Heavy Metal Shrapnel Heavy Metal Hairspray Review
Heavy Metal Shrapnel
Heavy Metal Hairspray
Nameless Grave Records
2026
Gather round, children of 80’s Sleaze, Cheese, and spandex, we’ve got a humdinger courtesy of Nameless Grave Records. “Heavy Metal Hairspray” is the sophomore effort from Heavy Metal Shrapnel, led by guitar virtuoso Andrew Lee. The debut was a full-on instrumental shred record in the spirit of the old Shrapnel Records days.
This time Lee brings in vocal firepower, most notably Mark Boals, known for his work on Yngwie Malmsteen’s “Trilogy” and the one-off Glam band, Billionaire Boys Club (Something Wicked Comes, 1993). I still spin both of those CDs regularly, no apologies.
Before diving into the music, the title and cover art honestly don’t do the album any favors. Anyone not steeped in the era might skip it outright, which would be a mistake. Fans of late-80s Traditional Heavy Metal and U.S. Power Metal should absolutely give this a shot. Yes, it’s over the top, probably intentionally, but the music underneath is serious business.
“Heavy Metal Hairspray” is a full return to the period when Metal ruled, and not just the Glam side of things. With Boals on vocals, this is firmly rooted in Classic Heavy Metal territory. If you spent late Saturday nights watching Headbangers Ball, this record feels like it was made for you.
Musically it carries that Shrapnel-style shred foundation, while the vocals add a nostalgic flash of bands like Nitro, except Boals favors control over sheer vocal demolition. He still reaches the stratosphere, but there’s warmth and purpose in his falsetto instead of chaos.
You’ll also hear echoes of lesser-remembered acts like Reckless, Hawk, Black Sheep, and Shok Paris. The approach is aggressive yet faithful to the era, almost no modern influence, just pure late-80s Metal spirit. Lee’s riffs and solos are wild and inventive, proving familiar ideas still hit hard when handled by the right player.
If listeners can look past the title and artwork long enough to press play, this could end up a sleeper success for Nameless Grave Records. I know I won’t be passing on a vinyl or CD copy - records like this remind me why I’ve carried the torch for this style of metal since day one.
Standouts – “Heavy Metal Overdose”, “When Love Isn’t Enough”, “Love Is A Racket (Baby Grab My Handle)” and “Heavy Metal Loudness”.