Origin:	USA
Genres:	70's Metal, Hard Rock
DISBANDED

Last update/review:	August 27, 2006

Montrose

Much of guitarist Ronnie Montrose's metal career, consisting of this band, his later band Gamma, and as a solo artist, has been of the decent if unspectacular variety. But for one moment, the metal gods smiled brightly on Montrose, in the form of the 1974 self-titled album Montrose. Simply put, it's a classic, with songs as "Rock Candy", "Bad Motor Scooter", and "Rock The Nations" featuring timeless riffs and a stellar vocal performance by then-unknown Sammy Hagar. Nearly thirty years after its release, the album sounds fresh and invigorating, all the more impressive given the dearth of good metal at the time. Montrose the band would record three more albums (one more with the original quartet and two others without Hagar and with several other new members), but the magic was never recaptured. Ronnie would go on to the aforementioned Gamma, Hagar's career is of course well known, and a couple of other members were later seen in bands such as Heart and Night Ranger. Montrose himself passed away in March 2012.