In the history of Belgian heavy metal there are just a handful of bands who stand apart as being influential and impressive; of these, Killer are perhaps the most crucial of all. While there have been others - notably Acid, Ostragoth, Crossfire and FN Guns - who have all made their impact, it is Killer who are regarded as the most important metal name ever to come out of Belgium. Our highly influential heavy metal heroes originally formed in 1980, by Paul "Shorty" Van Camp on lead guitar and lead vocals, "Fat Leo" on drums and "Spooky" on bass guitar and lead vocals. Inspired by the UK's New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene that gave us Iron Maiden, Saxon and Diamond Head, Killer's heavy and aggressive sound, alloyed to their power trio format, led to favourable, and not unfounded comparisons to Mot?rhead. After a mere four months they released "Ready For Hell" on WEA, becoming a cult draw across Europe. They would release "Wall Of Sound" in 1981, "Shock Waves" in 1984 and "Fatal Attraction" in 1990, all of which have been collected together by HNE Recordings on KILLER: Volume One - The Mausoleum Years Boxset 1980-1990 [HNEBOX114]. Although the advent of grunge put Killer on hiatus for the remainder of the 1990s, the band reformed around Paul "Shorty" Van Camp for 2003's "Broken Silence", happily resurrecting their classic 80s metal sound, but now augmented by the inclusion of keyboards, reflecting the influence of the classic hard rock of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. Killer now featured a line-up completed by Spin on bass, Vanne on drums and Dave on keyboards. The same band recorded the follow-up in 2005 with "Immortal", continuing the keyboard augmented sound developed on "Broken Silence", and with "Shorty" now the sole vocalist. There was a ten year gap before 2015's "Monsters Of Rock", with a band featuring Jakke on bass and vocals and Vanne on drums. Without the inclusion of keyboards, Killer returned to their more metal driven sound. As an extra bonus, this set is rounded off with Paul "Shorty" Van Camp's 1988 solo offering "Too Wild To Tame". With "Shorty" taking vocals and lead guitar, he was joined by Olaf Van Deuren on rhythm guitar, Apache on vocals and bass, plus former Killer bandmate "Double Bear" on drums. The set includes liner notes from Classic Rock's Malcolm Dome based on new interviews with Paul "Shorty" Van Camp. Killer are currently working on an album new of new recordings, based on their classic material, and continue to tour until the present day.
1. Broken Silence 2. Crash And Burn 3. Time Machine 4. Dancing With The Devil 5. In The Land Of The Pharaoh 6. High In The Mountains 7. The Answer 8. Only The Strong Survive 9. Hear My Calling 10. A Matter Of Time 11. The Run Of The Chupacabra (Instrumental) 12. Part 1 (Exploring The 13. Stratosphere) 14. Part 2 (The Escape) 15. Lethal Virus 16. Immortal 17. Frozen Fire - Burning Ice 18. Stone Cold 19. The Mirror 20. Queen Of The Future 21. Highland Glory 22. Touch Of Evil 23. Drifting Away 24. Easy Rider 25. Always And Forever 26. Liquid Shadows 27. Ad Tempus Vitae 28. Monsters Of Rock 29. Exception To The Rule 30. Shotgun Symphony 31. Back To The Roots 32. No Way Out 33. Danger Zone 34. Firestorm 35. Deaf, Blind And Dumb 36. Forever Metal 37. Children Of Desperation 38. Hold Your Head Up High 39. Making Magic 40. The Reactor 41. Rock City 42. Fake 43. Ouverture 44. The Call Of Nature 45. Alone In The Night 46. Crazy Circus 47. From Nine To Five 48. Striders Of The Leather Brigade 49. Chinese Woman 50. Too Wild To Tame
