Satan - Court in the Act (1983)

Though it would take years along my metal path to discover and process so much of the lesser known NWOBHM of the earlier 80s, Satan was a band I encountered fairly early on. I mean, there was no way I was about to resist a band with such a provocative, obvious moniker, one that my parents were very likely to snatch away from me as they did with a Slayer or Sabbat (until giving up entirely). But I definitely found all three of their older cassettes in the later Junior High/early High School years, and was proud to have them in my collection. I remember having a pretty superficial reaction at first, thinking these guys were nowhere near as heavy as Slayer or Metallica and that their name was actually misleading, but I quickly took a 180 on that opinion because the level of proficiency and ambition here was palpable.

Now, to be honest, I've never had a version of this on which I really liked the production all that much, the songwriting and performance seemed to vastly exceed the capabilities, it just seemed a little faint and tinny for me. But that's easy to forgive considering its age and the fact that these guys were literally running circles around so many of their peers in the intensity and complexity of their craft. Compare this to Piece of Mind or Screaming for Vengeance or something, and you can hear that Satan was on an entirely other level, more competitive with the budding thrash bands that had just started to emerge the same year from California. It's still very much in the vein of traditional, melodic heavy metal characteristic of its own scene, but it just cranked up the picking velocity and riff count. Next to this, even stuff like the first two Mercyful Fate albums would feel like a slog; I'm not saying that I like Court in the Act more than any of those albums I just named, because I think they've got better songs and production all around, but there's no doubt this is one fast, furious debut deserving of all the cult status and critical respect it's earned.

The two major weapons in the arsenal here are Brian Ross' distinct vocals, and the incredible guitar duo of Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey. All these guys would excel not only here, but in other bands as varied as Blitzkrieg, Skyclad, Blind Fury, Pariah and Tanith, all of which have excellent records. Yet with Court in the Act, we get to hear them all in unison, and it's quite something to experience. Brian's voice has always felt more relatable to me because of its workmanlike sincerity; sure he has a bit of range where he needs it, but it literally feels like the guy down the street, or at the bar, just started fronting a heavy metal band. It's smooth, melodic, and works great with reverb, but it's never too over the top or screechy, in fact I find it the weakest when he does in fact scream, like that one disposable cry in the bridge of "Alone in the Dock". He can pull those off, but it's not what is interesting about his delivery. It's that mid to upper-mid range which has the most impact. As for the guitarists, they are just fucking unbelievable, spurting riff after riff of busy, calculated, melodic bliss, leads searing fluidly through the undertow, and with this production, sometimes it's hard to tell what is what.

There are at least four tunes on here that make my Satan playlist every time, from the classic raging (proper) opener "Trial by Fire" and epic, escalating "Break Free", to "Hunt You Down" with its great groove and gang vocals, and "Dark Side of Innocence" with its immortal, captivating melodies with a heavy riffing substrate that actually sounds suspiciously like an influence upon a lot of German power metal a few years later. I also really dig the creepy synth intro to the album, "Into the Fire", with the thudding electro percussive beats that stomp through the scintillating ambiance. Or the acoustic interlude "The Ritual" which is absolutely gorgeous and shows off the guitarists' skills in that medium. But I wouldn't throw out the rest of the tunes, either, they're all pretty solid in support of just a few that are more timeless. I emphasized the guitars and vocals, but Sean Taylor's drumming on this one is also pretty intense for the time, lots of good fills, and Grame English, another legend, keeps his bass lines busy enough so that you're not just engaged on that higher, melodic level, but what is supporting it.

Amazingly, this is not even close to my favorite Satan record. I appreciate it a lot, it's one that I often revisit, at least for my favorite songs, and it's the best of their earlier output...but Satan is also my favorite NWOBHM band of the 21st century, and we'll get into why. Court in the Act definitely sets the standard, even the iconic logo and cover artwork style, and this is pretty much mandatory if you're into that British stuff, and should sit in your collection alongside the debuts of Angel Witch, Tank and Diamond Head, and all the Raven, Saxon, Venom, Maiden and Priest you can muster.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

http://www.satanmusic.com/

Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon (1983)

It's as much of a tradition for me to break out the first five Ozzy albums every Halloween season as it is to bust out my collection of King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Deceased, Rob Zombie and other champions of the metal macabre. Not that Osbourne uses the horror genre as a particular focus in most of his lyrics, but clearly his feats of stage legend back in the prime of his solo career were focused around the shock-rock variety, and the cover art and aesthetics of a number of the songs clearly fit into the creepy category. Now, I'm a fan of the Randy Rhoads era just like the next guy. Like most of you, I thought he was a talent cut down well before his prime, and would have loved to hear what he could come up with through an extended career. But having said that, I've always been drawn more to the material Osbourne wrote with his next two guitarists, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde, at least up until Zakk's debut on No Rest for the Wicked, which, perhaps heretically, is my favorite of his solo efforts. But if I were to hand out a silver medal it would be a tough choice between tidier, accessible The Ultimate Sin and this 1983 effort Bark at the Moon.

You really can't go wrong with any of his material during that 80s era, in which he firmly established that he'd be able to succeed outside of the Black Sabbath camp, bringing his familiar vocal style to a more contemporary set of metal and hard rock tracks which were arguably more arena-ready than his unshakeable alma mater. When I look at the lineup he had on this particular album, there was almost no chance I wasn't going to like it. Lee's six-stringing talent ranged from slick, explosive speed/heavy metal licks as in the title track or "Rock 'n' Roll Rebel" to the more caged, dramatic, bluesy feel he'd incorporate into a piece like "You're No Different" where he's almost playing second fiddle to Don Airey's keyboards. It doesn't hurt that Airey himself is a legend whose loaned out his talents to more memorable bands than you could count, or that Ozzy also had another rock god Tommy Aldridge on the drums, or Bob Daisley, formerly of fucking Rainbow (among others) on the bass. This record came armed and ready, and for my money, despite the tragedy of Rhoads' passing and the other troubles the band had gone through since the 1981 sophomore Diary of a Madman, it totally delivered on its promise.

