Anniversary Series - 1982!

While I do apologize for the lack of posts lately, but I am certainly not going to miss out on doing another Anniversary Series article.  This time: 1982, which is a pretty solid year.  Following up on 1977 would be hard, but this year has plenty of rock and metal to celebrate.

Right off, the year starts with three pretty big albums.  First is Asia's debut, a solid pack of AOR melodic rock, and one of my favorites of all time.  And given that it was the best selling album of the year, I don't think I'm alone in that.  The next big one was Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast, kickstarting Bruce Dickinson's rise to the top of heavy metal vocalists, and catapulting the band to the heights of metal history.  This was followed by Scorpions' Blackout, with the big hit "No One Like You," helping to grow their international appeal.

As spring turns to summer, we see a landslide of melodic rock.  Toto released their massive IV album, with "Rosanna" and "Africa" become radio staples for many years to come.  Meanwhile, Magnum found themselves with Chase the Dragon, Rainbow continued their push into FM radio with Straight Between the Eyes, .38 Special gave us "Caught Up In You," Survivor told us about the "Eye of the Tiger," and the Steve Miller Band cast their spell with "Abracadabra." On top of all that, the Alan Parsons Project shift into melodic rock as well with Eye in the Sky, not only getting a big hit with the title track, but ensuring that the Chicago Bulls would have great intro music for their games for years to come.

Heavy metal was also heating up, with Anvil establishing their Metal on Metal sound, Manowar releasing their debut Battle Hymns, Twisted Sister put out their debut Under the Blade, and Judas Priest coming back from their lukewarm last album with the acclaimed Screaming with Vengeance, with the big hit "You've Got Another Thing," and the fan favorite "Electric Eye."  Accept would soon follow afterward with Restless and Wild, helping to push metal into going "Fast as a Shark," while telling us about the "Princess of the Dawn."

The rest of the year would give us a few solid rock albums.  Rush would push further into synthesizer territory with Signals, Dire Straits would warn us of the dangers of "Industrial Disease" on Love Over Gold, and Led Zeppelin would release their last, posthumous album Coda, putting a definitive capstone on their illustrious music productivity.  Closing out the year, Night Ranger would debut with Dawn Patrol, providing the big hit "Don't Tell Me You Love Me," and showing the future of rock in the 80s with their pop metal sound.

1982 sees more transitions, as AOR reaches its peak with metal coming up behind them, making it a fascinating year with a lot of variety.  As always, I've got the playlist below, and if you think I've missed something, let me know!  Until then, rock on! \m/