Pajiba Music
When We Start to Rock, We Never… Want to Stop Again
The Golden Age of Metal / TK
Music | January 21, 2009 | Comments (54)
*True story - Josh, the guy who does my tattoos, is a big Metallica fan. One day last summer, I’m in the shop and “Metal Militia” from Kill ‘Em All comes on, and we both share a nostalgic smile. I go, “Man, remember when metal bands used to just… sing about metal? How friggin’ weird was that?” Josh chuckles and responds, “Ah, the golden age.” So thank/blame him for the inspiration for this.
Musical eras are always difficult to talk about — when did an era begin? When did it end? Hazen Schumacher argued that jazz, for example, achieved its golden age between 1939 and 1942. William Gottleib took it to 1948. Some would argue well into the 50’s. Some would take it even farther. It’s not something that is clearly definable, this question of the “golden age,” except in the eyes and ears of the individual. It helps, of course, to have been alive during such an age. While I have a healthy appreciation of jazz music, I’m way too young to truly appreciate it the way someone who was there firsthand can, in the context of the lives and times of its peak.
Now metal, on the other hand…
Allow me to take you back to 1988, when I was a gangly, awkward 8th grader (as opposed to now, when I’m a gangly, awkward 33 year-old). I was still trying to figure myself out, emotionally, socially, and yes, musically. I think 7th or 8th grade was when I started really paying attention to music on my own terms — not just singing along to Cat Stevens and Simon and Garfunkel in my parents’ car, not just listening to whatever the radio was churning out, but actually developing taste of my own. Since I had a penchant for random destruction and noise (not to mention Dungeons and Dragons RPG’s and fantasy/science fiction films), I was inevitably drawn towards heavy metal.
Well, I got there just in time. I still remember my first metal album, which was, as it probably was for many metalheads, Metallica’s Master of Puppets. Released a couple of years earlier (1986), it is one of the seminal works in the history of metal. It took me in, shook me up, knocked my head around a couple of times, and spit me back out. That was it. I was lost forever to metal, and still am to this day. I soon devoured every Metallica album available at the time, then moved on to Megadeth, led by Dave Mustaine, the former Metallica guitarist. From there, it became a journey, as I devoured every metal album I could get my hands on. Until I discovered punk rock and hardcore music in high school (a whole other article, believe me), it was denim jackets with patches sewn on (by my mom, of course), black jeans, shitty haircuts, and lasting damage to my eardrums.
One could argue that the golden era of metal can actually be traced using Metallica’s career arc. Kill ‘Em All, their first album (and tied for my favorite with Puppets), came out in 1983. From there, it went to Ride the Lightning in 1984, Master of Puppets in ‘86, …And Justice For All in 1988 and finally their self-titled album (also referred to as The Black Album) in 1991. While I actually don’t particularly care for their eponymous album, it’s well-regarded by fellow metalheads, so I’ll include it in the conversation. Sure, bands like AC/DC had been banging around before that, but I consider that more “Hard Rock” than metal. Either way, right around 1991 is when metal started to lose steam, when bands like Metallica started to water down their acts in an effort to gain a wider audience, and when the genre in general lost prominence. Oh, sure, Slayer, Megadeth, Nuclear Assault, Testament, Napalm Death and their ilk continued to pump out quality albums, but they lost what little mainstream popularity they had, partially due to the rise of grunge acts like Pearl Jam, whose album Ten (along with Nirvana’s Nevermind) gripped the world by the throat in 1991. From there, grunge and alternative bands took their place in the forefront of the musical landscape.
But for those eight years from 1983 to 1991, metal was in its prime — in fact, 1986 in particular was probably the apex of metal’s heyday. Headbanger’s Ball was at the top of its game, despite being hosted by toolbox extraordinaire Ricki Rachtman (Christ, was he a fucking dork). Headbanger’s Ball was salvation for metalheads, who frequently had to suffer through cheesy poseur metal like the “W” Triumvirate of Sucktastic - Warrant, Winger, and Whitesnake. God. Awful, just awful. For the purposes of this discussion, those bands and their ilk will not be included (but next week, they’ll get their due… trust me).
Yes, metal snobbery, you fucks. You thought I couldn’t get any snobbier? Well, you were fucking wrong. That said, here are my favorite albums from The Golden Age of Metal. We start (where else?) with the Horsemen of the Metalocalypse — Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.
