I don’t blame you if you don’t know Bernie Torme, since his biggest gig to date has been in Gillan, or maybe Dee Snider’s solo band. He was also Ozzy’s first pick for Blizzard of Oz, but declined and let Randy Rhoads take the gig. Mostly, he’s been a solo artist all these years. His music is wild, sleazy hard rock with his signature wailing Strat ripping his otherwise simple glam-gang rockers to gloriously tattered shreds. Bernie can make his guitar sing, just like Johnny Thunders did, or he can strangle it until it sounds like a dying bull elephant. He can do both in one song, too. I’ve been a fan of Bernie Torme and his raunchy, gypsy-glam guitar since the early 80’s, but I’ve never seen him in action on video, not even when he briefly crashed the glam-metal party with his Torme band. You either, probably, unless your British. So how awesome is this DVD? Very, that’s how awesome. It’s got 17 video clips, mostly live, mostly from the mid to late 80’s. The quality varies wildly, with the most washed-out stuff in the ‘bonus’ section, but all his heavy favorites are on deck, including “Wild West”, “Turn Out the Lights” (two versions). “Ghost Walking”, “Star” (two versions) and “Vampire”. There’s also an explosion of noise and power called “Bernie’s Guitar Extravaganza”, plus a recent interview, a discography, and a photo gallery. I know, it’s pretty lame to have a ‘guitar hero’, but trust me, you’ll have one after watching this. _____________________________________________________

- Sleazegrinder