William_the_Bloody

That totally reminds me that I forgot to add Joan Jett & the Blackhearts to my punk countdown thing I did last year.

I take it Unknown Sold, that you think there more punk than metal....or could they pop up? 81 the iconic year of "I love rock n roll"

The Batlord

Now whenever US makes an entry that I disagree with I'm going to call him Unknown Sold Out.

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William_the_Bloody

Lol, well he does seem to be on the more commercial side of things. I'm still floored at how low Venom was rated...its all good though.

The Batlord

Pussy's gonna pussy.

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Unknown Soldier

I find this whole Venom thing, a kind of romantic metal notion of supposedly thinking something as grassroots sounding as Venom, should be seen as something almighty in the annals of metal.

Firstly if low fidelity recordings and black metal hadn't made the impact that it did, I doubt people would be going on about how great Venom were. Secondly most of the bands that were influenced by Venom in the thrash, death and black metal genres were superior anyway. Thirdly I'm not really into a band that sounds like it recorded their album in the back bedroom, at least Manilla Road sounded like theirs had been done in a basement.

Finally, unless you have the volume turned up high you ain't hearing **** when it comes to Venom as the production is that bad. I don't dislike the band my any means, I just think they're the perfect example of a band rising to an exalted status in retrospect, much like say the Velvet Underground did.

Saying this though, I always pretty much dig "Countess Bathory".

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
With no individual section for live albums now, they’ll now be entered into the main top 20 list and Motorhead’s first official live album No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith is usually regarded by aficionados as one of the best live albums of its type and a live album that fits into the classic era where live albums were at their most popular. The album material is garnered from the band’s 1981 tour which was entitled ‘The Short, Sharp Pain in the Neck Tour’ after drummer Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor had been dropped on his head, by the other members of the band after a show! The most startling aspect though regarding the album material, is that all of it is taken from the band’s live Leeds and Newcastle shows and with nothing from the Hammersmith Odeon, which is hardly surprising anyway as the band never played at Hammersmith on the whole tour! I’m guessing the reference to Hammersmith in the album title was just a good marketing ploy, as it has always been one of the prestigious live venues on the London circuit. Originally the band had planned the album to be a double, but when it came to cutting the album there was apparently only enough material for about three sides, hence the issuing of the album as a normal single album back in 1981. Needless to say since then and over the years, there have been various exapanded versions of the album available which greatly increase the album’s overall length. The album peaked at number one on the UK album chart (the band’s only ever number one album) and was supported by the live single “Motorhead” which besides appearing on the album, was actually an old song written by Lemmy from his Hawkwind days and it had appeared on the both the Motorhead and On Parole albums. No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith was a great marketing ploy in 1981 and was the perfect example of how to release a live album in order to maximise a band’s commercial exposure to the maximum. On the album’s release the band had on their backs acclaimed albums like Overkill and Bomber both 1979 and their biggest album the Ace of Spades 1980. Along with these albums, they also had the Vic Maille initiated project with the heavy metal in-chicks of Girlschool and this consisted of the three track St. Valentine’s Day Massacre EP which was released in 1981 and matched Motorhead up with their female counterparts. This EP in turn was preceeded by the Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers EP which was released in 1980, so Motorhead saw their first official live album released at the height of the band’s popularity in the UK. At this time in the UK just about everybody knew who Motorhead were whether they liked them or not, especially the badass figure of Lemmy. The album cover left no shadow of a doubt, that the album was a live recording and it’s a recording that needs to be in most CD/record collections.