Metallica: Master of Puppets
[Elektra Records, 1986]
The classic, and Metallica’s gold standard. Master of Puppets was the apex of Metallica’s evolution — they’d left behind the fantasy-metal elements from Ride the Lighting (“Call of Ktulu,” anyone?), but hadn’t cut their hair and started writing music about Very Important Issues yet (though the title track is an obvious cocaine metaphor, but hey, who wasn’t singing about blow in the 80’s?). At the same time, they weren’t the immature, speed/thrash metal band that they were with Kill ‘Em All, which although a fantastic record, is not a very mature one. “Battery” is a definite candidate for the “Favorite Opening Tracks” list, as commenter jpguy13 astutely pointed out. The slow(er) song, “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” is thoroughly badass, before Metallica started with their crappy, “Nothing Else Matters”-esque power crooners. There are no bad songs on this record — in fact, there aren’t even any average songs here. It is start to finish a phenomenal piece. Sadly, it was shortly after the release of this album that their genius bassist, Cliff Burton, died in a bus accident. In my opinion, the band was never the same.
“Disposable Heroes”
Megadeth: Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?
[Combat Records, 1986]
Dave Mustaine served as Metallica’s lead guitarist during Kill ‘Em All but left due to alcohol and drug abuse problems (and if Metallica, back then, kicks you out for that shit? You got problems) as well as for being a giant asshole. It’s just as well, because he’d go on to form Megadeth, another fantastic metal band, though one that lacked the mainstream appeal that Metallica had, partially due to their refusal to get too commercial, partially due to Mustaine’s voice which, while Megadeth lovers appreciate it, was kind of… whiny at times. Regardless, Peace Sells…, the second album after Killing is My Business, And Business Is Good was another top-notch metal entry. Sticking to their songs about Armageddon, nuclear holocaust and a world at war, Megadeth was never a terribly cheery band. But Peace Sells… featured Mustaine’s signature screaming and growling, lightning-fast guitar shredding, and was all-around brilliantly composed, and featured some really killer guitar solos. Not to mention the presence of Vic Rattlehead, their… um… mascot? is always welcome.
“Peace Sells”
Slayer: Reign In Blood
[Def Jam, 1986]
Slayer has been accused of everything from Nazism to Satanism in their time, and Reign In Blood, with songs about concentration camps, religion, disease and mass murder, certainly provided no shelter from that criticism. Yet it’s still a brilliant album, combining the beginnings of hardcore with thrash/death metal, vocalist Tom Arraya’s barking roars, and brutal, machine-gun double-bass drumbeats. With song titles like “Angel of Death” (another outstanding opening track), “Raining Blood” and “Postmortem,” Slayer terrified the average listener, and raised the hackles of notorious hand-wringers like the P.M.R.C. (remember them? the Parents Music Resource Center, featuring the unholy alliance of Tipper Gore and James Baker? Ah, Tipper. You dumb bitch.) with their howling musical assault. In fact, on tracks like “Altar of Sacrifice” which featured lyrics like these (“Altar of sacrifice, curse of the damned / Confronting the evil you dread / Coalesce into one your shadow and soul / Soon you will meet the undead / Enter to the realm of SATAN!”), they were basically looking for a fight. Something I’ve always admired about them, actually.
In all honesty, Reign In Blood represents only the beginning of Slayer’s rise. Their next two albums South of Heaven (1988) and Seasons In The Abyss (1990) could easily also be labeled their best work, but you gotta start somewhere. My favorite album title wouldn’t come about until 2001’s God Hates Us All. Ah, Slayer. You do know how to bring a smile to my face.
“Raining Blood”
Anthrax: Among The Living
Island Records, 1987]
Anthrax is perhaps most well-known for their collaboration with, of all groups, Public Enemy, on the track “Bring The Noise. It was a sort of thrash metal/hardcore rap take on “Walk This Way.” They were also well known for their classic hit “Got The Time” off the oddly named The Persistence of Time album. But they were also one of the godfathers of American metal, and Among The Living is easily their best album (although Spreading The Disease is a close second). Yet another band content to simply sometimes sing about just… metal (“Caught In A Mosh”), Anthrax was a hammering speed metal band who was known for their rowdy concerts, their energetic guitar player Scott Ian, and their clever lyricism. They also always win points for singing a song about Judge Dredd (the comic, Dustin, not the shitty Stallone movie), called “I Am The Law.”
Another quick story - In 1991 I saw Anthrax, Public Enemy, Fishbone and Primus in concert together. It was perhaps the most insane concert I’ve ever seen, and yes, of course everyone (everyone) came out for “Bring The Noise.” It was absolutely phenomenal.
“I Am The Law”
Judas Priest: Screaming For Vengeance
[Columbia Records, 1982]
Yes, technically this comes before the parameters I mentioned above. But one can’t ignore the incredible Screaming For Vengeance, the classic Metal from Across the Pond album. What makes Vengeance so impressive is that it’s Judas Priest’s eighth album. These fuckers were at it for a long time. Screaming For Vengeance isn’t the shredding terror that the other albums mentioned are, it’s more anthem-metal, but the discussion is incomplete without it. Additionally, Rob Halford was always unique in that he fronted a metal band with short, bleached blond hair, like a British headbanging Pat Smear. This album, along with Motorhead’s Ace of Spades, show just how incredible the Brits were when it came to metal, as well as how ahead of the US they were. If I were making a “Forefathers of Metal” list, those two would absolutely be on it.
