Song of the Day: Neon Night, “Overdose,” from Neon Night (Angel, 1987)

I stumbled upon Neon Night while randomly browsing any old barebones blog chock full of heavy metal obscurities one evening. The Norwegian group released a demo in 1984 and a self-titled full-length in 1987, and that seems to be it.

While not the most exciting album on Earth, Neon Night is nonetheless a solid outing of straightforward, traditional heavy metal with tinges of NWOBHM to be found in its bouncy dual guitar melodies and fist-pumping rhythms.

"Overdose," the second to last song on the album, however, is its brightly shining star. The way the guitars slide around during the kick-ass intro alone point to bigger and better musicianship at work—bolstered by the subtly fucked up time signatures that continue into the opening verses. And how 'bout those absolutely scorching, high-energy solos!? Hot damn!

After giving the album a shot, it just turned out to be a happy coincidence that Neon Night's vocalist, Leif Knashaug, later sang for the pre-Spiral Architect outfit Anesthesia (and on Spiral Architect's demo), as well as Twisted Into Form. Who knew!?