Verdict
First up No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith must be one of the most frenzied live albums ever recorded as Lemmy and crew just seem to whizz through the eleven tracks in record time. This almighty rip-up starts with the perfect show opening of the “Ace of Spades” and basically from the word go the tempo of the album hardly changes. Songs like “The Hammer” are examples of tracks well placed to maintain this whirlwind approach throughout the album and they continually demonstrate the band’s relentless energy. The band’s rendition of previous album title tracks like “Overkill” and “Bomber” are speed monsters and they might be two of my favourites on the whole album, as is the the live single “Motorhead” which perfectly closes out this blistering 40 minute live album, which ultimately ends with an air-raid siren! The slowest track on the album is unsurprisingly “Capricorn” from the Overkill album, which despite not being a song I liked that much does work here though, largely because it’s the only relapse we get while the storm’s blowing a gale on the rest of the album. Studio album stalwarts such as “Stay Clean” “Metropolis” “No Class” and “(We Are) the Road Crew” sound better than ever and I have to say that there are no real weak choices in the material being used for the original album of 1981. Also despite nearly all the songs coming from the band’s previous three albums, there are some tracks that don’t like “Iron Horse/Born to Lose” which was the band’s tribute to the Hells Angels and this song appeared on the On Parole and Motorhead albums. The album smokes and bristles and is a perfect example of a live album that still sounds as good today as it did back then, something I usually think anyway when it comes to classic live albums, especially since the 1970s were without doubt the era of the ‘live album’. No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith might be a couple of years into the 1980s, but as far as I’m concerned it stll comes under that special live era just mentioned. On the flip side, most live albums back then tended to suffer from being cut from how the band wanted and this usually meant a shorter album as well. But No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith is one of the few albums though on its original release that probably never suffered from this trait. Overall No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith brings the curtain down on the band’s golden era and plays like a greatest hits album, by recapping in a live setting the band’s previous three killer albums Overkill, Bomber and the Ace of Spades (see reviews) These three albums had permanently cemented the the hard rocking trio in the annals of hard rock glory and No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith belongs with that triumviate. The album has also managed to get itself into the list of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Lemmy- Bass/Vocals
Fast ‘Eddie’ Clarke- Guitar
Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor- Drums

Production- Vic Maile

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
For many a year I knew just various songs from Motley Crue despite their superstar status (in fact I could say the same for a number of the other glam metal bands as well) as I was always one of those metal-listeners that shunned to a degree glam metal in favour of its more traditional heavy metal and extreme metal counterparts. But since starting this journal sometime ago, I’ve secretly been looking forward to re-evaluating this whole glam metal sub-genre, largely because my metal musical tastes have changed in recent years. This is largely because I now see the fun aspect of metal, to be just as important as its more serious side and the Motley Crue debut in 1981 is probably the best place for anybody wanting to jump onto what would become known as the ‘glam metal genre’ within a few years. Motley Crue were one of a number of bands that grew out of the booming LA metal scene that contained other scene leaders such as Kix (who moved there from Maryland) and the already veteran Quiet Riot, and it was a scene that was based around the colourful and hedonistic LA ‘Sunset Strip’. Most of the scene was heavily indebted to the likes of the New York Dolls, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and the British glam rock bands of the 1970s stylistically and were now being fuelled along by the booming power of a band like Y&T and the glamorous commercialism of Van Halen, whose position as ‘The American Metal Band’ made them an obvious focal point for these bands to follow. Motley Crue were like a lot of the LA scene bands and came together from various feeder outfits, of which one called London was probably the best known and would supply bassist and band founder Nikki Sixx. The band was therefore formed by Nikki Sixx who had teamed up with drummer Tommy Lee and they would soon hire guitarist Mick Mars. After going through various vocalists, they decided to settle on vocalist Vince Neil who amongst other things had been in a Cheap Trick tribute band and they dug his frontman attitude and wanted him from the word go! The band then released their debut album Too Fast for Love on their own Leathur Records label (which has quite a different song order than the Elektra version) and they went down a storm with the quality of their shows and one of their many fans had been a certain Ian Gillan amongst others. Soon various labels were looking at them before they were hitched up to Elektra, who made them have the album remixed and produced to a higher standard (the album everybody knows and loves) This was done by acclaimed producer Roy Thomas Baker and since the time of its release the album makes most ‘best ever metal albums’ lists and and is usually regarded as probably the greatest ever ‘glam metal’ release as well. Its pronounced album cover is based on the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers era style crotch-shot, which of course has the Rolling Stones version of a man wearing simple denims and in a normal pose. Motley Crue go in for a much more unisex image with a swagger pose along with all the trimmings that go with it, adjectives which would perfectly sum up what Motley Crue were all about. It wouldn’t be long though, before the band became known as the ‘Tinsel Town Terrors’ and the ‘Horrors of Hollywood’ and the band would be an arrival that were here to stay!