The title track is probably in my top 3-5 of the Ozzy solo career, with ease, Lee's tasty playing leading the way for some of Osbourne's great verses. I mean once the Prince of Darkness cackles  after that first chorus, if you weren't into this well... Other highlights here included "You're No Different" with its woozy, epic pace and super 80s proggy key pads, or tunes like "Centre of Eternity" and "Rock 'n' Roll Rebel" which were just awesome as hell heavy metal for a 9 year old to experience on his dingy old record player. I absolutely LOVED Jake's tone, it was just such a  commanding and dominant force alongside Ozzy's voice, and you can clearly hear how it set up a lot of what Zakk would emulate a couple albums later, with the exciting, expressive squeals or flash put into every riff. "So Tired" is probably my least favorite cut on the disc, but even then it's definitely a catchy, dramatic big band style of ballad which channels Elton John or the Beatles and I can't say I ever feel I need to skip it when I'm playing through the album. And right after that he rights the ship immediately another cool pair of harder cuts, "Waiting for Darkness" a nice foreshadow for the sound on The Ultimate Sin.

Everything on this album sounds wonderful to me almost 40 years later, and I even appreciate some of the cheesier sounding synth lines which are unquestionably its most dated aspect. The lyrics are great, a few keyed in to the horror genre, but they were especially impressive to the younger me, and the cover photograph of the shaggy Ozz-wolf just perfectly captures this time and this content: we're going to be heavy, we're going to get dark, but we're going to have fun. And I did. And I'm still doing just that.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (living in a lunar spell)

https://www.ozzy.com/

Mercyful Fate - Melissa (1983)

Perhaps the only tangible quip I could launch against Mercyful Fate's seminal debut is that, compared to the King's next six full-length records (from both Fate and his solo band), I hold Melissa in somewhat lesser regard, owed largely to the fact that the sum songwriting is marginally less infectious. Just about every stylistic die had been cast here which would serve Kim and his companions for decades hence, but in terms of sheer riffing stickiness and atmosphere, this album just doesn't have the same gallery of chops and leads as its successors. That being said, this album still deserves the forklifts of accolades dumped upon it, because Melissa remains one of the highlights of 1983. One of the better overall European metal records of the earlier 80s outside England. Heck, apart from Don't Break the Oath and the band's more divisive reunion disc In the Shadows (which I happen to favor, others not so much), it's probably the one mandatory purchase in their discography.

Melissa was actually my second exposure to Fate, having first bought the sophomore at a young age, and I admit it was underwhelming at first, if only because I had enjoyed the other tape more. But not only does this debut age well, it has managed to never accumulate much dust on its surface in going on thirty fucking years! Melissa still feels fresh and innovative, a more complex offering than what most of the group's British peers were capable of writing at the time, and also a hallmark of strong production values and deft musicianship. It might have taken time for some to adjust to King's eery and unnerving falsetto shrieks, which he lays on pretty thick throughout this, but there is no debating the amount of effort and professionalism in the compositions. Thomas Holm's cover art is remarkable, a screaming skull that bleeds hellish red light and gives a sense of sheer monument. The lyrics are maniacal blueprints for many themes Diamond would later flesh out in both his bands, with an emphasis on history, archaic horror, and occult topics fundamental to King's later pursuance of LaVeyan Satanism.

Pacing and production are key here, integrating the critical moments of atmosphere with the thundering, primal speed metal melodies and swaggering grooves that would come to define the group's sound as it supported the chilling vocals, which in metal music had simply never gone so 'over the top' without losing the gravity and impact of their subject matter. I realize that many outsiders to the band's sound, or power/heavy metal screamers in general (Halford, Dickinson, etc) must immediately find this vocal inflection comical in nature, but there was never anything remotely 'funny' about Diamond on these old Mercyful Fate records, he was a shrill specter that I took quite seriously even if I had to adjust myself to this timbre as the primary vocal tone. He's got his grittier end, mid range register also, but it's not quite so distinct. I wouldn't say that the melodies he summons up here are nearly so unforgettable as those he'd weave in later to several of the King Diamond concept albums, but for '83 this was pretty damn ambitious even when you placed it up against a record like Piece of Mind, Bark at the Moon or Balls to the Wall.

The instruments also sound stunning, with the better balance and clarity than the band's eponymous 1982 EP. Kim Jensen's drums are loaded, with a nice slap to the snare and some great reverb to the kicks that really measure off well against the guitars, though the cymbals and hi-hat seem a fraction more muffled. The bass lines are enormous and muscular when needed, like the close of "Evil" where the guitars remind me of the primary riff in Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" before that charging power metal finale; but Timi Hansen also slinks along with a creepy class through the record's more atmospheric climes. As for the guitars, they are just beyond compare, with an effectively chunky fiber to them that allows the looser, glimmering leads to wail and writhe above and really stand out. They're also incredibly busy here, constantly twisting and turning into some new 'banger of a riff and really controlling the tempo for King's lyrical tales. The leads are usually quite brief through the album, but none of the notes seem misplaced, and I'd rather a band give me some spikes of emotion and harmony rather than indulge themselves to the detriment of the songwriting.

"Curse of the Pharaohs" is a real bruiser, and one of my all time favorite Mercyful Fate tracks, but I'd have to give "Black Funeral" the pick of the litter, a thundering and frightening piece where King's voice and the triplet rhythm collide in a moonlit, haunted tower. "Satan's Fall" is the most ambitious in terms of its length and construction, with an opening segment that feels like an occult "Immigrant Song", and some grimy and shuffling riffs deeper in which are among Shermann and Denner's most inventive (Jensen also shines here with a few cadences in the bridge). That said, there's nothing here which even hinges on 'bad'. Pieces like "At the Sound of the Demon Bell" and the bluesy "Melissa" itself might not resonate with me as much as "Gypsy", "Night of the Unborn" or "A Dangerous Meeting", but they're all well written and stuffed to the ghastly gills with conscious effort and variation. Fuck, I listen to these songs now in 2012 and they still don't give me any impression of becoming 'dated', though as a huge King Diamond nutter I'm understandably biased.

No, it's not the eeriest record in the Danes' lexicon, but along with the rest of Diamond's works from '84-'90, this is well worth breaking out for another Halloween spin, since it's lyrics and concepts of witches, Satan and the restless dead make a great accompaniment to the aesthetics of the holiday. Granted, there's nothing so obviously cheesy or 'haunted house' here like you'd find on a Cradle of Filth disc, but instead more of a bite out of classic horror antiquity, a spiritual celebration of black/white films with Lugosi and Karloff. Like Dracula, The Wolfman or The Mummy is to nearly a century of film scares, this record serves as an aesthetic monument to its medium. How many heavy, power, speed, thrash, black and doom metal acts owe so very much to Mercyful Fate? The answer would be next to incalculable, so I'll just stick to 'all of them' and you can mark your own exceptions to the rule.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (you were mine)

http://www.kingdiamondcoven.com/site/

Savatage - Sirens (1983)

As often as my opinions have fluctuated beyond their 1989 opus Gutter Ballet, Savatage was once one of the most rock steady, reliable heavy metal groups of the Southern USA; the darker aesthetics they brought to hard rock fundamentals peeling off into an ambitious development that many bands would simply have been too fearful to attempt. I felt that the band was always under some sort of pressure, perhaps due to their own expectations, more likely from their major label (Atlantic), but the fact that they nonetheless managed to tough it out, remaining in the spotlight for such a long time without even packing tours or generating immense sales of their records, is a testament to the devotion of the Floridians.

