Vinyl Junkie #12 - Arrival

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File these guys under the Never Made it as Big as they Should Have category. Rail, the 80's metal band from Seattle (well, Bellevue, to be more precise) should have been huge; if you take a "big picture" look at 80's metal as a whole, they stacked up as well as anyone, but didn't get near the amount of radio play that other bands in the genre received, sadly, and while the group still exists mainly as a live unit, Rail managed just three albums and an EP during that decade. Winners of MTV's 1983 Basement Tapes contest, Rail built up a strong following through touring, opening for heavy hitters such as Van Halen, Heart, Night Ranger, Ted Nugent, Blue Oyster Cult, and even The Beach Boys. In fact, it was during a crowd-pleasing opening slot for Van Halen at Folsum Field at the University of Colorado in Boulder that they gained a foothold into Colorado, and the band came through our fine state often, headlining theater shows when they weren't opening up concerts at Red Rocks (Night Ranger,) or on the Air Force Academy (Greg Kihn, where the crowd was still clamoring for more Rail as Kihn and his band performed.) Yeah. I've seen them more than once, and I've owned everything they released on either vinyl or CD or both, as is the case with their 1980 debut, Arrival. And now I have Arrival on vinyl a second time! The album was produced by Michael Fisher, who, along with brother Roger, founded the band that would become Heart once Ann and Nancy Wilson came on board (for those keeping score at home, Michael was the Fisher brother dating Ann, Roger was with Nancy. Michael had left the group prior to the Dreamboat Annie album, but had remained as manager for awhile.) I do admit a rather sizeable fondness for 80's metal, but, without naming names, there's also a lot of it that I always considered as overrated. Rail, on the other hand, was underrated. Sinfully. I'll fight you about it if I have to. (Info verified by Wikipedia)