Biscaya (Swe) - Biscaya [BMG / RCA Japan CD] (2007)

Heavy Metal

Remastered Japan press in cardboard sleeve with OBI (80s Metal Master Works Paper Sleeve Collection).
Includes booklet with lyrics in English & Japanese (sadly some words are missing and may not be correct).

Contains their EP 'On 45 (1984)' as bonus tracks.

Translation from Japanese Booklet
Among the reissues in this series, the CD release of this BISCAYA work was perhaps the most anticipated by hard rock fans. This album was finally released in Japan in the summer of 1984, more than half a year after its release in Sweden. Although it was welcomed by a small number of hard rock fans, it was still a small minority, and in the end, a second album was not produced, so the album was soon out of print. However, the passion of Japanese fans for Scandinavian hard rock bands never faded, and they continued to develop fans every time a new band appeared, so BISCAYA's album, which did not sell at all at the time, became known as a phantom work, and the analog record began to be sold at an astonishing price in second-hand stores. Generally speaking, even if the value of a phantom album is acknowledged, the content is often boring, and it usually ends up being a masturbation item for a few collectors. However, this work, the only full-length album left by BISCAYA, is rare in that it is wonderful in content. Not all the songs are great, but there are some that make hard rock fans go "Wow!" even now in 1996. In that sense, even though it is a phantom album, it still fascinates many fans, and many are eagerly awaiting its release on CD.

It can be said to be a representative work.
When it came time to release the CD, I found out that BMG (RCA) no longer had the rights, which made me dizzy for a moment. However, after further investigation, I found out that EMI in Sweden did own the rights, and a new contract was signed to make it the highlight of this reissue series, and it was finally possible to release it. In addition, they also managed to include four super powerful bonus tracks that would have made most people who bought this CD cry out in joy. These four tracks were released as a 12-inch single titled 'On 45' in April 1984 (some say July) after the release of the full-length album 'Biscaya' I was sent information by Swedish EMI (I think that EMI owned the master recordings and publishing from that time, and the album was released by RCA. In Sweden, it is quite common for the publisher to own the master recordings), and I wonder if 'On 45' was a limited release of 2,000 copies. I don't know how to analyze the information in Swedish, so it may have been less, but in any case, it will remain a truly valuable recording.

Now, if you look at the obi of the album from that time, you'll find something interesting written on it.

"Filled with the light and shadow of Northern Europe"
"Young Swedish classical heavy rock
"The debut album of Kun's warriors, Biscaya"

And above that sentence, there was the bold tagline "Includes the highly requested "Summer Love"

Requests were flooding in. I don't know how many requests were flooding in on the cable radio at the time, but by "flooding" I'm referring to Radio Japan's heavy metal/heavy metal program, "Rock Today." Since BISCAYA was introduced on the program, an astonishing number of requests have been made for "Howl in the Sky" and "Summer Love." If you have one of the two Japanese 7-inch singles released at the time, you should treasure them as family heirlooms for the rest of your life. They are the rarest of rare. "Summer Love" has now become a summer staple on heavy metal/heavy metal programs.

As I mentioned before, there is no doubt that the continued development of the Japanese market by new Nordic bands has led to a reevaluation of BISCAYA. Generally speaking, Nordic metal has an easy-to-understand sound, and is a world that beginners can easily get into. My impression is that Nordic metal fans are at two extremes. They are either beginners or maniacs who have delved into the innermost sanctum, and surprisingly there are no half-hearted fans. I guess it's because it's easy to understand, and because it was previously barren land, that it's worth researching.

However, what happened to the members of BISCAYA after that?
Maybe it was because of my lack of knowledge or because I didn't know enough. To be honest, Scandinavian names are very similar and difficult to read, so I have never even considered making a networking chart. Furthermore, the English documents sent from Sweden at the time were quite lacking in content. I doubt how much of a biography a record company can make for an unknown artist who only made one album, but I am overwhelmed by the amazingness of only 15 lines of English. In other words, they were a powerful group of people whose background and what became of them afterwards are completely unknown.

The band's name, BISCAYA, is taken from the Bay of Biscay, but the name of a bay on the west coast of France is somehow mysterious, and to put it in a very cool way, it's also mysterious. They formed in Gothenburg in the spring of 1983. All the members were 21 years old at the time.

However, if you think about it, EUROPE, who won the contest, released their debut album in 1983. BISCAYA recorded their debut album in August 1983, so they could be said to have been in the first group of early Nordic metal bands.

In fact, in the summer of 1983, during an interview for Europe, I flew to Sweden. How can I explain it? At that time, small management and record companies were somehow gathered in one place. There was Elektra Studios where EUROPE, BISCAYA, TRASH, OZ, etc. recorded their albums, and it was a strange space where the management of EUROPE, TRASH, and others were also in one room, and I got the impression that the Swedish rock scene was supported by collaboration. I can say this now, but I think BISCAYA's management was in the group of offices called Gramophone AB Elektra. As I was writing this liner note, I realized that the producer of BISCAYA's debut album was Peter Jägerhult, former member of ATTACK and TRASH! Pete was 26 years old at the time, and TRASH had just debuted with 'Watch Out' from the same RCA. Pete was a veteran who had already made his record debut with ATTACK (female vocalist), and it seems he produced BISCAYA at the request of The Boss (nicknamed "The Boss") of his agency. Does this mean that BISCAYA was managed by Tyfon? Tyfon was a company that managed a wide range of Swedish and Finnish hard rock bands, and BISCAYA's management was handled by that company. It feels like the album was sent at a later date, and just knowing that Peter Jägerhult was the producer gives some insight into the collaborative nature of the effort.

Well, I hope you enjoy the sound of BISCAYA, which has finally been released on CD. As expected, the influence of DEEP PURPLE is strong. However, the sound is classical and permeated with Scandinavian-like melodies, giving off a mood that can be said to be the roots of today's Scandinavian metal. The band's name, "Biscaya," is a song with a mysterious development like a soundtrack album, but what was the meaning of this song with a double keyboard with a guest keyboardist?

BISCAYA finally appears on CD. No need to explain the songs. I hope you will be blown away by the performance of this wonderful young band, who are in the exact same lineup as DEEP PURPLE. The last four bonus tracks are the de facto final songs of BISCAYA.

'96.3.7 Masa Ito

Commentary is reprinted from the CD: BVCP-7451 released in April 1996.

BISCAYA released only one album and one 12-inch single "ON 45" before disappearing from the scene, but they are still talked about as a legendary band. The six members, including Martin Hedstrom (g), who joined after the album was completed, continued to play an active role in the Swedish rock scene in various ways even after the breakup. Par Edwardsson (g), who devoted himself to nurturing the next generation of artists as an engineer/producer, worked on albums for HUMAN RACE, MILLION, ROADRATT, etc. Magnus Stromberg (key) released a solo album of piano music as the soundtrack for the TV series "SWEDISH HEARTS". Mads Clausen (Vo) also appeared on the TV program "AIM FOR THE STARS" for a while. Par, Martin, and Birger Lofman (b) also worked as session musicians supporting the vocalist HAWK, and Par and Martin have also produced a pop album with Magnus' younger brother Johan. Meanwhile, session musician Hans Johansson has participated in works by MOAHNI MOAHNA and others, while Birger joined the veteran Swedish metal band DESTINY in 2002 and continues to play with them.

'07.2.10 Masanori Ito