Vow Wow - Vow Wow III (2006)

Twelve albums into their career and three after adopting their westernized moniker, Japan's uncommonly prolific Vow Wow kept fighting for recognition beyond their homeland with 1986's simply named III. Here again, the hard-rocking quintet insisted on forcing an exceptional amount of synthesizers down listeners' throats in tandem with Kyoji Yamamoto's hyperbolic guitar work (see "Running Wild," "Nightless City," etc.), thereby repulsing heavy metal fans with the former, while overwhelming more mainstream sensibilities with the latter. Genki Hitomi's histrionic vocals (so similar to Loudness' Minoru Niihara that it simply couldn't be pure coincidence) were also a tad much for some to bear here, particularly on the likes of "Go Insane" and "Doncha Wanna Cum (Hangar 15)." What's more, the group's sleek sonic exploits in the studio (all those synths, electronic drums, you name it) hopelessly dated this material to the '80s), especially pop-metal drivel like "Sign of the Times" and ballads like "Shock Waves" and "Pain of Love." In short, Vow Wow's oddball musical aesthetic just couldn't win! And, since their long-distance stealth attacks from their Japanese home base were obviously not getting the job done; Vow Wow decided to finally invade Britain in the flesh the following year.