Almighty

Fronted by vocalist, guitarist, and one-time New Model Army member Ricky Warwick, Scotland's Almighty emerged in the late 1980s with a sound that paired the fiery discord of punk rock with the sonic might and freewheeling lifestyle of heavy metal. The band found success via the metal-leaning Soul Destruction (1991) and Powertrippin' (1993), the latter of which reached number five in the U.K. They adopted a more punk-infused biker metal style on later endeavors such as Crank (1995) and Psycho-Narco (2001). After issuing a series of compilations and concert LPs, the band went on hiatus in 2008, with Warwick focusing on his solo career and fronting post-Thin Lizzy rockers Black Star Riders. After the disintegration of New Model Army in 1988, their rhythm guitarist, Ricky Warwick, founded Almighty in his native Glasgow, Scotland with lead guitarist Tantrum, bassist Floyd London and drummer Stump Munroe. The foursome gradually moved away from their punk origins, acquiring a hard rock sound and biker image to match the prevalent heavy metal trends of the day. Signing with Polydor Records, they entered the studio with a highly suspicious producer in first-timer Andy Taylor of Duran Duran fame. The collaboration proved surprisingly fruitful, and 1989's excellent Blood, Fire and Love resulted in a solid collection of metal anthems spiked with punk attitude. The band then hit the road for over a year, earning a reputation as a formidable live unit and recording the appropriately titled Blood, Fire & Live to serve as a stop-gap until their next studio outing. 1991's Soul Destruction retained much of the debut's general formula, as well as producer Taylor, and peaked at number 22 on the U.K. albums chart. The subsequent tour saw the Almighty struggling with internal strife and exhaustion, and resulted in guitarist Tantrum exiting at tour's end; he was quickly and efficiently replaced by ex-Alice Cooper bandmember Pete Friesen. The Canadian's arrival seemed to re-energize the band, and 1993's Powertrippin' saw a surge of creativity as the group tried to keep up with the quickly changing musical scene. But while the album was the first to benefit from simultaneous release and moderate promotional support in the U.S., the group's relationship with Polydor was deteriorating rapidly, eventually resulting in their release from the label. The Almighty were among a number of '90s British hard rock bands (also including the Wildhearts, Wolfsbane, and Thunder to name but a few), who received extremely enthusiastic reviews in their homeland but achieved little or no success in America. 1994 was a year of great change for the Almighty. Signing with Chrysalis (not exactly a power in hard rock circles) may have been a mistake, but the band made up for it by securing the services of mighty Sanctuary Music Management, home to Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P. and others. Released in early 1995, Crank was not the group's best effort but was certainly their most honest as they shed their heavy metal posing and began to preach a return to their punk rock roots. Just Add Life, released in 1996 by Castle Communications, found some success via the fiery single "All Sussed Up," but a confluence of record company issues and internal tensions resulted in the band ceasing operations shortly after its release. The Almighty re-formed in 2000 with Nick Parsons replacing guitarist Pete Friesen, and released their eponymous sixth studio album. Gav Gray took over bass duties from Floyd London on 2001's Psycho-Narco, which would prove to the be the band's final studio album. The group continued to operate sporadically over the years, releasing a handful of compilations (2007's Anthf***in'ology) and live albums (2008's All Proud, All Live, All Mighty), and playing occasional live shows. Warwick continued to record and perform under his own name, as well as with the Thin Lizzy adjacent Black Star Riders.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo