GUNS n’ ROSES are often called the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Rock Band’, but blow for blow, pound for pound, that title must surely rest with the Plasmatics.Led by uber rock queen Wendy Orlean Williams, a woman who pushed female empowerment to its ultimate conclusion, this New York outfit took a real and rare delight in blowing up cars, hacking apart guitars and generally leaving a trail of spare parts in their wake.

In 1982, the band deemed it time to fight the battle from within, signing to a major and crafting the most impressive, most inflammable album of their career: ‘Coup d’Etat’. Cited by the LA Times as ‘The best slice of metal since the last AC/DC album…’, nearly 25 years on, it remains a milestone in pure Punk Metal showmanship.

Fully remastered, 4,000 word essay by Dante Bonutto, previously unseen photographs and enhanced with 5 bonus tracks.

Track listing: ‘Put Your Love In Me’, ‘Stop’, ‘Rock N’ Roll’, ‘Lightnin’ Breaks’, ‘No Class’, ‘Mistress Of Taboo’, ‘Country Fairs’, ‘Path Of Glory’, ‘Just Like On TV’, ‘The Damned’. Bonus tracks: ‘Uniformed Guards’ (demo), ‘Put Your Love In Me’ (demo), ‘Stop’ (demo), Coup d’etat Radio Ad’.

Fronted by the voluptuous Karen Lawrence, 1994 were one of the greatest North American hard rock bands that time and tide has indeed forgotten. Signed, in a blaze of publicity, to the mighty A&M label, produced by seventies studio wizard Jack ‘Aerosmith’ Douglas and hailed as the next big thing, the band never quite made the commercial impact all had hoped for. Critically, however, their music was bestowed with fervent praise attracting rave reviews both at home and abroad.Released in 1978, Geoff Barton, then writing for Sounds magazine, and now, of course, Editor of Classic Rock, made no secret of his love for 1994’s self titled debut album, going so far as to acclaim it as one of the years best releases; a veritable cracker box of explosive guitar based rock topped off with a stellar performance from one of the best (female) vocalists of the era – a deadly yet cool combination of Heart and Aerosmith.

Fully remastered, 4,000 word essay by Stephen Allen, previously unpublished photos and 4 bonus tracks recorded live in 1978. Look out too, for a rare special guest appearance by guitarist Brad Whitford - one of only a small handful of extraneous appearances outside the Aerosmith mother ship.

Track listing: ‘Once Again’, ‘Shoot To Kill’, ‘Sing To me’, ‘Heleana’, ‘Bring It home’, ‘Radio Zone’, ‘Hit The Hardway’, ‘Read Up’, ‘Anastasia’. Bonus tracks: (live) ‘Shoot To Kill’, ‘Find It In The City’, ‘Hit The Hardway’, ‘Bring It Home’.

NAMED AFTER a mental institution in North London, this Canadian four-piece were much more than your average early 80s rock band. Whereas many of their US counterparts chose to rely on big hair & party anthems, Coney Hatch - based in Toronto Rock City - had an altogether more twisted take on the Great Rock’n’Roll Dream (and big hair!).From the striking sleeve art onwards, ‘Coney Hatch’ The Album was different - a happy (if unconventional) marriage of rolling riffs & off-kilter melodies, topped off with lyrics that were as likely to take a scenic shortcut as stick to the beaten path.

Produced by legendary Canadian artist Kim Mitchell (of Max Webster fame), the 10 songs featured here - faves of Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris - are some of the best examples of ‘Maple Leaf Mayhem’ you’re likely to hear. Pucks away!”

Fully remastered, 4,000 word essay by Howard Johnson, previously unpublished photos, track by track run down by the band and 3 bonus tracks from the original sessions.

Track listing: ‘Devil’s Deck’, ‘You Ain’t Got Me’, ‘Stand Up’, ‘No Sleep Tonight’, ‘Love Poison’, ‘We Got The Night’, ‘Hey Operator’, ‘I’ll Do The Talkin’, ‘Victim Of Rock’, ‘Monkey Bars’. Bonus tracks: ‘Dreamland’, ‘When I Draw The Line’, ‘Sin After Sin’ (demo).

