SAMSON: Before the Storm LP ---> with big POSTER + merchandise promo list. ...Check audio samples

Before the Storm is the fourth studio album by NWOBHM band Samson. It was released in 1982, after singer Bruce Dickinson's departure.
Samson mainstays Paul Samson (guitar) and Chris Aylmer (bass) once again set about signing up new bandmates who might help them carry on with their career. In came the quite capable if less than photogenic Nicky Moore, a portly veteran of numerous small-time blues-rock outfits, along with drummer Pete Jupp, and, after touring the U.K. for much of 1981 in search of their chemistry (not to mention a new record deal), Samson got to work on what would become their fourth album, 1982's Before the Storm. Issued by Polydor, it was in fact a very competent effort that saw the bandmembers successfully turning their backs on the Dickinson era by replacing some of their New Wave of British Heavy Metal edge with a less explosive but, frankly, more natural-sounding hard rock grit — at times quite reminiscent of recent touring partners Blackfoot, in fact (see first single "Losing My Grip"). Convincingly anthemic rockers like "Danger Zone," "Test of Time," and "Turn Out the Lights" carried the rest of the day, and despite the odd, ill-fated retread (the slow-paced "Red Skies" rewrote portions of early favorite "Vice Versa"), the new Moore/Samson partnership seemed to be off to a promising start.

Track listing:
"Dangerzone" - 5:24
"Stealing Away" - 4:22

"Red Skies" - 3:46

"I'll Be 'Round" - 3:14
"Test of Time" - 4:09
"Life on the Run" - 4:01
"Turn Out the Lights" - 4:02
"Losing My Grip" - 3:29

"Young Idea" - 7:24

Samson – Before The Storm
Before The Storm featured a much different line-up than Samson’s previous LP Shock Tactics (1981). Gone was the gimp mask wearing “Thunderstick” from the drum kit (replaced by Pete Jupp), and gone too was over-the-top vocalist “Bruce Bruce” (Bruce Dickinson), who found greener pastures with Iron Maiden. But fear not, rock fans, because the band’s namesake, guitarist Paul Samson went out and got himself a fine singer in the person of one Nicky Moore. Moore’s deep, rich, and soulful voice was a complete departure from the theatrical shenanigans of “Bruce Bruce”.
The resulting album, Before The Storm, finds Samson heading away from the NWOBHM into a more old-school hard rock direction. This seems to suit Paul’s playing just fine, as he always had a blue-collar, somewhat conventional, heavy blues approach. Nicky Moore’s voice adds a different dimension to the Samson sound. His powerful pipes seem to throw a bit of a Southern rock twist into things. He has one of those voices that makes you think that he probably has a beard.
One of the unfortunate things about Samson is this: Most “fans” discover Samson while retracing Bruce Dickinson’s pre-Iron Maiden history. Therefore, unwarranted comparisons to Iron Maiden inevitably pop up. Worse yet, once Bruce was out of the band, most don’t care to look at what Samson did without Dickinson. It’s just stupid. Samson was so much more than Bruce Dickinson’s first band. They sounded nothing like Maiden. So let’s drop the preconceived notions about Samson, and don’t be afraid to venture past the Dickinson albums into some ridiculously solid material. Try something new will ya?