Formed 1986, U.S.A.
Albums:
1990
WWIII
2000
The Unreleased Demos
2003
When God Turned Away
History:
WWIII is a hard edged metal band with sexual lyrics, the brainchild of eccentric vocalist Mandy Lion.
The group has gone through several lineup changes throughout its history and hasn't reached much more then cult
status.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles from Germany, Mandy Lion formed WWIII.
The original lineup included guitarist Danny Stag and
bassist Johnny B. Frank, both of who left to achieve platinum success with
Kingdom Come. A later version included August Worchell and Chris Stewart the duo that
went on to form Johnny Crash.
After breaking attendance records on the L.A. Strip, Lion
got a recording contract with Hollywood Records who helped him find another
WWIII lineup.
Lion recruited guitarist Tracy G. and then found the
rhythm section from Dio, Jimmy Bain (bass, also ex-Rainbow)
and Vinny Appice (drums, who had also played in Black Sabbath). The debut
album was released, and despite a tour opening for Iron Maiden, the album sank
without a trace. During the tour Appice was replaced by James Kottack (Scorpions and
Kingdom Come) who himself was replaced by Mikkey Dee (Motorhead).
Shortly after Tracy G. and Bain defected to play with Dio, and Lion put
WWIII to rest.
Over the years Lion worked with such metal legends as Dokken's
George Lynch and Badlands'
Jake E. Lee. In 2000 Tracy G. released an album of WWIII demos that were
in the vaults and in 2003 Lion resurrected the band with Joe Floyd (guitar, ex-Warrior),
Ray Montez (bass) and Sledge (drums) for the When God Turns Away album.
Links:
The Official Mandy Lion Page
The Official Tracy G. Page
The Official Vinny Appice Page
Buy WWIII CDs:
Purchase at Amazon.com
Purchase at eBay.com