ARGUS same s/t EP vinyl rare heavy metal hard rock

$

31

This is a very good/near mint condition vinyl record album, a 1983
self-titles release on the American Rainbow Records Internation label by
Florida hard rock/heavy metal band Argus

“Lady Killer” + “Another Gloomy Day” b/w “Children” + “Down The Motorway.”

From the band’s site, “The story of Argus begins in the late 70's when two
members of a band called Bullet decided they wanted to start their own
project. Up until that time, guitarist Glenn Enriquez and drummer Tony
Pizzoferrato (aka Michael Anthony) were mired in the same rut that a lot of
local musicians were forced to endure, which was having to play the same
old standards at the same old venues over and over again just to get a gig.
The national music scene was awash in a mix of disco, southern rock and pop
radio music so boring that the death of rock-n-roll seemed imminent.
However, after a chance meeting with former Spartacus guitarist Dave Aylor,
who seemed to share their vision of bringing a full concert-type, show to
an unsuspecting local club, concrete ideas began to take shape and seeds
were planted that would grow into an unimaginable harvest. The search was
on for the right singer to front an undertaking of this magnitude and when
the guys experienced the showmanship of fiery vocalist Frank Caballero (aka
Frank St. James) in a local watering hole after rehearsal one night, the
stage was set for the formation of what would become the premier heavy
metal act not only in the Tampa Bay area, but in much of the Eastern United
States and several foreign countries. After auditioning more than a few
bass players, the band decided on a young and relatively unknown Jerry
Ryburn and began bombarding the East coast club circuit with cover tunes by
bands that at the time were known only by those who had extensive European
record collections. The Scorpions, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Riot, Krokus,
Underdog, Saxon and Yesterday and Today, just to name a few. Many of these
bands would eventually go on to make names for themselves, but in the late
70's they were virtually unheard of in the United States. The band also
played a 30 min. Black Sabbath medley that would leave crowds in awe. The
band still performs it when time permits. At first, it was not easy to
convince skeptical club owners of the merits of this type of approach but
gradually, they began to see the light. They discovered along with
everybody else that Argus was not just another bar band and that when they
saw one of their shows, it was something unlike anything else out there at
the time. The lights, fog, pyrotechnic effects, state of the art sound
system and the bands penchant for engaging its audience, all combined with
the unbelievable stage presence and flawless musicianship that had been
carefully honed through countless meetings and rehearsals was just too good
to not like no matter what kind of music you listened to. Argus became a
legend at every club they played and when it was time them to return,
people would talk about for weeks in advance was what was going to happen
on stage the next time they saw the band. The club owners absolutely loved
it. Then, in the early 80's the heavy metal scene exploded and Argus found
themselves riding the crest of a wave and playing huge concerts with bands
like Rick Derringer,Foghat, Golden Earring, Motor Head, Helix, Elf, Pat
Travers, Head East, Brian Adams, Accept and many others as well as
headlining large festivals in the Tampa Bay area along with fellow local
favorites Stranger. The success of these shows facilitated the recording of
their self titled EP in 1983 on the Rainbow Records label. Radio stations
located in the cities and towns in which the band performed played the
songs on a limited rotation and the record was reviewed in Billboard
Magazine in June of 1983. In March of that year the band made a trip to
Medellin, Colombia to headline a show in a bull-fighting arena, playing to
a heavy metal crazy crowd of 20,000 plus. Argus returned to the states and
the club circuit playing to larger crowds than ever, while their management
company had started negotiations with several major record labels. The band
was poised to skyrocket to stardom but before a deal could be reached; they
started showing signs of fatigue. After more than six long years of
constant touring, they decided to take a short break, which turned out to
be a longer break than any of them could have imagined. Fast-forward to
2005, when Glenn decided that it was time to fill that empty spot a
seasoned musician gets in his gut when he is not playing music on a
meaningful level anymore. An attempt was made to bring all the guys back
together for a reunion of Argus but alas, the chains of adulthood prevented
the original line-up from accomplishing this. Only Frank was available and
living in the area when the time came to reform the group that started it
all. Not easily deterred, Glenn set out to recruit the best musicians
available and before long had cobbled together a very good collection of
musicians with the same level of proficiency and aggressive attitude as the
original Argus line-up. With Frank signed on to continue his prowess as the
consummate front man and Glenn resuming his role as guitarist
extraordinaire, they were fortunate enough to hook up with drummer Mike
Browning, of Morbid Angel, Nocturnus, and After Death, fame. Then Glenn
Dillman, the former guitarist for Keith Collins Krunch, who unselfishly
took a page from Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler and traded in his
guitar to play bass for Argus. Demian Heftel, who has played with
Brutality, Contorted and After Death, rounded out the line-up on guitar,
and the band stated re-working some of their old tunes and writing new ones
for an upcoming session. The feedback so far has been fantastic after only
a few live dates and the new material has been well received both by fans
from their heyday and by many young metal enthusiasts who have never seen
the band perform before until recently. If their reaction is any
indication, the metal monsters from Tampa Bay will once again be riding
that train and leading the march of metal mayhem into the 21st century.
Welcome back Argus, it's about time.

Cover in m-/vg++ condition - small dent to lower left corner, small bend to lower right corner.
Vinyl in m- condition .

Currently, I am turntable-challenged, but all albums are diligently
sight-graded. Domestic postage is $4.00 - priority mail, confirmation
and/or insurance at buyer’s request and expense. Canadian buyer to pay
$6.50 for unregistered airmail. Overseas buyer to pay $16.50 for
unregistered airmail. *Italian bidders*, please note: due to a high
percentage of postal losses this past year, I will NOT be refunding for any
circumstances- you bid knowing that you accept full responsibility for any
loss or damage by your erratic postal service. Thanks for reading all of
this!