Persian Risk

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Persian Risk were a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal band who originated from Cardiff, Wales in 1979. The brainchild of guitarist Phil Campbell, he recruited vocalist Jon Deverill, second guitarist Dave Bell, bass-player Nick Hughes and drummer Razz.

After two years with little success, in 1981 Deverill was headhunted by the Tygers Of Pan Tang and was replaced by Carl Sentence. With little improvement in fortune, the band soldiered on for a further two years. In 1983 Razz was sacked, replaced by Dixie Lee, and Graham Bath took over second guitar. The band also finally made it to vinyl by contributing a track to "Heavy Metal Heroes vol.2".

The following year Campbell successfully auditioned for Motörhead, but this also led to a 1984 support slot on their tour. He was replaced by namesake Phil Vokins, and Steve Hopgood (formerly of Shy and Chinatown) took over drums. A further two years of failure to get a big break led to the band's disintegration in 1986. An album, Rise Up was released posthumously in the same year. Most of the members at that time moved on to other bands. Carl Sentence became a member of the Geezer Butler Band; in the 1990s he joined Swiss hard rock legend Krokus. Guitarist Graham Bath worked with Paul Di'Anno in the bands Battlezone and Killers. Bassist Nick Hughs joined Idol Rich. Drummer Steve Hopgood joined Wild! and has also played in Tank and Di'Anno's Killers.

As a band, Persian Risk had little impact on heavy metal, as they produced a single album that was quickly forgotten. They are significant for the members who moved on to other, sometimes more successful metal acts.