SHADOW KINGDOM RECORDS is proud to present a long-overdue reissue of the lone cult-classic album of Pennsylvania’s FULL MOON, Night Calls, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Formed in 1974 by brothers and guitarists John and Joseph Fischer in the small town of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, the legend of FULL MOON would echo long after their untimely breakup in 1984. The band would release only one album, Full Moon, in 1980 and a successive two-song 7” in 1982; both records were private-press regional releases, and have been extremely difficult to track down for decades. But more than the scarcity of their recordings (and the inflated collectors' prices for them), what truly put FULL MOON into the category of “cult legends” was the music itself: moody, narrative, and incredibly dynamic hard rock that leaned strongly into early heavy metal. To hear FULL MOON now is a revelation, and fans of ‘70s Scorpions, Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash, and especially early Judas Priest are strongly encouraged to lend their ears to this legend.
Hereby is SHADOW KINGDOM incredibly honored to reissue FULL MOON’s self-titled album in its entirety, now renamed Night Calls. A majestic seven-song work, Night Calls evokes an otherworldly mysticism like no other. It’s hard-rocking, to be sure, but the weight of its “heaviness” comes not from overdriven decibels or accelerated tempos, but rather from the deft, unusually gentle feel the brothers Fischer and their bandmates, bassist Joe Wilhelm and drummer Kyle Alan Hetzel, employ across its epic narratives; each one will take you someplace special, someplace far beyond reality, but ever welcoming wherever it goes. Even more startling to behold is the fact that the entirety of the album was written and recorded when the average age of FULL MOON’s members was but 19! Preternaturally mature, FULL MOON also recorded the whole album at the Marietta Theater – the oldest one in the state of Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest in the United States – with the band set up where the movie screen and pit was located while the “control room” was in the projection room at the top of the theater. The band also played all tracks live, essentially, with very few overdubs. Hearing is most definitely BELIEVING!
As a generous bonus, Night Calls comes with a bevy of rare tracks: the two songs from the Cross Country Man 7” as well as three more that were recorded that same year, in 1982. To preserve the sanctity of the masterpiece that is FULL MOON’s only album, Night Calls will remain on its own vinyl LP but will come with a CD of the bonus tracks; the CD edition will simply add the bonus tracks. ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL either way!
