Fast as a hammer-on, Gilbert ascended from student to instructor at LA's Guitar Institute Of Technology (GIT). In what little spare time he had, he recorded this groundbreaking release for Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records label.

Paul Gilbert says:

"I had just turned 19 when I recorded this album. I had been rehearsing with bassist John Alderete and drummer Harry Gschoesser for a year, so we were very prepared.

"We finished making the record in one week, and hardly did a second take on anything. I wish I had that much time to rehearse now! The first track on the album is a guitar solo called Frenzy, which is some of my most ridiculously fast and athletic guitar playing right out of the box. And deep at the core of all this metal are some nice chord changes.

"I was already mixing chords from Todd Rundgren and Cheap Trick songs together with my metal influences like Loudness, Accept, Yngwie Malmsteen, Gary Moore and Van Halen. Besides singing, Jeff Martin also played drums on Hotter Than Fire, and I played the drum crashes on the intro of Loud And Clear."