Quartz - one of the first bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal era. Their albums showcased the true essence of late 1970's/early 1980's metal, delivering a stunning mixture of brilliant guitar riffs and passionate vocals. The group's second opus – "Stand Up And Fight" – is to this day considered as their most stellar work, reminding the modern listener how real metal should sound like...

The band was formed around 1974 in Birmingham, UK. The first line-up consisted of Mike Taylor (vocals), Mick Hopkins (guitar), Malcolm Cope (drums), Geoff Nicholls (guitar) and Derek Arnold (bass). In 1976 the group signed to Jet Records. The label sent them out on tour with AC/DC and Black Sabbath, which turned out to be very fruitful for the band, as Sabbath's tour manager Albert Chapman agreed to take them under his wing. Also Tony Iommi became a huge fan of Quartz and insisted to produce their debut album, which the band recorded between 1976 and 1977. With their self-titled debut release Quartz joined the ranks of groups such as Def Lepard and Diamond Head, proving that metal can be faster and more aggressive. Unfortunately, in 1979 Geoff Nicholls left to join Black Sabbath, with whom he stayed until 2004. Quartz continued to play as a four-piece. In 1980 the band moved to a bigger label – MCA – where they released their second LP called "Stand Up And Fight". The album brought an excellent blend of Sabbath-like riffs with upbeat hard rock. Quartz managed to write some of their heaviest material ever which proved the group's extreme talent and brilliant songwriting skills. The album was produced by Derek Lawrence, known from working with Angel and Deep Purple on some of their early records (including their debut "Shades of Deep purple" from 1968). After a string of live shows Quartz returned to the studio to record their third offering – "Against All Odds" (1983). Sadly, in the same year the group disbanded because of their irreconcilable differences.

Tracklist:

1. Stand Up And Fight
2. Charlie Snow
3. Can't Say No To You
4. Revenge
5. Stoking Up The Fires Of Hell
6. Rock'n'roll Child
7. Questions
8. Wildfire

Bonus track:
9. Circles

Share this article on Twitter

Preview and Purchase Quartz CDs

Quartz Tour Dates/Tickets

Quartz MP3 Downloads

Was it Good for you? Please Fark it!, Stumble It, Digg it or more!

Fark Stumble Upon Digg Facebook

...end