U.S. Metal was one of the first compilation albums to capture the raw energy of the burgeoning American heavy metal underground. Released by Mike Varney’s Shrapnel Records, the album acted as a scouting report for a generation of shredders and speed freaks. It featured early cuts from bands like The Rods but mostly lesser-known yet equally hungry acts like Toyz and Seattle metallers Whizkey Stik. The production is scrappy, the performances are fired-up, and there’s a palpable sense that these bands were reaching for something bigger than local bar gigs. While a lot of this kind of stuff has not aged so well, it’s a cool snapshot of what was was going on in the American metal DIY scene at the start of the 1980s.
1981 US pressing on Shrapnel Records.
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