#neat records

[leoevilbanger]

[vinylspinning]

Tygers of Pan Tang: Don't Touch Me There EP (1979)

Along with Iron Maiden (The Soundhouse Tapes), Def Leppard (The Def Leppard E.P.), and Saxon (see their eponymous full-length), the Tygers of Pan Tang were one of the earliest New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands to put music to wax in 1979.

And while the Don't Touch Me There 7-inch obviously didn't make as great an impact as those other releases (not even close), the Tygers did enjoy a longer and stronger career run than most of their N.W.O.B.H.M. peers, proving that the early cat gets the, uh, bird.

Hailing from the tiny town of Whitley Bay in Northeastern England, the Tygers of Pan Tang (whose name originated in the Michael Moorcock novel Stormbringer) formed when aspiring vocalist Jess Cox bumped into guitarist Robb Weir at the local pub, in November of '78.

Weir, along with bassist Richard 'Rocky' Laws and drummer Brian Dick, had recently formed a band that combined the lessons of early-'70s metal legends like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple with the do-it-yourself ethos of punk -- the N.W.O.B.H.M. defined.

After much rehearsing and gigging in the surrounding area, the foursome recorded demos at Impulse Studio outside Newcastle, which was soon rebranded to match a newly launched heavy metal-focused label: Neat Records.

This 45-year-old 7-inch therefore carried the historic catalog number of Neat 03 (singles by Fist, White Spirit, and Raven duly followed) when it arrived in late August of '79, but it was quickly licensed to MCA Records and that's the pressing you see here.

I'm not made out of money, kids ...

And I won't lie to you by suggesting that the Tygers of Pan Tang came roaring out of their cages with raw talent as sharp as their claws (but then, neither did Maiden, Saxon and Leppard), because none of these three tracks have earned heavy metal immortality.

Instead, the titular cut proved that the band -- and Cox, in particular -- weren't yet ready for prime time, though the singer's rather embarrassing attempt at flirty lyrics didn't stop the song from being re-recorded for the following year's full-length Wild Cat.

Personally, I prefer the workmanlike simplicity of twin B-sides, "Burning Up" and the galloping "Bad Times," which was given an incredibly heavy revision -- fronted by Cox's replacement, John Deverill -- on the 1980 "Hellbound" single.

And the sophomore LP it preceded, Spellbound, remains the Tygers of Pan Tang's finest hour, if you ask me, and it should by all rights have broken them through to a larger audience, on par with Saxon, if not the untouchable Maiden and Leppard.

All of them are obviously still hailed as N.W.O.B.H.M. pioneers.

p.s. -- Rodney Matthews, who would later illustrate the Tygers' Crazy Nights LP, along with many other album covers, more recently created the stunning image overhead for a new deluxe edition of Moorcock's novel.

More Tygers of Pan Tang: Wild Cat, “Hellbound,” Spellbound, Crazy Nights, The Cage.

[alephskoteinos]

Don't know how I've only just seen this one this morning

[dialoogid]

Bitches Sin - Always Ready (For Love) / Sign of the Times (1981)

[themetalyears]

Decimator - Carnage City State Mosh Patrol - 1989

Released on Neat Records, at a time when the UK was producing half-decent thrash, but had to make it “funny” (think Metal Duck or Lawnmower Deth!). Sounds very Neat Records, like a poor mans Raven, still worth the listen though.

[warden-of-light]

Do not tell Leandros that I am petting a Tyranid.

[brodyfoxxsmassivetits]

i just feel poweredd would've gone swimmingly if edd just ..

yea I'm not finishing this art, so here's what I got done I guess...based off of stupid thing I doodled

Au where edds EVIL crazy with power EVIL!!!!

wow!! art woo!

as I said unfinished art hasnt been arting recently and I'm not convinced I would've finished it ever

Really like the bg..photo bashing collage esq bgs are my fave..also sketches..wow!! Sketches!

There was like 3 rough sketches but I just think these two specifically are silly..uh.meow.

