XYZ
This French-American Los Angeles-based hard rock act, led by vocalist Terry Ilous with Marc Richard Diglio (guitar), Patt Fontaine (bass) and Paul Monroe (drums), played initially in a blues-based style, but their sound was moulded in the studio by producer Don Dokken into an almost exact replica of Dokken, with Ilous in particular sounding like the producer himself. XYZ was not without merit, containing some quality songs with fiery axework from Diglio, although this inevitably led to George Lynch comparisons. However, the debut was reasonably successful as the band toured the USA with Enuff Z'Nuff and Alice Cooper, and Capitol Records signed XYZ for HUNGRY. With George Tutko's production the band established a more characteristic sound with a much heavier approach, also reflecting their bluesier influences with a cover of Free's Fire And Water, but the album was a commercial failure, and the band eventually broke up.