Vanadium reviews: Italy’s heavy rock veterans, on DeBaser

The Profile

Vanadium are an Italian (Milanese) hard rock/heavy metal band often credited in these reviews as early pioneers of Italian metal. Reviews emphasize their 1980s run, a classic lineup featuring vocalist Pino Scotto and guitarist Stefano “Steve” Tessarin, and a stylistic arc from 70s-influenced hard rock toward heavier metal, then into more melodic AOR territory, with a later Italian-language comeback in the mid-1990s.

From the reviews: Milanese band; classic lineup cited as Pino Scotto (vocals), Domenico “Mimmo” Prantera (bass), Lio Mascheroni (drums), Ruggero Zanolini (keyboards), Stefano “Steve” Tessarin (guitar) after Carlo Asquini’s departure; breakup mentioned as 1990 with a later return and a 1995 album; Live On Streets Of Danger described as recorded in France; Game Over claimed to have sold tens of thousands of copies in Italy; Seventheaven presented as AOR-leaning; Nel Cuore del Caos noted as sung in Italian.

Across 11 DeBaser reviews, Vanadium are portrayed as a key Italian hard rock/metal band, often praised for energy, musicianship, and historical importance. Early records (Metal Rock, A Race With The Devil, Game Over) are framed as foundational, while Born To Fight and Seventheaven get especially glowing writeups. Corruption of Innocence is discussed as a transitional, more US-influenced hard rock/AOR bridge. Live On Streets Of Danger is highlighted for its historical role as an early Italian live metal document. One live-concert memory review is notably cynical, focusing more on atmosphere than performance details.

Notable Quotes

❝ 1982 is the year of the release of the first album by Vanadium, the first Italian band that had the courage to introduce metal in our nation.

❝ 1985 brought the first live album by an Italian band: this is precisely the "Live On Streets Of Danger" by the legendary Vanadium.

❝ After the release of the good "Metal Rock" the previous year, largely inspired by 70s hard rock, this "A Race with the Devil" features a powerful hardening of sound by the Milanese band

❝ More than fifteen years have passed since the release of “Born To Fight,” considered by many to be the best work ever produced by Vanadium, yet this record continues to radiate, now as then, an incredible feeling and warmth.