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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: bosk1 on May 12, 2011, 10:56:38 AM
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For the 4-5 people who will actually post in this thread, post your 10 or so favorite hard rock/heavy metal bands from the '80s. If they actually started earlier (like Scorpions or Y&T, for example), that's fine as long as they were doing their thang in the '80s. "Hair metal," "glam metal," "hard rock," or whatever is all fine. I know it's not easy to classify some bands, so I'm not going to have hard and fast rules about who is in or out, but try to keep it limited to bands that fall into those categories, and NOT bands that are more considered "thrash," "death metal," or "punk." No real reason why, other than I just want to know how people rank these particular types of bands.
Anyhow, here are mine:
1. Queensryche - Even though I did not really get into them heavily until about 1990, they had some AMAZING '80s output that I discovered later on.
2. Y&T - Lots of misses, but there are few bands if any in this and related genres who had album runs as strong as Earthshaker -> Black Tiger -> Meanstreak -> In Rock We Trust
3. Badlands - Only three albums, but they are some of the strongest rock albums out there by anybody, period.
4. Skid Row - They rank so high based solely on their self-titled and Slave To The Grind. Two outstanding albums. Who cares if they dropped off after that?
5. Tesla - I would consider The Great Radio Controversy to be one of the best hard rock albums ever released.
6. Cinderella - The first two albums were amazing, and the ones after still had some good songs.
7. Def Leppard - They were really THE band that got me into hard rock in the first place, so I can forgive them for what has happened after Hysteria.
8. Scorpions - Incredible live band than had a really good mid-'80s run in terms of album releases.
9. Whitesnake - Even though I have no desire to listen to them anymore, save a couple of select songs, they mark they made on '80s blues-based hardrock is undeniable. The self-titled album is a classic, and Slide It In and Slip Of The Tongue had some solid tunes as well.
10. Dokken - Is it fair to leave Blue Murder out of my top-10 when they had perhaps the strongest debut album of any band ever, and have such incredible moments as Still Of The Night live with Sykes on guitar and lead vocals? Is it fair to exclude House Of Lords, when they had a solid debut, really good follow-up, and some decent later output; Stryper, when they had one of my favorite albums in To Hell With The Devil, as well as lots of other good songs spread out over all their other albums? Although it's a close call, I can justify giving Dokken the edge based solely on two words: Mr. Scary.
Aside from the honorable mentions I listed above, I should also mention Van Halen. The debut album is, of course, a classic, and 5150 is, IMO, one of the best albums of the '80s, hands down. But their other material was incredibly hit and miss with me, and Eddie has left such a bad taste in recent years that they miss my list.
Okay, so Cozmo and others--GO!
Here is a decent (but incomplete) list of bands for reference for anyone who needs it: https://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_metal-hair-art.html Again, don't necessarily feel limited to the bands on that list, but it's a good reference point.
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I think I could participate with this, but I'm not sure if it's the right thread. Does stuff like Iron Maiden and Savatage count? I don't listen to much hair or glam, but I do those bands I already mentioned plus some stuff that would be considered more doomy and prog metal.
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Yeah, I suppose. I have no problem with Maiden at all. Savatage is a little out there, but I guess they more or less fit.
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Okay, what I've got is more or less as close as I'm gonna get to the thread topic. I think it leans a bit more to early power then what you were looking for, but oh well. I think it'd be cool to do a *general* series of polls exclusively on traditional metal categories, too, when this is done. (like, limited to heavy, glam, power, prog, thrash and then maybe death, and black etc, none of that djent or -core stuff though).
1. Iron Maiden- the definitive metal band, in my opinion. I recognize now that they were actually latecomers, but few bands have a discography as consistently good as their own. After 30 years of music, Maiden only have one or two truly horrendous records. And their reunion stuff has been just as good as the classics.
2. Rush- feel a bit weird grouping them in here, but since it's OK I will. Rush are one of the most awesome bands ever, for obvious reasons.
3. Queensryche- Some of the most innovative metal albums ever, especially for the time. Their influence on DT speaks for itself.
4. Fates Warning- Arch era only. I much prefer Jon Arch's era to Ray Alder. Both are good, but Arch's has got that distinct 80's metal band sound that I like.
5. Manowar- are FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN. Yes, they're over the top, but who cares really?
6. Savatage- I've heard relatively little of Savatage, but I love all that I have. If I had more of their albums, they might be my favorite.
7. Judas Priest- I feel weird putting them here, because they formed in the 60s, but the 80s was when they were most popular. Halford is outstanding. This is another band I really am kicking myself for not getting more into.
8. UFO. They had a great deal of 80s work which I like. I've still only really heard their greatest hits stuff but I did like it every much.
9. Candlemass- I kicked myself when I finally got around to listening to this "doom" metal. I had no idea what doom actually mean until I heard Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. I'd get more into them, but doom is still something I kind of have to be in the mood for.
10. Dio- Speaks for itself, doesn't it?
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Don't really listen to 80's Metal anymore, but Iron Maiden.
They got me interested in metal-music, and they're one of the few 'classic' metal-bands that I care for.
So yeah, Maiden. :hat
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Winger
Whitesnake
Badlands
Extreme
Poison
Damn Yankees
Ozzie Osbourne
Van Halen
Skid Row
Def Leppard
i tried to keep it to the real hair bands...I love QR and Maiden but I really put them in a different genre.
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Also, anyone with even a passing interest in metal and a tolerance for videogames should play Brutal Legend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxnho1yTjRo
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1. Iron Maiden - the best them.
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1. Extreme - I'm reluctant to group them with hair bands, but they were popular during that period. They were/are so much more than metal, but I followed their every move and practically worshiped Nuno, Badger and Greary back in the day.
2. Van Halen - I could listen to Eddie play all day.
3. Winger - incredible musicianship, and they get less cheesy in the 00's. Still cranking out good songs and stellar playing.
4. Iron Maiden - they are gods. End of discussion.
5. Stryper - only because Michael Sweet is a badass lead player and they made me laugh.
6. Motley Crue - but only if you count their greatest hits and the album with Jon Corabi.
7. Ummm...Warrant? But only the two 90's albums "Ultraphobic" and "Belly to Belly." Other than that I absolutely hated them.
8. House of Lords - I really dug Lanny Cordola's playing.
9. Danger Danger - because of Andy Timmons.
10. Lynch Mob - but only the second album.
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Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Tesla... for 80's metal I guess that would be the big 3 for me. There is a lot from that genre I enjoy but as far as bands go those are the only ones who I can think I really LOVE from that time period.
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Y&T had two albums named Black Tiger?
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Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Tesla... for 80's metal I guess that would be the big 3 for me. There is a lot from that genre I enjoy but as far as bands go those are the only ones who I can think I really LOVE from that time period.
Um...Rush?
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Y&T had two albums named Black Tiger?
Oops. Typo.
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Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Tesla... for 80's metal I guess that would be the big 3 for me. There is a lot from that genre I enjoy but as far as bands go those are the only ones who I can think I really LOVE from that time period.
Um...Rush?
If Rush were a metal band...
They were a progressive hard rock band, I really don't think they fit with the rest of these bands.
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I am surprised that no one has mentioned Metallica. Master of Puppets came out in the mid-80s.
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Oh yeah, I'll add Metallica to my list.
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It seems weird to even consider lumping hard rock bands like Rush, VH, etc. in with the typical 80s (hair) metal bands. While bosk1 left it pretty open-ended as far as what kinds of bands you could mention, it seemed like he was talking about bands like Motley Crue, Ratt, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Stryper, etc. Ya know, hard rock/metal bands that had that kind of 80s hair metal look AND sound.
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Nick, your failure at reading comprehension astounds me.
...post your 10 or so favorite hard rock/heavy metal bands from the '80s. ..."hard rock," or whatever is all fine. ...and NOT bands that are more considered "thrash"
Rush is clearly in. Metallica is clearly out.
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You included Hard Rock, I saw that, but I don't think Rush's brand of hard rock fits with the rest of the bands on here. I fashion them closer to a band like Styx than I do to Def Leppard.
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Nick, your failure at reading comprehension astounds me.
...post your 10 or so favorite hard rock/heavy metal bands from the '80s. ..."hard rock," or whatever is all fine. ...and NOT bands that are more considered "thrash"
Rush is clearly in. Metallica is clearly out.
But Metallica is heavy metal?
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I was halfway thru a response when our boss came up and gave the 6 of us the "big brother is watching" talk. So now I am responding via phone. I'll post my picks when I can.
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:lol Bummer.
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1. Rush
2. Iron Maiden
3. Queensryche
4. Ozzy
5. Triumph
6. Motley Crue
7. Judas Priest
8. Triumph
9. VH
10. Dokken
Subject to change.
