner, more akin to hard rock. Soloing is beautifully done, especially in the song The Watcher. The drumming is standard heavy metal and is handled by Les Binks, so there's not much to say about it except that it is good despite being simple. The bass is audible and crystal clear, which means the production job is very good. The pace varies with songs throughout the album. Some songs are slower while some speed up. This makes sure each track stands out from one another.

The album is long enough to keep you entertained, has quite a bit of variety, and is slightly different from your run-of-the-mill NWOBHM band. Maybe I am praising this album way too much, but it is definitely worth a try if you like digging NWOBHM or if you are a heavy metal/hard rock fan in general.

Angel Witch was a great band. It was such a great band, that, even in the occasions when it split up, it gave birth to excellent albums. Following the temporary demise of Angel Witch in 1981, bassist / keyboardist Kevin “Skidz” Riddles, together with drummer Dave Dufort, both members of Angel Witch until then, went on to team up with vocalist Danny Swan. Guitarists Stuart Adams and Stevie Gibbs were also recruited, and the result was a new band, named Tytan.

The history of Tytan turned out to be short lived: in March 1982, they signed to Kamaflage Records and later that year they managed to release their first (and final) single, by the title of “Blind Men & Fools”. After some modifications in their line-up (during which famous drummers Les Binks and Simon Wright seemed to have joined the band, each one for a short period of time), they eventually recorded their first album. However, before this album was released, Kamaflage went bankrupt and Tytan, disappointed by this turn of events, decided to call it a day towards the end of 1983.

Then, suddenly, somewhere in the summer of 1985, Tytan’s album “Rough Justice” appeared on the shelves of music stores. What had happened? According to Malc Macmillan’s “NWOBHM Encyclopaedia”, advance copies of the original ten-track album had been circulated on cassette back in 1983. The released version included two songs that were not originally intended to be on the album, “Cold Bitch” and “The Watcher”, while it omitted two tracks that were supposed to be on the album, “Nothing Ever Lasts” and “Hold On”.

Nowadays, “Rough Justice” has acquired cult status and is considered to be one of NWOBHM’s finest moments. It fully deserves this characterization. Both Swan and Riddles are not only great musicians, but also accomplished songwriters, and this is reflected in their compositions. Comparisons to Angel Witch seem inevitable: one soon finds out that the songs of “Rough Justice” do not have the occult, dark atmosphere that the music of Angel Witch possesses. Riddlez originally thought that Tytan could perform some songs of Angel Witch live, yet this idea was eventually rejected, as the creations of Angel Witch didn’t seem to share a lot in common with the new material. In fact, there’s a light, almost humorous element running through some of the tracks of “Rough Justice” (observe, for example, the middle part of “Ballad Of Edward Case”).

Riddles’ keyboards, whenever employed, seem to work towards this end: they’re not as gloomy as they were in “Angel Witch”, for instance, but rather try to convey an easy - going, melodic, at times perhaps even commercial, feeling. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the songs of “Rough Justice” lose in quality. On the contrary, most of them may not be as heavy as “Angel Of Death” or “Sorcerers”, yet, either when playing fast (“Cold Bitch”, “Far Cry”), either when using mid-tempo speeds (“Money For Love”, “The Watcher”), or when deciding to slow down (“Sad Man”), Tytan seem able to deliver excellent music, with catchy riffs and sing along refrains. The lyrics are typical of a NWOBHM band: not to deep or sophisticated, but honest enough to entertain, putting the finger on every day facts of life (women, deception, defiance).

Until recently, “Rough Justice” was relatively hard to find, much to the disappointment of NWOBHM fans. However, the fact that it has been re-released made it fortunately possible for all of us to enjoy this jewel. So, if you are into NWOBHM and happen to come across this record, don’t miss the opportunity to give it a chance: it will most likely not disappoint you.