Heaven's Edge's widely unknown debut album is an underground classic. Hailing from the Philadelphia suburbs, Heaven's Edge is basically a faster, wilder version of hard rock/hair metal bands like Warrant & Danger Danger. Their self-titled debut, released in 1990, reached number 141 of the Billboard 200 and contains what was well-written and produced hard rock of the period, although the ballad "Find Another Way" was pure pop perfection, with a great melody and a powerful chorus.
Timing is everything, however, and by 1990 Philly was already saturating the MTV airwaves with Cinderella, Britny Fox and Tangier. The band were signed when Columbia Records were eager to increase their melodic rock market share, and veteran British producer Neil Kernon (Dokken, Queensryche, Autograph) put together an album full of catchy hooks and rock anthems. By the time it came to work the album, the music world was teetering on the verge of grunge, and with a new label hierarchy in place, it never really had a chance.
Overall this is a very good album, and Rock Candy Records' reissue does it justice. Although the import price is steep ($20-$25), this was going for upwards of $75 on eBay, so get it while ya can.
Will look them up and give them a listen.
ReplyDelete