With a few exceptions, the Seattle music scene is best known for its output during the 1990s when grunge took hold for a spell. As the story goes, the city would see the likes of local heroes Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam ascend to the global stage. But there’s far more to the story. Going as far back as ’60s garage merchants The Sonics (actually from Tacoma), the scene has produced a slew of standouts ranging from mainstream stars like Heart and Queensryche to punk acts like The Fastbacks and Green River, to name a few. But one criminally undermentioned name in the Seattle canon is that of hard rock outfit TKO.
Formed by vocalist and frontman Brad Sinsel, the band’s core years stretch from the late ‘70s to the tail end of the ’80s. Its major-label debut, Let It Roll, was released in 1979 (Infinity/MCA). More straight-up arena rock than metal, the band began cultivating a decent following but eventually dropped out of sight despite respectable sales and major tours with Cheap Trick and The Kinks. With a revolving-door lineup that saw Sinsel as the only constant, the band would release two more albums during its prime years, one of which, 1984’s In Your Face, is a particular standout. The cliche “timing is everything” holds true in TKO’s case. But before we get into why this album needs to be on your radar, let’s look at what was happening in the scene at the time.
At the start of the ‘80s, heavy metal was slowly ramping up into newer, more-energized contemporary strains. Born out of the blustery blues-fueled racket of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple, this burgeoning new scene was taking it in exciting new directions on a global scale. The UK saw the birth of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), which had substantial implications across Europe and Japan. Over in these parts, the Bay Area Thrash scene began to take shape, while hordes of flashy axe-wielding acts from Hollywood helped drive the pop end of the spectrum. Coupled with ample UK media coverage and the likes of Sounds and Kerrang! magazines, the new movement began to blossom, with record labels of all sizes taking note.
A slew of monumental albums emerged during the first three years of the decade, all of which helped solidify the movement and its place in rock history. Some of the most notable include British Steel (Judas Priest), The Number Of The Beast (Iron Maiden), Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne) On Through the Night (Def Leppard), Kill ‘Em All (Metallica), Black Metal (Venom), Restless And Wild (Accept) and Mõtley Crüe’s Shout At The Devil, and all of these releases are still revered to this day. The period saw the launch of the golden era of contemporary heavy metal in a variety of styles.
One release that genuinely should be mentioned in the same breath as these juggernauts is TKO’s In Your Face. But, this is where timing would ultimately come into play, and not in the most positive ways. Released in 1984 on thrash label Combat Records, the album was unfortunately overshadowed by the now booming metal scene mainly centered in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and the UK. Coupled with the band’s label lacking the marketing heft to properly promote it, In Your Face was effectively lost in the shuffle. But given its high quality and fresh approach, it shouldn’t have been that way.
In reality, the album was initially recorded in 1981, but due to prior label shakeups and lineup changes, was not released for several years to come. During its recording, the band, featuring Sinsel on vocals, Adam Brenner on guitars, Evan Sheeley on bass and Gary Thompson on drums, was focused on heavier pursuits, which happened to be right in step with the times. Once the recording was wrapped, the album was shopped to various labels but was largely ignored by the industry, which was more focused on the new wave and post-punk bands of the day. Legend has it that some labels even dismissed it as too heavy, failing to recognize the harder sounds taking shape in the clubs and overseas. As the band’s producer Rick Keefer was unable to score a deal for the album’s release, by 1983, TKO was over. But, a while later, and as luck would have it, Combat had gotten a hold of the tapes and was interested in releasing the album. Thus, Sinsel was given a month to put a new lineup together to capitalize on this quick twist of fate. In Your Face was eventually released in 1984 with new members Ken Mary (drums), Kjartan Kristofferson (guitar), and Scott Earl (bass) for the tour. (The latter two had previously been members of Culprit, another classic Seattle underground metal band from the day.)
The album opens with the anthemic and exceedingly badass “I Wanna Fight.” A statement of intent if there ever was one, the song kicks off with a meaty AC/DC-esque riff, before Sinsel’s tuneful screech issues a stern warning to naysayers. The chorus is a sprawling chain-gang refrain that benefits greatly from the simplicity of three little words that might otherwise sound off if placed in lesser hands. Another standout is the ultra-heavy “Give into the Night.” Kicking off with a menacing goose-stepping beat, it’s a slow burner with an infectious chorus and snarling attitude, and it’s unique in the sense that it’s heavy enough for metal fans, but with a raw, feral edge that is not a million miles away with some of the harder punk sound from the UK at the time. “End of the Line” opens with a passage from the spooky “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” which gives the otherwise straight-up metal number a classical feel before it all descends into oblivion. “Working Girl” is a hooky valentine to the oldest profession, while “Don’t Give It Away” is fluid, funky, and steeped in sleaze, deviating from the day’s heavy metal blueprint.
Far from your standard heavy metal record, Sinsel and company had a keen sense of wit and soul, and had the timing been in its favor, it could’ve been one of the premier hard rock records at the dawn of the new scene. But on the flip side, the swaggering style, seedy punk elements and smart streetwise lyrics bear some striking similarities to a landmark album that would come out several years later: Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses. Both albums eschew typical hard rock themes of fantasy, horror, and parties in favor of moodier, reality-based storytelling. And both bands featured frontmen who wore their weathered hearts and bad attitudes squarely on their sleeves. GN’R bassist Duff McKagen was originally from Seattle so one has to wonder if TKO was an influence on his later landmark band.
In Your Face has been lovingly reissued as part of a comprehensive box set Total Knock Out – The Complete TKO (Cherry Red). It showcases all three of the band’s studio albums, the aforementioned Let It Roll and In Your Face, plus 1986’s almost equally excellent Below the Belt. Also featured on the 5-disc set are a bevy of bonuses, including tracks that would’ve comprised the early lineup’s originally intended second album Round Two, a remixed version of In Your Face from 2001, and tracks from Sinsel’s short-lived project Suicide Squad, making their debut on CD for the first time. It all comes in a glossy case with a book that sheds some serious light on this long-lost Seattle band that should’ve received far more recognition for a groundbreaking album and style that would ultimately prove to be highly influential.
For questions, comments, or something you’d like to see, drop me a line. @JimKaz1
