FM
History
Battleaxe is an English heavy metal band from Sunderland, England.[1] As one of the bands of the new wave of British heavy metal scene, they started out with the name Warrior and morphed into Battleaxe sometime in early 1980. The band consisted of Dave King (vocals), Brian Smith (bass), Steve Hardy (guitar), and Ian Thompson (drums).[1] After playing around the area and honing their chops, they entered the recording studio to make a demo called "Burn This Town". In doing so, they garnered the attention of Roadrunner Records and the result was their first album, Burn This Town.[1]
Once a deal had been struck with Roadrunner Records, the master tapes were sent to Roadrunner Records and the album title was agreed upon as Burn this Town. The record company asked the band for some concept ideas for the cover artwork, so the guys asked a friend and local artist Arthur Ball if he could come up with anything. He then produced the first Burn this Town cover artwork as it is now, but only as a rough proof drawing, and stated that, if it were approved by the record company, he would redraw the whole thing again to a much higher standard. However, when Roadrunner received the proof artwork for approval, they went ahead and pressed 2000 units for a worldwide release without the band's consent. The original Burn this Town cover artwork is one of the most talked-about album covers in heavy metal history. The graphic looked amateurish, and the band worried what it might do to their reputation. However, the music did the talking and the album sold well. The band began developing a reputation in the region as a solid heavy metal outfit.[citation needed]
