DISARM GOLIATH - Only The Devil Can Stop Us LP HRR 016,limited to 500 copies Steve Surch - bass, vocals Ben Oakley - guitars Karl Wade - drums - NO MOON NO POWER - ARMED TO THE TEETH - CANDLE TO THE DEVIL - SERPENTS ILLUSION - SNAKE IN THE GRASS - ARM THE GODS - BY HOOK OR BY CROOK - LOOK ON THE DARKSIDE - PLEASED TO EAT YOU - EVIL HAS A NEW NAME SOLD OUT!

Hailing from the ‚Black Country' in the English Midlands, Disarm Goliath is the brainchild of vocalist/bassist Steve Surch. Steve soon recruited the drumming talents of Karl Wade, then that of guitar wizard Ben Oakley and of local guitar hero Neil Hackett (who was replaced by Adam Strazzanti in 2005). As you can see, Disarm Golaith is a relatively new band, they released their self-financed debut album "Only The Devil Can Stop US" on CD in November 2001 through their own label Godz Of Metal Records. The press was full of praise for the album, leading British rock paper Kerrang! wrote: "Brit-Rockers Disarm Goliath have gone for an all out Metal barrage ... The amount of energy captured here is impressive ... the speedy riffing is astounding." Mastermind Steve Surch stresses that the Kerrang! review was just the reward for a lot of hard work: "We would like to think that everyone will fall for a good riff and memorable lyrics. Kerrang! is a great achievement but we feel it was deserved, the hard work behind the album left us all in agreement with their comments. The album is enjoyed by many and has led to two mini tours of America. We have had some great gigs but one of the most memorble would be playing at the Whiskey A Go Go in Hollywood." As a result of the band's strong will and dedication to the cause, sales figures of the CD have become quite impressive: "The album has sold over 1,000 copies in the UK and more than that worldwide (we ran out in the States and had to post quite a lot on our return). We have achieved this without record company support. There are many that have not heard our music until we play at a venue near them, this kept the sales ongoing and high. Good music sells!" Surely, with such a high profile, bigger companies must have approached Disarm Goliath already? Steve Surch does not let the cat out of the bag: "Yes, we have come close to some bigger deals but nothing solid as yet ... fingers crossed." As for now, "Only The Devil Can Stop US" sees its (belated) vinyl release on High Roller Records. As you can hear very clearly by listening to songs like "No Moon No Power", "Armed To The Teeth" or "Candle To The Devil", Disarm Goliath have been influenced by the sound of classic Heavy Metal: "Our main influences are Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Sabbath etc. Our songs vary and contain many elements but with big riffs and catchy chorus lines we are definitely anchored on those Trad Metal bands." That is no wonder at all, as some call the English "Black Country" the cradle of Heavy Metal: Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and later on Diamond Head, all those great bands stem from the Midlands. Steve Surch is immensly proud of this rich rock heritage: "To us they are Gods. Those kind of bands are the reason I started playing and writing in the beginning. We owe a lot to those Metal heroes and hope to honour them in our quest." Matthias Mader (Iron Pages)