Be Bitch's Slave

I’m gonna take one more quick dip into the LA metal pool, then maybe move to a different genre for a bit.

Bitch was one of the earliest of the LA metal bands, formed in 1980 by guitarist David Carruth. Carruth searched the local metal ranks for the appropriate singer, before settling on the erstwhile Betsy Weiss, who would become Betsy Bitch. Sleazegrinder writes, “If ever there was a band that capitalized on the ‘sex sells’ shtick, it was Bitch, who plastered their albums with slutty pics of their singer, the eyeliner-smeared S&M pain-queen, Betsy Bitch.”

Bitch dropped their first full-length album, Be My Slave, in 1983, on the independent Metal Blade label. Again, from Sleazegrinder:

“Be My Slave” still LOOKS like it’s gonna be the greatest fuckin’ album ever. Betsy’s on her knees on the cover, draped head to toe in spikes n’ leather, surrounded by S&M gear, beckoning you with one crooked finger, and wielding a whip with her other hand. On the back, bass player Mark Anthony Webb is sporting the coolest honcho mustache ever, and the expression on his face suggests that he’s ripped to the tits on trucker speed, and every song is titled like a strong come-on- “In Heat”, “Gimmie a Kiss”, “Be My Slave”, etc. I still can’t think of another album that looks quite as rock n’ fucking roll as “Be My Slave” does. Musically, it doesn’t quite live up to it’s own hype- how could it, really? – but amidst all the iron-fisted flash metal, there are a few choice tracks. “Leatherbound” reveals Betsy’s hardcore Runaways influence, and it’s a sexy, hard-as-nails rocker.
Overall, though, “Be My Slave” sounds a lot like Pat Benatar fronting Motley Crue, which is only half as entertaining as it sounds.”

After briefly changing their name to Betsy in 1988 in an effort to be more mainstream, the band returned to its Bitch roots for their 1988 swan song release, A Rose By Any Other Name. They disbanded the same year, but reunited for a one-off performance at a 1993 metal festival in Germany.

Be My Slave.mp3
Leatherbound.mp3
Right From the Start.mp3

posted by aikin @ 11:49 AM