Split Beaver

Wolverhampton, England, served as the birthplace for heavy metal four-piece Split Beaver in 1982, when vocalist Darrel Whitehouse joined forces with guitarist Mike Hoppet, bassist Alan Rees, and drummer Mick Dunn. The group promptly secured a deal with the regional Heavy Metal Records imprint. Their approach centered on sluggish, stereotypical British rock that echoed Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy without matching either act’s ingenuity or execution. Split Beaver’s first outing arrived in the form of When Hell Won’t Have You, an uninspired and lackluster batch of brisk rock tracks that preceded the band’s immediate dissolution. Evidently Hades was not alone in its refusal to accommodate Split Beaver.