Sirens was, of course, from a more innocent time, before the Oliva brothers evolved the band's course into its rock opera state, and yet there are still threads of almost theatrical elegance to how they crafted a number of the songs. After changing names form the far less distinct Avatar, they had begun to move in a moodier, dark direction that, like it's US, German and British counterparts, strafed the line between the arena mentality of hard rockin' sex thug anthems and the more aggressive speed and thrash that was only then beginning to emerge from a handful of scenes. Sirens still has a lot of natural groove to it, due to the writing style and performance of guitarist Criss Oliva, who to me always resembled a 'poor mans Randy Rhodes', but would inevitably become one of my favorite players of this precious period, due to his coordination of pure, molten riffing patterns, flashy but memorable licks and the escapism of his leads.

This debut wasn't the heaviest or most complex of their outlets. It didn't possess that same, vicious songwriting economy of a Show No Mercy or Kill 'Em All, yet it's still a hard-hitting classic, one of their career best, and despite the chunkiness of its production, it hasn't lost much luster through the intermittent decades. Like the ancient sewers and waterways that the elfin rogue children of its cover travel through, Sirens is a claustrophobic, cavernous sounding record, with a heavily processed guitar tone that mixes with the vocal reverb and other effects to create this echoing paean to evil. As a contrast, Steve 'Doc' Wacholz drums are mixed humbly, snapping and crashing along without that same level of vaulted atmosphere. The bass, performed here by an earlier member (Keith Collins) wasn't much of a presence itself, gently plugging along to support Oliva's churning rhythms, woozy octave chord slides, and gloomy clean tones.

Even more impressive than his brother, though, was Jon Oliva's barking, enraged inflection, one of the most unique in all heavy/power metal of the 80s, and a trait I've long considered a make it/break it factor in terms of my interest in their output. The man's style just exudes sinister intentions, like the villain in any classic play or horror film. The wolf man, stalking the wood behind you. Jack the Ripper, polishing his instruments while he waits for an unsuspecting lady of the night. MacBeth, eyes burning with the blood of his revenge. While some might have faulted him for lacking the range of a Halford, Dickinson or Ronny James Dio, for me he provided ample proof that the best singers are not always those with the 'prettiest' or widest capabilities, but those that make the best of what they've got. Jon can do delicate, and he can emit a shriek or two when it suits him, but it's this rabid, mad dog mid-range that, more than anything, made me such a fan.

Not all of Sirens aged well for me. In particular, the smutty "Twisted Little Sister" lacks an interesting hook, and the vocals and lyrics are beyond cheesy unless you really like your dim lit 80s S&M metal for the sake of burning its own candle wax. I also feel that the front half of the album is a cut above the rest. Deeper in, you've got "Living for the Night" and "Out on the Streets", solid enough tunes, but nowhere near as strong as something like "Sirens" itself, with its hypnotic, eerie clean guitars and bells that transition into a filthy dose of primal power metal that captured the threatening mythology of its subject matter. "Holocaust" and "On the Run" had a lot of that dirty, beloved hard rock groove, while "Rage" is borne more on Motörhead speed metal fix with some of Jon's higher pitched howls and screams. In general, though, I could listen today to almost the entire album with the exception of "Twisted..." and the later added bonus tracks, and still get the same thrills as I did in Junior High.

I wouldn't hold the production up alongside their finest works (like Hall of the Mountain King), since it seems mildly uneven and the rhythm section leaves more of a footnote than an impression, but as a debut for the Oliva brothers, you can't really go wrong here. In terms of complexity, it's not much more involved than Iron Maiden or the other serious entries in the NWOBHM field, but the band knew how to throw down a chorus, provide interesting verse riffing, and there are plenty of little licks to pick out there, thanks to Criss Oliva's ceaseless unrest for the mundane patterns a lot of also-ran metal acts were producing. Ultimately, while it's no American masterpiece, it's a damn good debut which an appeal that transcends generations, and I'd count at least the title track as one of their top 10-15 songs ever written.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (hungry for man tonight)

http://www.savatage.com/

Heavy Load - Stronger Than Evil (1983)

Though I don't hold it up as my personal paragon of Heavy Load's output, I think history will prove that, if anything, Stronger Than Evil was their most structured work, with almost all focus directly on the songwriting and a fraction less perhaps on the atmosphere and variation of the first two full-lengths. The musicianship is just as tight as it was on Death or Glory, the barbaric icon of its cover art just as ready to taste the blood its fallen enemies, and the vocals far better balanced than any of their other works to its day. Yet despite its myriad strengths, there are simply a number of songs on this disc that I don't feel much of an attraction towards, and when you're coming out in a year that matched you up against classics like Balls to the Wall, Pyromania, Piece of Mind, Into Glory Ride, Metal Health, and the newfound aggression of Kill 'Em All and Show No Mercy, you really needed to knock every ball (or skull, in this case) out of the park.

Granted, there is at least track here which belongs in any conversation involving Euro metal classics of the 80s, and that would be the opener, "Run With the Devil". No surprise why the Swedish retrofitters HammerFall would choose this as one of their numerous nostalgic cover tunes, it's got personality and a spring-loaded, playful central riff to die for, with rock solid soaring vocals (lead and backing), and a screaming lead that at least perks up the ears. I also loved the rather epic, mid-paced majesty of "The King" with its subtly strutting bass lines and forceful howling, or the sad and beautiful "Dreaming" which makes one of the best uses of the dramatic vocal harmonies in all of Heavy Load's history. "Stronger Than Evil" itself is another of the album's stronger tunes, with a cheesy, percussive intro that reeks of campy 80s horror (you expect Michael Jackson to bust out his zombie gear about half way through it), but to be truthful I don't think it had the money shot riff of the similar "Run with the Devil".

