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Queensryche Early Ryche efforts like 1983's self-titled EP, 1984's the Warning, and 1986's Rage for Order established them as a very unique and talented "thinking-man's metal" band, and were easily far above the quality of most of their contemporaries, but it was 1988's masterpiece, Operation: Mindcrime, that really put Queensryche over their competition. By far my favorite album of the 80's, and one of my favorite albums of all time, O:M is the album that would not only define QR artistically, but would also catapult the band into the mainstream with the hit single, Eyes of a Stranger. The follow-up to O:M, 1990's Empire, took the sound of Mindcrime, refined each and every song to be a potential hit, and brought the band to triple-platinum status with the number one hit, Silent Lucidity, with other notable tracks such as Jet City Woman and the title cut also receiving ample attention from the mainstream rock media. Although the band would ultimately lose their way musically in the late 90's with the departure of guitarist Chris DeGarmo, from 83-93, these guys were kings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNdOsL4Xe7Q2
Savatage Another favorite 80's metal band for me, their early stuff from 1983's Sirens up to 1986's Fight for the Rock are all solid 80's metal albums, but it was the last two albums of the decade, 1987's Hall of the Mountain King and 1989's Gutter Ballet that really established them as masters of their craft as they started to incorporate classical and Broadway influences into their music, ultimately culminating with 1991's metal opera opus, Streets. After that, they continued pushing the boundaries of metal opera with new singer Zack Stevens, and ultimately went on to create the multi-platinum phenomena Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but it is primarily their material from the 80's and early 90's that most people connect with the name Savatage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OhOm-1m3D8The rest of this list is in no particular order
Judas Priest Between classic hard rocking tunes on 1980's British Steel and 1982's Screaming for Vengeance, and the no nonsense metal of 1984's Defenders of the Faith, the metal gods easily earn a spot on this list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K7CNzFhnCEDioWith classic metal anthems such as Rainbow in the Dark and Holy Diver, Ronnie James Dio proved that he was a master of metal without peer, and could easily repeat the success of his earlier stints in Rainbow and Black Sabbath as a solo artist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB5TyfM5O3k&feature=fvstScorpionsRock You Like a Hurricane could very well be the definitive 80's metal anthem, but the band cranked out an endless supply of great tunes; Still Loving You, No One like You, Holiday, the Zoo, Black Out and many, many more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxdmw4tJJ1Y Warlock / DoroThe Queen of Metal, Doro Pesch combined the basic sounds of Judas Priest and the Scorpions with her own unique songwriting and her distinctive and deceptively powerful voice, giving us four classic albums before going solo in 1988. More then a decade before bands like Evanescence and Nightwish would make the concept of a female fronted metal band mainstream, this curvy German babe was rocking MTV with the likes of trademark metal anthems such as All We Are. Hail to the Queen!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmnVNxEmBn4 WASPOften mislabeled as just another hair band from Cali, madmen Blackie Lawless, Chris Holmes and Co. would push the limits of civilized society with such raunchy numbers as Animal (Fuck Like a Beast). But under their barbarian exterior was true song writing genius, rendering such catchy and memorable tunes as I Wanna Be Somebody, Hellion, L.O.V.E. Machine, The Last Command, Blind In Texas, The Headless Children and many more, to say nothing of their brilliant concept albums, The Crimson Idol and The Neon God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjL5aBTmjUE Skid RowEssentially a bridge between the more mainstream, melodic hair metal and the more aggressive, underground movement known as thrash metal, New Jersey's bad boys put out two metal masterpieces, 1989's self titled debut, and 1991's Slave to the Grind. While the band would eventually fall apart in the mid 90's due to insoluble internal differences, they kicked a lot of ass in their day, and thus deserve your respect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJrbHapH5pM&feature=fvstIron MaidenWhile Black Sabbath may have created metal, and Judas Priest may have defined it, it was Iron Maiden that truly spearheaded the metal movement of the late 70's and rose to superstardom in the 80's and onward with albums like Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, and their seminal concept album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Even a string of mediocre albums and the departure of singer Bruce Dickenson in the 1990's couldn't hold back the band for long, and when they reunited with Bruce and the end of the millennium, they found themselves back in their rightful place as gods among metalheads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MAxINE0LUM&feature=fvstOzzy OsbourneAs the original singer of Black Sabbath, Ozzy was a key figure in the formation of heavy metal as a genre, but it was his solo career in the 80's that really made him a household name. With such strong albums as Blizzard of Ozz, Bark at the Moon and No More Tears, not even his garish celebrity status with The Osbournes could sully the memory of all the great accomplishments this man made in the genre of metal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7iTiVXNnD8Of course, there are other bands from the 80's that I consider to be at the level of the ones I listed, such as Fates Warning, Metallica, Megadeth, but bosk asked for bands with that distinctive 80's metal sound, and so that is what I posted. Also, Alice Cooper could easily qualify for this list, but unlike the bands I listed, Alice is more well known for his 70's material then his 80's, so while Alice albums like Trash would certainly be on par with almost anything I listed here, I ultimately decided to limit myself to bands whom are most well known for their 80's material.
So go ahead, tease up your hair, slap on some makeup, squeeze into some spandex and pay homage to this most metal of decades!
Topic: DTF's top 10 "'80s metal" bands (Read 24026 times)
