Brocas Helm

Brocas Helm was an American Bay Area metal band behind the 1984 album Into Battle on Steamhammer, followed by the 1988 Gargoyle release Black Death.

Members: Bobbie “Dark Rider” Wright (guitar, vocals), John Grey (guitar), Tom “T-bone” Behney (guitar), James Schumacher (bass), Jack Hays (drums)

Background

Brocas Helm formed in November 1982 in San Francisco when guitarist Bobbie Wright assembled a metal band with bassist Jim Schumacher, drummer Jack Hays, and guitarist John Grey.

Wright decided to form a band when he saw Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in June 1972 at the Winterland Ballroom. He led Prisoner, a hard-rock band that mixed original songs with covers. Schumacher first played upright bass at six; his father, a country musician, taught him tuning and rhythm. The bassist moved to San Francisco and joined Prisoner through an advertisement. Prisoner played at private homes, pizza restaurants, and a military base in Alameda. Wright left the group to form a metal band with Schumacher.

Hays moved to San Francisco in 1982 and answered a notice that Schumacher posted at Guitar Center on Van Ness Avenue. Grey joined from a band that shared shows with Prisoner. His father gave him a Gibson Les Paul for his fifteenth birthday; he played the instrument for several years ahead of the Brocas Helm rehearsals. Wright sang while the group sought a lead vocalist. The guitarists devised alternating solos for “Into Battle.” Bobbie selected the band name from a book that pictured the Brocas helm, a jousting helmet.

Brocas Helm played the Mabuhay Gardens and Old Waldorf in San Francisco, with further dates at Keystone Berkeley. In 1983, the quartet self-released the five-song cassette Into Battle. Schumacher sold copies through the Record Vault, a San Francisco record shop. The musicians also sold tapes at shows and sent promotional copies to radio stations and magazines. After Grey’s exit for personal reasons, Brocas Helm continued as a trio. The band secured a deal with First Strike Records in 1984 through a local shop that stocked the demo. First Strike hired producer–engineer Doug Reid for the debut album, Into Battle.

Discography:

• Into Battle (1984)
• Black Death (1988)

Sources

• Avinash Mittur — “Defenders of the Crown: The Mighty Brocas Helm.” Interviews with Wright, Schumacher, Hays, and Grey on Prisoner, recruitment, early arrangements, and club dates. (Metal Assault)
• Eddy Vermeiren — Bobbie Wright interview, 2002. Prisoner, the search for musicians, demo circulation, the record-shop connection, and First Strike hiring Doug Reid. (Den of Iniquity, archived)
• Patrick — Jim Schumacher and Jack Hays interview, 2003. November 1982 formation date, demo sales at the Record Vault, and the First Strike–Steamhammer arrangement. (Franang Zine / Iron Wolf)
• Jørgen Kirby — Jim Schumacher interview, 2022. Childhood instruments, lessons from his father, and Grey’s departure for family life. (Nattskog)
• Brocas Helm — 1983 demo archive. Original cassette and cover scans confirm the quartet, five-song program, and independent release. (Demo Archives)
• Brocas Helm — Into Battle, original edition. First Strike release details and the three-member album lineup. (Encyclopaedia Metallum)