And then there's the other half of this record, which is not quite up to the task. Songs like "Free" and "Saturday Night" bring a more peppy, inoffensive hard rock feel to the music, not that they are entirely void of decent riffs, but ultimately even the harmonies and bleating leads cannot save them from the void of forgetfulness. "Roar of the North" is another of the Swedes' mighty Viking epics, and while it tramples along at a mighty pace, I thought the vocals here had a bit of deficiency when placed against the remainder of the album. None of these are necessarily deal breakers that drag the album into the abyss, but Death or Glory seemed to have a surprise or two around every corner, while this is far more straightforward, the band's last substantial grasp towards achieving some success, and it builds up expectations with a few earlier tracks and then seems to run out of interesting ideas the deeper in you travel. Phil Lynott's guest bass slots don't really add a lot where they do appear on a few tunes.

Of course, Heavy Load were no longer 'alone' at this time in terms of the Swedish metal scene. The more commercially focused Europe had its debut out this same year, and good bands like Axe Witch, Silver Mountain, 220 Volt, Gotham City, Overdrive, Proud and Torch were just arriving in the 1983-84 period and putting out better albums than this one. Heavy Load had made a case for itself with Death or Glory, but the elder statesmen of the scene were on the verge of having their hopes drowned out due to the mass explosion of the genre through Europe, and they just weren't writing at the level of Accept or Judas Priest. For whatever reason, I'm guessing the very limited distribution channels of their own label, this venture was running out of steam, and Stronger Than Evil, while featuring what is arguably their most easily recognized song, was filed away under obscurity. That said, anyone seeking out vintage sounds could do a lot worse than this record, and it's at least better than their debut.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (and dawn was dark with smoke)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heavy-Load/209514325984

Grim Reaper - See You in Hell (1983)

Grim Reaper is very often associated today with a few of the more negative stereotypes of metal in the mid-80s, especially when the prospective hecklers feast their eyes upon their few videos. Bad hair, inconsistent vocals that were often too jubilant for their own good, a lot of repetitive song hooks (across all three studio albums), generic lyrics and bringing absolutely squat to the table. Dubbing the band 'party metal' would not be far from the truth, since in general their songwriting was configured in a standard verse-chorus-etc. rock format (like many bands of their ilk), and while they weren't glam by any means, their interpretation of cliche subjects like hell, murder and other important topics always felt 'fluffier' or lighter than other bands of the same era (like, say Metallica) who were transforming the landscape of the genre into something more barbed, desolate and extreme.

But let's be honest: this genre wasn't build exclusively on the shoulders of brooding juggernauts like Black Sabbath. Bands like Deep Purple and Judas Priest had their fun fare, and I feel in listening through the Grim Reaper backlog that both, alongside early Dio-era Sabbath (Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules) were instrumental in shaping the sound here. Some will have read the story that these guys were 'discovered' after their victory in a 'Battle of the Bands', in which they bested over 100 competitors to take some prize, but considering that such contests are rarely more than ticket-selling races (for instant, shitty Evanescence knockoffs often win these things in my region, or bands who draw upon the support of their entire high school), I'd say that their emergence was more in line with the fact that British heavy metal was kicking all sorts of ass, a seemingly endless pool of talent that brought us Demon, Saxon, Wichfynde, Praying Mantis, Def Leppard and so forth, all peers to this band in terms of their ability to decisions to straddle the border between the heavier 'metal' and pure hard rock accessibility.

See You in Hell was a reasonable debut for its time, with a fairly simplistic formula that mixed predictable 3-4 chord riffing patterns with spikes of Nick Bowcott's melodies and the charismatic Steve Grimmett, who has through the years become the defining element of the band. He's got a timbre which occasionally reminds me of Ronny James Dio, with perhaps a more muscular edge to the sustained screams (like the end of "See You In Hell" itself), but lacking the late demigod's silken bite and overall intensity. Unfortunately, the mix of this debut was the worst of the band's three albums, and he's cast a bit too loudly throughout, with his tone really shaking apart songs like "Dead or Arrival" (the chorus) or the bluesy lounge rock piece "The Show Must Go On" that I've always found a little 'fish out of water' among its neighbors here. In addition, the guitars are a bit too raw and unpolished for such streamlined compositions as these, the drums a bit distant, and See You in Hell feels more or less like a demo quality recording in dire need of an upgrade.

That said, there are quite a few enjoyable tracks here which would have gone off well in the live setting and remain among the band's catchiest. "See You In Hell" was the standard by which the band would write the majority of their future chorus parts for the successor albums, and it has a few nice screaming twists to the verse lines. "Run for Your Life" and "Wrath of the Ripper" incite pure headbanging fury even despite a few of the campier vocal passages, and Nick Bowcott truly tries to let his leads scream out with some level of emotion, eschewing the rather tame confines of the songs' architecture. Even "The Show Must Go On" has that catchy line in the intro over the clean rhythm guitars, though I still find it out of place. But others here are not so special, like the crunchy closer "All Hell Let Loose" or the shorter, forgettable cuts like "Liar" or "Now Or Never".

Compared to, for example, three of the big Ps of this same year: Power & the Glory, Piece of Mind, or Pyromania, this album feels really roughshod and unrefined. I suppose that's a boon for certain gluttons for might hunger for rawer tones in their 80s diet, but I just don't feel that it always works with the music (the band obviously agreed, since both the later albums are cleaned up considerable). This isn't Venom here, the band was striving for some degree of accessibility. But it's not just the production that falls behind; the actual songwriting was nowhere near as memorable as a lot of Grim Reaper's British peers. A gem yet to be cut, its surface implying an obvious material value within that has yet to be 'reaped'. Still, if you're looking for something dimwitted, entertaining and loud to slake your nostalgia, or you've a fondness for other Ebony Records cult classics like Savage's Loose 'n' Lethal or Chateaux's Chained and Desperate, See You In Hell isn't a bad record. It's got clear problems, a few dud songs, but still seems functional almost 30 years later.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (all you've got to do is bleed)

http://www.myspace.com/thestevegrimmettbandgrimreaper

Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac (1983)

The sudden manifestation of a popular Exciter: The Story of Exciter documentary notwithstanding, Ontario's speed metal stalwarts are likely to go down in history as one of the longest surviving and little evolving acts in all the metallic canon to never quite get its due. They formed up in the late 70s, first as Hell Razor and later the Priest inspired Exciter, with an emphasis on the then-forward thinking sounds being popularized in both the English scene by Sabbath, Motörhead and the aforementioned Judas Priest, and riding the influence of North American hard rock circa KISS or Van Halen to a new level of aggression and 'excitement' well ahead of comparable Canadian legends like Anvil and Razor.