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1. Megadeth
2. Iron Maiden
I don't listen to any other 80s metal bands
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1. Megadeth
2. Iron Maiden
I don't listen to any other 80s metal bands
This.
Also, everyone knows Depeche Mode and The Cure were the best bands of the 80s, anyway :biggrin:
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I don't think there's any 80s metal bands I listen to. In fact, there aren't many 80s bands I listen to in general.
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Mercyful Fate / King Diamond
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I don't really feel like figuring out a top-10 list right now, but thought I'd throw out some more obscure or odd bands. A lot of these only really had one good album, so they may not be top 10 material, but I think they're interesting anyway.
Blue Murder - as mentioned by Bosk, they had one of the best debut albums ever. Their 2nd album did nothing for me, unfortunately.
Shotgun Messiah - 3 albums, the first was generic metal, the 2nd was very good hair metal, their 3rd was awesome industrial metal.
XYZ - had a good first album, produced by Don Dokken.
Rough Cutt - Bluesy with Paul Shortino's raspy vocals. Loved their debut album. The follow up was too 80s-polished hair metal
Krokus - My first "favorite" band. I had to own every album (on cassette, in their orange Arista cassette cases). . .up until Change of Address, which was entirely too commercial and polished.
Hurricane - Awesome debut EP, lost interest with their first full-length album.
Arcade - Pearcy's band after Ratt, basically sounded like Ratt
White Lion - Mane Attraction was better than their earlier, more popular "hit" albums
Steelhart - awesome vocals
A random list of other bands that dropped off the radar:
Dangerous Toys
D.A.D.
Bulletboys
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Van Halen
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Queensryche
Scorpions
Joe Satriani
Anthrax
Megadeth
Black Sabbath
Metallica
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Iron Maiden
Metallica
Judas Priest
Kiss
Scorpions
Queensrÿche
Rush
Van Halen
Megadeth
Mötley Crüe
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Rush
Queensryche
Iron Maiden
Metallica (their 80s albums are better than megadeth's 80s albums, but in total megadeth is better)
Megadeth
Joe Satriani
King Diamond
Fates Warning
Tesla
Mr. Big (kind of on the border to the 90s, but meh.
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1 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=CNdOsL4Xe7Q (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNdOsL4Xe7Q)
2 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-1m3D8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OhOm-1m3D8)
The 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=8K7CNzFhnCE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K7CNzFhnCE)
Dio
With 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=fvst (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB5TyfM5O3k&feature=fvst)
Scorpions
Rock 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 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxdmw4tJJ1Y)
Warlock / Doro
The 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 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmnVNxEmBn4)
WASP
Often 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 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjL5aBTmjUE)
Skid Row
Essentially 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=fvst (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJrbHapH5pM&feature=fvst)
Iron Maiden
While 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=fvst (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MAxINE0LUM&feature=fvst)
Ozzy Osbourne
As 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=E7iTiVXNnD8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7iTiVXNnD8)
Of 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! :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal
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Iron Maiden
Even a sting of mediocre album 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=fvst (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MAxINE0LUM&feature=fvst)
I hope you aren't implying that the Blaze albums weren't mostly awesome.
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Iron Maiden
Even a sting of mediocre album 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=fvst (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MAxINE0LUM&feature=fvst)
I hope you aren't implying that the Blaze albums weren't mostly awesome.
I was mostly referring to Fear of the Dark and No Prayer for the Dying when I said "string of mediocre albums" (yes, I know they have some classic songs, but they certainly are far from the strongest records in Maiden's catalog). As for the Blaze era, yes, those albums, especially Virtual XI, are pretty solid and sorely underrated.
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KISS- abit hit and miss in the 80s but still great
Queensryche- ahh what a band they were.
Y&T
Yngwie
Marillion- love their 80s stuff
Dio
Europe-Prisoners In Paradise is a desert island disc for me.
Priest- their 80s output was excellent
Magnum
Dokken- three great albums and what a guitarist
Ratt- despite one of the worst vocalists around
Rainbow (though it will always be the Dio era for me, the pop-ier output was great).
Vinnie Vincent- what a waste of talent and songwriting skill.
Whitesnake
poison- yes, Poison.
House Of lords- Demon's Down is excellent and their comeback stuff has been qualty. And I'm about the only fan of their "prog" album, The Power and The Myth.
I have probably missed a load of loved bands. Dementia, you see.
This is my era, my musical life basically. I was hugely into the bands that are now called Classic Rock and the guitar shredders. i kept the Shrapnel label going in the 80s. I was into the whole hair metal thing, when I had the hair and before it was ever called hair metal. What an awful term.
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Warlock / Doro
The 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 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmnVNxEmBn4)
Good call! :tup Although most consider this blasphemy, I traded my copy of Appetite For Destruction for Triumph And Agony, and never looked back. Great, great album. I also liked her first two solo albums (Force Majeure and Doro), but feel she dropped of a bit after that. It just seemed like she focused more and more on ballads, and while she could still write some rockers, they tended to become shorter and more simplistic. And none of the earlier Warlock albums felt nearly as strong as Triumph And Agony. So, in a nutshell, that's why she isn't on my list.
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Good call! :tup Although most consider this blasphemy, I traded my copy of Appetite For Destruction for Triumph And Agony, and never looked back. Great, great album. I also liked her first two solo albums (Force Majeure and Doro), but feel she dropped of a bit after that. It just seemed like she focused more and more on ballads, and while she could still write some rockers, they tended to become shorter and more simplistic. And none of the earlier Warlock albums felt nearly as strong as Triumph And Agony. So, in a nutshell, that's why she isn't on my list.
Thanks! Triumph and Agony is easily superior to Appetite (though AFD is still a great album). I know that from the mid-90's onward her music hasn't been quite what it was, but this thread was mostly about the 80's and she had quite an impressive run. Besides, if I didn't allow her on this list because of the relative weakness of some of her later material, then I certainly couldn't allow Queensryche either !
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1. Iron Maiden- The band that defined my high school and college years
2. Dio- What else is there to say?
3. Alice Cooper- I spent the second half of the decade listening to Alice almost exclusively. His 80's output was great. Flush The Fashion (80) Zipper Catches Skin (82) Constricter (86) and Raise Your Fist & Yell (87) are great.
4. Metallica- Rewrote metal as we knew it.
5. Van Halen- So influential
6. UFO- Love the early 80's Chapman stuff
7. Michael Schenker Group- This one man reset my musical compass in 1982.
8. Queensryche- an exciting and original band
9. Tesla- The most underrated band of the decade. Not hair metal by any stretch.
10. Ozzy Osbourne- Blizzard, Diary, and Bark are 3 of the best metal records of the decade.
EDIT to add Thin Lizzy's 80's output. Renegade (81) and Thunder And Lightning (82) are both TAC Top 25 albums.
Gary Moore too!!!
Those are my favorites..
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Slayer.
(https://emotibot.net/pix/725.gif)
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:therearenowords:
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:lol
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Slayer.
This, why not.
Rollins Band
Jane's Addiction
Saint Vitus
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I suppose I'll fill out my list.
1. Slayer
2. Kreator
3. Death
4. Exodus
5. Testament
6. Overkill
7. Venom
8. King Diamond
9. Mercyful Fate
10. Candlemass
The 80s was quite the period for metal. :metal
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Yeah...again, the lack of reading comprehension in this thread astounds me.
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I forgot Helloween!!!!! :facepalm:
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Yeah...again, the lack of reading comprehension in this thread astounds me.
(https://www.jontanis.com/gallery/d/5039-1/trollface.jpg)
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Queensryche
Night Ranger
Damn Yankees
Tesla
Van Halen (only with Hagar)
Slaughter (a 90's band but they fit the profile)
Def Leppard (although their last few albums have been pretty bad)
That's about it. . .
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1.Iron maiden
2.Van Halen
3.Queensyrche
4.Metallica
5.Megadeth
6.G n R
7.Cinderella
8.Extreme
9.Yngwie M
10.Mr. Big
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Damn, forgot about UFO. Also, it makes no sense that Rush could be in here but if they can they'd be my number 2.
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Also, it makes no sense that Rush could be in here
Are they hard rock? Yes. Are they thrash, death, punk, or anything related to those subgenres? No. So how do they not fit? Is it really that hard to understand very simple directions? Seriously?
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Also, it makes no sense that Rush could be in here
Are they hard rock? Yes. Are they thrash, death, punk, or anything related to those subgenres? No. So how do they not fit? Is it really that hard to understand very simple directions? Seriously?
I'll admit the "Hair Metal" "Glam Metal" thing threw me off. That stuff represents such a small amount of the music to come out of the 80s, so I do think it's weird that the post is opened up to the greater arena of hard-rock (which I guess kinda describes Rush) but not the areas which are much closer to it, like thrash. Why did you leave out that category? Having an 80's metal thread without the Big Four but open to Rush is just a bit strange.
