HAMMER/HOLLAND
Early Warning 1984 (HOLLAND)
1. Shout It Out
2. Second Time Casualty
3. Break Out the Booze
4. Early Warning
5. Do It
6. I Need
7. Kicking Back
8. No Chance
9. Liar
LINEUP
Graeme Hutchinson Bass
Marty Day Drums
Bob Henman Guitars
Kenny Nicholson Guitars
Doggy Vocals
Contract With Hell 1985 (HAMMER)
1. Caution To The Wind
2. Try It
3. Hey You
4. Contract With Hell
5. Hard Hittin’ Woman
6. Satellite
7. Prayer Of A Soldier
8. Across The Line
9. Hard Hittin’ Woman (82 Demo)
*’Hard Hittin’ Woman’ is bonus on the CD released by Old Metal Records. It is originally a Holland song.
*The Old Metal Records CD is limited to 1000 copies
*There is also a bootleg CD circulating with the Ebony logo
LINEUP
Brian Wilson Bass
Marty Day Drums
Bob Henman Guitars
Arty Fixter Guitars
Marty "The Dog" Wilkinson Vocals, Keyboards
In 1984 NWOBHM band Holland released the album Early Warning, which became the No.1 album in the Melody Maker heavy metal charts during its first month of release. However, in typical NWOBHM fashion, trouble ensued after the release when a Canadian band named Holland, who had the name first, threatened to sue. Joining the fight, the region of Holland sent Air and ground troops to aid the Canadian band Holland in their war against NWOBHM Holland. After several successful bombing campaigns the dispute was settled, an armistice was signed, and NWOBHM Holland agreed to change their name to Hammer. Under the Hammer moniker the band released the album Contract With Hell, which featured former Lazy Dog and Treason guitarist Arty Fixter, who replaced original guitarist Kenny Nicholson (presumably taken as a POW during the war). In any event, these 2 albums contain some pretty good tunes - some so so ones as well...but overall, well worth a listen.
UPDATE:
The band reformed with original guitarist Nicholson, who was eventually released from Holland Stalag 13, for a one-off reunion performance at BroFest 2 in 2015.
