a Shot in The Dark

1986's Shot in the Dark was Great White's sophomore album and major-label debut through Capitol, having attracted enough positive press during its initial independent pressing to help the So-Cal hard rockers leave their spawning grounds in the music industry shallows in order to dive into its deeper waters, as it were. No, Great White still wasn't quite ready to challenge bigger fish in the American glam metal ocean like Ratt or Mötley Crüe just yet, but in promising tracks like "She Shakes Me" and "Run Away," the fledgling group dispensed prime examples of the muscular, distinctly blues-infused sound they would carry on finessing towards platinum status over the course of subsequent albums, Once Bitten… and …Twice Shy.

Rowdy English pub rockers Towers of London blend the high-octane charge of Sex Pistols-era British punk, the hedonistic charm of '80s hair metal, and the tabloid-heavy antics of Oasis and the Libertines into a volatile shot of pure rock & roll debauchery. Formed in the late '90s in Liverpool, the group consists of lead vocalist Donny Tourette, guitarist Dirk Tourette, lead guitarist the Rev, bassist Tommy Brunette, and drummer Snell. The group inked a deal with TVT Records in 2005, releasing the hit singles "How Rude She Was," "Fuck It Up," "Air Guitar," and "On a Noose." Their full-length debut, Blood Sweat and Towers, arrived in the summer of 2006, followed by Fizzy Pop in 2008.