Ezy Meat - Not For Wimps (1984)

Ezy Meat, one of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal's lesser-known (but more humorously named) Irish contenders, was formed in the northern capital of Belfast, circa 1980, by brothers Paul (vocals, bass) and Ivan Lavery (vocals, guitar) with drummer Ray McKenna. Attuned to both their country's '70s hard rock heritage (Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, etc.) and the N.W.O.B.H.M.'s new breed of bands, the trio labored in obscurity for a number of years (their legendary "Makin' Noise" demo tape doing just that in the hands of underground traders) before finally getting a chance to record a debut album with the help of fellow Irishman and then Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell. A longtime friend and supporter of Ezy Meat, having first cut his teeth with fellow Belfast N.W.O.B.H.M. group Sweet Savage, Campbell produced the disc over the course of a mere two days, but no matter its abundant energy and some excellent songs, there was little success to be had when it had to be released by the band's own label. Two years later, Ezy Meat still faced this same predicament, and their second self-financed LP, 1986's Rock Your Brains, saw them wavering between a more straightforward hard rock sound (reminiscent of neighborhood pals Mama's Boys) and Rush-inspired prog epics covering entire album sides! The end was drawing near, and after marking 1987 with a positively atrocious new single called "Warrior" (for the Ebony Records Rock Meets Metal II compilation), Ezy Meat quietly wound down their activities. (allmusic)

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