I first heard Bonfire's "Sword and Stone" in 1989, the year it was included on the film soundtrack to Wes Craven's Shocker. I had read about the German melodic hard rock band in Kerrang! magazine, but hadn't actually heard them 'til I saw the "Sword and Stone" video on Headbangers Ball. Its million-dollar chorus had me hypnotized from the first pass. Angel Schlepper's guitar hooks that intro the verses complement the song's mid-tempo arrangement, while Claus Lessmann's powerful vocal approach makes "Sword and Stone" one of the finest long-lost tracks of that era.
"Sword and Stone" was written by Paul Stanley and Bruce Kulick of KISS, along with famed songwriter Desmond Child. It was demoed by KISS for their Crazy Nights album; but, strangely, it didn't make the final cut. You can listen to the KISS demo of "Sword and Stone" on YouTube. Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean released his version of the song on his Hard Core album in 1988, but it's nowhere near as good as Bonfire's take on the song, or even KISS' demo.
*Thanks to fellow writer Jeff Wagner for reminding me of "Sword and Stone" the other day on Facebook!
