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Track Listing: Right from the Start Be My Slave Leather Bound Riding in Thunder Save You from the World Heavy Metal Breakdown Gimme a Kiss In Heat Make It Real (Make It Rock) World War III Saturdays Never Come Home Damnation Alley He's Gone Live for the Whip Let's Go (bonus track)

LA's very own legendary female-fronted heavy metal band Bitch released their debut EP 'Damnation Alley' in 1982 followed by their first full length album 'Be My Slave' in 1983. A remastered version of the Be My Slave/Damnation Alley combo was released in 1997, and now 14 years later, it's being replaced by a brand new reissue. For those who don't know, Bitch was the first artist ever to be signed on to the Metal Blade label, and the first female-fronted American band to be signed at all. They were also featured on the famous 'Metal Massacre' compilation put out by Metal Blade in 1982. So it's more than obvious that there is plenty of history attached to this band, and it's rather refreshing to see them back at the forefront, thanks to this reissue.

I'm not a huge fan of remasters because quite often these remasters sound like complete shit and do nothing but ruin the legacy of the original album. However, that's definitely not the case with this reissue as it succeeds in enhancing the original sound while keeping the old school touch that Bitch fans from back in the day would be accustomed to. Just on a personal level, I'm extremely glad to be able to see such old school, out-of-print gems originally released even before I was born, see the light of day again.

In addition to all the tracks on the original recordings, the bonus track "Let's Go" is further reason for fans to pick up this reissue. This track was demo'd in 1985 during "The Bitch Is Back" sessions but never got released. The song itself is typical of Bitch's sound back during those days, and considering that it's been digitally remastered from a cassette tape, it sounds pretty damn good. It's a very rare song that wasn't even played live more than twice in total, so hopefully with its release now it will find it's way onto Bitch's live set list.

There is also the added attraction of a bonus DVD that comes with this release, consisting of 10 live videos and 2 music videos. In essence, it's an edited version of the "Best Of Bitch Live" VHS tape from back in the day. I currently don't have access to the DVD itself so i can't tell you anything about the quality of the video, but I'm more than a 100 per cent sure that the rarity of the content would be reason enough to have it in your collection.

Bonus DVD Track Listing:
1. Riding in Thunder (live)
2. Walls of Love  (live)
3. Live for the Whip (live)
4. World War III (live)
5. Headbanger (live)
6. Hot and Heavy (live)
7. Skullcrusher (live)
8. Make it Real (live)
9. Riding in Thunder (live)
10. Be My Slave (live)
11. Leatherbound (1983 music video)
12. Be My Slave (1983 music video)

So overall, there is plenty of previously unreleased bonus content for the old school Bitch fans to consider while making a decision on whether to re-purchase something they already have, and on the other hand, younger fans (myself included) would finally get a chance to officially own something they've previously only heard or seen on the internet, or through bootlegged versions.

The "Be My Slave/Damnation Alley" 2011 remaster should go down as a hugely endearing release among all heavy metal fans. Pick it up and rock out to the Bitch this summer! \m/

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