Verdict
Motley Crue simply arrived like a sleazy tornado and this torrent of glamorous sleaze arrived in superb fashion with the album opener “Live Wire” where its pounding speed and glammy blitzkrieg assault announced the band’s arrival on the scene and with Vince Neil chanting ‘I’m alive’ it was quickly apparent that few bands were alive as Motley Crue were. The second track “Come on and Dance” slows things down a bit but the heaviness gets even heavier here and the song has some pretty slick percussion thanks to Tommy Lee’s trash-can drumming. A track like “Merry-Go-Round” might be one of my favourites, because quite simply the song sounds like a homage to classic-era Cheap Trick, despite the fact I don’t dig the chessy bubblegum intro to the song that much, but the rest of the song is Motley Crue at their best, as Vince Neil delivers this type of song almost as well as Robin Zander could. If you’re not already rocking out by now after the first barrage of tracks, the first side album closer “Take Me to the Top” should remedy this with its instant energy pill thrill and its driving guitar riff by Mark Mars who is right on the ball here. Just when you think things can’t get that much better the band dish out the title track “Too Fast for Love” and close up with “On with the Show”. Other tracks like “Public Enemy #1” have an almost addictive anthem style and would be the type of thing that the band would always excel at, also the song was co-written by Nikki Sixx with London guitarist Lizzie Grey. But it’s the sleazy feel of “Piece of Your Action” which is probably what Motley Crue were all about, as here was a band that made no qualms about cutting into the action of all the numerous bands that they had been influenced by and Motley Crue made it clear on songs like this that they would do it their own way! Constantly like any good glam metal band pop sensibilities were high on the agenda as well and an obvious album track like the excellent “Starry Eyes” shows this style to perfection. Also the production skills of Roy Thomas Baker are most evident across the album, where his deliberate style brings out the best of the band. As a band Motley Crue came across as a hybrid of Kiss meets the New York Dolls and probably boasted on Too Fast for Love, an even greater bunch of addictive tracks song for song than these two previous bands had ever put out over an album. As for the band members Vince Neil as a vocalist was never the most gifted out there but his vocal style and obvious nod to his influences across the album is impressive to say the least and he serves as the perfect outlet for the other members of the band to show off both their attitude and energy, and in my opinion there is some pretty impressive playing by the other three members of the band. Overall cheap gutter-style metal never sounded that much better than this and Motley Crue announced that sleazy low rent rock was here to stay and I’ve gotta say that this was the most addictive listen on this year's list without a shadow of a doubt.

Vince Neil- Vocals
Mark Mars- Guitar
Nikki Sixx- Bass
Tommy Lee- Drums

Production- Roy Thomas Baker

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
Killers would be the second album by Iron Maiden and their first with guitarist Adrian Smith but their last with vocalist Paul Di’Anno. By 1981 Iron Maiden with their dynamic riffs and punk attitude were riding the crest of the wave in the UK in terms of metal popularity and besides having an instant smash with their eponymous debut album, they had also succeeded in having a trio of top 40 singles under their belts as well. But even more significantly the band had toured as a major support for two of the biggest heavy metal acts in the world, the first of these was for Judas Priest in the UK and for Kiss on the European mainland (despite Kiss’ newish desire to now be a pop band) and most notably they put out a stunning live performance at the Reading Festival in 1980. So with this type of publicity a lot was expected of the band’s follow-up album Killers, which was released in February 1981 in the UK and June 1981 in the USA. As said 1981 would feature a number of changes for the band and the first notable change was that of guitarist Dennis Stratton who was said to have left for musical differences, but some accounts state differences with band manager Rod Smallwood and band leader Steve Harris. His replacement Adrian Harris was recruited from the local scene band Urchin which also happened to be the band that guitarist Dave Murray had also been in (the two were friends and I guess Maiden were looking for a bond here) In the production room ‘The Headmaster’ Martin Birch came in for Will Malone and Martin Birch a producer/engineer had just about worked with all the people that mattered and I’d say he’s probably worked on more albums in my journal than anybody else has! Some quarters actually criticize Killers as an album, by accusing it of being a hastily assesmbled follow-up to the debut, but personally I don’t see it as being that hasty as there is around 10 months between the two release dates! A lot of this opinion though actually comes from the fact that most of the material on the Killers album, is actually the material that was left off the debut. This though in should hardly be an issue given the fact that a huge amount of sophomores are recorded like so and there are a number of albums that I can point to where the sophomore material is actually better than the debut. The band also continued with what would be their trend of stellar album covers and the Killers album cover is probably even more devilishly alluring with Eddie on than the debut was. Killers would dent the US album charts and really open the band up in Japan, where metal appetites were really wet for more quality metal after the success of bands like Judas Priest and the Scorpions etc there. But the most notable thing about Killers is that it was the last album with iconic vocalist Paul Di’Anno whose punk vocal style approach actually set the band apart from a lot of the other NWOBHM acts, but his constant alcohol and substance abuse is often cited as the reason for his departure, even though I’d say that Steve Harris and company were probably already looking for an ideal stadium metal singer to shoot the band upto the highest level of the rock hierarchy. The often forgotten live EP Maiden Japan was also released in 1981 and was actually Paul Di’Anno’s last recording with the band.