“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’”
… and just for the fuck of it (this is for you, Slim):
“Ace of Spades”
Nuclear Assault: Game Over
[Columbia Records, 1986]
Nuclear Assault was a later entry into the metal world, with Game Over being their first album. Originally formed after bass player Danny Lilker left Anthrax (with roadie John Connelly, who would become the lead singer and guitarist), they sought a heavier, more thrash-intensive sound to go with Connelly’s grunting and wailing. They certainly succeeded. One of the less well-known metal bands from the 80’s, Nuclear Assault was another act to feed on the lyrical fodder provided by the Cold War and Ronald Reagan’s nuclear fearmongering, following in the footsteps of Megadeth. Game Over was also notorious for featuring a rather offensive track called “Lesbians”, as well as the 46 second, gleefully obnoxious “Hang The Pope” (“Hang the Pope / hang the Pope / hang the Pope / Hang him with a fucking rope / Let’s go to the Vatican, get him out of bed / Put the noose around his neck and hang him till he’s fucking dead,” repeat, and fucking finished). But while they never reached the heights of Metallica or Megadeth, or even their sires, Anthrax, they are still one of the greats.
“Stranded In Hell”
Pantera: Cowboys From Hell
[Atco Records, 1990]
Cowboys From Hell is actually not Pantera’s best album. That dubious honor goes to Vulgar Display of Power, released in 1992… but we’ll get to that in a moment. Cowboys From Hell is still an outstanding metal album, full of glorious shred-work by Diamond Darrell (R.I.P., brother), great drumming, Phil Anselmo’s growling (but also some surprisingly soft, well-sung vocal work), and a subtle Southern flavor. More interesting is that it represents a perfect example of how metal reinvented itself. Cowboys was the second release from the Pantera version 2.0 — their first few albums were awful, big hair-and-and-spandex glam metal affairs that were truly cringe-inducing. When Anselmo came on board, the band started to find an identity, become much more blue-collar, hardcore, straight-up metal. Power Metal, the preceding album, was the first in this foray into honesty, and Cowboys was next. It worked beautifully, with fist-pump-worthy tracks like “Primal Concrete Sledge” and “Domination.” The slower piece, “Cemetary Gates,” is a great mix of slow and fast, soft and heavy, with Anselmo switching between singing and screaming seamlessly, perfectly in synch with the crescendoing guitars. And, of course, there’s the requisite song about… well, about metal, “The Art of Shredding.”
But even better, Pantera’s next album, Vulgar Display of Power, helped resurrect metal in 1992, or at least extend its life further into the 90’s. Metal still lives today, of course, but albums like that one helped bridge two eras.
“Cowboys From Hell”
That’s all I’ve got for now — honestly? My neck is sore from listening to all of these. But I gotta admit, I love them today almost as much as I did 20 (gulp!) years ago. Honorable mentions go to Iron Maiden, Testament, Biohazard (whose bassist once kicked me in the head at a concert), Napalm Death, Corrosion of Conformity (a personal fave) and of course, Sepultura. So let’s hear it, metalheads — who were your favorites? Tell your embarrassing wardrobe stories! Efilnikufesin!
::takes shot::
::bangs head::
::throws a goat::
::staggers out dizzily::
TK can be found wandering aimlessly through suburban Massachusetts, wondering how the hell he got there while yelling at the kids on his lawn. You can find him raising the dead in preparation for world domination over at Uncooked Meat.
Follow @pajiba
← FOX Picks Up Mall Cop Comedy | Pajiba Love 01/21/09 →
Comments
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at January 21, 2009 12:08 PM
Finally sometime to make people like boo happy! Yay!
I think I've owned almost every one of these albums at some point. I'm not as much into metal as I used to be, but when I first fell, I fell HARD. Great column.
Posted by: Snath at January 21, 2009 12:16 PM
*something
Pardon my grammar, I'm high on painkillers.
Posted by: Snath at January 21, 2009 12:17 PM
Oh and, The Four Horsemen, Whiplash and Phantom Lord, IN THAT ORDER are the best track in Kill 'em All.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at January 21, 2009 12:18 PM
Where would Helmet fall, genre-wise? I remember loving Meantime back in the early 90's. Probably not thrashy enough to enter this discussion.
This is uber-weird, in retrospect, since I grew up in a town with a population of less than 1200 people, but I was into a ton of really heavy (like, death metal) Christian bands back in the day (had a cousin in Dallas who got me into it) - bands like Paramaecium, Mortification, Tourniquet, and Vengeance Rising (who are unclassifiably shitty, by the way).
