Anniversary Series - 1983!

After doing that massive collection of reviews for albums from 1983, I'm more than prepared for this Anniversary Article.  As I mentioned in that other article, 1983 was a pretty exciting year for rock and metal, and going over this year, it's hard to decide to what to keep and what to leave out!  Let's get into it.

Right off, we have some pretty massive releases from some great melodic rock bands.  Journey push their Frontiers with massive hits like "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Faithfully."  Styx released Kilroy Was Here with the ever-catchy "Mr. Roboto" and the great ballad "Don't Let It End."  Blues-rock masters ZZ Top put out Eliminator, featuring a lot of classic rock staples like "Give Me All Your Lovin'," "Got Me Under Pressure," "Sharped Dressed Man," and of course, "TV Dinners."  (Well, okay, that last one is just a personal favorite.)

Heavy metal was just starting to break into the mainstream, starting with Def Leppard's Pyromania, with tracks like "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" getting tons of airplay on MTV.  We also saw Mötley Crüe Shout at the Devil while displaying "Looks that Kill," but it would Quiet Riot's Metal Health that would be the first metal album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200, soaring with their cover of Slade's "Cum On Feel the Noize," beating out Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Great metal albums would continue to come out as the year went on.  Iron Maiden followed up their titanic Number of the Beast with Piece of Mind and "The Trooper."  Dio would start his own band with Holy Diver and sing about being a "Rainbow in the Dark."  Anvil and Manowar would carry on the US side of traditional metal with Forged in Fire and Into Glory Ride, respectively.  However, Metallica would provide the shot in the arm for the underground scene with their debut Kill'em All, and kickstarting thrash metal the world over.

Progressive bands would find themselves in a strange position.  Many of the old guard were suddenly finding pop success.  Genesis's self-titled album provided "That's All" and "Mama" as big radio hits, prog supergroup Asia would struggle with Alpha, despite being a very solid album, and Yes would reform around new guitarist Trevor Rabin for the massive hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart" on 90125.  However, with the review I gave last month, newcomers like Marillion and IQ were putting a new spin on what prog could sound like.

Getting to the end of the year, we have some more excellent metal to round us out.  Night Ranger's debut album Midnight Madness was big, with "(You Can Still) Rock in America," "When You Close Your Eyes," and the massive power balled "Sister Christian."  Ozzy regrouped after the disastrous death of Randy Rhoads by finding Jake E. Lee and releasing Bark at the Moon, and Accept would find international success with Balls to the Wall.  

Whew!  That was quite a lot, and there's plenty more in the playlist below, so be sure to check out what's down there.  I know that every year generally has some solid stuff, but 1983 was clearly a great year for rock and metal.  If there was anything I missed, let me know in the comments.