Verdict
I’ve always found the opinions between the first two Iron Maiden albums contradictory, as critics usually point to the debut as being the better album, but then state that the Killers album sounds even better than the debut! Metal fans usually dig the charged up flow of Killers over the debut, but then often pick more standout tracks from the debut over it. Of the two the debut is of course the more famous and groundbreaking album and I’ve placed both albums in my ‘Top 3’ for both 1980 and 1981, but overall which album do I actually think is better, despite the fact that 1980 was a stronger year than 1981 overall? When listening to Killers though, the first thing that hits you is just how superior the band sound now in terms of production, which of course is thanks to Martin Birch who would go on to become the in-house producer of the band. This clarity is noticeable on the album opener the instrumental “Ides of March” but it’s when it hits the second track the masterful “Wrathchild” with its driving basslines and rhythm drumming you realise that the band are in the big league production wise, and also 'the growler' Paul Di’Anno never sounded any better than this! But not all the songs on the album are up to the level of “Wrathchild” and these are songs like “Murders in the Rue Morgue” which does sound like a leftover track from the debut, even though it’s considered a popular track. Then there is the more melodic “Prodigal Son” which really doesn’t work here and doesn’t even work as a musical departure from the rest of the album. Tracks that really represent the energy of the album are those that have Paul Di’Anno constantly singing in an umtempo manner with the band following and these can be heard on “Another Life” “Purgatory” “Drifter” “Innocent Exile” and “Killers” with the last two here being Paul Di’Anno era essentials, and despite being an instrumental “Genghis Khan” for its feel belongs with this batch of tracks as well. The band themes of murderers, outcasts and historical tyrants is easily evidenced across the album and this comes courtesy of Steve Harris who as songwriter completely dominates the album. The twin-guitar attack of Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton which had been so masterful on the debut, is equally matched here by the new diamond team of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, and across the album this twin guitar duo constantly matches K.K Downing and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest every step of the way. Overall the debut album from a pure musical perspective and as a groundbreaker, is the superior album largely due to its more focused approach despite its lower production values. But if you’re an established metaller that knows what to look for, then the more energetic and deeper bluesy hard rock feel of Killers is probably more appealing, as the band thrust out a deeper sound that caters for fans of the hard rock genre. Overall Killers as an album doesn’t seek to improve on what the debut did, but instead it’s like a celebration of the band achieving their breakthrough as one of the biggest metal bands in the UK. Personally I think the debut is the better album, but given the choice of listening to the two, I’d probably take Killers which makes me just about as contradictory as nearly everybody else regarding these two great albums.

Paul Di’Anno- Vocals
Dave Murray- Guitar
Adrian Smith- Guitar
Steve Harris- Bass
Clive Burr- Drums

