My Favorite Metal Bands

I love Heavy Metal, but I was a little late embracing this genre. Through the 80’s I was into the glam metal and the hair bands, but didn’t discover my love of true heavy metal until the latter part of the decade. I purchased Metallicia’s And Justice For All in 1988 and fell in love with the album. From there I started venturing out in to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Helloween, among others. I still listened to all the other forms of music I had previously enjoyed, but added Heavy Metal to the list of musical styles that suited my personal taste.

I often have to defend metal more than other genres. There are those I have encountered who just can’t understand my fascination with this form of music. I try to explain that I love the energy, the lyrics and the unpredictability of a metal song. When listening to a metal song, you are often not sure what direction it will take, as it often doesn’t follow the formula of a ‘normal’ rock song. Sometimes, the number of riffs could be removed from one good metal song to make 3 or 4 rock songs.

Here are my five favorite metal bands.

5. Edguy
Hailing from Germany, they are the newest band on my list. They do borderline metal/hard rock and even have a touch of hair band sound in them. However, I clearly rank them as a metal band. They have lots of energy, great lyrics and big choruses. Perhaps the reason why I like them so much is because they sound like such a great blend of all my favorite musical styles.

Favorite Album: Rocket Ride. If you heard this album only, you would likely classify Edguy as a hard rock band. A close second for me is Hellfire Club. Their newest disc is due out in November.

4. Gamma Ray
Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter left an awesome metal band, Helloween, in the late 80’s to form another awesome metal band, Gamma Ray. They first appeared on the scene in the early 90’s when I was really embracing metal as hair bands were fading fast. Grunge was taking over, and although I bought into it somewhat, I still preferred the sounds of such bands as Metallica and Megadeath at the time. Gamma Ray came along at just the right time for me and has released a string of great albums since.

Favorite Album: No World Order released in 2001 is my favorite Gamma Ray effort from start to finish.

3. Metallica
These guys were the first for me. They have a wealth of great material. They have received some criticism from metal fanatics for becoming too commercial over the years. I am not so hard on them, even if the music was a little more commercial, it was still metal and Metallica moved it right into the mainstream.

Favorite Album: And Justice For All is still my favorite. Contains the great song One, which has a great music video, which is based on a great book called Johnny Got His Gun.

2. Judas Priest: They have been called metal gods and are one of the most influential acts of the genre. Few bands do it better, and many would argue that no one does. Famed singer Rob Halford had a lengthy hiatus from the band in which they continued to record and tour. However, with Halford’s return in recent years, the band is back as great as they ever were.

Favorite Album: Angel of Retribution. With the many fantastic albums they have put out over the years, I am putting this 2005 release at the top. It marked Halford’s return and one of the best metal albums I have heard from start to finish in a long time.

1. Iron Maiden
One of my all time favorite bands - period. They embrace everything I think is wonderful about Heavy Metal. I enjoy every Iron Maiden album; there is not one that I would give a poor rating. Famed vocalist Bruce Dickinson has also released some strong solo efforts too, all of which I think are great. I even like Dickinson’s first solo album Tattooed Millionaire, which was criticized for being a departure from metal. The band continues to thrive and perform in front of large crowds worldwide. And they are on top of my list of concerts I want to attend.

Favorite Album: It is tough for me to pick a favorite Maiden album, but I’ll go with Number of the Beast.

A Couple of Quick Judas Priest Reviews

Judas Priest has been back with Rob Halford on vocals now for some time. They have released two albums since his return, 2005’s Angel of Retribution and 2008’s Nostradamus. They are one of my favorite metal bands and here are my reviews of these most recent two efforts.


Angel of Retribution
It’s amazing to think with a body of work as impressive as Judas Priest that I could sit this disc, put out just over 30 years after their first, close to the top. This is classic Priest all the way. It opens with a killer first track, Judas Rising, and it pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the ride through. The double kick on the drums, crushing guitars and Halford’s screams are all there. Track two, Deal with the Devil, is just as heavy but a little more melodic in nature and is one of my favorites. But it doesn’t stop there, pick any track on this one, and I can say something good about it. It does end with an odd number, a long epic song about the Lochness Monster. There is an excellent mid-tempo track called Worth Fighting For and a slow acoustic song called Angel. They all work. If you like Judas Priest, I feel confident in saying you will love Angel of Retribution. Grade A+.

