Urban Hat€monger ?

Ozzy's biggest problem is no matter how much he claims he might be the Prince of Darkness his wife is much closer to the real thing.

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Unknown Soldier

A bit of trivia that I didn't know here. Sharon Osbourne was actually the person that recruited Dio into Black Sabbath, while her father the band manager Don Arden was trying to get Ozzy to stay in the band.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

1981

1981 as a year could hardly eclipse the brilliance of 1980, but what it did do was consolidate all the in-roads that had already been established by the NWOBHM bands the previous year. Big NWOBHM guns such as Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard all released great albums in 1981, while the likes of Diamond Head and Angel Witch didn’t release follow-up albums to their classic debuts, a factor which almost immediately doomed both bands as future commercial metal giants in a fast moving metal world. It was also an odd year in many ways for metal as well, quite simply because it was the most ordered year of an ever changing decade. A revolution had taken place the previous year with the NWOBHM and now the storm of that movement had died down and the seas were settling on a new hierarchy. But like any gentle sea there was no guaranteee on which way the wind would blow when it actually came. Indicators of course suggested that the future lay with the NWOBHM and any related acts both new and established, as these bands had created the biggest ‘metal identity’ to date. The UK market proved vital for their development and growth, but the US market was where the true future lay and where these bands would ultimately flourish as commercial giants in the metal world, and from the new bands it was Iron Maiden and Def Leppard who would be the two to lead the way. Despite the establishment of the NWOBHM, other NWOBHM artists were still struggling though to get an album deal and would still have to wait a number of years before achieveing that deal, while other bargain basement dwellers like Venom actually did get that all important deal. As for the established artists they turned out to be a very mixed bag in 1981 and the likes of the new look Black Sabbath and Motorhead (albeit with a live release) were both on top form that year and also UFO briefly got their act back together as well. But it was disappointment for both AC/DC and Judas Priest, two bands that fired duds that year. AC/DC on For Those About to Rock, We Salute You quite simply failed to press the ignition switch on that album and on Judas Priest’s Point of Entry the songs just weren’t there. Elder statesmen like Thin Lizzy had lost their edge if not their popularity, but both Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham were in the depths of heroin addiction and their creativity had nosedived, but their 1981 album featuring Snowy White Renegade, was still nowhere near as poor as it’s made out to be and I actually think it’s a decent album (but still not good enough for the top 20 though) Stateside Van Halen were very much the order the day with their grittiest release to date and there was a return to form for New York metal act Riot, who released one of the best metal albums of the year. But the most interesting US release would come in the shape of the hedonistic Motley Crue and much like the Venom debut which would be at the other end of the metal spectrum, it would shape much of the metal scene for the rest of the decade!

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Album
I started the previous year’s listings with what I call bargain-basement grassroots metal courtesy of Manilla Road and this year yet again, it’s another American metal band from the bargain bin who were dishing out the type of metal that they wanted! The band were California based Cirith Ungol who were named of course after the infamous mountain pass in Middle-Earth, which of course was the home of Shelob and for any unanointed out there who didn’t know that, then you should really go and read some Tolkien! Now unlike Manilla Road who operated as a trio, Cirith Ungol were more designed along the lines of a say a prog band with five represented artists and principal amongst these artists was guitarist, synth player and general song writer Greg Lindstrom, who really had an ear for a tune. Cirith Ungol much like the aforementioned Manilla Road, had their musical influences as much in progressive rock as they did with what could now be called traditional hard rock and heavy metal. The band quite simply melded their musical influences together in the most practical way possible and towed the fantasy sword and sorcery metal line for what it was worth. Cirith Ungol on Frost and Fire produced one of those early underground metal sounding records, that would be influential on the soon to be extreme metal scene but the band usually garnered some really bad reviews, which were surely fuelled up by the band’s fondness to meander with their music and the atrocious sounding vocals of Tim Baker, in fact one review I once saw called them one of the worst bands in the history of metal! Nevertheless the band are usually seen as laying down the sound for the soon to arrive extreme metal scene and the bleaker sounds of bands like Celtic Frost, which is all quite strange really as their debut displays a largely uptempo and melodic sound, but I guess the vocal content could be deemed as being extremely bleak sounding. Album opener and title track “Frost and Fire” cuts right to the chase and sounds like a mini “2112” not that Rush fans would be all that impressed with my comparison! The album also contains pop sensibilities on songs like “What Does it Take” with its heavy melodic synth and there is the crunchy melodic hard rock of “Edge of a Knife” two songs mostly built around melody. But the best on the album comes in its b-movie sounding epics like “I’m Alive” “A Little Fire” the groovy sounding “Better Off Dead” and the 6 minute instrumental album closer “Maybe That’s Why”. Finally if this list were purely objective then Frost and Fire probably wouldn’t have made the ‘Top 20’ in terms of quality, as albums by the likes of Viva, Dark Star, Holocaust, Thin Lizzy and the Rods all probably had better claims here, but as this list is also very subjective meaning that personal taste counts, I’d sooner listen to Frost and Fire over those five albums on most days and the album much like those cult b-movies is a must for those that like this type of thing!

