When an album arrives with the claim that two ex-members of Iron Maiden are involved, metal aficionados have every reason to get excited. Unfortunately the ex-Maiden men in question are former vocalist Dennis Wilcox and guitarist Terry Wapram, and V1 was the band they formed after leaving Steve Harris’s soon-to-be-colossal crew. They originally recorded one demo and then vanished without trace. Which may well make them legendary in self-consciously more-metal-than-thou circles, but the reality is that V1’s return is no kind of big deal.
On the plus side, these re-recorded versions of the band’s original repertoire have plenty of charm and big, memorable hooks. Wilcox is plainly not the greatest singer – it swiftly becomes apparent why Harris looked for another frontman – but there’s a spirit and energy driving the likes of Devil Devil and the endearingly daft Croydon Boys that save this from being just another lump of warmed-up NWOBHM dreck.
