Despite what its name might lead you to believe, Very Metal is not a heavy metal band per se. Rather, Very Metal is essentially a hardcore punk outfit and their forceful and angry, yet fairly melodic songs have more in common with the Exploited, Black Flag, DRI, and the Cro Mags than with Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. Nonetheless, the Midwestern foursome can be metallic and some of its material shows a slight awareness of Motörhead, which was the first metal outfit to seriously incorporate punk and was arguably the first thrash metal band. But Very Metal is a punk outfit first and foremost. The band was formed in St. Louis, MO, in 1994, when they got their name from a jacket worn by a character in the British comedy The Young Ones. That year, Very Metal started playing small clubs in St. Louis and other cities in the Midwest. In 1999, the St. Louis residents signed with Beer City Records -- a small, punk-friendly label out of Milwaukee -- and their first album, Life's Too Short, came out in 2000. That release showed no awareness of the pop-influenced emocore sounds that were big in the late '90s and early 2000s -- the angst-ridden Life's Too Short was a throwback to '80s punk. In 2001, Very Metal toured with the Suicide Machines as an opening act and recorded their second album, Hit and Run, which Beer City released in early 2002. Very Metal's lineup consists of lead singer Pat Munster, guitarist Pat McCauley, bassist Chris Walker (not to be confused with the urban contemporary singer), and drummer Barry Peraino. ~ Alex Henderson