Warlock was a German power metal band that was on the verge of a major breakthrough in the American market when their fourth album, Triumph & Agony, was released in 1987. The album’s first single, “All We Are,” became a staple during the height of MTVs “hair metal” phase and the band’s striking front woman Doro Pesch had become an icon for females in metal and somewhat of a sex symbol.

Watch the video for “All We Are” here, below.

But, by the time the grueling world tour wound down following a swing through the U.S. with Megadeth in 1989, Doro would be the only remaining original member and find herself embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with her former manager and record label over the band’s name.

Doro decided to carry on as a solo artist under her own name. Known to many now as “the queen of metal,” Doro has released 12 albums under her own name and tours the world regularly. In 2011, she was finally granted the rights to the Warlock name. There has been no word yet on when or if she plans to record or tour under the moniker again.

When I was growing up in rural Indiana in the early ’80s, there was very limited access to heavy music. These were the days before MTV blew up with the whole hair metal, Headbangers Ball phenomenon. But on Sunday nights, there was a two-hour radio show that came from WOXY, the radio station of Miami University of Ohio, just across the state line in Oxford, Ohio. It was called Massive Metal for the Masses and I would wait all week for it to air. It was through this show that I was introduced to bands like Venom, Bathory, WASP, Michael Schenker Group, Slayer, and countless others. This Monday weekly column is my tip of the hat to that show. I call it Massive Metal Monday. Every week, I will pay tribute to defining moments by the artists that laid the groundwork for heavy metal to become the worldwide cultural bond for all of us metal heads.

Video