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1. Rush
2. Triumph
3. Zebra
4. Ozzy
5. Journey
6. Def Leppard
7. Queen
8. Metallica
9. Van Halen
10. Queensryche
I wish I could put Talking Heads and The Police on here, but they aren't really hard rock.
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...thrash. Why did you leave out that category? Having an 80's metal thread without the Big Four but open to Rush is just a bit strange.
Because (1) we've already had a thread about the best thrash bands, and (2) most people in the '80s who listened to hard rock/metal would have considered bands like Rush and Queensryche to be similar enough to the other more typical bands listed here and were often fans of all of those, but considered thrash to be a completely separate entity and weren't necessarily fans of thrash.
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My list could go forever.
1. IRON MAIDEN - Best metal band of all time.
2. SAVATAGE - One of my top favourites, very underrated and amazing tunes.
3. KING DIAMOND - All albums are essential but the first 4 are amazing. Wonderful guitar playing.
4. WASP - Easily top 5 metal band for me. Every albums of their is amazing, great, great band.
5. YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Love this guy. Great songs, great guitar playing and great vocals.
6. QUEENSRYCHE - Great run of albums all the way through the 80's and into the 90's.
7. JUDAS PRIEST - Love their 80's stuff, not much else to say, top band.
8. BLACK SABBATH - Love the Dio stuff but the Gillian, Hughes and Martin albums are the shit for me.
9. DIO - Holy Diver, Last in Line, Sacred Heart, amazing stuff.
10. MERCYFUL FATE - Melissa and Don't Break the Oath, enough said.
Honourable mentions;
Helloween, Dokken, Danger Danger, Winger, House of Lords, Whitesnake, Blue Murder, Y&T, Alice Cooper, Badlands, LIzzy Borden, Ozzy Osbourne, Manowar.
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...thrash. Why did you leave out that category? Having an 80's metal thread without the Big Four but open to Rush is just a bit strange.
Because (1) we've already had a thread about the best thrash bands, and (2) most people in the '80s who listened to hard rock/metal would have considered bands like Rush and Queensryche to be similar enough to the other more typical bands listed here and were often fans of all of those, but considered thrash to be a completely separate entity and weren't necessarily fans of thrash.
Well I'm sorry for being 3 in the 80s then :biggrin:
But I guess that means I can modify my list. And what about Queen?
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Van Halen (roth only)
Maiden
Scorpions
Triumph
Whitesnake
Mercyful Fate/KD
Motley Crue
Yngwie
Dio
Queensryche
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Thank God someone has taste here (SPLENT/YESHABERTO/KING)
How can anyone mention the 80's without Triumph ?
Progressions of Power 1980
Allied Forces 1981
Never Surrender 1983
Thunder Seven 1984
I would put this run of 4 consecutive albums up against anyone's (PAST/PRESENT/FUTURE)
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I was so upset when Rick abruptly left the band. Did you know the gut that they replaced Rick with is now filling in for Bon Jovi touring while Richie Sambora goes back to rehab?
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...thrash. Why did you leave out that category? Having an 80's metal thread without the Big Four but open to Rush is just a bit strange.
Because (1) we've already had a thread about the best thrash bands, and (2) most people in the '80s who listened to hard rock/metal would have considered bands like Rush and Queensryche to be similar enough to the other more typical bands listed here and were often fans of all of those, but considered thrash to be a completely separate entity and weren't necessarily fans of thrash.
Well I'm sorry for being 3 in the 80s then :biggrin:
But I guess that means I can modify my list. And what about Queen?
Well, they aren't exactly what I had in mind, but yeah, I guess they sort of fit. And they had significant '80s outpout, so I guess if you want to include them, include them.
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Most of Queen's good stuff was in the 70s and 90s though. :P
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Yeah, Queen's 80s albums are easily their worst. :p Although I do appreciate The Game and The Miracle.
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This thread has seriously inspired me to get into more 80s metal. First up? Dio-era Sabbath.
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Maiden
Ratt
Rough Cutt
Priest
Def Leppard
Ozzy
Dio
Sabbath w Dio
Armored Saint
TTQuick
Twisted Sister
Saxon
UFO
Thin Lizzy
MSG
Loundness
EZO
Black and Blue
Anthrax
Metallica
Y & T
Heaven
Talas
etc
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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. :lol 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.
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That reminds me: Anyone remember the Cinderella-knock-off band Britny Fox? Or Kingdom Come, the band often accused of being a Led Zepplin clone?
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I hated the lead sinfers voice from Britny Fox. I saw Kingdom Come on The Monster Of Rock Tour. They were good but I liked Lenny Wolf in Stone Fury.
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That reminds me: Anyone remember the Cinderella-knock-off band Britny Fox?
THEY WERE NOT A KNOCK-OFF!!! :rant:
But, yeah, good band. I thought they were much better with Tommy on vocals than with Deen. And Michael Kelly Smith is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.
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That reminds me: Anyone remember the Cinderella-knock-off band Britny Fox?
THEY WERE NOT A KNOCK-OFF!!! :rant:
But, yeah, good band. I thought they were much better with Tommy on vocals than with Deen. And Michael Kelly Smith is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.
Well, for their first album, at least, both their look and their sound was very Cinderella, and, I just learned from wiki that 2 of the founding members came from Cinderella.
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Where is the love for Vinnie Vincent Invasion? :lol :lol
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Where is the love for Vinnie Vincent Invasion? :lol :lol
I remember him bashing his chest about how Gene and Paul were holding him back (they were) then his album came out and I couldn't stand it!! Robert Fleischman's voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. His second album was way better. Then Vinny became his worst enemy.
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I just learned from wiki that 2 of the founding members came from Cinderella.
Exactly. They weren't a Cinderella knockoff. They were Cinderella.
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Where is the love for Vinnie Vincent Invasion? :lol :lol
I liked the second album, when the rest of his band was basically Slaughter. I didn't care for the singer on the first one. Was there ever a third album?
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I just learned from wiki that 2 of the founding members came from Cinderella.
Exactly. They weren't a Cinderella knockoff. They were Cinderella.
Ah, now I get it.
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Where is the love for Vinnie Vincent Invasion? :lol :lol
I liked the second album, when the rest of his band was basically Slaughter. I didn't care for the singer on the first one. Was there ever a third album?
No clue. I only knew one song by them. I can't remember the name, but I think it was from one of the Nightmare on Elm Street flicks. I remember MTV playing the video for it for a spell. For some reason, I thought of them while seeing all of the other 80s cheeseball metal bands listed in this thread. ;) :lol
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Where is the love for Vinnie Vincent Invasion? :lol :lol
I dug their stuff.. It was a panic! was Mark Slaughter the singer or is my brain getting old like the rest of me
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I liked VVI quite a bit. Vinnie was a speed demon on the guitar and when he went solo, he went nuts trying to show that. It was enjoyable for what it was back then. Of course I was a teenager and a lot more impressed with just raw speed back then. I was totally into the whole Malmsteen/Shrapnel scene.
Another speed demon guy was Impellitteri. He did an album with Graham Bonnet on vocals that was a pretty decent album. Stand In Line. They got one video played on MTV a little but the whole album was pretty solid.
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Where is the love for Vinnie Vincent Invasion? :lol :lol
I remember him bashing his chest about how Gene and Paul were holding him back (they were) then his album came out and I couldn't stand it!! Robert Fleischman's voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. His second album was way better. Then Vinny became his worst enemy.
Nooo! Invasion was a great album. The follow up wasn't a patch on it and I didn't take to Mark Slaughter's voice. And Vinnie toned down the over the top guitar as well.
What a wasted talent. Wrote some great songs and revived KISS' fortunes twice.
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Where is the love for Vinnie Vincent Invasion? :lol :lol
I remember him bashing his chest about how Gene and Paul were holding him back (they were) then his album came out and I couldn't stand it!! Robert Fleischman's voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. His second album was way better. Then Vinny became his worst enemy.
Nooo! Invasion was a great album. The follow up wasn't a patch on it and I didn't take to Mark Slaughter's voice. And Vinnie toned down the over the top guitar as well.
What a wasted talent. Wrote some great songs and revived KISS' fortunes twice.
Yeah, Vinnie talked about the singer at the time and hyped the second album by saying he couldn't find the singer he originally wanted on the first album and now he'd found him. I remember being disappointed at hearing the second album. I still liked it but for as much as Vinnie hyped Slaughter as the best singer he'd ever heard, it was a bit of a letdown. There were rumors forever about a third album that just never came to pass. It was the Duke Nukem Forever of the music world. :lol
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VVI's Twisted was a staple on my radio show. Great tune!
