Press Release:

Metal fans have spoken, so get ready to turn the volume up to "11" as Sidewinder Music and VH1 Classic Records will be releasing VH1 Classic Metal Mania Stripped Volume 3, on Tuesday, March 6th.

The new CD release will once again feature rare and never before heard acoustic versions of some of metal's greatest songs by some of the genre's biggest names.

This is the fourth release in the successful Stripped series (Volume I: The Ballads and Volume 2: The Anthems, along with the Metal Mania Stripped Across America Live! DVD).

Just like the others that preceded it, Metal Mania Stripped Volume 3 is another acoustic collection of some of metal's biggest hits, all of which have proudly stood the test of time.

All in all, fifteen unforgettable tracks, ten of which have never been heard before!

Those returning to the Stripped series with an appearance on Volume 3 include such artists as POISON, QUEENSRŸCHE, TESLA, SLAUGHTER, DOKKEN and FIREHOUSE along with Tom Kiefer of CINDERELLA, Jani Lane (former lead singer and songwriter of WARRANT) and WINGER.

New artists to the Metal Mania "scene" include ACCEPT, AUTOGRAPH, KIX, Eric Martin from MR. BIG, RATT and SHAW/BLADES. The latter duo, featuring Tommy Shaw of STYX and Jack Blades of NIGHT RANGER fame, come at you full force with an entirely new unplugged version of 'High Enough', a huge hit song (reaching #3 on the Billboard charts) from their collaboration in the super group DAMN YANKEES.

Other well-known hits on the forthcoming Metal Mania Stripped Volume 3 disc include Cinderella's 'Nobody's Fool' (the premiere power balled from their '86 release, Night Songs), Tesla's 'Signs' (their 1991 remake of the early 70's hit from the FIVE MAN ELECTRICAL BAND), Firehouse's 'When I Look Into Your Eyes' (a Top Ten single spawned from their sophomore effort, Hold Your Fire), Slaughter's 'Up All Night' (a Top 40 single from their 1990 debut album, Stick It To Ya, recorded at the Key Club in Los Angeles), Warrant's 'Heaven' (an unexpected smash hit from '89's Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich that reached #2 on the singles charts) performed by original Warrant lead vocalist Jani Lane and 'Don't Close Your Eyes', the breakthrough power ballad for Kix that would hit #11 on the Billboard charts.

Tesla's 'Signs' practically launched the "unplugged" movement as it was one of the first acoustic hits of the 90's. " 'Signs' will always be one of my all time favorites," states Tesla's lead singer, Jeff Keith. "It has such a powerful message that a lot of people can relate to, including myself. Even stripped down to acoustic guitars, this one still comes out a winner."

In addition to those tracks, other hits performed acoustically include 'Balls to the Wall' (Accept), 'In My Dreams' (Dokken), 'Just Take My Heart' (performed by Eric Martin of Mr. Big), 'Turn Up The Radio' (Autograph) and Winger's 'Headed for a Heartbreak', along with three previously unreleased MTV Unplugged recordings by Poison ('Unskinny Bop'), Queensryche ('The Killing Words') and Ratt ('Way Cool Jr.').

Although original Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy provided an acoustic rendition of 'Round And Round' for Metal Mania Stripped Volume 2: The Anthems, he's featured with his Ratt band mates - Warren DeMartini, Juan Croucier and Bobby Blotzer - for an acoustic version of the band's hit, 'Way Cool Jr.', from MTV Unplugged.

"I remember messing with the idea for 'Way Cool Jr.', as Ratt were in a very grueling situation for that record," remembers Pearcy. "I liked the idea and the whole swing element about the song. So Warren and I started talking about who is "Way Cool" and what does he like to groove to... The end result surprised us and it came out great! Thoroughly nasty with a great groove. It's been a fan favorite in concert ever since it came out... The tune simply rocks unplugged, which is why we included it in our MTV Unplugged set... We're glad it's being released on the Metal Mania CD for all Ratt fans to enjoy."

Tracklisting (not in sequential order): WINGER - 'Balls To The Wall', AUTOGRAPH - 'Turn Up The Radio', TOM KIEFER (CINDERELLA) - 'Nobody's Fool', DOKKEN - 'In My Dreams', FIREHOUSE - 'When I Look Into Your Eyes', KIX - 'Don't Close Your Eyes', ERIC MARTIN (MR. BIG) - 'Just Take My Heart', POISON (MTV Unplugged) - 'Unskinny Bop', QUEENSRŸCHE (MTV Unplugged) - 'The Killing Words', RATT (MTV Unplugged) - 'Way Cool Jr.', SHAW/BLADES - 'High Enough', SLAUGHTER - 'Up All Night', TESLA - 'Signs', JANI LANE - 'Heaven', WINGER - 'Headed For A Heartbreak'.