Vinnie Vincent Invasion was an American

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

band, formed in 1984 by former

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

guitarist

Vinnie Vincent Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 make ...

History

Forming the band in 1984, Vinnie Vincent recruited bassist

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, who had served as a talent scout in

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, recruiting band members for the likes of

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. Strum had found both

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and the late Randy Rhoads for Ozzy Osbourne, so when Paul Stanley had contacted Osbourne to inquire about where he found the guitarists, he was given Strum's name. Unable to find anyone Kiss considered to be on Vincent's level, Strum decided to find Vincent himself in hopes of working together.

Bobby Rock Nitro was an American heavy metal band from Hollywood, California. Formed in 1988, the group originally featured vocalist Jim Gillette, guitarist Michael Angelo Batio, bassist T. J. Racer and drummer Bobby Rock. Nitro released its debut album ' ...

came on board as the drummer. With the nucleus of the band completed, the band searched for a lead vocalist. Former

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singer

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provided vocals on Vinnie Vincent Invasion's self-titled debut album. The record included primarily the style of

, with much of it re-worked versions of demos Vincent recorded in 1982 with former

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

members Hirsch Gardner, Gary Shea, and Jimmy Waldo under the band name Warrior, with Vincent essentially replacing John Fannon as guitarist and vocalist. Warrior disbanded when Vincent was selected to be a member of Kiss. Fleischman exited the band during a contract dispute and a video was produced for the song "Boyz Are Gonna Rock" with new vocalist

Mark Slaughter Mark Allen Slaughter (born July 4, 1964) is an American singer and musician, and one of the founders of the glam metal band Slaughter. Career Slaughter was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 4, 1964. Before the formation of Slaughter, he fr ...

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ing over Fleischman's vocal track. With Slaughter now on board, the band released their second album, '' All Systems Go'' in May 1988. The album featured one of the group's best-known hits, "Ashes to Ashes," and "Love Kills," which appeared on the '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'' soundtrack. Later in 1988, the band was released from their contract with Chrysalis Records. Having grown annoyed with what they perceived to be Vincent's domination of the project, Slaughter and Strum left to form the band Slaughter, which would go on to have success. Bobby Rock has played as a touring drummer for Slaughter, but was not in the initial line-up. After Vinnie Vincent Invasion broke up, he briefly joined

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, later

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, and then went on to play as a session musician with Gary Hoey and other bands. Subsequent to the band's release from their Chrysalis contract and the resultant split of Slaughter and Strum to form Slaughter, Vincent reunited with original Vinnie Vincent Invasion vocalist Robert Fleischman and recorded the unreleased album ''Pyro Messiah'' (aka Guitars From Hell). Andre LaBelle, (drummer from 1989 to 1992), along with Fleischman, formed a new band "The Sky" in 2011. A tribute album entitled '' KISS MY ANKH: A Tribute To Vinnie Vincent'' was released by SplitScreen Entertainment on August 27, 2008. The album consists of new recordings of songs from Vincent's careers with Kiss and Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Featured artists include Steve Brown of

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, T.J. Racer of

Sheldon Tarsha Adler's Appetite, previously Suki Jones, is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2003. The band's current lineup consists of namesake and drummer Steven Adler, vocalist Ari Kamin, guitarists Michael Thomas and Alistair J ...

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and

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, and rock and roll comic

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, who performs a parody of the Kiss song "Unholy" (rewritten as a roast of

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vocalist

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Band members

;Final line-up *

– guitars, backing vocals (1984–1988) *

– bass guitar, backing vocals (1984–1988) *

– drums (1984–1988) *

– lead vocals (1986–1988) ;Former member *

– lead vocals (1984–1986)

Discography

Studio albums

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinnie Vincent Invasion Glam metal musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical quartets