13. Elixir The Son of Odin 1986 (Elixir)
Heavy Metal
A black soaring eagle arriving late to its nest.
The Lowdown
I guess this is a classic example of the saying ‘better late than never’ because without doubt the Elixir debut album is exactly that. Elixir were in essence another NWOBHM band, but because that label was now completely out of fashion the band must've seemed like an anomaly in 1986, especially with both thrash metal and glam metal ruling the metal waves. Life must’ve been pretty tough for a British metal band at this time, a country of course that had dominated the metal scene for so long throughout the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s. The British legacy had of course shaped metal but other countries like the USA and mainland Europe would now be the future for the scene in general. The Elixir debut album
Son of Odin as the name would suggest, would end up being labelled power metal, which was pretty handy giving that this scene was about to burst out as a major metal movement….. and I guess with a name like the ‘Son of Odin’ the album couldn’t be anything else but be under the power metal moniker. The band Elixir were certainly late formers for a NWOBHM act and the
Son of Odin is probably without doubt for me the best very late period NWOBHM album, as there are quite a few floating about of very dubious quality. The album has been further enhanced firstly from the late great Dio who reviewed the band’s first single “Treachery” in Kerrang! by giving it and the band the thumbs up in 1985. Secondly the album sneaked onto Terrorizer’s top 20 greatest power metal albums of all time another feather in the album’s cap, especially considering that Elixir would more than likely be one of the last bands that people would guess to be on that kind of list. So what does this archaic album actually sound like? The album starts with “The Star of Beshaan” with its galloping riffs that immediately recalls prime NWOBHM offerings and the second track “Pandora’s Box” a more subdued effort but with enough muscle to make it a standout are a great opening brace. One of the best tracks on the album is the Black Sabbath inspired "Children of Tomorrow" especially with its killer riff that any NWOBHM band would've proud of. Songs like "Trial By Fire" and "Starflight" add further fuel to the fire here and the give the album a consistent feel throughout. Other standout cuts include "Dead Man's Gold" the previously mentioned single "Treachery" and the brooding title track "Son of Odin" which finishes the album. In fact when I listened to the album this time, I realized that is was the 2001 re-issue of the album which actually has a different track order from the original release which did change the feel of the album slightly. Vocalist Paul Taylor was compared to Gary Moore from some sources I read about the album and I can definitely see the Gary Moore connection when listening to this album. Also this album is all about blazing guitars that dominate the album from beginning to end and the band’s five components certainly knew their trade. Now after listening to this album again would I call this a power metal album, on first impressions not really but on a further appraisal I think power metal NWOBHM style would be a label most apt for this album with the expected Iron Maiden influences present as well. In summary it would’ve been an uphill struggle for a band like Elixir, because without a doubt the only British bands that were really selling at this time were the giants such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Def Leppard with not too much being left for the lesser known lights. Elixir’s problem would be further compounded by the fact as well that their sophomore set wouldn’t come out until four years later in 1990. finally the band would gain some notoriety for having an Iron Maiden connection several years later when original Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr had a brief stint in the band.
Paul Taylor- Vocals
Phil Denton- Guitar
Norman Gordon- Guitar
Kevin Dobbs- Drums
Nigel Dobbs- Drums
Production- N/A