Thanks to an ironic yet important appearance on Shrapnel Records' seminal U.S. Metal Vol II LP, the band was able to sow its spikes and seeds into the minds of a broader fanbase here and overseas, and thus the full-length Heavy Metal Maniac was born, once more under the tasteful and sadly unsung Mike Varney and Shrapnel. More or less a re-skinning of their WWIII Heroes demo, it proved one of the more exciting North American speed/heavy metal albums in a year that produced Metallica's masterful Kill 'Em All, Manowar's Into Glory Ride, Anvil's Forged in Fire and Dokken's Breaking the Chains, but failed to catch on beyond the core audience for the style. Leather, studs, blood, knives and Marshall amplifiers were certainly eye catchers for the metal consumer of the day, but Exciter lacked the same level of sophistication that several of their peers were evoking, and perhaps their riffs and choruses didn't resonate quite so far...

But despite these setbacks, the debut insured the band's ability to perform and promote itself, and generated enough buzz within the industry that they secured further label support through Megaforce Records out of New York. Heavy Metal Maniac was not actually my first exposure to the band (I came into their sound through a cassette dub of Violence & Force), but in retrospect it's a fine album for its style and one that miraculously holds up nearly 30 years after its initial release. There's something genuine, dark, impulsive and testosterone fueled about this sort of record that seems to transcend time and age, perhaps not to the Arctic Monkeys crowd whose impression of 80s heavy metal is none other than the condescending hipster mockery that VH1's tragic popular video recycling and Metalocalypse taught them, but for those of us who were there and cared, or the newer generation of gateway trad metal fan that actually gives a damn.

Exciter was also cool in that they possessed one of those rare power trio configurations in which the drummer also doubled as the vocalist. Dan Beehler had a rabid, workmanlike, down to earth tone saturated with just the right amount of delay that cut out across the density of the guitar riffing. Never so refined or piercing as a Rob Halford or Joe Elliott, he generally hung about a mid range, but was still capable of a strident screech where it counted. In truth, I found his meter and delivery a bit similar to Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth' of Overkill on his earlier records like Feel the Fire and Taking Over, only not so violently wild, biting and infectious. That said, Beehler's kit skills were quite effective, whether laying into the slow Sabbath grooves of "Iron Dogs" or the more standard speed metal mid-pacing you'll encounter on most of the cuts like "Stand Up and Fight", "Under Attack" and "Cry of the Banshee". A bit tinnier in the mix than some might appreciate, but remember that this was essentially a demo tape and the Canadians were far from possessing an enormous studio budget.

Beehler is joined here by the other founding members, bassist Alan Johnson and guitarist John Ricci, the latter of whom many will recognize as the long standing spokesman and 'face' for the band, excepting Unveiling the Wicked (1986) and the s/t (1988) on which he had taken a brief departure from the lineup. Johnson approaches his lines with a festive, plum-picking thickness that he loads with grooves and fills. Sometimes he's doing his own thing, as heard in the intro piece "The Holocaust", but other times he's more or less creating a corpulent doppelganger to the rhythm guitar, especially in the faster riffs for tracks like "Mistress of Evil". As for Ricci, he's got a very obvious, weighted tone redolent of Black Sabbath, yet even more blue collar and raw, thriving on the a vivacious undercurrent of savagery rather than a miserable, gloomy din. One certainly hears a lot of punk in the chord constructions, a dash of Motörhead, but he's not afraid to implement brief, controlled dashes over higher strings, or a Van Halen-esque flange ("Heavy Metal Maniac") to create added depth.

The leads, on the other hand, seem entirely out of control, almost as if they were often improvised or squeezed in as an afterthought to various non-vocal sequences. For example, the solo in "Stand Up and Fight", while perfectly constrained to the bridge sequence, doesn't really stand out to my memory. But this was a symptom of much speed metal or thrash, used both to its detriment and success, and like everything else here, really goes with the times. Otherwise, Heavy Metal Maniac has a great pacing and structure. "The Holocaust" serves as a desolate, windy opener that cedes to the red rocket punch of "Stand Up and Fight", and for every few upbeat tracks they'll interject a slower piece like the potent "Iron Dogs" or the power ballad "Black Witch" so the listener doesn't ever feel like he's being clubbed in the face by the same tempo repeatedly.

There are unquestionably a few points here where the riffs seem a bit derivative of their more obvious influences. For instance, the pre-chorus chords in "Heavy Metal Maniac" feel like a ramped up "Detroit Rock City", and a few progressions seem as if they were paraphrased from various Sabbath and Priest predecessors, even if the same could be said of nearly anyone. Yet as the band themselves hint in one of the sweet 1982 audio interviews included with the 2005 Megaforce reissue, they were never bent on reinventing the wheel so much as regreasing it and dialing up the volume while they ran over the crowd. The only song here I can honestly say I don't enjoy to some degree is "Black Witch", primarily because Beehler's delivery of several of the lyrics is goofier than usual, and even where it picks up to a Sabbath like slower heaviness the guitars are admittedly boring. But everything else works damned well, including the bonus tracks "World War III" (from their U.S. Metal II appearance) and "Evil Sinner" with its gleaming intro harmonics and some impressive, sustained screaming via Dan Beehler.

Ultimately, Heavy Metal Maniac is not offering Kill 'Em All or Piece of Mind levels of quality and craftsmanship, nor is it even the best of Exciter's backlog, but it's a good example of its class that, to the proper ears, will sound just as refreshing as as it did in the mid-80s. To some extent, I feel that this band has never really attempted to tax itself aesthetically. They're quite content with their chosen sound and through their ten full-length albums (to date), have offered us only slight variations that generally coincide with the various lineup changes. But it's not as if we were short on innovators in this or any spectrum, and something can be said for the consistency of vision these Canadians cling to. Whether for a single night of passionate, headbanging release, or a completely leather-bound lifestyle, there's always going to be a time and place to experience music like this: and when you are ready, so too is Heavy Metal Maniac, waiting to embrace you with amplified enthusiasm.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (stand back)

http://listen.to/exciter

Anvil - Forged in Fire (1983)

It's often the case that a band seeing a brief and sudden splash of success will attempt to closely emulate that success, if not note for note than at the very least aesthetically. Metal on Metal was likely not a commercial breakthrough on anyone's scale, but clearly that leading single was far more resonant than anything off the debut album, so it makes sense that Anvil would follow it up with a similar lead-in title track on Forged in Fire. Not that these have been the only two tracks in this style by the Canadian old timers, and not that "Forged..." is in any way a direct knockoff of its spiritual precursor, but it's difficult not to come away with a sense of deja-vu for the first five minutes of this third album.

