Grim reaper playing a guitar wallpaper series#

He was also listed as co-author, along with Michael Doyle, of The History of Marshall: The First 50 Years.ĭespite only being involved in hard rock music for a few years, Bowcott is often cited as a major influence by hard rock guitarists and Grim Reaper albums are still a part of collections of serious heavy metal enthusiasts. Bowcott has also taken part in a number of instructional guitar books and co-wrote Guitar World Presents Kirk Hammett's The Sound And The Fury and Guitar World Presents: Dimebag Darrell's Riffer Madness.

Bowcott has also spent time handling artist marketing for Marshall's US office in New York, and more recently filled the role of Marketing Director for Fender. Bowcott has also worked as a writer for Guitar World. Bowcott, meanwhile, shifted gears and began writing for Circus, a popular heavy metal magazine in those days. Grimmett continued to work in music, enjoying moderate success over the years with Onslaught, Lionsheart and, eventually, Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper. The life of a struggling musician proved too much for Bowcott, who decided to shut down the band after Rock You to Hell. Rock You to Hell was released in September '87 and would prove to be the band's last effort despite similar success to their first two albums.ĭespite their apparent commercial success, Grim Reaper did not make enough money to make a living, as each of the band members worked regular jobs even at the height of their popularity. The dispute was eventually settled, and the band signed on with RCA, who demanded they re-record the album. A dispute between the band and the label followed, delaying the release of their third album for nearly two years. The band laid down a third album with Ebony Records, but the recording was so bad the label never released it. While it fell short of the success of See You in Hell, the album did manage to reach position 111 on the Billboard 200. Spending just nine days on the record, the band released Fear No Evil in May. With album sales rising and their debut video still playing all the time, Grim Reaper headed back into the studio to lay down a follow-up in early 1985. Ironically, despite their early success, Steve Grimmett would claim years later that he had never seen a dime from the album. A video was produced for the title track and received ample airplay on MTV. The album charted less than a month after its US release, peaking at Number 73 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album was released in the US in July of '84, thrusting the band onto the scene. Ebony insisted on a major label, and a distribution deal was eventually released with RCA. See You in Hell was released in Europe in late 1983, but didn't get much attention until the following year after an American record store heard the import and pushed Ebony Records to release it in the US. With Johnston at the helm, Grim Reaper recorded their debut effort in 1982. During this session, the band laid down three tracks that eventually caught the attention of Ebony Records president Darryl Johnston, who signed the band and agreed to produce their first album. The band also won a battle of the bands competition in '81, beating out 100 other acts to secure the first prize of a 24-hour recording session.

The band's single 'Reaper,' which featured a different vocalist than Grimmett, was included on a compilation of British hard rock acts called Heavy Metal Heroes.

The band built a respectable following around their hometown of Droitwich, England before getting their first big break in 1981.

Grim reaper playing a guitar wallpaper series#

After shifting a series of musicians through the lineup, Bowcott hired Steve Grimmett to handle lead vocals and Grim Reaper's signature sound was born. Bowcott founded the band in 1979, at the onset of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Nick Bowcott is a British guitarist, author and songwriter best known for founding Grim Reaper.