Masters of Metal

Sony Music Special Products' Masters of Metal contains a weird selection of metallic highlights from the Columbia and Epic vaults. There's really no consistency to the collection, other than the fact that everything was recorded in the late '80s and early '90s. There's the poppy hair-metal of Warrant's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the sleeeze-metal of the Cycle Sluts from Hell's "I Wish You Were a Beer," the funk-metal of Mind Funk's "Touch You," the old-skool raunch of Dangerous Toys, the near-thrash of Circus of Power ("Waitin' for the Wizard") and Metal Church ("The Human Factor") -- the only thing that ties all these togeter are loud guitars and an affiliation with Sony. But even if it isn't a consistent listen, it does provide a good snapshot of the times and illustrates why metal did lose ground to grunge in the early '90s.