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Isbjørn

I've not read the review, but heck be damned, that's a cool album cover.

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The Batlord

You booted Holocaust off your list for Cirith ****ing Ungol?

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Unknown Soldier

Those type of album covers either do it for you or they don't.

If more of the songs sounded like this, then they would have.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Album
The arrival of the NWOBHM really should’ve revitalised or at least guaranteed the continuing fortunes of the bands that had helped to inspire it, but by and large the likes of bands like Uriah Heep, Budgie, Thin Lizzy and UFO largely failed on a creative level to achieve that goal. Budgie for example were just contented to dish out clichéd hard rock on albums such as Power Supply (which I actually quite like but recognize it’s far from a good album) Whereas on the other hand a band like UFO minus Michael Schenker, now decided to delve into a more mid-tempo Bad Company type territory albeit with greater variety. The problem was that this middle-of-the-road hard rock material really didn’t fit the current metal scene and was dangerously exposed when the straight-up heavy numbers weren’t upto scratch either. This approach by the band had all been brutally exposed on their eighth album No Place to Run in 1980, which despite having quality material and some good tracks like the excellent “Lettin’ Go” all just seemed to lack the energy to make it all work! Over the last few years the band had also undergone line-up changes, as the previous cornerstone of the band Michael Schenker had finally left the band and had now been replaced by the equally competent Paul Chapman (who had previously played with the band before going to join Lone Star) By the time of 1981’s The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent, guitarist and keyboardist Paul Raymond had joined Michael Schenker and was replaced with Neil Carter who had previously worked with Gary Moore and Wild Horses. On The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent the band unlike the previously mentioned other veteran acts saw something of a return to form, as the type of material being offered up was far more in keeping with current trends and things were on the up with the gritty heavy album opener “Chains Chains” which sets the tone for the album. The lack of energy on their previous album is also rectified on energetic workouts like “Long Gone” and the title track “The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent” and overall the band seem hungrier for the challenge. The mid-tempo rockers that usually didn’t work on No Place to Run, work much better here on songs like “It’s Killing Me” “Makin’ Moves” melodic issues like “Lonely Heart” and “Couldn’t Get It Right” but the pick of them all is the album closer “Profession of Violence”. The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent is actually a very highly regarded album from what was a veteran band at the time and despite never ever quite becoming the new Led Zeppelin in the latter part of the 1970s, it’s was still great to see UFO put out this accomplished effort and make this year’s list.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Album
Praying Mantis were one of a multitude of NWOBHM bands that never quite made the jump into the big league, despite having spent a lot of time supporting Iron Maiden. Their quasi-pomp rock leanings had them almost with one foot in the AOR camp, whilst the other of course was firmly in the metal one (well almost) even though the band seemed to sound more like Foreigner than Iron Maiden at times! The band were led by brothers Tino Troy on guitar and Chris Troy on bass, with Bernie Shaw on vocals but the line-up was never that stable. Praying Mantis were Highlighted as one of the better metal bands when it came to combining harmony between their vocal and the guitar set-up and the band were truly capable of putting out some catchy hooks a la Def Leppard. But the real highlight of the band certainly came in the twin guitar attack of Tino Troy and Steve Carroll, two musicians who were certainly influenced by the twin guitar attack of Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson, in fact that is probably just one of the numerous Thin Lizzy influences that can be found on the album. Praying Mantis as a band can be completely summed up on their opening track “Cheated” which is a clever song that is a kind of fusion between a Thin Lizzy song and a classic AOR cut. The band quickly lay their melodic stall out as well on songs like “Running for Tomorrow” “Beads of Ebony” “Flirting With Suicide” and album closer “Children of the Earth”. The cream of the album surely comes on “Rich Kids” which sees the Thin Lizzy influences now being replaced by those of Iron Maiden, as they chuck out an AOR track that sounds like it has been recorded by Iron Maiden and Tino Troy almost doubles for Paul Di’Anno. This track is then followed by the melodic and heavy “Lovers to the Grave” another essential before the band then retreat to the Iron Maiden and Paul Di’Anno stance on “Panic in the Streets”. The big miss on the album is surely the disappointing cover of the Kinks’ classic “All the Day and All of the Night” and the band really should’ve left Kinks’ covers for Van Halen! and overall this album wouldn’t be out of place on an AOR playlist. This album has only reached position 18 on the list, for the simple reason that despite having a set of solid songs, I always felt that the album lacked a true soul and the reason for that is because Praying Mantis were very good at displaying their influences, rather than deftly infusing them like Diamond Head could. Praying Mantis never made the jump to the big league which was largely due to the band’s line-up instability that plagued them from early on, but they always remained popular on the Japanese scene. Singer Bernie Shaw would later go on to front Uriah Heep and Praying Mantis in 1990 had a certain Paul Di’Anno fronting them briefly as well.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Trollheart

I concur. The first band to be featured in "Witches, Bitches, Maidens and Monsters", my (so far) five-part look at the NWOBHM. A great way to start; sad they went down the "America calling/AOR" route and lost it. Could have been massive.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018