- German 1987 RCA pressing of Grim Reaper’s final NWOBHM strike
In a land of tea and crumpets, where politeness is paramount, Grim Reaper dared to be different. These blokes from Droitwich weren’t sipping quietly — they were brewing a sonic storm. Their 1987 album “Rock You To Hell” wasn’t just another metal release; it was a final NWOBHM battle cry, loud enough to make your granny drop her knitting.
Grim Reaper’s Rock You To Hell landed in 1987 like a last battle cry from the fading NWOBHM era — a final swing of the scythe before the glam wave fully swallowed the decade. This album distills the band’s grit, melodic bite, and underdog stubbornness into one loud, unapologetic last stand that still hits like a bar-fight anthem decades later.
Britain in ’87 was shifting fast: metal was splitting into gloss and grit, MTV had the steering wheel, and the once-feral NWOBHM scene was giving way to hairspray symphonies from across the Atlantic. Yet Grim Reaper kept waving the old flag — denim, leather, and no-nonsense hooks — bringing that late-era British fire into a year obsessed with polish.
After grinding through years of club gigs, lineup stability, and label expectations, the band walked into the studio knowing this might be their last real shot. Under Max Norman’s sharp-edged production, they pushed for a record that sounded bigger, tighter, and heavier than anything they'd done before — a “prove we belong here” moment carved directly into vinyl.
The album mixes razor-clean guitar lines with Steve Grimmett’s high-wire vocals, creating that unmistakable mix of grit and theater the band perfected. Tracks like Rock You To Hell, Night of the Vampire, and Lust for Freedom show a band refusing to dim the lights, doubling down on riff-driven energy just as the rest of the world drifted toward neon and lipstick.
While Def Leppard and Motley Crue were polishing their chrome for the stadiums, Grim Reaper planted their boots firmly back in the NWOBHM mud — closer in spirit to Saxon’s stubborn roar or Raven’s relentless pacing. Rock You To Hell plays like a defiantly British answer to the California shine, all bark, bite, and zero perfume.
The title track’s devilish theatrics nudged the usual moral-panic crowd, but nothing serious enough to derail the record. The real controversy — if you can call it that — was simply timing: arriving late in the movement, it fought upstream against a market that had already shifted. Some critics shrugged; fans just cranked the volume higher.
Behind the scenes, the band faced the classic NWOBHM struggle: rising ambitions, label friction, and a scene that wasn’t as hungry as it once was. Grimmett’s soaring vocals and Bowcott’s melodic riffing still lock together like a machine, but you can sense the pressure — that “one last push” energy that often makes a final album strangely electric.
At release, the album was praised for its power but overshadowed by the genre’s changing tides. With time, though, it earned cult-status credibility: collectors love its unapologetic old-guard spirit, and fans keep returning for that perfect late-80s mix of melody and menace. It’s aged far better than many of its flashier contemporaries.
NWOBHM New Wave of British Heavy Metal
Hard-edged British metal forged in the late 70s and early 80s, defined by raw riffs, soaring vocals, and a gritty DIY spirit that pushed the genre toward heavier, faster territory. Grim Reaper’s sound sits squarely in that lineage — melodic, powerful, and unmistakably UK steel.
RCA – Cat#: PL86250
Standard sleeve.
Record Format: 12" LP Vinyl Stereo Gramophone Record
Total Weight: 230 gram
1987 – Made in Germany
Even though nobody ever came forward with a sworn affidavit saying Steve Grimmett rocked a wig or hair extensions, watching the Rock You To Hell video kinda speaks for itself. His hair is doing things gravity normally files a complaint about. That mane is so big it needs its own backstage pass. No proof on paper, but the visual evidence is out here screaming louder than his high notes.
Disclaimer: Track durations are not listed on this release, and therefore none are shown here. Track ordering reflects the original German 1987 RCA LP edition.
This front cover is peak 80s metal mayhem: a feral, skeletal reaper in a shredded crimson hooded cloak leans forward with a snarl, brandishing an oversized scythe carved with arcane runes. Every line in the artwork hits with that high-energy fantasy-horror punch collectors love, loaded with gory detail and bold comic-book exaggeration. His left hand grips a blood-splattered dagger, still fresh from striking down a battered armored warrior lying helpless among broken stones and tangled roots.
