Shrapnel
Records has always been the home of the guitar hero,
which makes Racer X the prototypical Shrapnel band.
Featuring Paul Gilbert (only 18 years old when
the band's debut, Street Lethal,
was released), and soon joined by second guitarist Bruce
Bouillet, the band's style centered around American hard
rock/metal, sometimes sounding a bit like a faster mid-eighties
Judas Priest
but with more of a commercial edge (such as the "Into The Night" or
the Van Halen-ish
"Livin' The Hard Way") with the flashy virtuoso guitarwork always
taking center stage.
After two albums in the late 80's,
the band broke up, with Gilbert joining Mr. Big
and vocalist Jeff Martin becoming a drummer for Badlands.
After being mostly dormant for over a decade (the two live
albums were likely more like reunion gigs than anything else), the
band regrouped in 2000 and
and released three new albums, scarcely missing a beat from their
early days.