Fortunate then, that "Forged in Fire" is one of the clear highlights of this disc. Set at a dangerous, slow groove, it lurches along at a spidery pace while Lips performs a treatise on metallurgy, the duality of which would not escape even the most addle brained headbangers. The vocals trade off on the signature sneers and howls, while the thud of the bass sets the momentum. I rather liked the glistening strings of melodic feedback throughout the bridge, which set at atmosphere even greater than that of "Metal on Metal", but probably the most interesting element is the counter point of the guitars in the verse. It's also an introduction to a 'cleaner' Anvil, at least in the tone of the guitars and tidiness of the drumming. Clearly more polished than the sophomore effort, with a dearth of rawness in the chords, but that said the music is stylistically quite similar to Metal on Metal and the heavier cuts found on Hard 'n' Heavy, 'pound for pound' their most muscular effort to date, if you'll forgive the foreshadowing.

That's not only due to the pace of many of the tracks here, but also the drumming. Once again, we're faced with a performance that might audibly come off as less menacing than the prior LP, but in terms of technicality Robb Reiner seems somewhat more energetic and advanced, as if he's slowly evolving along with the riffs. Outside of the title track, favorites here include "Free as the Wind", a nice atmospheric speed metal piece which served as a peculiar presage to the late 80s stint of Germans Running Wild, even funnier as the first lyrics in the song are, in fact, 'running wild'. "Make It Up to You" has a bit more of a commercial appeal, sort of like Heart meets REO Speedwagon, but while the lyrics are shitty, the music is incredibly catchy. And then, of course, you've got the closer "Winged Assassins" which serves as the ultimate Anvil tribute to aerial combat, pretty fast for the band at this time and incorporating some of Lips' better vocals on the album.

There are a number of tunes ("Shadow Zone", "Hard Times Fast Ladies") in which he utilizes a shrill, shrieking tone that almost devolves into parody, but thankfully the music is great; and others where he uses the same style of screaming more effectively ("Motormount"). We've also got what must be the best of the Dave Allison fronted tracks here in "Never Deceive Me". It still feels heavily influenced by that 70s rock that the Canadians have a hard time shaking out of their set, and far from perfect, but good enough that fans of KISS, Boston and so forth might dig it. And then, of course there's the mandatory ridiculous sex song, which is even more laughable and absurd here in that it's distinctly about ejaculating on your female partner's chest and having her rub the results onto her preferably large mammaries. This is, of course, the "Butter-Bust Jerky", and yet I know that even reading that has the potential to scar you for life. I apologize, since Anvil is not likely to.

Overall, various gripes and coital eccentricities aside, the album is quite consistent in quality and I believe it's nearly a match for Metal on Metal. Song for song, there's a lot of excitement, some tearing leads, and a laudable atmosphere which prove that Anvil were continuing to evolve as songwriters. The best was still yet to come, but they were well on their way, and Forged in Fire has a timelessness about it that is hard to ignore (much like the debut).

Verdict: Win [8/10] (made for pounding a massive weight)

http://www.anvilmetal.com/

Jag Panzer - Tyrants EP (1983)

The annals of metal history are full of stories of bands that would have been, or should have been among the elite and the few, the celebrated and the rich. Some of these acts dropped off the face of the planet, some saw that metal had new life in later years and decided to give it another go, others went through a roller coaster of bad and good decisions, found a second wind and went on to a fairly successful career despite all odds. Jag Panzer of Colorado falls firmly into that last category, because while the band started off with only the sky as the limit, their first attempt to regroup was an astounding failure, and then, reuniting with their original vocalist in the later 90s, they managed to initiate a streak of new output with the help of high visibility metal label Century Media.

The Tyrants EP, named for the band's original moniker (there were already too many Tyrant bands out there) and adopted by Harry Conlkin as a stage handle, was a pretty potent, if endearingly silly piece which arrived in a year when metal was truly starting to kick into gear with the emergence of thrash. As if in unconscious rebellion, Jag Panzer were one of the few bands to arm their traditional metal missiles with some true balls, upping the ante for the droves of NWOBHM influenced acts without ever abandoning their influences. The prime distinction of this band has always been Conklin, for the large range of expression he places in his performance, from angst-ridden Bruce Dickinson-like heights (more prevalent on Ample Destruction) to vicious and acidic sneers and screams, shrill shrieking and a manly 'whoah whoah' that is often joined by the backing shouts of the band. However, let's not take away from Mark Briody's relentless riffing, aggressive alterations on Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and other metal staples.

Tyrants feels fresh, innocent, and surprisingly, it endures to this day as an example of classic USPM done justice, even if its not the band's best work. Samples of warfare herald "Battle Zones", a savage and dirty brawler above which Harry's vocals bounce to and fro in nearly schizoid patterns that are both hilarious and quite unforgettable. "Death Row" opens at a slow triplet trot, picking up with drums as Conklin creates a manic circus asylum of half narration, half howling, with an effect not unlike earlier Overkill on Feel the Fire or Taking Over, which came a few years later. "Metal Melts the Ice" is based on a cruel riffing pattern which just begs the listener to begin a fist fight, a primal simplicity joined with some delicious if fragile fills before the uncouth lead erupts. The fourth track on the original release of the EP, "Iron Shadows" is about the most ludicrous thing the band would offer in their early years, with a very rustic, medieval tone to the guitars which pound along like early Maiden, fantasy lyrics loaded with character and an almost absurd narrative quality.

The track later added is "Tower of Darkness", with a slightly more grimy production and horrendously silly lyrics about some witch or vampire chick waiting to seduce the Tyrant. Its all in good fun, but not up to the standards that dominate the core tracks of the release, and thus might be better passed off as 'invisible' when one decides to reminiscence on the cutting steel of the original release. Basic heavy metal, not offensive but too corny even for Jag Panzer. This is really the only complaint though, because Tyrants is ultimately a fond introduction to a band that would one year later release one of the most underrated and timeless efforts in all classic US metal, improving in every possible category over what you'll hear on this.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (get my orders from the overlord)

http://www.jagpanzer.com/

220 Volt - 220 Volt (1983)

It's almost frightening how much the country of Sweden has matured into such a dominating force in many walks of metal, from the revived traditions of thrash, power and melodic speed metal to the more extreme tastes of black and death, this is a nation with more to offer than high taxes, high employment rates and beautiful women. But this is hardly 'news', as the Swedes have been cranking out a wealth of output since the days they all picked up their first classic metal records out of Britain, Germany or the USA. Yes, long before the explosion of melodic death metal in the 90s or the race to match Norway's black metal scene in proximity, this country was ripe with big dreams, big hair and big riffs.