The fallen knight’s chain-mail and splintered armor are torn open, exposing a brutal wound as the reaper towers above him—an image that blends medieval chaos with over-the-top metal theatrics. Around them, a crooked, nightmarish forest twists in every direction, filled with rotting branches, snarled vines, and eerie light leaking through cold blue skies. The whole scene screams high-voltage NWOBHM attitude.
The top carries the band’s gothic black-letter logo, Grim Reaper, while the bottom spells out the neon-magenta album title Rock You To Hell across the mossy ground—tying the violent artwork directly into the record’s aggressive, adrenaline-charged identity. This German 1987 RCA LP cover remains one of the era’s most iconic illustrations, pulled straight from the collector’s archive and preserved in razor-sharp detail.
The back cover of the German 1987 RCA pressing hits with that classic NWOBHM energy, set against a parchment-textured background where each track title springs from a brightly colored illuminated initial. The medieval styling feels almost mischievous—playful letters framing vicious song titles like Rock You to Hell, Night of the Vampire, and When Heaven Comes Down. The whole design radiates that late-80s mix of fantasy aesthetics and hard-edged heavy metal swagger.
Three performance photos anchor the bottom: Steve Grimmett captured mid-pose with full 80s metal attitude, drummer Lee Harris locked in behind the kit with raw energy, and guitarist Nick Bowcott shredding under stage lighting. Above them sits the production block crediting Max Norman for producing, mixing, and engineering the album for On Yer Bike Ltd.
In the top right corner, the German retail label area includes:
– Yellow sticker with handwritten price code
– “C 0069” printed box
– Circular price badge “83,- MV”
– Barcode: 0 035628 625017
– Catalog number: PL86250
– “0.5E” marking in small print
At the bottom center, the legal and manufacturing lines read:
© 1987 BMG Music
All Rights Reserved.
Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
A Bertelsmann Music Group Company.
Distributed in Germany by RCA GmbH, a subsidiary of RCA Corporation.
Printed in Germany by TOPAC.
This Side One label from the 1987 German RCA pressing delivers that no-nonsense late-80s aesthetic: a dark grey field, the oversized vertical RCA logo dominating the left arc, and crisp high-contrast white text detailing all the essentials. The center hole cuts cleanly through the tracklist, giving the whole thing that classic spinning-wheel-of-metal vibe collectors know by heart.
The tracklist reads like a full-power NWOBHM charge: Rock You To Hell, Night of the Vampire, Lust for Freedom, When Heaven Comes Down, and Suck It and See, each credited with lyrics by Grimmett or Bowcott and music by Bowcott. The BIEM and GEMA collecting society stamps sit directly beneath the spindle hole, framed neatly in their boxed layout.
Below the band name, the label is as follows:
Produced, mixed & engineered by Max Norman
Recorded: Mass.
© 1987 BMG MUSIC
The lower rim text, printed along the curve, reads:
MARKETED BY RCA RECORDS FROM MASTER RECORDINGS
OF RCA RECORDS, TM(S) • MARCAS REGISTRADAS USED BY AUTHORITY OF RCA
CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, HIRING, LENDING,
PUBLIC PERFORMANCE AND BROADCASTING OF THIS RECORD FORBIDDEN • Made in Germany
Ebony EBON 32 (1985) • Steamhammer SPV 266301 LP (2013, Germany)
“Fear No Evil”, Grim Reaper’s 1985 metal strike, sharpened their NWOBHM identity with ripping guitars, soaring vocals, and that unmistakable Ebony Records grit. The original EBON 32 pressing delivered pure mid-80s fury, while the 2013 Steamhammer red-vinyl reissue resurrected the album for a new wave of collectors craving that raw, high-voltage Droitwich sound.
RCA PL86250 (Germany), 1987 • RCA Victor 6250-1-R (USA), 1987
“Rock You To Hell”, the band’s third and final studio blast, hit in 1987 when heavy metal was exploding worldwide. Grim Reaper pushed their NWOBHM power with searing falsetto vocals, razor-bright riffs, and big arena choruses. Released in Germany via RCA and in the USA through RCA Victor, this album marked their most international moment, carrying their Droitwich steel across both sides of the Atlantic.
RCA Victor NFL1-8038 (1984, USA)
“See You In Hell” (1984) launched Grim Reaper straight into NWOBHM history with shrieking vocals, molten riffs, and that signature Max Norman studio punch. Recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios in Wales, the album sharpened their sound from the raw early era, giving the band a cleaner, heavier edge that helped break them into the American metal market.