See You in Hell

by Ed RivadaviaGrim Reaper became the unlikeliest of over-achievers when their modest, independently released first album, See You in Hell, was unexpectedly picked up by RCA Records for worldwide distribution and proceeded to climb up the American charts. The irony of this is that the band had been kicking around the U.K. scene for years, taking part in, but never really taking off with, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal earlier in the decade. So, when they were finally handed a record deal by tiny start-up Ebony Records, few could have predicted that bigger things lay just around the corner, least of all the bandmembers themselves. But that's exactly what happened, as the album's fist-pumping title track and its accompanying video (later the subject of much derision at the hands of Beavis and Butthead) helped See You in Hell march up the charts to number 73 and shift a quarter of a million units to boot. Barring the requisite power ballad fiasco, "The Show Must Go On," the entire album is consistently strong, with further standouts like "Wrath of the Reaper" and "Run for Your Life" having aged better than one might expect -- outdated '80s-style production job and Grimmett's more exaggerated falsetto moments notwithstanding. And, to be fair, See You in Hell is truly an album of its time, and should be respected as such.