Favorite Tracks: Judas Rising, Deal With the Devil, Worth Fighting For, Revolution, Angel

Nostradamus
Nostradamus is a monstrous piece of work. A two CD set concept album based on the life of the prophet Nostradamus. Every time I hear of an upcoming concept album I get excited, but I’m not sure why. I always end up caring very little about whatever the concept is and simply enjoying or disliking the music, just as I would with any other record.

Nostradamus has that usual effect of a concept album on me and I find myself paying little attention to the theme at all. However, this album is still a great accomplishment. With two CDs of mostly strong songs you shouldn’t be disappointed. However, be warned if you enjoy the heavy stuff, this one is a little more mellow, and it is a different Priest album for sure. Make no mistake, this is still metal, it is still Priest, but there are more of the heavy thumping mid-tempo tracks and slower songs throughout. Overall, I enjoy Nostradamus, but not near as much as their previous release. The concept doesn’t work for me, but the music in most places does. The first disc in this set is the stronger and my favorite tracks are listed below. Grade B.

Favorite Tracks: Prophecy, Revelations, War, Visions, Conquest

Entertainment Weekly and the 1980s

Entertainment Weekly recently published a copy of their popular magazine that revealed their choices for the “new classics”. The top 100 movies, albums, TV programs, and books in the last 25 years were ranked.

The choice for their number one classic album in the last quarter of a century was Prince’s Purple Rain. After some reflection, this was a decent selection. Prince is not normally of my personal taste, but I do respect the man’s musical ability. Purple Rain was also a strong album, a rockin’ album, and I admit to having owned the cassette. It is the only Prince album I have ever purchased.

However I write this entry to take exception to the lack of true 80’s hard rock on the list. For a time hard rock and hair bands reigned supreme and if you are going to pay tribute to the last 25 years, you should acknowledge all of the fads and phases. The only album I can find in the top 100 from this genre is Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction coming in at number 30. Definitely should be on this list, perhaps even higher.

I can understand this is a list of 100 albums from all musical genres over the last 25 years and must have been difficult to put together. But I thought a few more from the “hair band generation” should have been presented. What about Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet or one of the biggest selling albums of the time, Def Leppard’s Hysteria? The only heavy metal album I can find there is Metallica’s self titled 1991 release. What about an Iron Maiden or a Judas Priest entry? They were, and continue to be, highly influential metal acts. The complete list of Entertainment Weekly’s choices can be found here.

Without our further ado, here are my top 10 hard rock/heavy metal albums released in the 80’s. My list is different than Entertainment Weekly’s, in that it covers the 80’s only and it is strictly a personal top 10 list of favorites from that time.

10. Slippery When Wet, Bon Jovi. Being a teenager at the time it was hard not to get into this. Still the most fun record they’re ever put out.
9. Open Up and Say Ahhh, Poison. This band doesn’t have a lot of strong albums, but this one plays start to finish as a great party record. And I partied to it often.
8. Permanent Vacation, Aerosmith. Successfully launched the band’s comeback and another great party album. One of the band’s strongest efforts too.
7. Appetite for Destruction, Guns N’ Roses. Gun’s N’ Roses exploded onto the scene while supporting this release. This is a fantastic hard rock album. For me, it was the only strong release the band ever put out, I did not embrace another G N’R record after this debut.
6. And Justice for All, Metallica. This is the one that turned me onto metal. I heard this and was immediately addicted. From here I went back and started listening to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and have been in love with metal ever since.
5. Road Apples, The Tragically Hip. No other band has a complete body of work that I thoroughly enjoy as much as the Hip’s (with the exception of Iron Maiden). Road Apples was the first for me and is still one of my favorites.
4. Pyromania, Def Leppard. If you’ve read some of my other posts you’ll know of my affection for Def Leppard. This is the one that got me hooked on the band and hard guitar driven rock.
3. Turbo, Judas Priest. They are Masters of Metal. After Metallica got me into the genre this album, as well as others by Priest, soon followed.
2. Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden. One of my all time favorite bands. Once I started listening to this album I wanted all the rest of their material. Like the Hip, this band also has a huge collection of work, all that I enjoy thoroughly.
1. Hysteria Def Leppard. The long wait between Pyromania and this record did not disappoint. The album did represent the transition from a hard rock band to more of a pop/rock sound. However, it was the CD of my youth and the one disc I have listened from start to finish more than any other.

I’ve just decided lists are hard to do, so I can appreciate Entertainment Weekly’s efforts even more. I am looking at my list above and I can’t believe that Motley Crue’s Shout at the Devil and Van Halen’s 1984 are not there. Difficult, but still fun, what are your favorites from that time?