I have to tell you that this is probably one of my favorite years. So many good albums came out this year that it will be tough to condense it down into one article, but I've tried. Metal is really growing, not only with the popularity with the pop stuff, but thrash also slowly building in the background. Meanwhile, rock music was taking a bit of a backseat, but there were still some very good releases this year.
Things start off massive with Van Halen's 1984, dominating the charts with songs like "Panama," "Jump," and "I'll Wait." It may have startled some fans with the synth riffs, but the songs won pretty much everyone over. And right after that, Judas Priest shows up with Defenders of the Faith, a solid follow up to the massive Screaming For Vengeance. Other big albums at the start of the year include Whitesnake's Slide It In, Saxon's Crusader, Europe's Wings of Tomorrow, and Scorpions' Love at First Sting, with the titanic hits "Rock You Like a Hurricane," and "Big City Nights."This year would also feature a lot of debut albums, with some albums being better than others. Bon Jovi's self-titled debut only shows hints of their future successes, Grave Digger's Heavy Metal Breakdown barely holds together, and even celebrated thrashers Anthrax started with the uneven Fistful of Metal. However, the good debuts include Lee Aaron's Metal Queen, Savatage's The Dungeons Are Calling, Queensrÿche's The Warning, Autograph's Sign in Please, and Ratt's Out of the Cellar, blowing up radios with their big hit "Round and Round." The rest of that album is quite good, too.
Metal continues to evolve as the year goes on. We have some early efforts in doom metal with Trouble's Pslam 9, and Saint Vitus' debut, ensuring that Sabbath-y slow, ominous riffs wouldn't go out of style. Cirith Ungol would have their own take on epicness with King of the Dead. Yngwie J. Malmsteen, after trying to make it with Steeler and Alcatrazz, introduces the world to neo-classical metal with Rising Force. Of course, the big winner is thrash metal, featuring two massive albums: Metal Church's self-titled debut, and Metallica's Ride the Lightning. Both are excellent examples of blending melody with aggression, making them some of my favorites.
Metal would continue to dominate the year as it goes on. Twisted Sister told us "We're Not Gonna Take It" on Stay Hungry, Dio would sing about the Last in Line, and Iron Maiden would cement their metal supremacy with Powerslave, going on a massive world tour. Manowar would end up releasing two albums this year: Hail to England and Sign of the Hammer. Towards the end of the year, Dokken put out Tooth and Nail, expanding their sound into their own brand of pop metal.
With all this metal going on, what about rock? Well, like I said, it was in the background, occasionally popping out with some good songs. .38 Special started the year with Tour de Force, Queen got experimental with The Works, Rush continued their synth-based sound on Grace Under Pressure, Steve Perry went solo with Street Talk, and Bill Squier showed Signs of Life. The big story, however, was Deep Purple's Mark II reunion, recording Perfect Strangers, which is an interesting blend of 70s and 80s styles.
As the year came to a close, there were more big albums. The Alan Parsons Project would release two this year, Ammonia Avenue and Vulture Culture, which would be their last two efforts to follow the mainstream popularity of Eye in the Sky. Then, at the very end, Foreigner would come back with Agent Provocateur and the big ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is." While rock may have been fading at the time, it certainly wasn't going out without a fight!
As you can see, this was a massive year. Be sure to check out the playlist below for more awesome music, and if you think there's still something I may have missed, let me know in the comments below. I know 1984 is a year I keep coming back to, and maybe when I come around on these Anniversary Articles again, I'll have even more to talk about! Until then, rock on! \m/
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