V/A - The Metal Collection Volume II (1986)

Hard Rock / Heavy Metal / NWOBHM / Thrash Metal

The Metal Collection Volume II of III issued by the UK label Ebony Records, featuring various European and UK bands.

Ebony was one of the classic minor-league labels of the NWOBHM time, focusing on up-and-coming mid-eighties bands mostly from England, though a few Euro bands crept in as well. Similar to labels such as Metal Blade, Ebony started out releasing compilations of unsigned acts, a few of which went on to record albums with the label (one notable band that did appear on a comp but later went on to bigger things on another label was Mercyful Fate). Many of the releases were produced in-house by label founder Darryl Johnston, giving several of the albums a similar low-budget style that nevertheless was part of the charm of the NWOBHM period. A lot of the bands released one or two albums and never amounted to a lot, but there were a few gems in there, including Savage's classic "Loose 'n' Lethal", while the biggest band to emerge from this label would almost certainly be Grim Reaper, who was snapped up by the major label RCA on their way to a successful worldwide career.