Matt is the only well adjusted British person ever and only JUST barely

[bigcitymac]

mac "every sexual fantasty i've ever had coming true rn" mcdonald

[tinikois]

May we find each other again

[twilight-good-yall-dumb]

something magical about when louis' voice is a little soft. all this time does such a good job showing that side of his voice. that song is so comforting 😭

[scalpelsister]

Amelia Collier The Outlast Trials (2024)

[polymerclay]

Minion tampon taur

[krysmcscience]

Don't mind me, just slacking on a big Billford comic by making other far more ridiculous Billford comics and also some AU art (please excuse my slapdash human!Bill thank you please, also before anyone asks the art style is messy and all over the place because idgaf LOL)

This started out as an excuse to design a Bill Cipher-inspired "wedding" dress, but then spiraled wildly out of control. Various rambles and a bunch more human!Bill arts under the cut, including another silly little comic at the end! (Feel free to skip the rambles, I won't be offended. I know I'm bad at shutting up. XD)

I may or may not write some comedy stuff for this AU, which I'm calling 'For Better Or Worse (But Mostly Worse)'. While Ford DOES remember getting sloshed enough for one thing to lead to making out with another after karaoke, neither he nor Bill remember this wedding, At All. The Love God did nothing to dissuade them from going hog wild on their marriage spending, either, so it got...uh. Exorbitantly Expensive. As in, the grand total could probably buy the entire fucking MOON sort of expensive. (It's fine, don't worry, Bill's good enough at crime to be able to afford it.) Also, because the logic of this AU is mostly dictated by Rule of Funny, the Love God's powers are close to unlimited when it comes to matters of romance, but ONLY when it comes to matters of romance. (Like weddings!)

Want an empty human vessel to smash the soul of a triangle into for date nights or when it's convenient, or perhaps even when it's NOT convenient? Easy peasy! Want the marriage to be recognized in every corner of the multiverse from now until the end of time, thus making any potential future divorce nigh-on impossible? Can do! Want to buy an entire beach for the ceremony and honeymoon and in general, and totally not at all because it would be Super Hilarious to prevent any specific movies from being made on that very same beach in the future? Fine, whatever, it's not his finances he's ruining!

Does the Love God also provide special rings that just so happen to turn incorporeal as long as the "happy couple" doesn't remember that they barged into his dreams to bully him into presiding over their marriage? ...No comment!

He spends the next thirty years trying and failing to get in touch with either of them for payment. This is why you should always demand half the money up front, my guy!

Also it's absolutely a traditional Jewish wedding, because I like the idea of Bill demanding all the keepsakes from the marriage that he paid for, and being completely confused when one of the things he's handed is a fancy container full of broken glass. He gets it later, but in the moment, he thinks the Love God is just fucking with him some more.

Ramble over! Here's the full dress that caused the comic to happen, along with what Ford wound up wearing at the wedding (and begrudgingly agreeing to put on again later for Reasons), aaaaand also a close-up of Bill's ring:

I may have forgotten to draw Bill's hair floofier when drawing the back of the dress, lmao

Since double ring ceremonies have been leaking over into Jewish wedding customs for a while now, Ford also has a ring, but his is the much more traditional plain gold band. There's definitely a message engraved on the inside - embarrassing, cringe, or incriminating somehow - but I haven't decided what it is yet, so use your imagination for now. XD Bill, on the other hand, saw the phrase 'traditional plain gold band' and said "No Thank You" before proceeding to embellish his ring to his liking. And because he's a secret sap who adores Ford's extra fingers, the triangle points add up to twelve, as do the engraved stars. Yes, they're stars, not dots, I just got lazy. There's also six lashes on the eye gem, and probably an eye engraving on the inside with another six lashes. (Bill's got it BAD, okay? We all know this.)

Here are the initial scribbles of Bill's custom vessel in more casual attire, please ignore the wonky anatomy and the fact that I flat out refuse to ever draw him with a proper top hat:

He does actually need a cane in this vessel; since Bill tends to possess men and especially Ford more often than not, he's used to having a higher center of gravity when in a human body, so his ability to balance is pretty garbage. (He may or may not topple over with concerning regularity.) As for his empty eye socket, his bangs don't do much to hide it since he's so high-energy (dude is constantly on the move), and he also refuses to wear a patch over it, because 1.) why bother, and 2.) it's more fun to freak people out.

