The Heavy Metal Box is a 4 disc set housed in a box designed to look like a Marshall amp, and even has a real volume knob that goes up to 11. The compilation is organized chronologically, and the impressive booklet contains liner notes written by Martin Popoff for every song. There are also tons of great photos.
There are a wide variety of genres represented in this set. From early hard rock like Iron Butterfly, Blue Cheer and Deep Purple to New Wave Of British Heavy Metal like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to thrash metal like Megadeth and Anthrax to hair metal like Poison and Cinderella, there is something for every metal fan. The more extreme genres are underrepresented, but there are tracks from Venom and Sepultura.
The retail price of almost $65 is pretty high, but the packaging is really cool and you can find it for less than that on several sites. Though there are some essential artists missing, it's still a good compilation, and with so many different genres and era represented you are likely to hear something you may not be familiar with and maybe discover a few great bands you might have missed the first time around.
Heavy Metal Box Tracklisting
1. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" -- Iron Butterfly
2. "Summertime Blues" -- Blue Cheer
3. "Easy Livin" -- Uriah Heep
4. "Highway Star" -- Deep Purple
5. "Billion Dollar Babies" -- Alice Cooper
6. "Lost Johnny" -- Hawkwind
7. "Bad Motor Scooter" -- Montrose
8. "Working Man" -- Rush
9. "Man On The Silver Mountain" -- Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
10. "Detroit Rock City" -- Kiss
11. "The Ripper" -- Judas Priest
12. "Cat Scratch Fever" -- Ted Nugent
13. "Lights Out" -- UFO
14. "Godzilla" -- Blue Oyster Cult
15. "Demolition Boys" -- Girlschool
16. "White Witch" -- Angel Witch
17. "The Phantom Of The Opera" -- Iron Maiden
18. "Neon Knights" -- Black Sabbath
Disc 2
1. "Ace Of Spades" -- Motorhead
2. "Am I Evil?" -- Diamond Head
3. "Nice Boys" -- Rose Tattoo
4. "Attack Of The Mad Axeman" -- Michael Schenker Group
5. "Denim And Leather" -- Saxon
6. "Blitzkrieg" -- Blitzkrieg
7. "Gangland" -- Tygers Of Pan Tang
8. "Witching Hour" -- Venom
9. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" -- Judas Priest
10. "The Number Of The Beast" -- Iron Maiden
11. "Star War" -- Raven
12. "Say What You Will" -- Fastway
13. "Black Funeral" -- Mercyful Fate
14. "Animal (F**k Like A Beast)" -- W.A.S.P.
15. "Mean Streak" -- Y&T
16. "Holy Diver" -- Dio
17. "Queen Of The Reich" -- Queensryche
18. "Whiplash" -- Metallica
Disc 3
1. "Rock You Like A Hurricane" -- Scorpions
2. "Metal Health" -- Quiet Riot
3. "Into The Fire" -- Dokken
4. "Balls To The Wall" -- Accept
5. "Round And Round" -- Ratt
6. "I Wanna Rock" -- Twisted Sister
7. "The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" -- Hanoi Rocks
8. "Big Bottom" -- Spinal Tap
9. "Midnite Maniac" -- Krokus
10. "I'll See The Light, Tonight" -- Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force
11. "Crazy Nights" -- Loudness
12. "Shake Me" -- Cinderella
13. "Watch The Children Pray" -- Metal Church
14. "To Hell With The Devil" -- Stryper
15. "A Little Time" -- Helloween
16. "Wrecking Crew" -- Overkill
17. "Caught In A Mosh" -- Anthrax
18. "Peace Sells" -- Megadeth
Disc 4
1. "Still Of The Night" -- Whitesnake
2. "Rock Me" -- Great White
3. "Talk Dirty To Me" -- Poison
4. "Bathroom Wall" -- Faster Pussycat
5. "Hall Of The Mountain King" -- Savatage
6. "Kiss Me Deadly" -- Lita Ford
7. "Hail And Kill" -- Manowar
8. "Trial By Fire" -- Testament
9. "Welcome Home" -- King Diamond
10. "South Of Heaven" -- Slayer
11. "One" -- Metallica
12. "Cult Of Personality" -- Living Colour
13. "Youth Gone Wild" -- Skid Row
14. "Cowboys From Hell" -- Pantera
15. "Beg To Differ" -- Prong
16. "Dead Embryonic Cells" -- Sepultura
