As I've written a couple of times before, the mid-90's were a strange time for metal. Most bands had broken up or simply faded away, but the few that stuck around managed to make some of the best music of their careers.

Much like Warrant's 'Ultraphobic' and Skid Row's 'Subhuman Race', L.A. Guns 1994 record 'Vicious Circle' was leaner, heavier and most of all better than anything they did during their 1980's fame.

Known primarily for being the "other Guns band" started by founding Guns n' Roses guitarist Tracii Guns, L.A. Guns had their greatest success with the 1989 power ballad "Ballad of Jayne". By 1994 the band had lost a couple of members and briefly broken up but reconvened to make what's still their greatest album.

In these columns I'll occasionally say I still listen to an album or that a record is one of my favorite of the era, but 'Vicious Circle' is one of my favorite albums of all time. Regardless of genre, era or anything else. I was lucky enough to see the band at 328 Performance Hall (RIP) on this tour and I still rank it as one of the 10 best shows I've ever seen. The tour was cut short after only 2 weeks with Tracii firing the entire band. Unfortunately no bootleg footage of this tour has ever surfaced, and I've spent 20 years looking for it.

Any fans of heavy rock need to seek this album out. I believe it's out of print now, but you can likely get a used copy on eBay for cheap. I promise it'll be worth whatever you pay.