Beware of the Dog

Arguably the last band of note to emerge from Neat Records' once rich coffers of Northern English metal talent (by then already in severe decline), Wallsend-based quintet Tysondog caught the very tail end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with the fine 1984 debut Beware of the Dog. Unlike many of Neat's one-dimensional proto-thrashers, Tysondog was a prototypical, all-purpose heavy metal group showing more studio finesse than many of its peers — something that may come as a surprise considering this album was produced by none other than Venom bassist/vocalist Cronos. To this end, singer Clutch Carruthers was one of the group's better assets, his powerful but clear voice lending album standouts like "Hammerhead" (an urgent knockout of an opener), "Dog Soldiers," and "Inquisition" (both slower paced, but all the more classy for it) that extra professional touch, so lacking in the mostly roughshod competition starting out at the time. Likewise, Tysondog's double whammy guitar team of Alan Hunter and Paul Burdis brought a finely attuned interplay of rhythm and solo fluidity to the anthemic "Painted Heroes" and the frenetic "Dead Meat." On the downside, both "Voice from the Grave" and "Day of the Butcher" sound borderline throwaway after all these years, and the slow plod of "Demon" is one of those aimless relics of bad '80s metal. Still, it's a very convincing power ballad named "In the End" that brings Beware of the Dog to an inspired close; but instead of announcing the arrival of a true British metal contender, its title would instead become a sad prophecy of Tysondog's quick and ignominious disintegration a few years later. [Beware of the Dog's full contents were included in Sanctuary/Neat's 2002 Tysondog anthology Painted Heroes.]