Slade might just be the best band that you’ve kind of heard of. The English rockers have had a hell of a career that spans from the ’60s to a peak in the ’70s, then to another peak in the ’80s, and continued accolades throughout. They have hits like “Cum On Feel the Noize” and “Mama Week All Crazee Now”, but they have an extensive back catalog of albums that show a musical breadth that’s wider than the glam rock imagery they put out.
They rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the ’70s, but they reached arguably their greatest success after taking over Ozzy Osbourne‘s slot at the 1980 Reading Rock Festival. The band hadn’t been successful for a couple of years, but in one night, they roared back into the popular eye. The arrival of heavy metal and its influence on many bands of that genre only helped their appeal to a new generation of rock/metal lovers. There’s plenty here that’s a precursor to the glam metal era that was to come.
The band reached into that heavy metal/hard rock barrel and produced two albums in 1981, Bring the House Down and Till Deaf Do Us Part. The band had plenty of interviews surrounding the album’s sound with guitarist Dave Hill describing the album like this:
This album is a thumper and we want it loud. That’s the direction we are heading for, like having a live show in the studio almost. It’s got guts and melody. That is us really.
Dave Hill to Sounds Magazine
What Sets This Album Apart From Other Slade Records?
The album is just louder and more rocking than a lot of Slade’s other studio recordings. It’s a singular moment in time where heavy metal was just about to explode in the US and around the world. Slade didn’t go full bore into it, but what they do create here is a mix of genres that should satisfy fans of Slade, hard rock, and metal. Singer Noddy Holder described the album like this:
It came about because everyone always says how loud we are. We based the album around volume, all the tracks are rock and it is a loud album. The track Till Deaf Do Us Part is all about bending your ear and being deafened. We’ve used a lot of organ on the album. That’s basically the only difference. We think that it’s a much better sound than we’ve ever had before. It’s a solid rock album from start to finish, except for the instrumental piece – which is a slowish theme, but all the others are fast and solid rock. There’s no acoustic rock on the album like songs such as “Don’t Waste Your Time” and “Sign of the Times,” which we have had on previous LPs.
This is Slade at their hardest rocking. If all you know is the ’70s glam rock from Slade, you might be surprised to see just how much ass this album kicks. It’s got the boot-stomping of classic Slade mixed with a heavy metal flavor that’s very reminiscent of Rainbow. Some of the highlights of the album include the opening track “Rock and Roll Preacher (Hallelujah I’m on Fire)”, “Lock Up Your Daughters”, and “Knuckle Sandwich Nancy”.
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