Salem; The NWOBHM Band Whose Time Has Finally Come!

Forgotten Dreams (2013)

Source // moshville.co.uk

Well, it was about time lads!

When you can pack some truly epic songwriting into your first album proper – “Break The Chains” and “Forgotten Dreams” are fist-pumping anthems designed for stadium sized crowds – then people will take notice….and take notice of Salem they did!

Neither advertently heavy nor pandering to the soft rock crowd either, Salem’s art was always in delivering passionate, catchy as all hell and accessible hard rock songs and Forgotten Dreams did that in spades!

Salem’s true debut – and one long in gestation – Forbidden Dreams delivered on the promise evident since their inception 35 years prior. Salem were finally living those dreams long thought forgotten and they had unleashed a modern NWOBHM classic which cemented their relevance in the scene.

In The Beginning – Remastered (2015)

Source // shop.undercover-records.de

In July 2015, a new version of the In The Beginning… was released by High Roller Records, fully re-mastered and rearranged so that the 17 songs were presented in chronological order.

This was not only manna from heaven for fans with OCD – we jest of course – but served to truly highlight the “transition, the maturing of songwriting and improvement in sound” (quote from 2015 interview with Salem guitarist Paul Macnamara) and the obvious progression made by the band during those 3 short years in the early 80’s. 

Now truly indispensable, any NWOBHM enthusiast worth his or her salt needs this collection in their collection, no excuses tolerated!