The V-Rats - Intelligent Design Review by Gary Hill The V-Rats are the same band as The Vaseline Rats – they just made a bit of a change to their name. More
Various Artists - Twisted Forever...A Tribute to Twisted Sister Review by Mike Korn Twisted Sister was one of my favorite "hair" bands from the 80's. Despite the fact that I loathed most of the glammy commercial metal at that time, there was something fun about these goofy looking New Yorkers that appealed to me. More
Various Artists - Halloween Hootenanny Review by Rick Damigella A few years back, Rob Zombie started his own Zombie A Go-Go Records label. Amongst the first releases was this ghoulish treasure trove of tracks featuring some of the best and scariest “Zombified” music bubbling under the radar like a witches cauldron. More
Various Artists - Nativity In Black Review by Rick Damigella It is safe to say that while there were forces all happening simultaneously in music in the late 60’s, which would later be regarded as the elements from which heavy metal evolved. One band crawled forth, nay, stomped out of, the primordial ooze of the late sixties music scene to single handedly create an entirely new sound heretofore unheard coming from the speakers of stereos of the youth of the world. More
Various Artists - Alternate Endings: Compilation of The End Records Artists Review by Mike Korn If record labels have personalities like people, then The End records can be compared to the eccentric cousin who swears a lot and acts tough but has a secret soft side and an intellectual bent. That's the impression I get from seeing the diversity of artists on this off-the-wall label. More
Various Artists - Progressive DisDURPance Review by Gary Hill This sampler of German progmetal and prog bands is produced and released by a webpage that focuses on such bands. The website is Die Ultimate Review Page,www.durp.com . More
The Vaseline Rats - The Vaseline Rats Review by Gary Hill Fans of old school bluesy metal should really dig this EP. It's a collection of four screaming hot jams that just plain scorch.
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Vengeance - Back In The Ring Review by Mike Korn It's true that I spend most of my time listening to extreme or "serious" heavy metal. But that doesn't mean I can't crack open a brew, kick back and head bang with down and dirty, no-messin' hard rock.
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Venom - Metal Black Review by Mike Korn Venom is one of the bands that really changed how I looked at music. When I picked up their incredibly raw and Satanic debut Welcome to Hell back in the early 80's, I was first repulsed and then mesmerized by the brutality within. More
Venom - Resurrection Review by Mike Korn Not many bands can say they started a whole sub-genre of music but Venom is one. Almost 20 years ago, they were the darkest and heaviest metal band ever. More
Venom - Hell Review by Mike Korn The crusty demons of Venom refuse to go quietly into the abyss. The long time progenitors of black metal continue to trudge onwards through today's fragmented metal landscape...a landscape featuring bands more extreme than they ever could have imagined in their 80's heyday.
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These grizzled veterans of demonic metal have become a very reliable presence on the scene and most of their recent albums have been enjoyable but not very ground-breaking.
Victor - Victor Review by Vivian E. Lee In 1994, Rush guitarist decided to use the interim between albums and a tour to record his first solo, Victor. Invited guests include I Mother Earth's Edwin, Canadian singer/songwriter Dalbello, bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Bill Bell and drummer Blake Manning. More
Violent Storm - Storm Warning Review by Greg Olma I read a blurb about this band on the Internet but the information focused on K.K. Downing’s (Judas Priest) input more than the band or the music. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that Downing worked with Violent Storm or not.
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Vixen - Live and Learn Review by Gary Hill In the 1980's I had a big aversion to most of the metal out there, considering it to be “hair metal pop.” I know that I lumped Vixen in with that grouping. More
Voi Vod - Katorz Review by Mike Korn Elsewhere in this edition of MSJ, we took a look at Rebel Meets Rebel, a project of the late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott. Now we turn to the last output of another innovative guitarist who tragically passed away at a young age, Dennis "Piggy" D'amour of Voi Vod. More
Voi Vod - Voi Vod Review by Mike Korn Voi Vod has always stood apart from the crowd. The French-Canadian mutants have been offering their own warped version of cybermetal since the early 80's and their crushing debut "War and Pain". More
Voodoo Hill - Wild Seed of Mother Earth Review by Gary Hill First, I have to state the obvious - outside of a handful of guys, Rob Halford and Geoff Tate come to mind, Glenn Hughes has the best voice in hard rock and metal - the man is incredible! So, anything Hughes sings on gets some points just for his appearance. More
This EP presents an intriguing sound. It seems to land somewhere in the territory bordered by gothic rock, heavy metal and aggressive newer hard rocking sounds.
