Anniversary Series - 1988!

The middle of the month means it's time for another Anniversary Article!  1988 is an interesting year, as we start to see the rock and metal scene shift and expand, resulting in quite the mix of genres.  While I sure I'm missing some stuff (let me know what you think of down in the comments below), here's a rundown of the big albums and songs that rocked folks 35 years ago!

The year starts off with a rather controversial group, Kingdom Come.  While at first they tried to deny it a little, but it's pretty clear they were intent on doing a glamified approach to the classic sound of Led Zeppelin, and to be honest, they were pretty good at it.  And it's not like they were the first to do so, as both Rush's first album and and some of Whitesnake's material come to mind.  In any case, one could see Kingdom Come as the beginning of the retro-clone style of bands that we see so much today, so maybe they're influential at least in that aspect.

Of course, the pop metal scene in general had plenty of albums going around, continuing to dominate the airwaves.  Scorpions came back after a four year album break with Savage Amusement, Europe went Out of This World, Winger was "Headed for a Heartbreak," Cinderella told us that we "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)," and Poison really blew up with Open Up and Say... Ahh!, featuring several big hits like "Nothin' But a Good Time," "Fallen Angel," and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

Metal's various sub-genres also saw some decent representation this year.  Manowar and Candlemass brought the epicness with Kings of Metal and Ancient Dreams, respectively.  Helloween continued to establish the foundation of power metal with Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2.  Queensrÿche shifted into progressive metal with their concept album Operation: Mindcrime, and Iron Maiden pushed their proggy tendencies further with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.  

However, the big winner of the year was thrash metal.  While all the big thrash bands put out albums this year (with Testament's probably being my personal favorite), it can't be denied that Metallica really put a spotlight on thrash with ...And Justice For All.  Despite the production problems, the album benefited from the music video for "One" getting plenty of airplay on MTV and the now-infamous snub at the Grammy's.  While some would argue that thrash's best year was 1986, the subgenre clearly started to break into the mainstream in 1988, and Metallica was leading the way.

So that's another year wrapped up.  Be sure to check out the playlist below for more great songs.  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 1992!

While I am dedicated to getting these anniversary articles done, I have to admit I don't really have a lot to say about 1992.  Of course, there were certainly big things happening this year, but most of it is outside of the scope of this blog, with the expansion of genres such as groove metal, extreme metal, and punk rock.  Still, there are a few things I can bring up as being important releases for the year.

Naturally, the year also saw a continuation of the grunge explosion, but most of that first wave happened last year, as Nevermind, Ten, and Badmotorfinger continued to sell copies.  This didn't leave much new for the genre, but we did get two big releases.  Alice in Chain's Dirt had success with tracks like "Would?", "Them Bones," and "Rooster."  Meanwhile, Stone Temple Pilots exploded with their debut Core.

Of course, heavy metal hadn't quite been completely erased by the alt rock movement.  Iron Maiden told us of their Fear of the Dark, being the last album with iconic singer Bruce Dickensen for 8 years.  Black Sabbath would suddenly reunite with Heaven and Hell lineup (albeit temporarily) for Dehumanizer.  Manowar gave us The Triumph of Steel, featuring a 28 minute epic about the story of Achilles.  Blind Guardian would push further into their fantasy themes with Somewhere Far Beyond.  Megadeth would follow their rivals Metallica with the mainstream success of Countdown to Extinction, featuring the massive "Symphony of Destruction" and the quirky "Sweating Bullets."

In terms of classic, melodic rock, there are a few gems.  Asia would reform around John Payne and release Aqua, Neal Schon worked with the Gioeli brothers for the first Hardline album Double Eclipse, and Def Leppard would find some left over pop metal appeal with Adrenalize.  AC/DC would also release a widely celebrated live release, simply titled AC/DC Live.

However, in terms of melodic rock and metal, what most likely might be the most important release is Images and Words from the prog metal giant Dream Theater.  While the fusion of prog rock and metal had been kicking around in the 80s, it wasn't until this second album of theirs that the genre really took off, as many bands have since tried to emulate what Dream Theater established here.  Not only featuring their only hit, "Pull Me Under," but also other favorites like "Learning to Live" and the renowned "Metropolis Part 1."  Melodic metal would never be the same after that album.

I'm sure there are plenty I missed from this year, so if you think of any, let me know in the comments below.  Still, a pretty big year for a few reasons.  As always, check out the playlist below for more.  Until then, rock on! \m/

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/

New Videos - December 2018, Part 2!

You know, the more I look around, the more alive the whole rock and metal scene feels!  It's so great to know there are so many good bands out there still making great music!

I admit that I'm not as familiar with Rhapsody of Fire as I should be, but I do know they've been making story-driven symphonic power metal for 20 years now, and it would seem that their epic tales will go on.  Their new singer sounds great on this fantasy epic!

So, apparently, the lead singer of Dimmu Borgir has been doing this band on the side for years, going for more of a Motorhead approach to metal.  As it turns out, this is from what they've claimed will be their last album.  Uptempo riffs and a good-time feel will make you feel like roaring out on that motorcycle one more time!

Hey, remember last week when I was psyched over the Herman Frank last week?  Here's another one!  This is more of a slow-paced stomper with a great shout-along chorus that would have filled arenas in the 80s.  I think I'm really looking forward to this album!

Well, this is a bolt out of the blue!  I admit I don't have much knowledge of the Japanese metal scene, but I know there are a handful of power metal bands out there like this  (Galneryus comes to mind).  Very impressive!

Of course, we can't have one of these lists without some good old-fashioned AOR!  Full of anthemic lyrics, heavy guitars, and huge synths, this one from Find Me fits right next to Journey and Night Ranger for that classic 80s sound.

Let's finish this one off with something special.  And by that, I mean viking Manowar.  This is so campy and cheesy that I can't help but smile!  While the video might look pretty laughable, the music is pretty solid and epic.  For those who don't take their metal so seriously.