Few days ago we featured here all reissued albums from Canadians WRABIT, and here’s a related band; HANOVER FIST, formed by bassist Chris Brockway after Wrabit disbanded, and including talented musicians like guitarist George Bernhardt who later performed for Jeff Scott Soto, Lee Aaron & Rick Springfield, and drummer Kim Hunt (AORsters Urgent, Moxy, Zon) .
Originally released in Canada in 1985, the band’s self titled debut ”Hanover Fist” was re-released at the end of the same year in the USA with the band re-named HANOVER, and under the title “Hungry Eyes” with different cover art.
This is the silently reissued Escape Music remaster, for the first time on CD, replicating that very original, hard to find original Canadian LP correctly reinstating that version running order.
”Hanover Fist” is pure mid-Eighties melodic hard rock / metal with that classic sound and atmosphere.
Hanover Fist’s self-titled debut album might just be one of best ‘80s albums you never heard. The Toronto based outfit should’ve gone on to greater heights, but sadly the band’s story is an all too familiar one of outstanding ability and a bright future being all too quickly blighted and ultimately cut short by baffling record label and managerial decisions.
Hanover Fist’s debut LP was released in Canada in early 1985 and featured one of the most imaginative pieces of artwork ever to grace an album sleeve.
Take a closer look and you’ll see a vinyl album under construction! It was all the work of Dean Motter (who could count LP covers for Zon, Loverboy, Anvil, Sheriff, Chilliwack, The Nylons, Triumph, Toronto, Lee Aaron and The Arrows on his CV up to that point).
Sadly, Motter’s impressive work wasn’t around long enough to be admired by as many as it should.
There were some strange goings on behind the scenes and the album was no longer available for sale domestically after a mere two months.
Upon the advice of MCA in the States, Hanover Fist signed with a USA based management company and the album was released in America a few months after the original Canadian version had disappeared from view; albeit with some pretty sweeping changes being made to it before it hit retail; not least the album’s artwork being changed from Dean Motter’s engineering masterpiece to a depiction of a snarling black panther.
Not only was the album re-titled ‘Hungry Eyes’ (so named after one of the songs on the original release) and the running order overhauled with two songs removed, and a cover of Bryan Adams’ ‘Fits Ya Good’ added as the revised album’s opening track, but the band name was shortened to Hanover.
“The manager we hooked up with had something of a political conscience,” singer Frank Zirone diplomatically notes. “This was around the time when the PMRC were making noises in the States, so that’s why the cover got changed and we lost the ‘Fist’ part of the band name.”
Dates with Autograph, Heaven, a three month stint with Saxon and selective shows on their own followed, but the band would ultimately run out of steam, with zero record label support and promotion.
“Additionally, the original vision had been compromised with the name of the band being shortened, the album cover being changed and especially the running order of the record being vastly different to the original version,” Frank explains. “There was not much drive to continue as the whole thing had been manipulated into something completely different from what we had originally created.”
Yet now the Hanover Fist album can be enjoyed in its original form once more. All the original 10 tracks are present, and we have as bonus track the song included into the “Hungry Eyes” / American edition; the catchy Bryan Adams / Jim Vallance penned ‘Fits Ya Good’.
01 – The Maze
02 – Metal of the Night
03 – Hungry Eyes
04 – Don’t Let It Stop
05 – Standing Six
06 – Fear No Evil
07 – Rock Bottom
08 – High Speed Roller
09 – Looking for Love
10 – Should Be Rockin’
11 – Fits Ya Good (Bonus Track)
Lead Vocals: Frank Zirone
Guitars: George Bernhardt
Additional Guitar: B. Bartoletti, S. Heydon, K.W.Geer
Drums: Kim Hunt
Bass: Chris Brockway, D. Woodhead
Background vocals: D. Baynham, S. Heydon, J. Victor