Essential Purchase for fans of classic Northwest Hard Rock and Metal | Rail : Seattle 70's 80's Hard Rock Metal Band, Rail the Band: Terry James Young, Andy Baldwin, Rick Knotts, Kelly Nobles

Posted June 10, 2007 by Rich Hein

RAIL’s CD reissues of Arrival and Adio pay homage to a time in the Northwest before anyone had ever heard of Grunge. This time in the late 70’s and early 80’s was the golden age of Northwest metal. Many bands were spawned during this time; among them Culprit, TKO, Wild Dogs, and Queensryche.

RAIL were the undisputed kings of this scene and this reputation had them opening for arena acts on a local and national level. These guys wowed thousands of fans and influenced a whole generation of future and aspiring musicians The new reissues reintroduce their legacy.

RAILS first release Arrival stands out as a classic due to excellent songs such as the MTV award winning Hello to Bone Crushing metal in the form of songs like Make Me. All of the early live anthems are here such as Backseat Lovers and especially Gangbusters. In my opinion, this song served as a template for other classic NW metal songs (such a Queen of the Reich by QR !) which came much later.

Other standout tracks such as Sirens and Seasons of Change bring to mind early Scorpions ballads, with the light and shade clearly defined and integrated into powerful statements. Rockers such as Bandit and Cheater will bring out the air guitarist in everyone.

Besides the remastered songs included on the vinyl release, there are bonus tracks and Video, from the MTV Basement Tapes and from 1970’s Seattle TV. These early videos offer a fascinating glimpse into the groups formative years, and show them developing their stage craft. For me, these videos are worth the price of admission alone. Excellent packaging and liner notes round out this release which should be in every rock fans collection.

-Rich Hein

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