To better align with Ford's attraction towards the strange, the vessel was designed with super minor shapeshifting ability - Bill can look like a perfectly normal human, but he can also make the teeth and fingers sharper whenever he likes (which is mostly just when he's angry or being more of a menace than usual), as well as slit down the pupils or outright ditch the irises altogether. He can also have whatever he wants in the downstairs department, just because I'm an indecisive bitch on that front, lmao. Maybe he can have boobs if he wants them, too, but I ain't drawin' tits on no triangle, nuh-uh, no sir. His powers are otherwise limited down to what humans can do, because for some reason, the Love God doesn't trust Bill to not snap into Immediate Apocalypse Mode if he's given a physical form that's actually all his and no one else's.

Due to the body being all his and no one else's, it's also not really a standard possession so much as it is just...Bill being temporarily human. He's a lot more aware of and in tune with his human body's senses than he ever was with his "puppets", which makes things like pain a lot more intense. (He is mostly fine with this, because he's a fukken masochist.)

A bit more fashion stuff, including beach and party attire~

The beach outfit was mostly me trying and failing to nail down his body shape, which is still not bottom-heavy enough. I then decided to slap a bikini on it, before making it supremely unsexy with a pair of fugly shorts, because Bill's fashion choices are not allowed to be conventionally attractive. Meanwhile, the party outfit was mostly me looking at the casual attire I designed, asking 'how would Bill make this Worse', and then drawing the result. The mismatched thigh-highs are killing me inside! :D

No, his vessel can't actually summon fire, I just drew it for funzies before I decided on said vessel's limitations. Yes, the gold brick tattoos are absolutely a reference to the fic 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' - I simply could not resist.

I also HAD to draw Bill in one of his canonical(?) shirts, just made tank-top'd:

He is absolutely about to over-correct and fall backwards after this. USE YOUR CANE, GOOFBALL!!! (I meant to draw Bill closer to this degree of bottom-heavy in the other images, but. Alas. I am bad at anatomy, LOL)

And, last but not least before More Comic Time, I attempted to draw him closer to Gravity Falls style:

Jury's out on whether or not I succeeded, but - hey. I tried. Now have some Handyman Bill AU, but with my goofy human design, instead:

Hey, it's a 'mystery snack', and the guy wanted A BITE to eat - the joke was right there, guys!!! (Based on this post, because it just screamed BILL CIPHER to me.)

whoops i forgor bills ring and cracks ahaha too late now

I WILL SHUT UP AND STOP RAMBLING NOW K THX BYYYYYE

[kingofmyborrowedheart]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Taylor released a documentary about the last few years that includes both the re-recording process and the Eras Tour.

[mx-legend-of-faye]

Wild should be weirder /pos

Why do I say this, you ask? Because HE DIED. LET HIM BE A PARANORMAL FREAK OF NATURE.

It’s called the shrine of RESURRECTION for a reason, people!!

Let Wild have such a slow heartbeat it seems almost nonexistent. Let Wild speak to ghosts, not just the ghosts of his dead friends/fellow champions. Let Wild’s eyes glow in the dark. Let Wild be a freak of nature and I genuinely mean that in the utmost positive way possible.

Give Wild a couple ghostly attributes and let the chain freak out over them.

In fact, give me post totk Wild with long lasting effects from being LITERALLY DEAD FOR A CENTURY please and thank you. Because post totk Wild just gives that an extra level of weirdness and cool ghostly vibes and I love that for him and also then you can throw in post totk Flora who kept some of her dragon-y attributes.

They can be freaks (/pos!!!) together, and furthermore I think they deserve to be. Let Wild and Flora weird people out while they’re just there being the most lovable selves they always are. Creatures. I love them.

[if-you-heart]

Bg credit: “Flower Boy” album cover by Eric White

“Can I get a kiss?

And can you make it last forever?

I said I’m bout to go to war,

And I don’t know if ima see you again.”

- SEE YOU AGAIN