Change was in the (h)air in 1990 as a new decade of popular music began. The writing was on the wall for glam metal long before Nirvana’s Nevermind hit the shelves. Public attitudes were evolving as was fashion. The first Gulf War was on television and suddenly, life didn’t seem so carefree. Bands like Poison and Warrant didn’t go commercially extinct overnight but the focus of record labels was shifting as early as 1990 which left a lot of excellent bands stranded on the edge of stardom. One of the best of the “almost famous” glam metal bands to come out at the turn of the decade was Philadelphia’s Heaven’s Edge.
Released on Columbia in 1990, the band’s self-titled debut hold its own with some of the strongest albums of an era that promised us endless summer nights and nothing but a good time. Opening track “Play Dirty” showcases the guitar power of Reggie Wu and Steven Parry as lead riffs dance all over the rhythm guitar that keeps the song grooving along. It’s the right opener for the album because it situates the band’s sound at the heart of the scene between Skid Row and Slaughter. The single “Skin To Skin” reinforces this and would have been an MTV favorite had it hit the channel about three years earlier. Some airplay on Headbanger’s Ball and a brief appearance in the Billboard Top 150 albums was all Heaven’s Edge would find in 1990 and the record label was already losing interest in the scene so the plug was pulled on promotion.
Had the label made a little effort, “Find Another Way” could have been a radio-friendly rock track that wasn’t hampered by the stigma of being “hair metal”. It’s a melodic rock song that Journey could have charted with but the dice were already cast and the album cover alone situated the band squarely in a genre that was dissolving. The band’s ascension was further derailed when bassist G.G. Guidotti was shot at a show when someone was kicked out and returned with a shotgun. Thankfully, Guidotti recovered but the momentum of the debut album was lost.
So what about the ballad? They had to have a ballad, right? Of course. “Hold On to Tonight” doesn’t disappoint and the keyboards add texture to another strongly written track. A few rocking singles and a soaring ballad, the boxes were checked. However, the band sets themselves apart from many of the other debut albums in the genre because there is simply no filler. Songs such as “Can’t Catch Me” are musically intricate and heavier than a lot of melodic rock bands can pull off.
For those who track down the re-issue of this hidden gem, there is a demo titled “Just Another Fire” that certainly should have made the album but the record label thought one undeniable ballad was enough. Seriously, who was running Columbia Records at the time? “Just Another Fire” would have been another “More Than Words” had it been released as a single.
There is mostly a happy ending to the Heaven’s Edge story. Tragically, after a few years back together playing shows, G.G. Guidotti succumbed to lung cancer in 2019. It’s wonderful to know they had six years back together as a live band before losing Guidotti as the band deserved far more success in the early 90s. You can see one of his last shows with the band in the video below and he is rocking as hard as he was when the band came out of Philadelphia all those years ago. Check out the band’s debut and, even better, go see them live! They are headlining the Brooklyn Bowl in Philly later this month and it will absolutely shred. Even better, there is talk of a new album in 2023.