Thrill of a Lifetime

In the mid 1980s, hair-metal bands swapped members the way hip-hop stars trade guest cameos. And few bands exemplified that incestuous quality like King Kobra, who were formed by Vanilla Fudge/Ozzy Osbourne drummer Carmine Appice and would feature past and future members of W.A.S.P., Bullet Boys, and Foreigner. Original wailer Mark Free, captured in full-throttle sex sneer, also embodied the genre's latent androgyny, later undergoing a sex change and going by the name Marcie. This reissue is justified primarily by its family-tree value, but thanks to a solid emulation of post-Mötley Crüe hard-rock riffing, crossed with the glamorous appeal of Maiden-inspired solos, LIFETIME gives more than the occasional THRILL.