Masters of Metal: Strikeforce, Volume 1 [Album Review]

Masters of Metal: Strikeforce, Volume 1
(1989, Warner Special Products/JCI)

1. Mötley Crüe – Looks That Kill
2. Triumph – Follow Your Heart
3. Ace Frehley – Into the Night
4. Megadeth – Mechanix
5. Accept – London Leatherboys
6. Dio – Rainbow in the Dark
7. Helix – Rock You
8. Faster Pussycat – Don’t Change That Song
9. Beastie Boys – Fight for Your Right (To Party)
10. Great White – Lady Red Light

There’s a number of generically titled “Masters of Metal” compilations out there and this is yet another one. I guess the full title is “Masters of Metal: Strikeforce, Volume 1” but I’ve seen this album listed as “Strikeforce, Volume 1” and “Strikeforce, Volume 1: Masters of Metal” on various discography sites. I’m not sure where the Strikeforce part comes in at all. I guess they didn’t want to be confused with K-Tel’s Masters of Metal compilations. It was reissued in 1997 as “Rock the Planet: Strikeforce, Volume 1”.

Released by Warner Special Products in conjunction with a company called JCI (both labels mostly released compilations), this looks like one of those cheap compilations you might see thrown in a bin at gas station or grocery store back in the day. That says nothing about the quality of this album though. This is a great collection of ’80s metal and I’m a sucker for these types of albums when I can find them for a cheap price out in the wild.

Though it was released on CD, I paid $2 for the cassette version at a flea market recently and have already given the album a spin. Too bad I don’t have a cassette player in my car because this is nothing but first-rate headbanging metal!