War

For some reason, there still isn't a truly comprehensive single-disc War collection on the market. Rhino's Grooves and Messages easily comes the closest, although its unnecessary remix disc kicks up the price a bit (and one could argue about a couple of omissions in favor of latter-day tracks). That makes Rhino's own double-disc Anthology (1970-1994) even more valuable – it might be too much for casual fans who just want War's biggest hits, but there's absolutely nothing missing here. All the hits are included, of course, as well as some overlooked singles and fine album tracks; plus, Anthology does fans a service by gathering the highlights from their uneven later work, which is more disco-tinged and less distinctive. A concise overview this is not; what Anthology illustrates instead is the full scope of War's versatility, and their loping, easygoing way with a groove.

With more than three decades of Viking-centric melodic metal under its belt, the Norse legends (from upstate New York) Manowar have lost none of their live ferocity….

The Exploited's fourth record finds the band with an entirely new lineup (only leader Wattie Buchan remains), but never fear, the new boys prove that they are entirely capable of thrashing and, what's more, they are eager to thrash. Great, thunderous rockers like "Kidology" and "Another Day to Go Nowhere" fulfill the obligatory youth-angst requirement while "Let's Start a War (Said Maggie One Day)" and "Rival Leaders" (among many others) represent the epicenter of the group's familiar antiwar/anti-Thatcher sentiment. Nothing new in the grand scheme of punk rock in general (or The Exploited in particular), Let's Start a War…Said Maggie One Day is what it is – punk rock comfort food.

Brunorock is the solo-project of Bruno Kraler, Italian singer and guitarist, former frontman in the heavy bands Dark Sky and Nightpride. His first release under this name is a self-titled 1994 album, completely sung in Italian; it was followed by 2002's "X-Over", a more conventional album with English lyrics, and 2005 album, "Interaction". Brunorock’s War Maniacs is the fourth studio release from the veteran group fronted by vocalist/guitarist Bruno Kraler, and is a release that deserves much praise…