Queensryche - I was just in awe of Geoff Tate - The Warning, Rage for Order and Mindcrime as a threesome were about as diverse as a band could get and still have all three releases be really solid and within the scope of the band.
Dokken - Loved Don's voice back then and George's guitar playing was tasteful and over the top at the same time. Loved the bands sense of humor as well. One of my first concerts ever.
Scorpions - Klause was a good singer and the band was just fun. Lots of good anthemic songs. Music was so much more fun and less serious back in the 80's.
Ozzy - Just a cycle of amazing guitar players. Randy, Jake, Zak. All great players. Randy gets all the hype but I think I liked Jake better. I remember watching him do the live solo for Bark at the Moon and having chills down my spine. Which leads to my next band..
Badlands - Their debut album was a criminally overlooked hard rock masterpiece. Ray was a very good singer (RIP). Carried off the soft spoken vocals as well as the kick ass Robert Plant style so well. I remember learning to play High Wire on guitar and it was such a fun song to play. The band just had an electricity about them. I had to buy their debut album 4 times because my friends kept not returning the CD. Such a shame this band didn't get more recognition. They were fantastic.
Cinderella - For being part of the glam/hair thing, they were one of the more solid bands. I think one of the bands of the era that could have adapted and survived if Tom's voice hadn't had so much trouble. My brother who hated most of the glam/hair bands actually wound up liking these guys. I learned quite a few of the songs on Night Songs on guitar. Simple yet fun songs to play.
Great White - Another really solid band that wasn't really a glam/hair band but they came along at that time and kinda had to play the game a little. I really think one of the reasons they didn't get bigger than they were was because Jack Russel was just butt ugly and couldn't pull off the look.
Come to think of it, the whole lot was pretty rough looking with the exception of the younger bass player they had for a while (name escapes me). I believe this was one of the bands that Robert Plant was making reference to when saying that some of the guys were trying so hard to be him that they actually did him better than he did. They covered more than their share of Zep songs and did them quite well.
King Diamond / Mercyful Fate - This may be stretching the category a little, although I think they still fit into the metal category without going into thrash/speed/punk. I LOVED King Diamond back in the day. Perhaps doesn't hold up quite as well as some of the others but his music had such an energy. Really think Andy Larocque is a pretty underrated guitar player. He came up with some brilliant riffs and solos. Heavy use of keyboards was pretty novel in the way they were used to create a darker atmosphere rather than in a proggy/poppy context. And Mikkey Dee on drums...how can you go wrong?
WASP - As much shit as they took and despite most people thinking they weren't much more than a novelty act, they put out some pretty good tunes. Blackie had one of those voices you either loved or hated, not much middle ground. WASP Live in the Raw still ranks in my top 20 live albums. Good up through the Crimson Idol which was early 90's iirc.
Europe / John Norum - I really liked Joey Tempest's voice. Nobody did the cheesy ballad better than him. John Norum was an excellent guitar player and his solo album after he left was very solid.
Topic: DTF's top 10 "'80s metal" bands (Read 24016 times)