Production- Martin Birch

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

Overview
Denim and Leather would universally be seen as Saxon’s most acclaimed album, which is not surprising as the band were riding the crest of the wave in 1981. As the previous year they had scorched the metal world with an enviable collection of proto-speed and testosterone metal classics, and it seemed the band had these type of cuts by the truckload. They had also toured the UK extensively and as leaders of the NWOBHM they were a popular draw at major metal festivals and had been headliners at the ‘Donington Monsters of Rock’ festival the previous year and were also a regular metal feature on Top of the Pops at this time as well (for any non-Brits it was a very popular top 40 singles show and regular metal would feature on it in the early 1980s due to its popularity) all factors which put them right up there with fellow heavyweights Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. The band would no longer continue with producer Pete Hinton and bring in another producer in Nigel Thomas who does a similar and solid job. This would also be the last album featuring the band’s classic line-up, as drummer Pete Gill would leave the band because of a hand injury before later winding up in Motorhead. As the album title suggests, the material revolves around the band’s favourite themes of denim, leather, booze, bikes and birds, and yet again they would give us their spiralling riffs, tight drumming, rampant vocals and an eviable collection of heavy metal anthems. These themes had been heavily focused on with Wheels of Steel, but in turn had given over to more general themes for Strong Arm of the Law, and this lyrical generalisation would now go onto feature on Denim and Leather. ‘Biff’s Budgie’ would again feature on the album cover, but for a band of their status it was somewhat disappointing to see their lack of variation when it came to album covers over their last three albums. I’ve also mentioned before why Saxon never quite attained the same level of long term success as their nearest NWOBHM rivals Iron Maiden or Def Leppard did and surely the most notable aspect here, is the fact that the band had released a trio of classic metal albums in just a 17 month period. Meaning that the band had poured out their creativity far too quickly, which led to a kind of a creative meltdown by the band after the release of Denim and Leather, which couldn’t have come at a worse time as their biggest rivals were hitting the US market in true conquering style and this would be time that the band wouldn’t be able to make up over the next couple of years despite all their efforts.

Verdict
Over the course of the last few years Saxon had demonstrated that hard work with a signature stripped-back sound and real enthusiasm had been vital cogs for their success in the UK, Europe and Japan, and they had proved that they were probably the most important band in terms of sheer energy for the success of the NWOBHM in its prime exposure years of 1980 and 1981. Even in 1982 when they didn’t release a studio album, they were still major metal headliners on their European Tour and even had Ozzy Osbourne opening for them! As for the album, the opening track “Princess of the Night” is without doubt a quality track put out by a band that totally feel at ease with their own sound and ability, and the track is one of the album’s three singles and supposedly it's a love song about a train! This vein of form continues onto the second track “Never Surrender” which despite not being as strong as the previous song, does carry the same spirit across to the listener and the same can be said for “Play it Loud” as well. But the real quality of this album lies in its ‘album cuts’ those songs that are simply made to bulk out the album, but with pure quality rather than filler and this can be heard on songs like the composed “Out of Control” the slightly faster “Rough and Ready” the slick “Midnight Rider” and the nearest that the band ever get to speed metal on the album “Fire in the Sky”. These songs show a real composure that meld the compositonal ability of the band with their melodic metal ability, a fusion that few bands could really match at the time. This though does come at the cost of the band’s speed metal intuitions from their previous two albums, but then again Saxon weren’t looking to recreate the previous two albums here. The two jewels of the album though are “And the Bands Played On” surely one of the most infectious commercial efforts to be put out by any metal band around this time and finally the band’s ode to metal, the classic title cut “Denim and Leather” which seemingly reaccounts the rise of the NWOBHM from 1979 to 1981. Biff Byford's vocals can be seen to be a continuation in terms of quality from Strong Arm of the Law, as the greater depth of the music being churned out here, gives him a perfect platform to dominate across its nine tracks. The controlled riffing of Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn is at times played within their own limitations, but also played to their strengths as well. Comparing the three classic albums from the band’s ‘golden period’ Wheels of Steel tends to have greater stand out tracks, for example in its single’s material and heavy metal anthems, but in terms of songwriting Strong Arm of the Law shows a greater level of consistency, with no weak tracks in its listing. But Denim and Leather is largely superior to either of the two previous albums due to its more composed feel, which comes from a band that are truly aware that they’re at the top of their game.

Biff Byford- Vocals
Graham Oliver- Guitar
Paul Quinn- Guitar
Steve Dawson- Bass
Pete Gill- Drums

Production- Nigel Thomas/Saxon

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

William_the_Bloody

Great album! The studio version of Denim & Leather has one of the catchiest rhythms I've ever heard. Glad to see it rated so high.