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I'm surprised no one else has mentioned Zebra.
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I'm surprised no one else has mentioned Zebra.
Why?
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I'm surprised no one else has mentioned Zebra.
Why?
Fastest selling Debut album for Atlantic Records I think they may still hold that distinction ...
n late 1982, Jason Flom signed Zebra to a five-record deal with Atlantic, although only the first was guaranteed. The self-titled debut, Zebra, was released on March 25, 1983 and became the fastest selling debut record in Atlantic Records history, selling an amazing 75,000 copies in the first week. Talk about pent up demand! The album stayed on the Billboard charts for eight months, peaking at number 29.
Love Zebra than and still do now
They still play the NY area a couple of times a year as well as Randy Jackson doing Symphonic shows...playing the best of Zeppelin
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Iron Maiden
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Depeche Mode
The Cure
Joy Division
New Order
The Sisters of Mercy
Pet Shop Boys
Killing Joke
:angel:
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I'm surprised no one else has mentioned Zebra.
Why?
Fastest selling Debut album for Atlantic Records I think they may still hold that distinction ...
n late 1982, Jason Flom signed Zebra to a five-record deal with Atlantic, although only the first was guaranteed. The self-titled debut, Zebra, was released on March 25, 1983 and became the fastest selling debut record in Atlantic Records history, selling an amazing 75,000 copies in the first week. Talk about pent up demand! The album stayed on the Billboard charts for eight months, peaking at number 29.
Love Zebra than and still do now
They still play the NY area a couple of times a year as well as Randy Jackson doing Symphonic shows...playing the best of Zeppelin
Okay, but Zebra strikes me as being classic rock, not hard rock or metal. That first album is great, regardless. :tup :tup
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I'm surprised no one else has mentioned Zebra.
Why?
Fastest selling Debut album for Atlantic Records I think they may still hold that distinction ...
n late 1982, Jason Flom signed Zebra to a five-record deal with Atlantic, although only the first was guaranteed. The self-titled debut, Zebra, was released on March 25, 1983 and became the fastest selling debut record in Atlantic Records history, selling an amazing 75,000 copies in the first week. Talk about pent up demand! The album stayed on the Billboard charts for eight months, peaking at number 29.
Love Zebra than and still do now
They still play the NY area a couple of times a year as well as Randy Jackson doing Symphonic shows...playing the best of Zeppelin
Okay, but Zebra strikes me as being classic rock, not hard rock or metal. That first album is great, regardless. :tup :tup
I can agree with that statement..but than again the where would you classify bands like Zep (classic or hard)
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i'm going to have to show some love for the first Blue Murder album as Bosk1 hinted at in the OP. Awesome debut but they never reached those heights again. And who knew John Sykes could sing?
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Amen to Blue Murder's first album. I saw Carmine Appice on That Metal Show last week and he said that he and John Sykes have been talking so cross your fingers on that one.
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Well this thread is all over the fraking place.
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i'm going to have to show some love for the first Blue Murder album as Bosk1 hinted at in the OP. Awesome debut but they never reached those heights again. And who knew John Sykes could sing?
I think Ray Gillen was originally supposed to sing on that record, but then the label pushed Sykes to sing, instead.
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I may not be remembering correctly, but I think it was just that whoever they had originally fell through (could have been Ray since he was busy), and that it was actually Tony and Carmine that pushed Sykes to just do the lead vocals.
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I may not be remembering correctly, but I think it was just that whoever they had originally fell through (could have been Ray since he was busy), and that it was actually Tony and Carmine that pushed Sykes to just do the lead vocals.
I shall go look it up . . . .
Upon comparing the original demos with Sykes singing to the demos with Ray Gillen on vocals, A&R executive John Kalodner encouraged Sykes to handle the vocal duties himself.[1]
Poor Ray never could catch a break.
After finishing the Seventh Star tour, Black Sabbath recorded their next album The Eternal Idol with Gillen. However, due to mix of financial burden, writing difficulty (Bob Daisley was recruited for writing as Gillen turned out to be not much of a composer), mismanagement and miscommunication that plagued the band, Gillen and Black Sabbath drummer Eric Singer quit before the album was ever released. Gillen was eventually replaced by Tony Martin, and the vocal track of The Eternal Idol was hurriedly rerecorded note-for-note with Martin before the album was finally released in 1987.
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Forgot to mention Riot. Thundersteel is amazing!!
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Forgot to mention Riot. Thundersteel is amazing!!
Ohh God...don't get me started on RIOT...these guys should have/could have been huge..from the first album onward, but poor management and a label that did nothing for the screwed them royally.
FIRE DOWN UNDER...with the late "Guy Speranza" is a master piece. The title track and "Run For Your Life" are truly some of the first offerings of what would later become speed metal.
I had the priviledge of meeting and hanging out with Rhett (RIP) , he was really a wonderful human being and really appreciated the fans . I could go one for hours talking about RIOT .
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Don't get me going on Riot either. Narita is a TAC Top 25!
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Some others...
Vicious Rumors- Digital Dictator is one of my favourite Metal albums, and the S/T and Welcome To The Ball were pretty good too.
Q5- Steel The Light was a great debut, but the follow up was a let down. I know some people love that one but it went a bit AOR for me.
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FIRE DOWN UNDER...with the late "Guy Speranza" is a master piece. The title track and "Run For Your Life" are truly some of the first offerings of what would later become speed metal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwjuc3rDM_M
wki, were you at this show at My Father's Place. I have this on DVD.
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Yep, Riot were extremelly underrated, amazing band.
Has anyone mentioned Agent Steel? :metal :metal :metal
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FIRE DOWN UNDER...with the late "Guy Speranza" is a master piece. The title track and "Run For Your Life" are truly some of the first offerings of what would later become speed metal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwjuc3rDM_M
wki, were you at this show at My Father's Place. I have this on DVD.
No I didn't get into them until the "Fire Down Under" Album and they seemed to spend alot of time after that album playing the European festival scene, by the time I finally got around to seeing them Guy had already left the band and Rhett was in
PS where the hell did you find that DVD ....me want
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I've been playing acouple of Canadian bands today- a compo of the three albums by Coney Hatch. the song Don't Say Make Me is killer.
And then a couple of albums by Harem Scarem- Mood Swings and Higher. Two great bands.
And while I'm on a Canuck kick I'll have to root out Winter Rose!
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I actually bought the first Coney Hatch album. I saw them open for Maiden. The tape is long gone, but I do remember liking a couple of tunes on it.
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Today's 80s offering has been the S/T by Keel from (I think) 1987. Every song a winner and it's probably as close a definition of Hair Metal as it's possible to get.
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Today's 80s offering has been the S/T by Keel from (I think) 1987. Every song a winner and it's probably as close a definition of Hair Metal as it's possible to get.
Never checked out Keel, sounds good.
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My memory tells me that Keel were terrible.
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Does Styx count? What about Bon Jovi?
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My memory tells me that Keel were terrible.
I wouldn't say terrible, but I never liked them much. I keep forgetting which version of those bands had who in them at any given time (Keel, Steeler, Alcatrazz...). :lol
Does Styx count? What about Bon Jovi?
Yeah, I think they are close enough.
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I didn't forget about this, I swear I'll contribute soon.
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Any love for DLR's first 2 albums? And not the Gigolo crap.
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Any love for DLR's first 2 albums? And not the Gigolo crap.
I love Eat Em' and Smile. Skyscraper and A Little Ain't Enough are really good too.
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A Little Ain't Enough was a bit weak for me. But I love the first two.
I was thinking about this thread while I listened to my I-Pod Working in my buddy's shop and a played a rock but not metal album. I loved this song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTFVMMCwsss
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"Just a Gigolo" is great! Corny, but great. Hilarious video, too.
And not only is Styx too classic rock and/or not metal or hard rock to fit into this thread, their only contributions in the 80s were the pretty good, but uneven, Paradise Theater and the mostly crappy Kilroy Was Here. Oof.
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Speaking of DLR; Yankee Rose and Just Like Paradise are great catchy tunes :metal
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Today's 80s offering has been the S/T by Keel from (I think) 1987. Every song a winner and it's probably as close a definition of Hair Metal as it's possible to get.
Good album. Their previous albums were pretty weak (The Right to Rock only had the title track and a couple of other good songs on it; The Final Frontier was trying too hard to be commercial. I don't think I ever even heard Lay Down the Law), but the S/T album was a lot better, and more consistant IMO. Getting rid of Gene Simmons as the producer probably helped, too.
Larger than Live was pretty decent, too. It was half new studio tracks and half live songs.
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My memory tells me that Keel were terrible.
