The Profs discuss the origins and evolution of rock and metal!

Oh the excess and bombast of the Sunset Strip in the late-70s and 1980s! The Profs discuss the epicenter of rock and metal in the 70s-80s as the Sunset Strip in L.A. became ground-zero for some of the greatest rock and metal acts in American history.

Yes, we know we talk about KISS too often. However, in our defense, those early-80s KISS albums were SPECTACULAR. Court and Matt discuss the iconic albums "Creatures of the Night", "Music from the Elder", "Lick it Up" and "Animalize."

Oh the glory of the all-day music festival. US Fest, Ozzfest, Louder than Life, Wacken and Hellfest. So many festivals and so many bands! The Profs discuss the pros and cons of rock and metal music festivals, and cover some of the best and worst ones they've attended.

In this special episode of RAMP, our podcast producer and colleague Tim Williamson takes over the show. We talk about whatever he wants to talk about!

Yeah, we've heard it all before. After "...And Justice for All", Metallica became a different band, "sold out", and went mainstream. Early Metallica fans in particular love to condemn Metallica in the 1990s as the band who let them down. The Profs dispel the myths and do their level best to objectively assess Metallica's catalog in the 1990s and beyond.

KISS fans are a devoted bunch, and much of their love for the band is contingent upon when they started listening to them. For Matt, KISS in the 1970s were at their zenith. However, for slightly younger fans like Court, those 80s albums hold a special place. Dr. Lewis shines in this one, talking about the non-make-up years, the brief tenure of guitarists Mark St. John and Vinnie Vincent, the percussive mastery of Eric Carr, the guitar wizardry of Bruce Kulick, and the new direction KISS took in the 80s to attain a level of success that few could have imagined just a few years prior.

This week the Profs discuss one of the more controversial album releases in American music history, "Use Your Illusion I and II." Many rock fans may not remember that Guns & Roses did something no band had ever done in 1991 -- They released two double studio albums on the same day! Heralded by some rock fans as the answer to glam metal and the emerging grunge scene, some GNR fans were not impressed, Dr. Lewis among them. Matt and Court discuss the albums, the tracks, and attempt to unpack Dr. Lewis's thinly-veiled contempt for these records. Does he love these albums or does he hate them? Even he isn't sure!