Badlands (American band)
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| Badlands | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genre(s) | Blues-rock, Hard rock |
| Years active | 1988 – 1993 |
| Associated acts | KISS, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Artension |
| Former members | |
| Ray Gillen Jake E. Lee Greg Chaisson Eric Singer Jeff Martin John West |
|
Badlands was a short-lived rock band founded by Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee and Black Sabbath members Ray Gillen and Eric Singer. Badlands also featured bassist Greg Chaisson. After the first Badlands album, Eric Singer was replaced by Jeff Martin. The group lasted from 1988 to 1992 and released two albums, Badlands (1989) and Voodoo Highway (1991) before Gillen left and was replaced by singer John West from New York. Ray's death in 1993 effectively ended any hopes of re-uniting the project. A posthumous release of the album Dusk (originally recorded in 1992-1993) was released in 1998.
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[edit] Formation
After touring with Ozzy Osbourne in support of the Ultimate Sin album, Lee decided to leave the band and work on a new project. Wishing to distance himself as much as possible from his former boss, he set about looking for a charismatic front man with which to launch it. He found just that when he met Ray Gillen, a struggling vocalist who had just been separated from Black Sabbath after a short time. Within weeks, the duo had enlisted bassist Greg Chaisson and Gillen’s former Black Sabbath bandmate Eric Singer on drums.
[edit] Badlands
The band released Badlands in June, 1989 to good reviews. The band released videos for the songs "Dreams In The Dark" and the Zeppelin-like "Winter’s Call", and both enjoying decent airplay on MTV. This boosted the album to its peak on Billboard’s album charts at no. 57.
[edit] Voodoo Highway
Eric Singer soon quit to join KISS following the death of drummer Eric Carr. Badlands picked up Jeff Martin, former vocalist for Surgical Steel and Racer X to take over on drums, and the band released Voodoo Highway in 1991. However, Badlands was slowly breaking apart at the seams. During the recording process, Lee accused Gillen of conspiring with their label to push the band in a more commercial direction. This subsequently led to Gillen being fired. However, since a tour of the UK had already been booked, the vocalist was temporarily re-admitted for its completion.
[edit] Gillen's death
After the UK tour was complete, Gillen was officially fired from the band. Lee insisted to the press that the band would continue with singer John West. The band wrote and recorded some new songs, however, Atlantic Records had had enough and dropped the band from their label entirely. Gillen then appeared with George Lynch’s solo band on the album Sacred Groove. Following that, he formed Sun Red Sun with guitarist Al Romano, former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, and drummer Bobby Rondinelli. But, just as the new group was off and running, Gillen was diagnosed with HIV. On December 3, 1993, he died at his New Jersey home due to AIDS-related complications. Ironically, John West was brought in to finish the Sun Red Sun recordings, and in 1998 toured with George Lynch. Five years later, the unreleased Badlands album Dusk was released, but did not chart.
[edit] Trivia
- Greg Chaisson and Jeff Martin later played in the bands Blindside Blues Band and Red Sea.
- There was also another band called Badlands with singer John Sloman, guitarist John Sykes, keyboardist Graeme Pleeth, bassist Neil Murray, and drummer John Munroe. Both bands named Badlands had former Black Sabbath members as members. John West also played with Neil Murray on drummer Cozy Powell's Especially for You album.
- Ray Gillen from the Badlands discussed here, and John Sykes from the other Badlands briefly played together in an early version of Blue Murder.
[edit] Discography
| Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak | US sales |
| June, 1989 | Badlands | Atlantic | 57 | |
| 1990 | One Night in Boston | Did not chart | ||
| June, 1991 | Voodoo Highway | Atlantic | 140 | |
| December 15, 1998 | Dusk | Pony Canyon | Did not chart |
