Seduce were an HM band that were formed by a trio of then 19 year olds back in 1980.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Seduce
ALBUM: Seduce
LABEL: Psycho Mania
SERIAL: PSYCH-001
YEAR: 1985
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Mark Andrews – vocals, bass * David Black – guitars * Chuck Burns – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Viper’s Bite * 02 Love To Hate * 03 Streets * 04 Face To Face * 05 Chopping Block * 06 Headbangers * 07 The Mirror * 08 Madcap
WEBLINKS: Metrotimes Article
Background
Seduce were an HM band that were formed by a trio of then 19 year olds back in 1980. From Detroit, these guys were quite advanced for their time, with a racy sound similar to 80’s highlights reel Motley Crüe and mid west rivals Vyper. I stumbled upon this after doing some research on the movie ‘The Decline of the Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years’ where Seduce were one of the featured bands.
This was due to the involvement of IRS Records head honcho Miles Copeland, brother of The Police drummer Stewart Copeland. The band were originally called Sparks but due to a naming conflict with the well known Mael brothers band of the same name, had to change handles. It wasn’t until 1985 that the trio released their self titled LP after a few years of solid support work in Detroit and regional areas close by.
The Songs
The ‘Seduce’ album was recorded in a local studio in Detroit, and though (by all reports) the band were not happy with the final outcome, they made a good fist of it, considering the lowbrow technology they had to work with back then. The fiery nature of the band can be heard from the start as ‘Viper’s Bite’ sets the tone with manic intent. It has a snarling quality to it.
Other tracks to stand out include the fast and furious ‘Streets’, the equally rampant ‘Chopping Block’. Let’s not forget the brutal ‘Headbangers’, an ode to all of the Seduce fan base I’m sure. ‘The Mirror’ has the brakes applied for once, A wistful tune though still quite powerful without the speed. ‘Madcap’ is a live rendition, in fact, in later years, there are three live bonus tracks added to the 2002 ressiue CD on Mingya Records (refer Discogs link above).
In Summary
The band released two albums (1985 and 1988) plus a 2002 reunion filmed for DVD. As expected, all three are difficult to find as physical product, but the two albums can be picked up on YouTube Music as full albums to be added to your YTM library (see link below). Seduce hung around until 1991 where they encountered the grunge roadblock, but since then they played numerous get-together gigs on occasion. Give these guys a listen. Well worth your time.
Seduce on Video
Headbangers
Click to go to YTM album page.
