Avalon -

Avalon was a Canadian symphonic/hard-rock band from Ottawa, Ontario, that issued a 1976 standalone single on local-press Snocan, followed by the 1977 album Voice of Life on London Records. Guitarist Brian Sim hailed from the prior year’s symphonic one-off Joker’s Memory. Frontman Myles Hunter resurfaced in the mid-1980s with a solo album and a self-named band that morphed into Refugee.

Members: Myles Hunter (vocals), Manfred Leidecker (bass), Tullio Granata (guitar), Robert Holtz (drums), Brian Sim (guitar), Bob Deeks (guitar), John Fenton (guitar)

Background

Avalon formed in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1976 when vocalist Myles Hunter and bassist Manfred Leidecker started a new band. By spring they recruited guitarist Bob Deeks, who brought drummer Robert Holtz into the lineup. Avalon added guitarist John Fenton after auditions and began playing Ottawa and Southern Ontario dates.

Avalon made its vinyl debut in 1976 with “Love Has Come” (“Never Thought I’d Last”), a standalone single on Snocan. Before the album, Deeks and Fenton cleared out for guitarists Tullio Granata and Brian Sim. The revised lineup secured a London Records deal.

Voice of Life

Avalon released their singular album, Voice of Life, in summer 1977 on London.

The album contains nine originals by Myles Hunter, Tullio Granata, Manfred Leidecker, and Robert Holtz. Hunter supplies most of the song credits and leads the vocal line, with Granata as a secondary writer and Leidecker–Holtz on “Land of Mordor.” The five-piece lineup pairs Hunter’s piano and ARP/Moog synthesizers with Leidecker’s bass guitar and bass synthesizer, Holtz’s drums and ashtrays, and guitars by Granata and Brian Sim. Granata adds mandolin and lead vocals; Sim adds Chinese sirens on the title track.

“Celebration Day” launches on vocal harmonies. “Mother Russia” sets Hunter’s lead against guitar and keyboard color. “Lady of My Dreams” slows for a contained solo break. “Voice of Life” rises from a grand intro. “Land of Mordor” grinds through heavier break-and-riff passages. “Maranatha” pivots on a midsection riff.

A1. “Celebration Day” (3:23) – Hunter, Granata
A2. “Mother Russia” (5:33) – Hunter
A3. “Lady of my Dreams” (3:29) – Hunter
A4. “Say You’re Sorry” (3:30) – Hunter
A5. “Voice of Life” (4:11) – Hunter

B1. “Land of Mordor” (4:05) – Leidecker, Holtz
B2. “Smoke and Fire” (4:47) – Granata, Hunter
B3. “Shadowcaster” (0:58) – Hunter
B4. “Maranatha” (10:07) – Hunter

Avalon recorded Voice of Life at Tempo Studios in Montreal and Phase One Studios in Toronto. George Lagios, Fraser Kaufman, and Avalon produced the album by title assignment; Billy Szawlowski, Alan Thorne, and Mick Walsh handled engineering and remix work.

London issued Voice of Life in black-logo and fantasy-cover sleeves. Taffy and Avalon designed the black sleeve, which places a red Avalon logo across a scuffed black field above the album title. The fantasy cover shows a winged horse and rider above a blue waterline, with star forms and distant vertical shapes across the upper field.

London lifted “Celebration Day” in September 1977 as a single (b/w “Silver Bullets”). “Lady of my Dreams” followed in 1977 (b/w “Love Has Come”), before “Say You’re Sorry” appeared in 1977 (b/w “Celebration Day”).

Pacemaker reissued Voice of Life on CD in 1995 with “Love Has Come” and “Silver Bullets” as bonus tracks.

Discography: