ACT (Swe) - 1984 [CD] (2022)

Heavy Metal

CD release in deluxe slipcase with 16 page booklet with biography, lyrics and rare pictures.
Includes Act/Akt's 1984-1986 recordings.

Other issues
- 12" LP, 2022 (ltd. 208) [Cult Metal Classics #CULTMETALACTLP]
- 12" Test Press LP, 2022 [Cult Metal Classics #CULTMETALACTLP]

Track 1-9 Recorded in Studio Vanäs, July 1984
Engineered by Peo Pettersson
B&W Railway Photos by Leif Claesson
Colour Photos by Peter Sundgren

Track 10-12 Recorded in Studio Vanäs, 1985/1986
Engineered by Peo Pettersson.
B&W Outdoor Photos: Katja Tanhua

Act - The Story (from booklet)
In 1982 guitarist Jan Strandh was playing together with Roger Petersson in the band Steel Breeze. They had great problems finding a good bassist and drummer in their hometown of Skövde. Finally drummer Christer" Rispan" Rispling joined the two. At a concert with local band Savages, Jan discovered bass player Tim Sköld and guitarist Tony Johansson. He thought Tony was a solid guitarist and Tim had the right stage presence and attitude. He got hold of Tim's number and gave him a call. Well worth noting is that Jan was 18 at the time and Tim was just a brat of 15. At least that's what the rest of the guys felt when Tim entered the rehearsal room the first time. But they did approve when they saw he could actually do it. The result was that Savages was no more and a new band with Tim on bass saw the light of day.

About a year later, Jan heard Tony sing for the first time and was surprised he was such a great singer! So, he asked Tony to try out for the band as singer, and he did a great job! Now the band featured Jan Strandh on guitar, Tim Sköld on bass, Christer Rispan" Rispling on drums and Tony Johansson on vocals. They were all into bands like Iron Maiden and Manowar, and Jan and Rispan, who were slightly older were also into more progressive bands like Rush, Genesis and King Crimson. It's probably this mix that made them sound a bit different and they wanted to explore Some more unusual stuff.

The band rehearsed at the Karlsborg fortress, which is an enormous old army fortress. As Jan did his military service at the time, they rehearsed on Sundays only, from 11am to 6pm. They did their first (and only) gig at the Ungt Forum, which became legendary. They proclaimed they were the first real heavy metal band in Skövde and with Tony's falsetto vocals and Tim's very professional stage presence they made a great impression on the young crowd. The show was talked about for a long time. In July 1984, they recorded their nine-track demo at Studio Vanäs. However, since there was a surplus of singers, but not that many drummers and bass players, Tim and Rispan were also involved in some other bands and projects, such as Shylock. Jan then decided he didn't want to wait for the other guys to finish their stuff with other bands, so in 1985 he and Tony left Act and formed the new band Akt (with a "k", Jan still doesn't know why).

Jan and Tony agreed they did NOT want to be another slick Europe style band - they wanted to be heavy! They were really disappointed with Judas Priest and where they went with 'Turbo Lover', and instead they wanted to sound more like Manowar and Dio/Black Sabbath. They recorded a three-track demo at the end of 1985/beginning of 1986. At the same time, Jan was also involved with the band Peterson, together with his old buddy Roger Peterson, a band that later changed its name to Verdict. Jan also knew bass player Yngve Frank, who was really a guitarist, and the two of them started jamming guitar in their rehearsal space..

Yngve knew a guy named Tony Niva, but what he didn't know was that he was an outstanding singer! He overheard him in their rehearsal space and told Jan they should try him out. Since Akt was falling apart, Yngve switched to guitar, and they went looking for a new bass player and drummer. This band went by the new name Zanity. In 1987 Zanity started recording their first demo and played regularly in their hometown.

In 1988 they recorded an 8-track demo, but before it was time to record the vocals, Niva said he didn't want to play heavy music, actually not even hard rock, so he left the band. Jan however convinced him to finish at least three of the remaining songs for the demo, but since there really wasn't a solid band, not much happened. Jan then brought in a new singer and the band became Master Massive, which is a different story.