Ruffians

by Eduardo Rivadavia San Francisco's Ruffians were the victims of severe generation gap syndrome, thanks to a sound that was equal parts indebted to the late-'70s hard rock aesthetic of local legends Y&T, as it was to up-and-coming American metal bands like Seattle's Queensrÿche (although they were never quite as heavy as either one). Formed in 1983 by vocalist Carl Albert, guitarists Craig Behrhorst and Chris Atchison, bassist Dan Moura, and drummer Luke Bowman, Ruffians took the usual baby-band-steps of recording a few demos and opening shows for visiting major acts like UFO, Saxon, and of course Y&T before getting the chance to record an eponymous six-song mini-album, which they released in May of 1985. Unfortunately, it only managed to attract a few supporters overseas and at American college radio, since, by the mid-'80s, the Bay Area had been rudely taken over by thrash and there was simply no way for Ruffians to compete with local super-powers like Metallica, Exodus, and Testament (never mind the fact they'd been hampered from the start by a muddled sonic direction). Albert soon threw in his towel, but the band persisted unsuccessfully for a few more years with new vocalist Rich Wilde until finally doing the same. Amazingly, Ruffians' modest achievements proceeded to garner enough of a cult following in years to come that they were asked to re-form and perform a one-off set at 2004's Bang Your Head Festival, later seeing a compendium of their recordings released by Old School Metal Records under the title of There and Back.