Your memory is correct...Keel was what was left over from Steeler Imagine taking your only talented musician (Yngwie) and removing him from an already average band..what you have left over is Keel...Jeez the guy himself actually stopped playing heavy metal to become a country singer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vQwdheGiOA Steeler
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He did go back to doing metal but I never liked Keel. I put them on the level of Jackyl. I hate them too.
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He did go back to doing metal but I never liked Keel. I put them on the level of Jackyl. I hate them too.
my guess is he only went back to cash $$$ in on all the 80's reunion type shows and tours
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He did go back to doing metal but I never liked Keel. I put them on the level of Jackyl. I hate them too.
my guess is he only went back to cash $$$ in on all the 80's reunion type shows and tours
I just checked their wiki and they had an album in 2010. And it may be 2110 before I listen to it.
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I didn't forget about this, I swear I'll contribute soon.
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I keep coming to the thread thinking I should contribute since I loved the 80's. However, the more I think about it. I never really listened to metal in the 80's. Classic Rock and pop Rock was what mostly what I listened to. It has only been the last 15 years or so that I started to really like metal.
However, there were a few metal bands that I listened to and I'll try and remember who they were.
Def Leppard
Scorpions
Stryper
Guns & Roses
Skid Row
Whitesnake
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I don't see a lot of Dokken in this thread. There needs to be more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2pAjKViITM
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Well, okay then. Mr. Scary - live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-DNqF9iESk)
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Today's 80s offering has been the S/T by Keel from (I think) 1987. Every song a winner and it's probably as close a definition of Hair Metal as it's possible to get.
Good album. Their previous albums were pretty weak (The Right to Rock only had the title track and a couple of other good songs on it; The Final Frontier was trying too hard to be commercial. I don't think I ever even heard Lay Down the Law), but the S/T album was a lot better, and more consistant IMO. Getting rid of Gene Simmons as the producer probably helped, too.
Larger than Live was pretty decent, too. It was half new studio tracks and half live songs.
I agree with everything you wrote.
He did go back to doing metal but I never liked Keel. I put them on the level of Jackyl. I hate them too.
my guess is he only went back to cash $$$ in on all the 80's reunion type shows and tours
I just checked their wiki and they had an album in 2010. And it may be 2110 before I listen to it.
They did indeed bring out and album last year. It was ok, certainly no worse than the comebacks from Mr Big, Scorpions, Whitesnake et al. If you didn't like their earlier stuff you won't like Streets Of Rock N Roll. Marc Ferrari is a good rock guitarist.
But to compare them to Jackyl.. jeez that's some insult. Apart from this of course which is awesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52p9jc-gOo&feature=related
Edit whoops, quoted the wrong post. Sorry
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Any love for DLR's first 2 albums? And not the Gigolo crap.
Eat 'Em And Smile was great. That tour was awesome. Blew away Van Hagar's 5150!
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I don't see a lot of Dokken in this thread. There needs to be more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2pAjKViITM
Dokken are one of my favs. Their first 4 albums are absolutely amazing. Erase the Slate was a good one which had Reb Beach, and I really enjoyed their latest one too.
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Loved Eat 'em and Smile and A l'il Aint Enough. Jason Becker was awesome on the latter. Fate is cruel sometimes, but he appears to be on brave man. He always seems positive. I can't imagine where his playing would be now.
Dokken had three great albums (T&N, UL&K, BFTA). Lynch was awesome and I loved his guitar sound.
Today's fantastic 80s album is Poison's Open Up & Say Ahh. Much better than I remembered it to be. I love every song on it. Guitar playing isn't great but the songs are.
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Marchello
Roxy Blue
Tyketto
Dillinger
A great band from that era that I only think had one album was Tattoo Rodeo. Good stuff.
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Tyketto are pretty damn good, Danny Vaughn is a fantastic singer.
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Tyketto are pretty damn good, Danny Vaughn is a fantastic singer.
Agree with this. Their first two were really good. And Forever Young is a "soundtrack to my life" song.
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Tyketto are pretty damn good, Danny Vaughn is a fantastic singer.
Agree with this. Their first two were really good. And Forever Young is a "soundtrack to my life" song.
Never got into Tyketto. He was great on Waysted's Save Your Prayers, even though I was pissed that they let Fin go.
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Waysted are a band I've always wanted to check out.
Danny's project From The Inside is damn good too. The latest albums Visions is a good slab of classic melodic rock, and has Jimi Bell on guitar!
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Ten favorite 80's (hair)/metal bands... wow that's hard to do, I loved so many more than those.
Bon Jovi
Ratt
Poison
Motley Crue
Cinderella
Skid Row (they opened for EVERYONE, and still do)
Whitesnake
Def Leppard
Queensryche
Metallica
I guess that list of ten will have to do.. I can't really order them though aside from saying that Metallica and Queensryche made the biggest lasting impression on me... then again, I still go see most of these guys anytime they tour, so.. yeah. Great stuff!
*Honorable mentions to Dokken and Stryper who I also had in heavy rotation at the time, and Tesla who was another constant show opener back in the day -- gotta love "Signs".
edit -- oh man, Scorpions is another one for sure.
edit 2 -- GnR crept in late in the whole 80s scene, didn't they? If not early 90s? But they came in hard and stayed there. Once I heard "Welcome to the Jungle" on MTV during the world premier, I was hooked.
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I should've added them to my favorite 80's bands. They really were. I listened to as much Waysted as I did any other band in the mid 80's.
The Good The Bad The Waysted is a TAC Top 25. Had a great lineup for that album (Pete Way, Fin, Paul Chapman & Jerry Shirley).
I think you can get TGTBTW with along 1984's EP Waysted (with Andy Parker on drums) on the same disc. That EP is freaking awesome.
From their first album Vices (1983)
Night Of The Wolf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6jOHazOBDk
From the Waysted EP
Cinderella Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3-mtQ14xLg
Won't Get Out Alive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJX4v0d1Vs0
From 1985's The Good The Bad The Waysted
Land That's Lost The Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CUDQXw-6dY
Manuel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajnpxBrv_p4&feature=related
Heaven Tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkZttZydH2I
From 1986's Save Your Prayers (with Danny Vaughn)
Heroes Die Young
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrs9b5qRwWE
Heaven Tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZBysOERN90
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Has no one mentioned Twisted Sister, yet? Stay Hungry and Van Halen's 1984 were pretty much my introduction to the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal world.
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Stay Hungry is great, as is You Can't Stop Rock n Roll!
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Has no one mentioned Twisted Sister, yet? Stay Hungry and Van Halen's 1984 were pretty much my introduction to the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal world.
I played the shit out of Stay Hungry.
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Steve Vai....he played with David Lee Roth, Alcatraz and Whitesnake all in the 80's I am fairly sure...
Whitesnake
Def Leppard
Van Halen
Poison
Kiss
Metallica
Motley Crue
Skid Row
ACDC
:smiley:
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Has no one mentioned Twisted Sister, yet? Stay Hungry and Van Halen's 1984 were pretty much my introduction to the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal world.
I played the shit out of Stay Hungry.
I preferred Under the Blade as those were the songs I was most familar with having seen them probably close to 100 times before the album was released. Yes I was a SMF, i followed them religiously around the NY/NJ/LI club circuit for years before they broke through , many a weekend I would see them on both a Friday and Saturday night
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Stay Hungry was my introduction to TS. Then I went back into their catalog.
I know I've posted this band before. TAC and I talked about them but I loved this one album by Stone Fury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hynC3Fawhwo
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My intro to TS was hearing the great Shoot 'Em Down. Under The Blade was produced by Pete Way, speaking of Waysted!
King, I hate to say it because I loved that Stone Fury album back in the day, but it has not aged well.
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I'm getting ready to "rank" the top 10 in the thread in just a bit. My loose methodology:
For those who followed instructions and posted 10 bands and ranked them, I assigned points based on ranking (10 pts. for the #1 spot, 9 for #2, etc.). For those who simply listed bands without ranking, they each received 1 point. If people listed more than 10 bands and did not rank them so that I could not tell which were their top 10, I am not counting any of them. I am also not counting bands that do not fit the descriptions in the first post. "Official" top 10 coming in a little while. If there are any last-minute votes, get them in now (but if you already posted, too late to change now because I've already counted yours).
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Okay, for the sake of at least getting a list up, here are my picks. I will type up my analysis, explanations, and favorite songs and post them here a little later.