One of the earliest to adopt the format was the band 220 Volt, a group of youngsters who joined forces to play the music that not only could elevate them on to the national stage, but also the music that they just wanted to hear. After a series of demos in 1982, they had their chance when they were picked up by the high profile CBS records, and their s/t debut arrived the following year, a rough and tumble response to the waves of melodic, traditional metal that were storming across the British mainland. A large portion of the material here was culled from the demos (especially the first demo), but "Lonely Nights", "No Return", "End of the World" and "Stop and Look Back" were all new to this recording. The formula throughout is pretty simple: chord driven anthems glazed with more intricate and arresting melodies, crashing drum kit and the cutting, if wavering vocals of Jocke Lundholm, who is a lot more Klaus Meine than he is Rob Halford.

Listening back on the album, it was pretty solid for its day, and also pretty heavy. Sure, we're not talking proto-thrash metal, but a sheer force in the chords that places it well beyond the strata of the typical, accessible hard rock of its day. For example, it rocks harder than a Quiet Riot or Twisted Sister, and is probably most comparable to other Swedish metal of its day like Heavy Load or Europe (before The Final Countdown). Vocalist Lundholm can nail a good melody, but there's something rough about his vocals which betray his heavy accent, and at times the overall production can suffer. For example, his performance on the Ozzy-like "No Return" is uneven, and I'm not particularly fond of his voice in "Stop and Look Back" either, but for the most part, he's at least got the sense of urgent, raid warning desperation that so typifies classic 80s Scorpions or Riot.

Favorites here would have to include the choppy speed metal of "Woman in White", with some pretty hilarious lyrics: She likes to be seen in the middle, she likes when a party gets hot, everyone thinks she's a sinner, and everyone likes her a lot... Haha. Shouldn't this woman be in red, or black perhaps? Nevertheless, the blazing lead here is pretty hot, and the song overall, one of the demo selections, kicks some serious ass. "Gypsy Queen" and the speed/boogie blues of "Child of the Night" are other highlights, as is the plodding, graceful weight of "The End of the World". A few do not fare so well. "Nightwinds" suffers from some annoying female guest vocals, like being shouted at by a least favorite sister, cousin or aunt during the Holidays, and "Stop and Look Back" and "No Return" do not showcase Jocke Lundholm at his finest.

Of course, many would be immediately turned off by the dated tones of the record, but this has never been a sore spot for any that seek the genuine 80s article with none of the excess modern polish you're going to hear on a HammerFall platter. The songs are pretty well crafted, but in particular the leads and melodies dominate over the actual chord progressions, which are typical of their age. 220 Volt is not the best of the band's work, and they would make gradual strides forward with Power Games and Mind Over Muscle, which are both more accessible and less straightforward than this debut (Europe fans would definitely enjoy them more), but as far as honest slabs of Swedish history, it still sparks a nostalgia for pure, unfiltered European metal as the beast was slowly awakening across a number of nations.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.220volt.se/

Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind (1983)

Piece of Mind is the 2nd Iron Maiden album to feature Bruce Dickinson on vocals, and the source of one of the band's biggest hits, "The Trooper". Strangely enough, these days, most of the tracks feel like forgotten gems, due to the fact that so many have been seemingly ignored in the band's live sets for a great many years now. But the bad tastes of band and audience aside, this is easily one of the best of Maiden's entire career, and certainly one of my personal favorites after Somewhere in Time or Powerslave. Each of the 9 tracks are splendid, powerful, melodic metal, and the album as a whole has a more reined in appeal than The Number of the Beast, giving it the slight edge in my opinion.

Just about anything I've ever loved in Iron Maiden's music is here in spades. Wonderful lyrics that reflect upon religion, war, history, science fiction and mythology, drawing on a number of classic sources. More guitar hooks than a bait & tackle shop, and an excellent, crisp tone to boot. An excellent performance out of Dickinson, who had really meshed into the band's landscape by this point. And a production which does not sound to me as if it has aged a single day in 27 years. Add to that the dark atmosphere of emergent NWOBHM gone 'eavy as all hell, and a great if simple cover image featuring the most recognizable mascot in metal music. We have a winner.

"Where Eagles Dare" is a sturdy track to open the album, with a lot of shuffle in its step. Twin guitars rambling out a passionate if somewhat predictable rhythm, and lyrics based on the 1967 novel of the same name, which was itself adapted to a film in '68 featuring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. The airy nature of the melodies in the bridge makes for a fine if elegaic tribute to the story and the war in which it was fought. "Revelations" features one of the most simple and unforgettable verse rhythms of the 80s, with the perfectly placed little bass steps and the beautiful, simmering melodies that transform the tempo into a fist flying rager, and then down into a thoughtful tranquility. The song feels compelling and timeless, as if it could have been written and recorded in the late 60s or 70s and wound up much the same. "Flight of Icarus" tells the tale of its titular, tragic Greek character, and was also used a single for this album. It's more of a narrative than the previous tracks, with the riffs structured about the story. And who would ever forget Dickinson's shining chorus vocal?

Fly, on your way, like an eagle, fly as high as the sun
On your way, like an eagle, fly and touch the sun

At this point, the hammer drops and the balls fly out of their zippers as Maiden crushes through two of their more pronounced exclamations, beginning with "Die With Your Boots On", a self-determination anthem, and a nice little deconstruction of omens and the prophetic bullshit that fuels so much religious nonsense throughout our history. Smith and Harris have some swanky little backup vocals here, and the chorus is just the type of manly expression that makes you want to leap onto a motorcycle, or a horse, or something. A jet ski if you've got it. But people might look at you strangely if you're wearing boots on a jet ski. Speaking of boots, "The Trooper" follows, ready to plant both of them, leather and steel, straight up your arse. Basically the ultimate war metal song before there was 'war metal', maybe not as good as "Disposable Heroes" but it came first. How many metal fans out there learned their first guitar or bass riff from this song? How many people who don't even like metal music remember this song? How many have covered it? It's an indispensable classic, and just as brilliant as the pageantry requires. Trotting, equestrian guitar rhythms and spiky vocal latitudes, excellent popping bass beneath the lead, and the lead itself...gorgeous.

The rest of the album is the half that I feel is sadly the more forgotten, but it's no less rapt or impressive. "Still Life" has a great melody that charges below the vocals, and Dickinson even has a robotic like tinge to the 'piece of mind' lyric. The dual guitars are brilliant here, especially as they quaff off into the slamming leads, and "Quest for Fire" follows suit with an epic hymn about early man and his travails against nature and beast, and the advent of the one thing that would raise them from beasts themselves into a more potent force. Many have pointed out to me that this is a bit of a silly track, but fuck, I'll take Iron Maiden singing about cannibals and dinosaurs any day over Dethklok or 3 Inches of Blood inhaling and exhaling their stale irony. Once again, there are some killer leads here, and a very pulp adventure feeling that is simply too rare in metal.

