Bad Moon Rising was an American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band that rose to fame in Japan with a series of albums led by Scottish born vocalist Kal Swan (real name Norman Swan) and guitarist

Doug Aldrich Doug Aldrich (born February 19, 1963) is an American hard rock guitarist. He founded the band Burning Rain with Keith St. John in 1998 and has played with Whitesnake, Dio, Lion, Hurricane, House of Lords, Bad Moon Rising and Revolution Saints ...

. Both Kal Swan and Doug are ex-

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

members, whilst the rhythm team of bassist Ian Mayo and drummer Jackie Ramos had played in both Hericane Alice and

Bangalore Choir Bangalore Choir is an American hard rock band formed in 1991. It was formed by former Accept frontman David Reece and guitarists Curt Mitchell and John Kirk (both formerly of Razor Maid). Joining them from Hericane Alice, was bassist Ian Ma ...

. Prior to relocating from England to Los Angeles Swan had fronted up the

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an arti ...

heavy metal band Tytan.

History

The debut album, produced by Mack sees musicians including

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

axeman Michael Schenker and Robin Mcauley together with ex-

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Kelly Garni, and vocalist Kevin DuBrow. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin Du ...

bassist Chuck Wright,

Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) is an English hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. After the release of their second live album, 1984's '' Rock Will Never Die'', ...

's Rocky Newton and

Fifth Angel Fifth Angel is an American heavy metal band from Bellevue, Washington. Biography Fifth Angel was formed in the suburbs of Seattle in 1983, specifically, in the Bellevue area. The band's initial lineup consisted of Ted Pilot (vocals), James B ...

and

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

drummer

Ken Mary Ken K. Mary is an American musician who has worked as a drummer, producer, engineer, and record executive on over thirty-five albums. He has worked in genres from heavy rock to choral music. Mary is best known for his work with acts such as ...

. Both Wright and Mary are of course former

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

cohorts. Bad Moon Rising put in an extensive tour of Japan during June 1991 and were voted by readers of the influential ''

Burrn! is a monthly Japanese magazine for fans of heavy metal music, published since September 1984. It is the major publication on heavy metal music in the country. As of 2013, it is published by Shinko Music Entertainment in Tokyo Tokyo, off ...

'' magazine as 'Brightest new hope' for the following year. 1993's ''Blood'' album features the guest rhythm section showing of Wright and Mary once more, however Ramos and Mayo appear in the booklet and are listed as full members. The album was delivered in Japan during March with an EP ''Blood On The Streets'' issued the following month. Bad Moon Rising returned to Japan in October for a further run of dates, giving a nod to their influences by including

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

's 'Movin' On',

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

's 'Cowboy Song' and

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

's 'Highway Star' in their live set. Doug Aldrich struck out on his own in 1994. Releasing the mainly instrumental ''Highcentered'' album. Such was the band's stature in Japan the guitarist put in a series of appearances to plug this solo effort. The French release of ''Opium For The Masses'' came complete with a free four-track EP containing previously unreleased material. Touring had the band gigging throughout France in May, including a support to

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

at Le Zenith in Paris, upfront of Japanese gigs. The set this time around featured two

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

workouts 'Purple Haze' and 'Voodoo Chile' plus another

tune 'Don't Believe A Word'. The following year both ''Opium For The Masses'' and ''Highcentered'' saw release in the USA. Such was fan fervour for Bad Moon Rising in Japan that North American versions of ''Opium For The Masses'' were imported back so that ardent fans could buy both variants. A second solo album from Aldrich, ''Electrovision'', emerged in Japan during 1997, featuring Kal Swan on the song Sky Blue and Black. In November 1998, the band had officially broken up and in 1999 Aldrich had created a new act

Burning Rain Burning Rain is a band formed by guitarist Doug Aldrich (Revolution Saints, The Dead Daisies, ex-Dio (band), Dio, ex-Whitesnake) and singer Keith St John, Keith St. John (Montrose (band), Montrose) in 1998. Joining the group were drummer Alex Ma ...

fronted by ex-

Medicine Wheel Medicine wheels are petroforms or circular formations of rocks on the land. Historically, most medicine wheels followed a similar pattern of a central circle or cluster of stones, surrounded by an outer ring of stones, along with spokes radiatin ...

vocalist Keith St John. 2005 saw the re-packaging of all three Bad Moon Rising albums, plus eight bonus tracks, by the Italian label

Frontiers Records Frontiers Music (formerly Frontiers Records) is an Italian record label that primarily focuses on hard rock. The label was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is headquartered in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino began his care ...

under the billing 'The Full Moon Collection'.

Bad Moon Rising

References

External links

Doug Aldrich official website

Bad Moon Rising blog

Bad Moon Rising website
* {{Authority control American hard rock musical groups Frontiers Records artists