NAMED AFTER notorious gunslinger John Henry Holliday, this Georgia five-piece were never afraid to charge the enemy lines, Southern flag flapping in the breeze, even when the bullets were whistling close around their ears…DH might not have enjoyed the profile of a Skynyrd, a Hatchet or a .38 Special, but they were no poor relations musically, and in ‘Southern Man’ & ‘Lonesome Guitar’ (both featured here) they had songs in their repertoire that can still cause a grown man to crumple at the knees. Writing for Kerrang! back in 1986, ‘Suvern Rock’ Supremo Xavier Russell described the genre as ‘…music from the heart, from the land, from the soul…’, and the nine tracks on offer here are very much enshrined with that spirit…

Enjoy the music, and if the climax of ‘Lonesome Guitar’ doesn’t have you sippin’ sour mash from the nearest available stetson , then the stamp on your Southern Rock passport might just have expired!

Fully remastered, 4,000 word essay by Derek Oliver, previously unpublished photos, full invovement from Bruce Brookshire and 2 bonus tracks from the original sessions.

Track listing: ‘Last Ride’, ‘Good Boy Gone Bad’, ‘Don’t Go Talkin’, ‘Southern Man’, ‘Let Me Be Your Lover’, ‘Doin’ (It Again)’, ‘Don’t Stop Loviing Me’, ‘Hot Rod’, ‘Lonesome Guitar’. Bonus tracks: ‘Whiskey Train’, ‘Travellin’ Band’.

THE SECOND outing from Phoenix five-piece Icon, ‘Night Of The Crime’ is without doubt one of the greatest melodic hard rock albums ever made… some would say THE greatest!What makes this 1985 effort even more remarkable is the fact that it was recorded & released under the most difficult of circumstances. It’s not often that a producer barricades himself inside a studio, or that a singer quits a band just when all of the odds seem stacked in their favour, but the Icon tale is packed to the brim with all of these elements and more.

In a just & fair society, ‘NOTC’ would have notched up millions of sales and the band members would currently be kicking back on private islands, margueritas in hand; this didn’t happen, of course, but check out the 10 tracks featured here and you’ll know that it could have. Easily.

Fully remastered, 4,000 word essay by Derek Oliver and previously unpublished photos.

Track listing: ‘Naked Eyes’, ‘Missing’, ‘Danger Calling’, ‘Shot At My Heart’, ‘Out For Blood’, ‘Raise The Hammer’, ‘Frozen Tears’, ‘The Whites Of Their Eyes’, ‘Hungry For Love’, ‘Rock My Radio’.

ONE OF the hardest working acts in rock’s multi-hued history, Canadian five-piece Helix pretty much spent their major label years out on the road, showing that the tour-album-tour routine could indeed be made to work.With the line-up changing on an almost hourly basis, the Kitchener outfit left no stone unturned and no headliner unsupported in their quest for global glory. Along the way, they successfully fashioned some of the finest high-energy hard rock of the time - we’re talkin’ early-to-mid ’80s here.

Remember, this is a band who could have had Michael J. Fox as their bassist (he auditioned for them early on), and who were once on the same bill as Jim Carrey… headlining! This album, of their many, is generally considered their best. The finest outing in a career that continues to this day…

Fully remastered, 4,000 word essay by Derek Oliver and previously unpublished photos.

Track listing: ‘Does A Fool Ever Learn’, ‘Let’s All Do It Tonight’, ‘Heavy Metal Love’, ‘Check Out The Love’, ‘No Rest For The Wicked’, ‘Don’t Get Mad Get Even’, ‘Ain’t No High Like Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘Dirty Dog’, ‘Never want To Lose You’, ‘White Lace And Black Leather’.

THE FACT that ‘Narita’ exists at all is testament to the hard work & tiger-eyed belief of a small group of people who pursued a dream across continents & labels, determined to wreath the Riot name in lights.For the group themselves, despite having the talent & the tunes, nothing was to come easy; no deal just fell into place, no promotion happened of its own accord. It was always a question of pushing hard, then pushing some more, and when - for political reasons - they couldn’t get a record released at all, they were left with no option but to call upon the fans to petition the label on their behalf. Bear this in mind when listening to ‘Narita’; not only is it one of the finest hard rock releases of the late ’70s (just ask Geoff Barton at Classic Rock), but it shows what can be achieved when you don’t take “no” (or “maybe” or “perhaps”) for an answer.

Fully remastered, 4,000 word essay by Derek Oliver and previously unpublished photos.

Track listing: ‘Waiting For The Taking’, ‘49er’, ‘Kick Down The Wall’, ‘Born To be Wild’, ‘Narita’, ‘Here We Come Again’, ‘Do It Up’, ‘Hot For Love’, ‘White Rock’, ‘Road Racin’.