"Sun and Steel" is a hooky melodic samurai tribute with various literary references to the famous swordsman Musashi, and it's another of the tracks here which could easily have fit the decade prior, due to the soaring vocal harmony which could have just as well been Freddy Mercury of Queen. It's an amazing track, one of my favorites even among this lofty crew, and it's a goddamn shame that this didn't take off like "The Trooper". I'd kill to hear this one live, and if you've seen them do it...well, don't tell me about it. I've got enough in the world already to envy. "To Tame a Land" caps off the album, a morose, wandering epic based on the classic science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert. The tiny arabesque rhythms and edgy, warlike atmosphere of the track really fit the contested desert world of Arakkis, and certainly it has to be one of the best tributes (and one of the ONLY tributes) done to this literary masterpiece in all of rock or metal music. The bass and leads are unsurprisingly exquisite here, and though its the longest track here at over 7 minutes, I hardly noticed. Though I consider it my least favorite track on this album, it's still pretty close to perfect.

Piece of Mind is both a hallmark album and a wave of beautiful nostalgia. Old, indeed, but far from irrelevant, as its another essential fragment of the band's Golden Age (1982-1988) which catapulted them to the very top the pack. 1983 was the year of two of the greatest debut albums in all of metal history (Metallica's Kill 'Em All and Slayer's Show No Mercy), but even against those monstrosities, this album still holds its own, and I have a feeling it always will...

Highlights: All of them, but with To Tame a Land at the rear of the marching order.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (oh, we'll drown together)

http://www.ironmaiden.com/

Faithful Breath - Hard Breath (1983)

Faithful Breath was an ace German band who held on to their working class, bluesy heavy metal/hard rock style long after many of their peers had transitioned to the blossoming new genres of the 80s. They would make this transition themselves in a few years, when they transformed into the great speed metal band Risk, but the early half of that decade brought us some good Faithful Breath records like Skol, Gold 'n Glory, and Hard Breath.

If you don't like a lot of traditional blues with your metal music, stay far away from this album, because it's everywhere. Tracks like "Give Me What I Need" and "Warriors" veer quite close to the source, and I honestly prefer the more metallic side of the album. "Killer on the Loose" reeks of "Immigrant Song", aside from Heinz Mikus' very conversational vocals and the chorus. "Under My Wheels" could have been on MTV alongside ZZ Top and the Dire Straits. "Kids, We Want the World" is a good cruising anthem. I also enjoy the instrumental "Riding to Mongolia" and the ballad gone rocker "Like an Eagle in the Sky" with its shrill backing vocal. "Night Comes On" is a great rocking climax to the album. Hard Breath is not my favorite album from this cult legend, both of its successors are superior (and a lot more metal), but it's entertaining enough if you are fond of early NWOBHM and can relate to the era.

Highlights: Kids, We Want the World, Like an Eagle in the Sky, Night Comes On

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/faithfulbreath

Mass - Metal Fighter (1983)

Mass was a fairly popular German band a few decades ago as metal music was transitioning from its 70s rock roots, and most of their albums truly embody this bridge from blues based riffing to more aggressive chords and vocals. The band released 8 albums from 1977-86, of which Metal Fighter is the 6th. Despite the luscious cover art, most fans of modern metal would find an album like this inaccessible due to the age of its production and the lack of much heaviness. I am not most metal fans, of course, so I actually enjoy the album for what it was, laid back heavy metal which benefits from the ballsy vocals of Jack E. Burnside.

Granted, this band wasn't writing hooks at the level of the Scorpions, Accept, or Judas Priest, but some of the tracks have their charm, in particular the bluesy swagger of "Fire from Hell", the pure NWOBHM of "Break Out", the dirty roadster "Outlaw" and the fist pumping "I Cut Through". Their cover of "Born to Be Wild" manages to be less heavy than the original, and there are a few weaker tunes like the cheesy opener "Metal Man" or the ballad "Leaders Call". I can't really recommend this album except to those who can grasp an appreciation of metal's roots, those shaky years from the mid to late 70s which, despite themselves, manages to lay the concrete foundation for all metal music to come. And even to those few brave souls, there are better albums out there. Metal Fighter is not unpleasant, and it is one of the better records from this forgotten band.

Highlights: Fire From Hell, Break Out, I Cut Through, Outlaw

Verdict: Win [7/10]

Autothrall's Best Metal Albums of 1983

The Top 20 Metal Albums of 1983

01. Metallica (USA) - Kill 'Em All
02. Def Leppard (UK) - Pyromania
03. Slayer (USA) - Show No Mercy
04. Iron Maiden (UK) - Piece of Mind
05. Mercyful Fate (Denmark) - Melissa
06. Savatage (USA) - Sirens

07. Ozzy Osbourne (UK) - Bark at the Moon
08. Satan (UK) - Court in the Act
09. Loudness (Japan) - The Law of Devil's Land
10. Witchfinder General (UK) - Friends of Hell
11. Exciter (Canada) - Heavy Metal Maniac
12. Saxon (UK) - Power and the Glory
13. Manilla Road (USA) - Crystal Logic
14. Oz (Fi) - Fire in the Brain
15. Manowar (USA) - Into Glory Ride
16. Acid (Belgium) - Maniac
17. Raven (UK) - All for One
18. Accept (Germany) - Balls to the Wall
19. Riot (USA) - Born in America

20. Thin Lizzy (UK) - Thunder & Lightning

I was not yet aged to the double digits in 1983, so naturally a few of these more obscure choices were those I encountered way down the timeline. Bands like Slayer and Metallica were more or less banned in my circle, but that worked out as they took a few years to circulate and swell in popularity. It might seem heresy that I've included Def Leppard's Pyromania and ranked it above records from Slayer and Iron Maiden, but it was nonetheless a remarkable piece of music and I must have worn down both my vinyl and cassette versions I listened to it so damned much. Anyway I slice it, though, 1983 belonged to Metallica and Kill 'Em All, an immortal fusion of traditional British metal influences and the speed/thrash that was starting to come into fruition here in the States. Still a lot of NWOBHM here. A few totally overlooked gems like the Oz, Acid and Manilla Road that deserve a listen. Manilla in particular, they might not have shown up on a lot of these lists I've drafted, but they were a very good band for a very long time.

UPDATED FOR 2020