Speedtrain – Frankie’s Playground
Frankie’s Playground
Part German, part South African, Frankie’s Playground is not a place you’d let you little kids hang out in. There are no health and safety rules with this band. And with a ‘Speedtrain’ on the loose, you need to lock up your daughters (and sons) because this one is coming helter skelter down the tracks straight-atcha.
Frank Riester is the German driving force behing this juggernaut. He was in a band called Deadlock which opened for Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and ZZ Top at the Balinger Open Air Festival in 1996. When you are opening for such acts, you need to know your noise if you want to make any impact and, judging by the thundering rock of ‘Speedtrain’ Frankie’s Playground know how to make a noise.
Starting off with the sound effects of a steam train, chugging along, it suddenly bursts into a highspeed one, guitars blaring, drums thundering and the yowling vocals of Frank which have been distilled in hours and hours of great heavy metal bands like Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and the aforementioned Rainbow. One thing’s for sure, if you bang your head in this playground, there will be no teacher around to put a plaster on it, so sit back and enjoy the noise of the playground and this speeding train. Tickets please.
Where to find it:
Frankie’s Playground – Frankie’s Playground (1999), Riester International, CD5820
1001 South African Songs You Must Hear Before You Go Deaf 