1. Poison
2. Warrant
3. Cinderella
4. Dokken
5. Def Leppard
6. Guns n Roses
7. Whitesnake
8. Bon Jovi
9. Motley Crue
10. Winger
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Okay, here are the "official" results:
1. Iron Maiden - 82
2. Queensryche – 61
3. Van Halen – 34
4. Rush – 31
5. Savatage – 23
6. Def Leppard - 20
7. Triumph, Cinderella – 19
9. Ozzy Osbourne – 18
10. Motley Crue - 16
Honorable mentsions
-Judas Priest – 15
-Dio, Extreme – 14
-Poison, Warrant – 13
-Skid Row, Merciful Fate/King Diamond – 12
-Tesla, Guns & Roses – 11
-Badlands, Dokken, Winger – 10
-Y&T, Scorpions, Whitesnake, WASP – 9
Rush likely would have finished top 3 if one of biggest Rush fans on the forum would have actually voted for them.
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I facepalm'd.
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Yeah but you can't really put Rush with any of those "hair guys" (and exceptions like Maiden and Priest). Especially when their music in the 80s was nearly as heavy as everyone else being mentioned.
Not really big on that kind of stuff anyways. Other than Ryche and Maiden, Motley Crue, Dio, Whitesnake, and VH would be the only artists from this particular pot I occasionally listen to (not counting Extreme or Mr. Big since they really started doing their thing in the 90s).
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I facepalm'd.
I imagine the middle and bottom would look very different if more people had ranked instead of just listing.
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1-RIOT
2-Triumph
3 -Thin Lizzy
4- Zebra
5-Scorpions
6-Saxon
7-UFO
8-Twisted Sister
9-Wasp
10-Cinderella
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I facepalm'd.
I imagine the middle and bottom would look very different if more people had ranked instead of just listing.
Or if this had been discussed somewhere other than a DT forum. :lol
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Well, yeah, that too.
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1-RIOT
2-Triumph
3 -Thin Lizzy
4- Zebra
5-Scorpions
6-Saxon
7-UFO
8-Twisted Sister
9-Wasp
10-Cinderella
Never listened to Zebra, but a solid list otherwise.
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Okay, so here's my slightly more involved and explanatory list. I’d given this a lot of thought, and even then, it was difficult. Ranking them was tough. I love 80’s hair metal mostly, but I may have included a band or two that aren’t specifically hair metal, by most peoples'definitions. Bands that sing about drinking, partying, and f*cking are pretty much my thing.
1. Poison – Seriously, for my money, they’d have to be the first band one would think of when it comes to 80’s hair metal. Their hair was huge and they dressed like rock stars. Great party music that shows the band’s personality perfectly. Nothin’ but a Good Time is about as anthemic as it gets. Any playlist at a good party is incomplete without Poison on it. Last time I saw Poison, I’m not sure if C.C.’s feet ever actually touched the stage. He danced around like a madman rockstar all night. Awesome. Other favorites are the obvious ones, but I really like Fallen Angel. One notable negative mark for these guys is Every Rose Has Its Thorn. I don’t care if I never hear it ever again.
2. Warrant – Like Poison, they were masters of hair and excess. Catchy tunes, twin guitars, and a great sound. Not enough to take Poison from the top spot, but close. They (like Poison and many other bands) wrote tunes that, for me, are just undeniably mood-enhancing. Songs that make you wanna roll the windows down, crank the stereo up to the threshold of pain, and cruise down to the beach to check out scantily clad babes and party the night away. Down Boys, Cherry Pie, Love in Stereo, So Damn Pretty, etc.
3. Cinderella – Seeing a theme here? Hair and women’s fashion sense. Tom Keifer’s voice is fantastic and he is a crazy underrated guitar player. I saw them at M3 last year, and despite the Scorpions being the headliner, all the reviews I read indicated that Cinderella stole the show. Gypsy Road is one of my favorite songs, by Cinderella or anyone. It’s one of those kinda songs I referenced above. Then you have other great tunes like Shake Me, The More Things Change, Shelter Me, Heartbreak Station (one of my all-time favorite ballads, incidentally). Great band.
4. Dokken – Lots of hair, but what I call “serious hair”. Their songs were less about “Hey, let’s party”, but a slightly more introspective, dramatic, or serious look at things. They seemingly wrote more songs in minor keys, solos with odd scalar lines, etc. It all worked great, though. It gave them a slightly darker feel, as I implied above, but there were the occasional major key exceptions, like Burnin’ Like a Flame and Sleepless Night. George Lynch is a wicked guitar player and I always love Don Dokken’s voice, though it’s now a shadow of its former self. Other favorite songs are Prisoner, Heaven Sent, The Hunter, and In My Dreams. Under Lock and Key is one of my favorite albums.
5. Def Leppard – This band is a f*cking hit-making machine. Though it took them forever to come up with new albums, it didn’t matter. The strength of each album was enough to be satisfying til the new one came out. High and Dry, Pyromania, and Hysteria is as good a 3-album run as it gets. The production they got was always one of their biggest selling points. The background vocals in particular always had a certain slightly overdriven quality to them that really make them stand out. This band has more classics than you could shake a good head of hair at. High and Dry (Saturday Night), Photograph, Rock of Ages, Hysteria, etc. Hell, as much as I tire of it, Pour Some Sugar on Me is an undeniable toe-tapper and always gets the ladies dancing, if your band can pull it off.
6. Guns n Roses – Appetite for Destruction. Plain and simple. I’ll reiterate the two things I always say about this album. If someone asked me the easiest way to learn to play rock drums, I’d say “learn AFD inside and out”. It is a textbook example of how to play kick-ass, hard-hitting, no apologies rock and roll drums. Also, there is not one song on this album that you would be out of place in a strip club. A couple of songs are a little fast to dance to, but still. I’ve listened to this album so much that it should be criminal.
7. Whitesnake – Again, lots of fantastic hair and great hits. It starts to get a little confusing, because the s/t album is gold from start to finish, but not a shred of the promo or videos you see for it represents any of the people who actually recorded on, aside from Coverdale. No matter. John Sykes completely tears it up on this album. True story – if you play this album more than twice in a row, your CD player will start to smoke. Then DC moves on to do Slip of the Tongue with Steve Vai “fulfilling all guitar responsibilities”. Awesome. Many, including Adrian Vandenberg, didn’t like Vai’s style for Whitesnake. Being a Vai fan, I loved it.
8. Bon Jovi – Their hair was a little more tame, but their hits weren’t, really. Raise Your Hands is as good a show opener as any I’ve ever heard. What an ass-kicker. JBJ and Richie Sambora are an amazing duo. I remember a bit they did at the MTV music awards, the year George Harrison died. The show opens to show a small lit platform with JBJ, RS on acoustic guitar, and a string duo. Everything else is dark. They do a ridiculously great version of Here Comes the Sun. As they start the second verse a huge screen comes up in the background, showing lots of pics of George and the Beatles. It was so perfectly well done. Unreal. So yeah, even if the band didn’t exist, the two of them could record acoustic stuff alone and get by. I saw Bon Jovi a few years ago. They did Livin’ on a Prayer towards then end of the night. They did NOT downtune it to make it easier for JBJ to sing. Impressive.
9. Motley Crue – Like a marriage of glam and hard rock/heavy metal. The look says “we’re clearly, undeniably in an 80’s rock band” and the sound said “don’t f*ck with us, because we’ll kick your ass and f*ck your girlfriend”. Something like Looks That Kill makes you involuntarily show the horns and bang your head, like you have no choice but to rock. Also, Girls, Girls, Girls is another essential for cover bands to play. It will bring damn near every female in the place to the dance floor. This is especially important when the dance floor is directly in front of the band.
10. Winger – At this point, I’ve run out of gas and am tired of making explanations, so I’ll say simply that if anybody took as much of a beating as these guys did, then they can’t be that bad. When Stewart wore a Winger shirt, in contract to B&B’s AC/DC and Metallica shirts, you knew they were in for trouble. It’s like Roxy Blue. I read a review for their (one) album in a guitar magazine, back in the day. It eviscerated them and the album. My first thought? “That bad, huh? I’m going to LOVE it!” I was right. So yeah, Seventeen is awesome, because it pretty much says what’s going through most guys minds at some given point or another. Also, Madalaine is an awesome song.
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Wow, now that's a definative 80's list.
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Okay, so here's my slightly more involved and explanatory list. I’d given this a lot of thought, and even then, it was difficult. Ranking them was tough. I love 80’s hair metal mostly, but I may have included a band or two that aren’t specifically hair metal, by most peoples'definitions. Bands that sing about drinking, partying, and f*cking are pretty much my thing.
1. Poison – Seriously, for my money, they’d have to be the first band one would think of when it comes to 80’s hair metal. Their hair was huge and they dressed like rock stars. Great party music that shows the band’s personality perfectly. Nothin’ but a Good Time is about as anthemic as it gets. Any playlist at a good party is incomplete without Poison on it. Last time I saw Poison, I’m not sure if C.C.’s feet ever actually touched the stage. He danced around like a madman rockstar all night. Awesome. Other favorites are the obvious ones, but I really like Fallen Angel. One notable negative mark for these guys is Every Rose Has Its Thorn. I don’t care if I never hear it ever again.
