US and Canadian Heavy Metal 7"-scene
is still one of the least explored niches in the domain of Old Metal Vinyl Collecting, at least in relation to its size and popularity. Hence forum member and long-time fan & collector of rare American 7"s, Kristian "Khnud" Knutsson has taken on this impossible feat of documentation, making this the 3rd and - surely in the long run - largest Singles-Special of The Corroseum to date...
A note on rarity Most of the releases reviewed herein are to be considered rare, usually released in either 500 or 1000 copies by small independent labels, or by the bands themselves. The rating is therefore an attempt at approximating how often an item shows up for sale.
= Rather common, a copy can most likely be found without too much effort
= Uncommon, still turns up a few times per year
= Rare, you'll most likely have to search a bit before you find one
= Very rare, expect to have to search several years before one turns up
= More or less impossible to find. The number of known copies can be counted with the fingers of one hand
Also, please note that rarity scores might change over time. A good example would be the Hazardous Waste 45, which was once believed to have been released in only 200 copies and was at that point a very expensive and desired item. Many years later another 300 copies were discovered in a warehouse and the item is, at the time this is written, reasonably easy to find at an affordable price.
A note on ratingReviews are subjective. What I think is great, someone else might think is crap. And the other way around. I strongly suggest using the reviews as a general guide and not as a definitive quality indicator.
= Bad. You probably don't need this unless you're a manic completist (like yours truly)
= Ok, but nothing spectacular
= Good, definitely worth checking out
= Great, buy or die!
= You need this more than oxygen...
Finally, I'd like to thank John Haupt, without him this project would never have been possible.
Vacant Grave - Eternal Nightmare / Crystal White Funeral
(private, 1987)Horror themed thrash / speed metal which sounds very much like the first HIRAX or SADUS albums. ONSLAUGHT also comes to mind, especially in the vocals. These guys however, rely much more on hyper fast riffing speed and menacing double bass drum brutality rather than song structure. The a-side can also be found on the "Satan's Revenge Part II" LP released in 1988. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Valiant - Never Ending Scheme Of Love / Don't Ever Change
( Rocks Off Records, 1980)"Never Ending Scheme Of Love" is almost one of those near perfect epic hard rock songs, featuring a melodic but still heavy riff, great vocals, and keyboards at the exact right place in the mix. But I said almost, didn't I? Sadly, the last minute completely ruins the song, devolving into some sort of funk rock outro that's more out of place than a vegan in a butcher's shop. Interestingly, the b-side is almost the complete opposite, being a funky rock song with a really, REALLY good guitar solo thrown in for good measure. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Vengeance - Rock Revenge / Rock With Vengeance
(Retaliation Records, 1984)One of the best looking pictures sleeves out there for sure, some copes also included an insert. These Chicago, IL, lads play pretty basic uptempo metal with nice sing along choruses, chugging guitars and pounding drums. Not much to dislike, my only complaint is that it lacking a bit of originality. Guitarist David Shankle later became famous for first playing with PARADOXX on two local compilations (Chicago Class of '85 and Chicago Metal Works Battalion #1), and later doing a stint in MANOWAR. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Violation - Meet Me At Midnight / Balls Out
(V.I.R. Records, 1982)A perfect introduction if you want to start collecting North American hard rock / heavy metal singles. Quite easy to find, cheap, and contains two great tracks with catchy choruses that will impale themselves in your brain and force you to keep humming them for a long time. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Virgin Steel - Walkin With My Radio / Ship To Shore
(private, 1984)Not to be confused with a certain band from Long Island, NY, bearing a very similar name. Anyway, this bunch of merry men from Pennsylvania play some form of very sing along friendly party hard rock/metal aptly named "Walkin With My Radio" backed with some form of epic, pounding, sea farin' metal called "Ship To Shore". Very nice stuff, and the way the band weaves in "Drunken Sailor" with the b-side outro is just pure genius. My only complaint is a rather sub par production, but what can you expect on such a private release? Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Voltz - 357 Mistreater / Rock Stompin' Rock 'N' Rollers
(Goldust Records, 1982)Quite similar in style to bands such as MISTREATER (the Cleveland, Ohio act) and their SCAREM / SCARUM derivatives or even EZRA, featuring a singer with that silky smooth, almost crooning voice. Both songs can also be found on their privately released LP, an item currently considerably more expensive than this 45. If this isn't incentive enough to go pick this one up, I don't know what is. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
Voyeur - First Glance
(Yasui Records, 1986)Don't know if it's the lyrics, but this reminds me quite a lot of UK's RAVEN on their "All For One"-album, being high energy no frills classic metal in the vein of, uh, most classic 80's metal bands. So, while these Connecticut lads won't likely score many points on originality, they more than make up for it by delivering kick ass music. Rating: - Rarity: - Country:
VXN - Putting Love Aside
(Osmosis Records, 1985)Very well executed melodic metal in the vein of LEE AARON. Both songs appear on the bands' forthcoming album, and luckily they chose two of the better songs to grace this single. Don't be fooled - this isn't AOR (not even close) - a moniker often slapped on the full length due to it containing some more
