It takes a very special Various Artists package to earn four or five stars. This one doesn't fill all the requirements, but it is still a very good compilation. Although this LP contains many classic heavy metal tracks, not all of them fit the genre entirely with one or two getting into the soft rock segment. Take Scorpions Is there anybody out there, for example, it's straightforward rock. But whatever this LP lacks in technicalities, it more than makes up for it in pure nostalgic value. As with many compilations, this collection of 19 artists serves its purpose in a music collection. With most of the artists familiar to any rock fan, if you're planning a 80s rock/metal themed party, this is the perfect LP to play for the night.

It gets you air guitar and rock out to the best acts in the business.  So there’s the opener We Will Rock You (Queen), the peppy Can’t get enough (Bad Enough), Killer on the Loose (Thin Lizzy). Classic rock at its best when you have grand daddies of rock Deep Purple with the beautiful Smoke on the Water followed by Jim Hendrix with Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). Play it Loud, very loud. Side A ends with the grandiose arena jam of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid.

This slapdash collection has top shelf material on its flip side too. Status Quo’s Down Down is back for nostalgic value and a welcome comeback, with the same going for the repetitious Crazy Nights (Kiss). Alice Cooper’s Schools Out never lets you down. Cooper’s hard vocals are enough to get you singing with the ageing rocker. Aerosmith produces enough steam to talk you on the band's countrified hard rocker Walk this Way featuring Run DMC. From there we move on to Uriah Heep’s Wizard followed by Judas Priest’ Living after Midnight a pretty decent song that has not really been played in a long time. Lastly the album that contains tracks mainly from the late 60’s to the early 80s, ends with Motorhead’s Ace of Spades.

As far as the music itself, mainstream metal heads would love this compilation that has the biggest names and familiar tunes that we all grew up listening to.

Label: PolygramTV

Year of release: 1991

Rating: ****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira