Once again, I have fallen way behind in my Top 5 lists. This one was supposed to be out at the end of May! I guess the mid-80s has turned into a rough spot for me (though I do wonder if the heat of summer hasn't been a problem as well). In any case, at this point, metal had pretty much taken over in a lot of ways, as I mentioned in my Anniversary Article. While there was some decent rock music as well, I just think the metal stood out more to me when I reviewed this year.
As always, these are just my opinions, and I can't listen to everything, but there are a few albums I should probably mention first. Ratt and Cinderella had an outside chance of getting in, and some might be puzzled by the lack of thrash metal (except for one). While I've never been a fan of Slayer (and they're too extreme for this blog), I'm actually not that big on either Master of Puppets or Peace Sells. I know this is considered a massive year for thrash metal (and for good reason), I don't really get into those specific albums very much. As for what did make my Top 5, well, keep reading!
Doom metal might have a murky start, with bands like Saint Vitus, Cirith Ungol, and Trouble dabbling in the style, but as far as I'm concerned, Candlemass came singing right out of the gate! While I don't think it's their best album, it's still a very good one, taking the doomy Sabbath atmosphere and kicking it up to epic levels, they established the Epic Doom Metal template for many bands to follow.
Admittedly, this album is kinda stuck between two great albums, and the band was not as energized for this one due to extensive touring, but even a less-than-par Maiden album can still feature some great melodies and performances. "Wasted Years" and "Heaven Can Wait" are certainly highlights, but they also brought out a number of epic songs, such as the historically driven "Alexander the Great."
Yes, the title track is great, but have you listened to the rest of this album? I actually find some of the deeper cuts here to be quite strong as well, specifically, "Danger on the Track" and "Heart of Stone." For slick, synth-driven glam metal, Europe rose above the rest with their theatricality and very catchy melodies that stay stuck in your head for a good while.
Once again, this is not THE Sword, but a different Canadian band that plays some very gritty, straight-ahead heavy metal. While I did review their second and third albums, I find their first one to be the strongest, full of fierce riffs and attitude. It's just a shame they weren't able to find a big audience back in the day, because this album is great! In fact, it nearly took the #1 spot.
Like I mentioned, there was one thrash metal band that stood out to me during this year, and it's Metal Church. Their debut is also a very good album, but they followed up with an excellent set of melodic thrash, maturing as songwriters and showing how to make some very fierce and powerful music without falling into weird digressions or overly complex structures. I always feel like I should raising the horns whenever I listen to them!
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