Kick Axe is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

heavy metal band from

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

. Influenced by rambunctious

arena rock Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences. As hard rock ...

from the 1970s and early 1980s, the group is perhaps best known for their 1984 album ''

Vices A vice is a practice, behaviour, habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhealthy habit. Vices a ...

'', praised by publications such as ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' for its "down-and-dirty guitar riffs" and managing to crack the American market. The band achieved moderate commercial success in the mid-1980s on the strength of the singles "Heavy Metal Shuffle", "On the Road to Rock", "With a Little Help from My Friends" and "Rock the World". Following the release of their 1986 album '' Rock the World'', Kick Axe disbanded and remained on hiatus for many years. In 2004, they re-emerged with the album ''

Kick Axe IV ''Kick Axe IV'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Kick Axe. The album was released in 2004 after the band reformation in 2003 with original member Gary Langen singing for Criston, who was unavailable to join the reunion d ...

''. The band's "classic" mid-1980s lineup consisted of George Criston (vocals), Larry Gillstrom (lead guitar), Raymond Harvey (lead guitar), Brian Gillstrom (drums), and Victor Langen (bass guitar). Vocalist Criston did not return for the band's 2004 reunion, being replaced by Gary Langen, who had actually been a founding member of the band in the late 1970s.

History of the band

Early years (1974–1980)

Kick Axe was formed in

, Canada, in 1974 by Larry Gillstrom (guitar), Victor Langen (bass guitar) and his brother Gary Langen (drums, lead vocals), but at those times they called themselves Hobbit. In 1976 they changed the name to Kick Axe. After several line-up changes, by 1979, they added a guitarist Raymond Harvey and relocated to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, in search of greater exposure. Gary Langen was not willing to leave

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and was replaced by Larry's brother Brian Gillstrom. The group began recording in 1979 but scrapped the sessions because they felt they needed a more distinguished front man. Vocalist Charles McNary was brought in and the band started to make waves, even making an appearance on a ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' compilation album.

Career expansion, decline and fall (1981–1988)

McNary left the band in 1982, and, after an international search, he was replaced in 1983 by George Criston (from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US), giving Kick Axe the "distinguished front man" they had long desired. Shortly after his joining, the group signed a

major label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

deal with

Spencer Proffer Spencer Proffer (born Salek Profesorski, December 25, 1948) is an American media and record producer. He is the CEO of Meteor 17, a convergence media production company based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Proffer produced the firs ...

Pasha Records Pasha Records was a record label founded by Spencer Proffer, part of the Pasha Music Corporation. With distribution through CBS Records (now Sony Music), Pasha was the home to acts such as Quiet Riot, Kick Axe, Outlaws, Isle of Man, Colortone, ...

. Their debut album ''

'' was released in 1984 to critical acclaim, and the band toured behind such top acts of the day as

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

, and

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

label-mates

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 ...

. A cover of Humble Pie's "

30 Days in the Hole 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

" appeared on the '' Up the Creek'' movie

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

in 1984 as well as on the chromium dioxide

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

version of ''Vices''. The song also appeared on the first of two

Muchmusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

compilation albums, promoting the network's weekly '' Power Hour'' program. ''Vices'' meant for Kick Axe their biggest commercial success, reaching position No. 126 at the Billboard 200 album chart. The band's follow-up album, '' Welcome to the Club'', was released in 1985, and included a handful of guest stars. Meanwhile, the group appeared on '' The Transformers: The Movie'' soundtrack under the name "Spectre General", the name change being due to legal complications. The band name still appeared as Kick Axe on the Canadian release of the album. They recorded two songs under that name: "Hunger" (later covered by

King Kobra King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice after his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984. History For their first two albums, the band consisted of four relatively unknown musicians: vocalist Marcie ...

on their 1985 album '' Ready to Strike'') and "Nothin's Gonna Stand in Our Way" (originally by

John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

for the film '' Savage Streets'') which were included on the soundtrack. Guitarist Harvey left the band in 1986, and the band elected to carry on as a four-piece. Their next album, '' Rock the World'', a return to their heavy metal roots, was released but by then all momentum had been lost. By 1988, dropped by their record label, Kick Axe broke up.

Reunion without Criston (2002–2022)

The band reformed in 2002 with original member Gary Langen singing for Criston who was unavailable to join the reunion due to prior work commitments. The new album, entitled ''

'', was released the following year. In 2008 Gary Langen left the band and was replaced with new vocalist Daniel Nargang, formerly of the Regina metal band Into Eternity. They went on to play Canadian tour dates and rock festivals over many years.

Modern-day comeback (since 2023)

On the 26th of July 2023, almost twenty years since their last release, Kick Axe released a new single with Daniel Nargang on vocals, 'Blackout Crazy'. This was followed up with the anthemic rock song 'Run to the Thunder' on the 15th of October 2023. The band's websites and social media pages were updated to include information on an upcoming album, their first since Kick Axe IV, scheduled for release in 'early 2024'.

Current members

*''Larry Gillstrom'' - guitars, keyboards, backing vocals (1974-1988, 2002–present) *''Victor Langen'' - bass, keyboards, backing vocals (1974-1988, 2002–present) *''Brian Gillstrom'' - drums, backing vocals (1980-1988, 2002–present) *''Raymond Harvey'' - guitars, backing vocals (1978-1986, 2002–present) *''Daniel Nargang'' - lead vocals (2009–present)

Former members

*''Gary Langen'' - drums (1974-1980), lead vocals (1974-1980, 2002-2008) *''Dave Zurowski'' - guitars (1975-1978) *''Todd Player'' - keyboards (1975-1976) *''Roland Gibbs'' - keyboards (1975-1976) *''Wally Damrick'' - keyboards (1978) *''Charles McNary'' - lead vocals (1980-1982) *''George Criston'' - lead vocals (1982-1988)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1984) (No. 66 Canada) * '' Welcome to the Club'' (1985) (No. 93 Canada) * '' Rock the World'' (1986) * ''

'' (2004)

Live albums

* ''Captured Live!'' (1984) (promotional album)

Singles

* "Weekend Ride" and "One More Time" (1981) * "On the Road to Rock" and "Stay on Top" (1984) * "Heavy Metal Shuffle" (1984) * "

With a Little Help from My Friends "With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and is sung by drummer Ringo Starr (a ...

" and "Can't Take It With You" (1985) (No. 79 Canada) * "Comin' After You" and "Feel the Power" (1985) * "

The Chain "The Chain" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album '' Rumours''. It is the only song from the album with writing credits for all five members (Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John ...

" and "Red Line" (1986) * "Nothin's Gonna Stand In Our Way" and "Hunger" (1986) (outside Canada released under the name "Spectre General" instead of Kick Axe) * "Blackout Crazy" and "Run to the Thunder" (2023)

References

External links

Kick Axe
Official website
Kick Axe
Official Fan website * *
Article at canadianbands.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kick Axe 1976 establishments in Saskatchewan Canadian glam metal musical groups Canadian hard rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Musical groups reestablished in 2003 Musical groups from Regina, Saskatchewan