So instead of posting a bunch of albums I thought I would post this, because my musical life changed forever in the summer of 1987.
I've wrote about this, but I was a freshman in high school 82-83. I was already a huge hard rock fan, already owning The Number Of The Beast, Blackout, Heaven & Hell, Restless Breed, among other albums.
That year in school WHJY in Providence started a Metal Hour on Saturday nights. I used to record them. It was on this radio program that I first Hit The Lights, Queen Of The Reich, Stand Up And Shout, Show No Mercy. It was an off the grid show and it went way beyond the easy hard rock bands to pick.
I bought Kill 'Em All and loved it. My brother went to school with a kid and I borrowed and taped his Fistful Of Metal, Tank, and Merciful Fate albums. But at this age, I really grew weary of the real metal scene, and by that I mean, the vocals, the lyrics, the message.. It just felt a bit dirty. I would spend the rest of my high school years basking in UFO, Waysted, Iron Maiden, Dio, Van Halen, Yngwie, Gary Moore.
I had metal friends and even Ride The Lightning just did not have the same magic or innocence that Kill 'Em All did. I even borrowed my buddy's Master Of Puppets after I bought concert tix for Ozzy/Metallica and it just did not click.
But then two things happened.
I was at one of my friends house in the summer of 1987 and I saw this magazine:
I read the article on Helloween. It talked about the album being speedy and melodic with great vocals, and they even spun a positive attitude in the article. They looked pretty clean, as opposed the the dirty images I had of real heavy metal.
I made a blind purchase of Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt.1. I remember buying it an put it in as I left the store. When I first heard I'm Alive, I stopped dead in my tracks. I literally pulled into a nearby park and listened to the whole thing. It was all it was said it was. Speedy, melodic. It touched off something inside me.
Also, later that summer, I saw that Metallica had a new EP coming out. I knew that Cliff was killed and they had a new bass player. Then I saw the cover..
There was something about it that seemed fun. It wasn't all serious or dark. So I bought this and loved it. I really loved it.
I was reopened to accepting the two Metallica albums I jumped over. That fall when I got back to school (college soph year) I got into South Of Heaven, Megadeth, Flotsam. I was changed!