2. Warrant – Like Poison, they were masters of hair and excess. Catchy tunes, twin guitars, and a great sound. Not enough to take Poison from the top spot, but close. They (like Poison and many other bands) wrote tunes that, for me, are just undeniably mood-enhancing. Songs that make you wanna roll the windows down, crank the stereo up to the threshold of pain, and cruise down to the beach to check out scantily clad babes and party the night away. Down Boys, Cherry Pie, Love in Stereo, So Damn Pretty, etc.
3. Cinderella – Seeing a theme here? Hair and women’s fashion sense. Tom Keifer’s voice is fantastic and he is a crazy underrated guitar player. I saw them at M3 last year, and despite the Scorpions being the headliner, all the reviews I read indicated that Cinderella stole the show. Gypsy Road is one of my favorite songs, by Cinderella or anyone. It’s one of those kinda songs I referenced above. Then you have other great tunes like Shake Me, The More Things Change, Shelter Me, Heartbreak Station (one of my all-time favorite ballads, incidentally). Great band.
4. Dokken – Lots of hair, but what I call “serious hair”. Their songs were less about “Hey, let’s party”, but a slightly more introspective, dramatic, or serious look at things. They seemingly wrote more songs in minor keys, solos with odd scalar lines, etc. It all worked great, though. It gave them a slightly darker feel, as I implied above, but there were the occasional major key exceptions, like Burnin’ Like a Flame and Sleepless Night. George Lynch is a wicked guitar player and I always love Don Dokken’s voice, though it’s now a shadow of its former self. Other favorite songs are Prisoner, Heaven Sent, The Hunter, and In My Dreams. Under Lock and Key is one of my favorite albums.
5. Def Leppard – This band is a f*cking hit-making machine. Though it took them forever to come up with new albums, it didn’t matter. The strength of each album was enough to be satisfying til the new one came out. High and Dry, Pyromania, and Hysteria is as good a 3-album run as it gets. The production they got was always one of their biggest selling points. The background vocals in particular always had a certain slightly overdriven quality to them that really make them stand out. This band has more classics than you could shake a good head of hair at. High and Dry (Saturday Night), Photograph, Rock of Ages, Hysteria, etc. Hell, as much as I tire of it, Pour Some Sugar on Me is an undeniable toe-tapper and always gets the ladies dancing, if your band can pull it off.
6. Guns n Roses – Appetite for Destruction. Plain and simple. I’ll reiterate the two things I always say about this album. If someone asked me the easiest way to learn to play rock drums, I’d say “learn AFD inside and out”. It is a textbook example of how to play kick-ass, hard-hitting, no apologies rock and roll drums. Also, there is not one song on this album that you would be out of place in a strip club. A couple of songs are a little fast to dance to, but still. I’ve listened to this album so much that it should be criminal.
7. Whitesnake – Again, lots of fantastic hair and great hits. It starts to get a little confusing, because the s/t album is gold from start to finish, but not a shred of the promo or videos you see for it represents any of the people who actually recorded on, aside from Coverdale. No matter. John Sykes completely tears it up on this album. True story – if you play this album more than twice in a row, your CD player will start to smoke. Then DC moves on to do Slip of the Tongue with Steve Vai “fulfilling all guitar responsibilities”. Awesome. Many, including Adrian Vandenberg, didn’t like Vai’s style for Whitesnake. Being a Vai fan, I loved it.
8. Bon Jovi – Their hair was a little more tame, but their hits weren’t, really. Raise Your Hands is as good a show opener as any I’ve ever heard. What an ass-kicker. JBJ and Richie Sambora are an amazing duo. I remember a bit they did at the MTV music awards, the year George Harrison died. The show opens to show a small lit platform with JBJ, RS on acoustic guitar, and a string duo. Everything else is dark. They do a ridiculously great version of Here Comes the Sun. As they start the second verse a huge screen comes up in the background, showing lots of pics of George and the Beatles. It was so perfectly well done. Unreal. So yeah, even if the band didn’t exist, the two of them could record acoustic stuff alone and get by. I saw Bon Jovi a few years ago. They did Livin’ on a Prayer towards then end of the night. They did NOT downtune it to make it easier for JBJ to sing. Impressive.
9. Motley Crue – Like a marriage of glam and hard rock/heavy metal. The look says “we’re clearly, undeniably in an 80’s rock band” and the sound said “don’t f*ck with us, because we’ll kick your ass and f*ck your girlfriend”. Something like Looks That Kill makes you involuntarily show the horns and bang your head, like you have no choice but to rock. Also, Girls, Girls, Girls is another essential for cover bands to play. It will bring damn near every female in the place to the dance floor. This is especially important when the dance floor is directly in front of the band.
10. Winger – At this point, I’ve run out of gas and am tired of making explanations, so I’ll say simply that if anybody took as much of a beating as these guys did, then they can’t be that bad. When Stewart wore a Winger shirt, in contract to B&B’s AC/DC and Metallica shirts, you knew they were in for trouble. It’s like Roxy Blue. I read a review for their (one) album in a guitar magazine, back in the day. It eviscerated them and the album. My first thought? “That bad, huh? I’m going to LOVE it!” I was right. So yeah, Seventeen is awesome, because it pretty much says what’s going through most guys minds at some given point or another. Also, Madalaine is an awesome song.
Great list. Been listening to Poison's OUASA alot recently. Not a duff track there.
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1-RIOT
2-Triumph
3 -Thin Lizzy
4- Zebra
5-Scorpions
6-Saxon
7-UFO
8-Twisted Sister
9-Wasp
10-Cinderella
Great list wki!
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Triumph
Dokken
Scorpions
Motley Crue
Ratt
Van Halen
Def Leppard
Aerosmith
Night Ranger
White Snake
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Hair bands? Sure. Used to listen to them non stop, 10-15 years ago. Still have a soft spot for anything with a double "z" or a double "x" in the band name. ;D
1. Skid Row - favorite 80s metal band, I was totally obsessed with them back in the day.
2. D-A-D - one of the best bands in the universe, in my humble opinion, albeit lesser known outside of Europe. They are still active to this day and keep releasing great albums every few years.
3. Bon Jovi - they were my gateway into rock music, started listening to them in 1995.
The rest are also favorites of mine, more or less in order of preference:
4. Aerosmith
5. Cinderella
6. Mr. Big
7. Tesla
8. Poison
9. Warrant
10. Tyketto
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8. UFO. They had a great deal of 80s work which I like. I've still only really heard their greatest hits stuff but I did like it every much.
UFO were much more prominent in the 70's. Michael Schenker left in the late 70's and they took a nose dive after that. Maybe you're confusing their 70's output with the 80's?
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8. UFO. They had a great deal of 80s work which I like. I've still only really heard their greatest hits stuff but I did like it every much.
UFO were much more prominent in the 70's. Michael Schenker left in the late 70's and they took a nose dive after that. Maybe you're confusing their 70's output with the 80's?
UFO still made great music in the 80s. Wild Willing & Innocent, Mechanix, Misdemeanor are all excellent. Sure their heyday was the Mad Mickey 70s era, but once he left they still had something to offer.
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Here is my top 10 in no particular order :
Manowar : well, I absolutely LOVED Manowar back in the day. Cheesy attitude, cheesy looks but Eric Adams! Sang my firts tunes covering Manowar (which I cannot sing anymore).
Dio : RJD was one of my frst contacts with metal! Holy Diver and the Last in Line are, for me, the epitome of metal. Such a good singer back then, even if a little too theatrical at times.
Scorpions : My first concert ever. Releasing Blackout, LaFS, WWL and SA in a row was astounding. And Klaus Meine, guys, Klaus Meine.
Black Sabbath : this will surprise many people here, but I have never listend to BS with DIO, only with Tony Martin. My favorite of that period : Headless Cross.
Iron Maiden : Iron Maiden!
YJ Malmsteen : what a guitarist he was then. And the guy knew what a good singer was!
Dokken : if only for george Lynch!
Europe : good music, catchy melodies, great singing.
Loudness : Akira Takasaki has to be one of the most underrated guitarist I know. But, back then, he was smoking on the guitars. I loved Minoru Niihara as well, although his voice was much of an acquired taste.
TNT : the duet Le Tekkro- Harnell has to be one of the best things to appeare in the 80s. Both were at the top of their game, but I was blown away by Harnell. Such a beast!
B.Lee
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Wow. Major necro-thread-bump. Nicely done. Were you THAT bored that you spend hours pouring through the back pages of the forum to find something interesting to read? :lol
5 1/2 years after the fact, I have to include Maiden in here somewhere. Yeah, late to the party on them. I know. But I am now a fan, and they clearly belong.
