TOKYO BLADE the cave sessions (official bootleg) LEG1T

From the Underground: Tokyo Blade’s ‘The Cave Sessions’ (LEG 1 T)

Today’s entry unearths a rare and raw artifact from the mid-80s career of Tokyo Blade. We are looking at the 12-inch EP The Cave Sessions (Official Bootleg), released in the UK in 1985 with the catalog number LEG 1 T.

This release is a fascinating bridge between eras. Released independently (Not On Label), this “Official Bootleg” captures the band during a pivotal transition period. Following the classic NWOBHM sound of Night of the Blade, the band was moving towards the sleazier, more commercial hard rock style that would define their next album, Blackhearts & Jaded Spades. This EP features the vocals of Vicki James Wright, solidifying this new direction.

The 12-inch features four tracks split between the “Front Side” and “Back Side”:
A1: Monkeys Blood
A2: School House Is Burnin’
B1: Shadows Of Insanity
B2: Jezzabell

The track Monkeys Blood is an early version of a song that would later appear on the 1986 album Blackhearts & Jaded Spades. Hearing it here, alongside the raucous School House Is Burnin’, offers a grittier, less polished perspective on the band’s evolution compared to the final studio albums.

LEG 1 T is a highly collectible item for NWOBHM completists. As a self-released “bootleg” meant for the dedicated fanbase, it is much harder to find than their standard label releases and provides an unfiltered look at a band in the midst of reinventing themselves.