Scotland knows all about hard rocking. Case in point, our own Tom Cornell is from Edinburgh! Heavy Pettin’ are from Glasgow and formed in 1981.
Heavy Pettin’ came together when the band Weeper, comprised of guitarist Gordon Bonnar, bassist Brian Waugh and drummer Gary Moat, added vocalist Steve Hayman and lead guitarist Punky Mendoza to the line-up.
They have had periods of inactivity, but reunited for the Winterstorm Festival in 2017. They have also reissued their first three albums, Lettin Loose (1982), Rock Ain’t Dead (1984) and The Big Bang (1989).
Lettin Loose (1982)
1982’s release was a corker! It owes a huge debt to Def Leppard‘s On Through The Night with its great sense of melody, mixed with power and great vocal harmonies.
I was never the greatest fan of the NWOBHM bands, but I have revised my opinion and now appreciate bands such as Heavy Pettin’ and Diamond Head, both of which are now very active and showing that age continues to be no barrier to putting out great quality material.
From the outset, Lettin Loose rips with a great gulp of hot oxygen. From the opener, “In and Out of Love” (not the Bon Jovi tune), the band stake their claim for supremacy. You would imagine these guys coming from the Sunset Strip rather than Glasgow, but they knew good tunes when they came up with them.
Overall, the collection is an amazing love letter to the early Eighties. There are some points I have issues with, such as the flat drum sound and the hackneyed lyrics, but the songs still rip.
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Rock Ain’t Dead (1984)
Often described as their magnum opus, Rock Ain’t Dead is a really banging record. It is almost as good as Pyromania in terms of great songs and production!
Heavy Pettin’ really put their heart and soul into this 1984 classic and it is a 5-star production all round. The songs are great melodic Metal with meaty hooks, heavy guitar, cool vocals and loads of great production touches.
I remember hearing this album in the Eighties, but only now do I fully appreciate how great it sounds. The corker songs include “China Boy” and “Heart Attack“, both of which truly reflect the Eighties sound.
If you like fantastic Eighties rock, then you need to check this album out – you won’t be disappointed. One more point to make is that Hayman‘s vocals absolutely out muscle Leppard‘s Joe Elliott – a huge plus for this record.
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The Big Bang (1989)
The band’s third album is a disappointment. They were aiming for a statement record after the success of Rock Ain’t Dead, yet this is not the statement most would have wanted.
The record kicks off well with “Born to Run“, but is then dragged down by the frankly disappointing “Romeo“. From then on, the album has only minor flickers of life with “Lonely People” and “Don’t Call It Love“.
Overall, it is not a bad record, just not of the same standard as Rock Ain’t Dead. One issue for me is the washy production on Hayman‘s vocals and the muddy drum sound. The guitars are cool, but I just can’t get beyond the production overall.
Buy: Amazon (CA) / Amazon (US) / Amazon (UK)
Coxy
Also, find more of my CGCM reviews here: Coxy
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