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I have no idea how to post in this thread, but our esteemed leader, bosk1, said I "have to" post in it.
Defining what '80's metal' is, is stupid to me, as people would put Queensryche, there, but Queensryche was never "hair metal," which is what I think the point of the thread was supposed to be. I didn't listen to a ton of what I would consider hair metal (Tesla, for example, is not the same as Poison). So this thread is now irritating me, which may have been bosk1's point. In which case, he wins. Again. :rollin
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:lol Well, it isn't necessarily "hair metal." Aside from the explanations I already gave, here is a slightly different take on my perspective in starting the thread: Growing up in the '80s, if one were to go hang out with the "rockers" in middle school and high school, you would see a lot of guys and gals wearing concert shirts from a pretty wide variety of "hard rock" or "metal" groups. In retrospect, it is easy to sub-categorize them. But then, people didn't really trip about it. Yeah, you had the hair metal bands. But most people who liked them (and not talking about the casual pop fan who only knew the odd "hit" or two from any given rock band) also liked bands like Maiden, Priest, Queensryche, or Rush. At any given moment, you could walk by the smoking section at my old high school back then and see someone in a Def Leppard shirt talking to someone in a Maiden shirt and someone in a Bon Jovi shirt. The thrash kids were a bit of a different animal though. Although they were still part of the "rocker crowd," they were viewed as an extreme subset--at least earlier in the '80s. Again, in retrospect, it's easy to lump them together or draw the lines differently now looking back. But I'm sort of interested in looking at it through the lens of how people looked at it back then.
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OK, OK. Excluding thrash metal ( :tdwn ) here would be my choices:
Queensryche (after Mindcrime hit) -- the debut of Eyes of a Stranger turned the rolling of eyes to nods of appreciation.
Iron Maiden
Def Leppard
Skid Row
Rush (the geeks)
Judas Priest
Bon Jovi
Tesla
Dokken
Motley Crue
>>>Those were, excluding thrash metal, the bands I heard being talked about and shirts being worn, in the late 1980s.
As for my preference, the main one of this list is obvious, Queensryche. Had been championing them since first hearing them in summer 87 or summer 88 (I forget which). Add to that Fifth Angel. I was also big into Skid Row, Winger, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Cinderella, and a whole host of bands from that time period.
Does this work, bosk1? :lol :biggrin:
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:D
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1. Iron Maiden
2. Van Halen
3. Def Leppard
4. Metallica
5. Motley Crue
6. AC/DC
7. Scorpions
8. Twisted Sister
9. Whitesnake
10. Guns N Roses
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Having graduated high school smack dab in the middle (1985), I feel especially empowered to post here, since I remember which bands were scrawled into brown paper book covers in school, and what "bandannas" and t-shirts were worn around with gusto after the shows came to town:
1. Van Halen - Guys, girls, losers, and cool kids could all get behind this band. Something for everyone
2. AC/DC
3. Guns and Roses
4. Ozzy
5. Kiss - For a short period, around Animalize, they were hot, relevant and even a little hip.
6. Iron Maiden
7. Whitesnake
8. Def Leppard
9. Scorpions
10. Judas Priest
The hair metal guys came later, and were big, but not as big. Metallica is not even on the radar yet. Twisted Sister - one of my all time favorites - were a notch below because of the corniness of the two hits and the two videos. Motley could be on this list, but they weren't huge on the East Coast (where I grew up). Rush was far bigger than Crue here, but I don't call them metal, so they didn't make the list either (they'd be at 5 or so if I did).
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Wow. Major necro-thread-bump. Nicely done. Were you THAT bored that you spend hours pouring through the back pages of the forum to find something interesting to read? :lol
You know what, Bosky? I was looking for the official Hard Rock / Metal thread but, since I suck at searching things on the forum, I happened to fall on that long-buried thread. And since I had a keyboard and some fingers... :biggrin:
B.Lee
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Loudness : Akira Takasaki has to be one of the most underrated guitarist I know. But, back then, he was smoking on the guitars. I loved Minoru Niihara as well, although his voice was much of an acquired taste.
I remember seeing Live Loud Alive in the Import Bin and I bought it just for how cool the album looked. Plus the empty stage pic on the back cover is awesome. I was intrigued. I now have it on CD and listen to it regularly to this day. One of the best live albums ever. Unfortunately, nothing else I've heard from them has ever done anything for me.
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Loudness : Akira Takasaki has to be one of the most underrated guitarist I know. But, back then, he was smoking on the guitars. I loved Minoru Niihara as well, although his voice was much of an acquired taste.
I remember seeing Live Loud Alive in the Import Bin and I bought it just for how cool the album looked. Plus the empty stage pic on the back cover is awesome. I was intrigued. I now have it on CD and listen to it regularly to this day. One of the best live albums ever. Unfortunately, nothing else I've heard from them has ever done anything for me.
I essentially like 3 albums of theirs : Lightning Strikes, Thunder in the East and Soldier of Fortune, although the last one doesn't have Niihara but Mike Vescera on vox.
B.Lee
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I essentially like 3 albums of theirs : Lightning Strikes, Thunder in the East and Soldier of Fortune, although the last one doesn't have Niihara but Mike Vescera on vox.
B.Lee
Ditto (Soldier Of Fortune got an honourable mention in my DTF Top 50)
Disillusion always seemed to get lots of praise from some well known guitarists . I have it on vinyl somewhere but I struggled with pretty much everything either side of those 3 albums you mentioned.
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I essentially like 3 albums of theirs : Lightning Strikes, Thunder in the East and Soldier of Fortune, although the last one doesn't have Niihara but Mike Vescera on vox.
B.Lee
Ditto (Soldier Of Fortune got an honourable mention in my DTF Top 50)
Disillusion always seemed to get lots of praise from some well known guitarists . I have it on vinyl somewhere but I struggled with pretty much everything either side of those 3 albums you mentioned.
I listened to Disillusion once or twice maybe, and I found it unfinished. Good ideas but the best was yet to come. I completely stopped listening to Loudness with On the prowl, which I find absolutely bad.
B.Lee
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On The Prowl was mostly covers of their own songs (previously in Japanese) with only 3 new songs , so it was a pretty half baked effort from the get go.
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Loudness
September 19, 1986
Providence Civic Center
(opening for AC/DC)
(https://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z246/TACPics/Loudness.jpg) (https://s195.photobucket.com/user/TACPics/media/Loudness.jpg.html)
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Talk about an epic thread bump!
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Talk about an epic thread bump!
I'm pretty proud of that (even if I didn't do it on purpose ;D).
B.Lee
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Loudness
September 19, 1986
Providence Civic Center
(opening for AC/DC)
So, you were there, TAC? How was the band (if you remember, of course)?
B.Lee
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Loudness
September 19, 1986
Providence Civic Center
(opening for AC/DC)
So, you were there, TAC? How was the band (if you remember, of course)?
B.Lee
I remember there being an Akira Takasaki solo and also a brief drum solo. It was really cool seeing them as I had long loved the Loud Live Alive album, though I don't think they played anything from it. At least what I can remember. I took a couple pics, but they all look like the one I posted. As much as I loved that live album, I wasn't really into Loudness per se. But I remember being very happy to see them.
Speaking of Japanese bands, I saw EZO a year later (opening for GnR in a club show) and they were totally cool. I have some pics in the "bin" in my basement.
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Loudness
September 19, 1986
Providence Civic Center
(opening for AC/DC)
So, you were there, TAC? How was the band (if you remember, of course)?
B.Lee
I remember there being an Akira Takasaki solo and also a brief drum solo. It was really cool seeing them as I had long loved the Loud Live Alive album, though I don't think they played anything from it. At least what I can remember. I took a couple pics, but they all look like the one I posted. As much as I loved that live album, I wasn't really into Loudness per se. But I remember being very happy to see them.
Speaking of Japanese bands, I saw EZO a year later (opening for GnR in a club show) and they were totally cool. I have some pics in the "bin" in my basement.
Thanks for your info on the show.
Unfortunately, my Japanese metal experience is limited to Loudness. I've heard of EZO but have never checked them out. Will have to do so.
B.Lee
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I would also throw in Kuni as a very good Japanese band, with western vocalists.
In a more modern take, Galneryus always put a smile on my face with ridiculous musicianship.
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I would also throw in Kuni as a very good Japanese band, with western vocalists.
In a more modern take, Galneryus always put a smile on my face with ridiculous musicianship.
Thanks for the heads up, Lowdz, will also try to check them out.
B.Lee
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Just came in here because I couldn't find the thread I was actually looking for, and just wanted to say, "My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the chord." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESXljCcw-_g