Appointment With Death＜限定盤/Red Vinyl＞

Think '80s theatrical metal, and bands such as W.A.S.P. and Motley Crue immediately come to mind. But right up there alongside these names -- albeit lesser known -- was Lizzy Borden, a gentleman who modeled his character and stage show after the great Alice Cooper (an obvious clue being the similarities in their respective names, eh?). However, out of all the aforementioned bands, Borden was probably the most metallic (as evidenced by such releases as 1985's Love You to Pieces). After taking the '90s off (a good move -- the group's brand of metal was an anomaly in the wake of grunge, rap metal, etc.), Borden returned once more in the early 21st century, resulting in releases such as 2007's Appointment with Death. A concept album (which deals with the subject of...death), Appointment with Death is vintage Lizzy Borden -- melodic Iron Maiden-esque metal, vocals comparable to Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford, and so on -- especially on such selections as the title track, "Bloody Tears," and "Tomorrow Never Comes." Add to it guest appearances by several renowned '80s metal names (Dokken's George Lynch, Y&T's Dave Meniketti), and even a modern-day metal titan (Trivium's Corey Beaulieu), and you have an album that stands up well against Lizzy Borden's vintage releases. ~ Greg Prato