So it's 31st December 1984

It's 31st December 1984...

... and you need to make a top ten list. What are the top ten best heavy metal / heavy rock / hard rock albums ever made?

5 years have passed since the last list.. You can use that thread as a starting point. What new albums make the list, which older albums get forced out?

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
Voivod - War and Pain
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
Dio - The Last in Line
Exciter - Violence & Force
Metal Church - Metal Church
Trouble - Psalm 9
Sortilège - Métamorphose

Mega honorable mentions for Slayer, Destruction, Hellhammer, Sodom  Bathory and Venom (great but not their best)

WASP, Armoured Saint, Loudness, Twisted Sister, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Warlock & Hanoi Rocks also just miss out despite being firm favorites at the time.

Mamas Boys & Madam X also evoke fond memories.

What a year!!

I think you misunderstood the topic. Best albums EVER. Just pretend it's the last day of '84, and everything up until that point can be included.

I'll be doing a video to this effect soon. Haha! Tons of great releases from 1984.

Again, it doesn't have to be from 1984. Same deal as the previous thread - just now there's 5 more years worth of albums to choose from.

Here's my list:


1. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (1980) - this is what happens when Rainbow meets Sabbath!

2. Dio - Holy Diver (1983) another monster record by RJD

3. Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith (1984) - my favourite Priest album, and IMO the pinnacle of their golden era

4. Judas Priest - Stained Class (1978) - the first "grandfathered" album on the list, and now suddenly there's 2 Priest albums in the top 4!

5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984) - this was also Iron Maiden's golden era, and there's none better than Powerslave!

6. Van Halen - VH1 (1978) - #2 on the previous list, and still hanging in there with all these "newcomers"

7. Rainbow - Long Live Rock'n'Roll (1978) - already the third time I've got Dio listed here...

8. Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970) - #4 on the '79 list

9. Saxon - Wheels of Steel (1980) - the damn had already began to burst in '79, but this was the best of the classic Saxon

10. Deep Purple - In Rock (1970) - obviously the hardest choice will always be #10. A lot of great early 80's challengers for this spot, but I'm gonna give it to Purple. Though if you ask me tomorrow, it might be something completely different like Metallica's Kill'Em All or Queensryche's the Warning

And no more 60's albums left on my list (Led Zep II was on the previous list). So 5 albums got grandfathered in, and 5 new ones.

My original list:

Spoiler:

Obviously the next thread will then add the rest of the 80's to the list... hope the concept isn't too hard? It's basically about going back in time and figuring out what would your favourites be, were you to live in that time right now. But you can't take any knowledge of the future with you on this imaginary trip through time. You live with what you have available at that time.

So if I'd walk in to a record store in December of '84, this is what I'd have on my shopping list.

Lari wrote:

Again, it doesn't have to be from 1984. Same deal as the previous thread - just now there's 5 more years worth of albums to choose from.

Oh well crap, that makes it even tougher.

Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Metal Church - Metal Church
Trouble - Psalm 9
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
Dio - The Last in Line
Scorpions - Love at First Sting
Van Halen - 1984
Ratt - Out of the Cellar
Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
Anthrax - Fistful of Metal

Troublezone wrote:

Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Metal Church - Metal Church
Trouble - Psalm 9
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
Dio - The Last in Line
Scorpions - Love at First Sting
Van Halen - 1984
Ratt - Out of the Cellar
Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
Anthrax - Fistful of Metal

*facepalm*

I guess the concept is just too difficult to understand.

What was I thinking?

I get it. You want best albums ever (in that posters opinion) but nothing beyond the end of '84.

Judas Priest - Stained Class
Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Rainbow - Rising
Led Zeppelin - IV
Kiss - S/T
AC/DC - Let There Be Rock
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Van Halen - S/T

Thank you!

It's a hard question to answer if you weren't around because the perception/influence of some albums has changed. Also, it can take time for records to sink in and dethrone classics, so if I were to do this in 1984 (ie: if I were lucky enough to be around back then!), there probably wouldn't be many albums from 83 or 84. Nevertheless, here's my attempt:

1. Metallica - Kill 'em All (1983) - The birth of the best subgenre of music. I couldn't even imagine how monumental this must have been back in its time.

2. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (1980) - Not a bad song on this disc, and even in the context of 2015, it holds up as a top 20 album of all-time.

3. Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast (1982) - I prefer Piece of Mind, but in 1984, I think the impact of this album would be more immediate, especially given how many hits it has.

4. Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance (1982) - It's tough to say if this could top Stained Class at the time, but this was my first Priest album and is still my favourite.

5. Alice Cooper - Killer (1971) - Much like Heaven and Hell, every song on this album is a classic. Though it actually doesn't feature too many of the band's best songs (relative to Love It To Death or Billion Dollar Babies), it is consistently the greatest.

6. Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz (1980) - Ozzy at his best (Sabbath included). Rhoads' work on this album brings it to another level.

7. Motorhead - Ace of Spades (1980) - Not too much to say about this other than that it's Motorhead. You could probably substitute this for Overkill or Bomber, as all 3 are equally great.

8. Manowar - Hail To England (1984) - One of the coolest albums ever. Super manly and hilarious. "Bridge of Death" remains one of the most unintentionally humourous songs ever.

