Dante Fox - The Roots of Great White 1978-1982
Here's a compilation of 17 tunes from the band that preceded the formation of Great White. Featuring Great White founders Jack Russell on vocals and Mark Kendall on guitar, this material has never been released before, probably because the songs are demos with some sound problems such as tape hiss. Still, besides being a historical document, the collection presents fun, easy to get to know melodic rockers like "In Love," "Motor Love," "Front Row Girl" and the Motley Crue-like "Stay Away." Russell and Kendall wrote all the songs here, and those familiar with Great White's self-titled debut album will hear two especially-familiar songs in "In Love" and "Money," which after a lyric rewrite appeared on the Great White debut as "On Your Knees" and "Stick It" respectively.

Thor - Rising
We've heard from Thor quite a bit lately and it's always a fun time when the metal god starts swinging his hammer. Here the big man (Jon Mikl Thor) rocks through 10 cuts backed by his three-piece band, referencing classic metal sounds of the '80s all the way through. Hints of Black Sabbath ("Wormhole") Judas Priest ("Defend or Die") and other classic hard rockers echo throughout, and "We. Will. Destroy. You." even has a couple of riffs giving a nod to Rush, perhaps in an homage to the recently-deceased Neil Peart. The boogie of "The Rut," the macho posturing of title cut "Rising" and the Doors-recalling "Son of Thunder" are other fun cuts here; the album's obligatory toned-down cut is "Power Mask" and it sounds great too. One of these days Thor will get the mass exposure he's deserved for decades; for now it's cool that his music continues to rain down from on high.