Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. Today’s entry is less a statement on any one single release and more an observation of an oft forgotten chapter of heavy metal history. If you went by the history books, you’d be under the impression that the only American metal bands to exist between the NWOBHM’s boom years of 1979 to 1982 were Van Halen, Riot, and Y&T. Wrong. Those were the only three American metal bands on major labels at the time. Meanwhile, the glam and thrash juggernauts that would dominate the latter half of the decade were just cutting their teeth. In between the post-hard rock haze of the 70s and the pre-Metal Health explosion of ’83 was an underground of bands who existed exclusively through private press releases. Some, like Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol, would go on to achieve legend status among headbangers worldwide. Others, like Rosie, White Boy and the Average Rat Band, and the subject of today’s essay, Cintron, fell into obscurity. This week’s essay will explore Cintron’s self titled 1982 EP in depth, as well as the pitfalls faced by they and various other American metal bands of the era.
Let’s begin this essay with the question on most readers’ minds: What is a Cintron? In the case of this release, “Cintron” is the surname of the band’s founder, singer, and guitarist, George Cintron. From what I can gather, Cintron was an accomplished musician who spent the better part of the 70s playing the club scene. It wasn’t until the late 70s, when Eddie Van Halen set the world on fire and reminded everyone that metal was alive and well, that Cintron was inspired to put together his own namesake outfit, specializing in the same sound.
The plain black sleeve of Cintron’s self titled EP, which boasts their blatantly metallic logo three times, is characteristic of the era. Most private press US metal didn’t even make it to this stage, settling instead for the generic paper sleeve. The ones that did usually had the crudest album art around, on par with the scribblings of a junior high art student. The fact of the matter is these releases were more DIY than much of the self proclaimed punk being cranked out at the time.
On the back of the sleeve, the band declares their mission statement…
“Let’s get back to the way rock used to be in the years 1969-1972. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Ten Years After, Grand Funk Railroad, Mountain, and a few others. These bands have elevated the hard rock world. Guitar players like Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Alvin Lee, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Leslie West were the super guitar heroes back then and they basically still are now.
In the late 1970s, with the introduction of punk rock and new wave, people instead of going to concerts were going to dance clubs.
Cintron will revive this because the world needs some new guitar heroes. There haven’t been any in years, with the exception of Ted Nugent and Eddie Van Halen. Cintron is the answer. This amazing 3 piece band has guitarist extraordinaire George Cintron. He unquestionably ranks with the guitarists from the early 70s. This is just the beginning. In records to come, the world will discover Cintron. Cintron: A legend for the 80s. Be with them in the beginning. Be one of the elite few now!!!”
Aside from a few minute details (Michael Schenker and Frank Marino would like to have a word regarding there being no “new guitar heroes”), this is all mostly correct. Contrary to what music historians claim, grunge wasn’t the first time “heavy metal” became a dirty word. The genre’s first standoff arrived in the late 70s with advent of punk, new wave, and disco. Some who were rocking out to the likes of Purple and Heep just a few short years earlier had now slicked back their hair, put on their leisure suits, and caught a bad case of “Night Fever” in a desperate attempt to pick up chicks. This American aversion to all things hard and heavy was the main reason Cintron and thousands of others like them were mere blips on the radar.
As far as the music itself goes, Cintron is rock solid release. The EP opens with the metallic swagger of “Getaway”. The riffs and melodies on this one resemble what Ratt would be cranking out on their debut EP and Out of the Cellar (1984). Cintron doesn’t have the most dynamic voice, but his guitar does the talking and his accompanying rhythm section of Leo Greene on bass and Ray Callahan on drums are locked in. This is followed by the release’s only lackluster moment, a clunky cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son”. It’s essentially a by the numbers cover that comes off as far less savage than the original anti-Vietnam fury of the 1969 version.
Alas, Cintron redeem themselves with a magnificent display of musicianship and unrelenting power on side B, starting with the epic “Never to Return”. Although the band proudly namedrops the blues and boogie based names of the early 70s as their key influences, “Never to Return” screams classic NWOBHM, with enough melody and atmosphere intact to recall Saracen and Praying Mantis. There is no doubt this is the EP’s finest moment, boasting blistering leads, ultra metallic riffs, and unrelenting drumming. Rounding it all out is the hard rocking “Going Crazy”, which sounds like KISS if they metallized their 70s sound in the 80s as opposed to attempting the Priest formula come Creatures of the Night (1982).
So whatever happened to Cintron? Despite their self proclaimed hype, there never were “records to come”. If you’re reading this, chances are it’s your first time even hearing about them. Bad fortune aside, that didn’t stop Cintron from fulfilling his rock n’ roll dreams. He went on to tour and record for the likes of Good Rats, Danger Danger, Leslie West, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and even Spanish pop prince Enrique Iglesias, so things didn’t turn out that bad! On top of that, he continues to record and perform locally in New York with various projects, including an AOR outfit named Pyramid with bassist Danny Miranda (Blue Öyster Cult, Meat Loaf) and drummer Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Doro). Not shabby at all. If this essay is your introduction into the obscure and unforgiving world of early US private press metal, welcome to the party and happy spending!