9. Anvil - Metal On Metal (1982) - This question is one where Anvil really shines. After you go through all of the classic metal bands (ie: the ones above), Anvil shines pretty much at the top of the metal scene. Though they would quickly fall behind, Anvil would be a difficult band to top in the early 1980s.

10. Mercyful Fate - Melissa (1983) - This album is a monolith of riffs and solos, not to mention insane vocals! A true classic.

A few caveats about the above: Destruction's Sentence of Death is fully deserving of a spot, but in the context of 1984, I don't know how many people would even have known about the record back then, and it also probably would have been too absurd at the time to properly appreciate. Also, the NWOBHM gets a bit screwed by this timing. Some true classics that came out in 1980 (Angel Witch, Lightning To The Nations), get beaten out as metal became a bit more aggressive over time.

Nice!

Aside from Manowar, I could get behind all of those.

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
Ozzy - Diary of a Madman
Judas Priest - British Steel
Van Halen - 1
Metallica -  Kill 'em All
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Trouble - Psalm 9
Suicidal Tendencies - S/T
Def Leppard - High and Dry
Scorpions - Blackout

Interesting everyone has a different Priest album on their list.

Up until this point, they really were incredible. Could have 3 or 4 of their albums crack the list!

In no particular order:

W.A.S.P. - S/T
ACCEPT - Balls to the Wall
IRON MAIDEN - The Number of the Beast
DEF LEPPARD - Pyromania
JUDAS PRIEST - Defenders of the Faith
DIO - The Last in Line
MERCYFUL FATE - Don't Break the Oath
LIVING DEATH - Vengeance of Hell
SLAYER - Show No Mercy
MANOWAR - Battle Hymns

Sweet...Desolation Boulevard
Judas Priest..Point Of Entry
Motley Crue...Too Fast For Love
Van Halen...S/T
scorpions...Animal Magnetism
Ozzy..Diary Of A Madman
Riot..Fire Down Under
Riot..Narita
AC/DC...Powerage
Saxon...The Eagle has landed

brokentulsa wrote:

Sweet...Desolation Boulevard
Judas Priest..Point Of Entry
Motley Crue...Too Fast For Love
Van Halen...S/T
scorpions...Animal Magnetism
Ozzy..Diary Of A Madman
Riot..Fire Down Under
Riot..Narita
AC/DC...Powerage
Saxon...The Eagle has landed

Now, I can understand personal preference to a degree, but of all the legendary albums Priest had done up to this point, you choose THAT?!

I think you owe us all an explanation. Why Point of Entry?

Nobody owes an explanation for making their own personal choices.

Now I wish I had chosen it...just to piss people off.

It doesn't piss me off. Just baffles me. And then intrigues me.

Quote :

Just baffles me. And then intrigues me.

Ok Lari..here is the deal..I love a few other priest albums like "screaming for vengeance" and my favorite priest album "turbo" ... but that being said Point Of Entry is a great album with 2 of my absolute favorite priest songs ever..."desert Plains" and "Solar Angels"...All the albums before point of entry have a few tracks on each of them I like but Point of entry is the first Priest album I liked every single track...I am a glam metal fan at heart and to me Point of Entry is a much more commercial, while remaining heavy, album than everything before it...screaming for vengeance kept that going and by the time we get to turbo (which is a glam metal album) its full on...so here is the way I personally rank the priest albums...

Turbo
Point of Entry
Screaming for Vengeance
Defenders of the Faith
Redeemer Of Souls
Angel Of Retribution
Ram It Down
Hell Bent for Leather
Sad Wings of Destiny
British Steel
And then everything else in no particular order
....
So there ya have it Lari...so now we can get back to the original thread topic...  

Come on now. Turbo is great and very underrated album - a top-5 JP album for me, but glam it is not.

KISS - Animalize
KISS - Creatures Of The Night
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Metal Church - Metal Church
Black Sabbath - Born Again
Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance
Van Halen - Van Halen
Blue Oyster Cult - Spectres
Triumph - Thunder Seven
WASP - WASP

brokentulsa wrote:

Quote :

Just baffles me. And then intrigues me.

Ok Lari..here is the deal..I love a few other priest albums like "screaming for vengeance" and my favorite priest album "turbo" ... but that being said Point Of Entry is a great album with 2 of my absolute favorite priest songs ever..."desert Plains" and "Solar Angels"...All the albums before point of entry have a few tracks on each of them I like but Point of entry is the first Priest album I liked every single track...I am a glam metal fan at heart and to me Point of Entry is a much more commercial, while remaining heavy, album than everything before it...screaming for vengeance kept that going and by the time we get to turbo (which is a glam metal album) its full on...so here is the way I personally rank the priest albums...

Turbo
Point of Entry
Screaming for Vengeance
Defenders of the Faith
Redeemer Of Souls
Angel Of Retribution
Ram It Down
Hell Bent for Leather
Sad Wings of Destiny
British Steel
And then everything else in no particular order
....
So there ya have it Lari...so now we can get back to the original thread topic...  

Yup. Different opinions.

You don't like Stained Class at all, or it just doesn't rank because they have so many better albums?