When VR was searching for a 2nd guitar player in 1984, Shrapnel Records president Mike Varney suggested Delaware native Vinnie Moore to the band. Mike had received a hot demo tape from the young guitar wiz, and that lead to his being featured in Mike's Spotlight column in Guitar Player Magazine. Vinnie flew out to California in early 1985 to begin pre-production and writing with the band. Problems began almost immediately, with musical and personal friction between Vinnie and the band (mainly Geoff and Gary) Although it seemed like a match made in hell and it did not last, Vinnie's playing and musical contributions are awesome on the bands 1st album: "Soldiers of the Night". The brilliant neo-classical solo's from Vinnie are one of the highlights of the bands first release. Vinnie rarely speaks today of his past with VR, but "Soldiers" is where he got his first big break and that led to the successful solo career that he has enjoyed since.