Anybody else? (*anticipating crickets)
Posted by: Mattfactor at January 21, 2009 12:28 PM
Mattfactor, Helmet's an interesting dilemma. They're not metal, not hardcore, not alternative, but some brilliant hybrid of all of those things. They're their own animal, really - oft imitated, but never matched. One of my all-time favorite bands.
Tourniquet fucking rocked, even if their lyrics were idiotic.
Posted by: TK at January 21, 2009 12:31 PM
Testament's Practice What You Preach is a solid effort, too. I always thought Testament should have been bigger and I really like their new CD.
But I agree. Metallica's Master of Puppets is the gold standard by which all other metal albums should be judged.
An honorable mention has to go to Joe Satriani, too, not only for Surfing With The Alien (even though it may not be true Metal), but for being guitar teacher to Kirk Hammet and Alex Skolnick, among others.
Posted by: JH at January 21, 2009 12:43 PM
I took a different route growing up. I went from pop to hair "metal" (newer Crue, Poison and yes Warrant) then back to metal metal whence the hair grew from.
I simply cannot find any fault with the selections, I loved them all especially Anthrax and Pantera. Cowboys From Hell was on constant replay as well as Only and Hy Pro Glo from Sound of White Noise which was in '93 but it still counts. Give me a break, I got to the party late. My parents considered The Simpsons offensive so how the fuck was I going to get metal by them.
Posted by: admin at January 21, 2009 12:50 PM
Crue! Crue! Crue!
... oh shit. Wrong thread. I'll just got back to getting my ass beat by the burnouts and stoners. Same as it ever was.
Posted by: Dustin Rowles at January 21, 2009 12:51 PM
Thanks, TK... You actually made me swoon at my desk. And I don't typically swoon.
I shoplifted four of the above albums when I was but a long-haired youth, and in later years, after wearing the goddam tapes out, did the respectable thing the second time around and actually paid for them. The list was more than the golden age of metal - it was an ice-breaker for me when I was in my troubled youth phase. I FUCKING LOVE THESE ALBUMS - had the shirts, had the posters, went to the shows, got bloody in the pits, strained muscles from thrashing and had a great fucking time doing it. I thoroughly enjoyed the grunge movement, wanted to kick Nu-Metal in their lame-ass balls, and got slightly misty-eyed when I stumbled across my The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years album a couple weeks back.
Thanks for re-igniting some memories. Awesome friggin' job...
Posted by: Skitz at January 21, 2009 12:53 PM
Goddammit, TK, now I have to like you.
I bought Ride The Lightning and Kill 'Em All in '85 and anxiously awaited Master Of Puppets. Shit became my religion and almost got me kicked out of catholic school (they thought I was worshiping the devil). Loved Anthrax and Slayer. I was the only kid in my small town with Spreading The Disease and Reign In Blood on cassette. I probably made 50 copies of each.
By 1989 I was outgrowing the scene but I still love the classic albums. Last year (at age 38) I bought Slayer's Christ Illusion and the fire has been reignited.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Posted by: Matt at January 21, 2009 1:17 PM
Rust In Peace is my favorite all-time metal album. The three headed monster of metal has always been Metallica, Megadeth and Pantera for me with Megadeth at least a notch above everybody else. Sometimes I think about Dave with Metallica and the awesomeness that would have ensued but then again I'm glad it didnt pan out
Posted by: Glyn at January 21, 2009 1:22 PM
they'd left behind the fantasy-metal elements from Ride the Lighting ("Call of Ktulu," anyone?)
Wasn't "The Thing That Should Not Be" also Lovecraft-inspired?
Posted by: Todd at January 21, 2009 1:28 PM
Josh, the guy who does my tattoos
This is pompous in so many awesome ways. It's like the punk version of "ah yes, Jacques, the designer who handles the south wing."
Posted by: stipe42 at January 21, 2009 1:30 PM
This pretty much only applies to gamers & metal fans:
A friend let me borrow Fallout 3 this past weekend. During the intro, the Ink Spot's I Don't Want to Set the World On Fire starts playing, and I get this dopey grin on my face thinking that due to the game's apocalyptic nature, it was gonna turn into Megadeth's Set the World Afire... It didn't, so I was kinda bummed, but the game kicks ass and it prompted me to find my copy of So Far, So Good, So What...
Posted by: Skitz at January 21, 2009 1:32 PM
Motherfucker. Todd, you are correct. Dammit!
Stipe42: Pompous? Really? It was really just setup for the story, but whatever.
Posted by: TK at January 21, 2009 1:34 PM
TK: Pompous was the wrong word, I was trying to get at the awesome credibility it gave in throw away form and the metaphor didn't hold up its end well enough.
If you have a guy who handles your interior design, you're undeniably rich.
If you have a guy who handles your steaks, you're undeniably a food connoisseur.
If you have a a guy who handles your pinot, you're undeniably a wine nut.
If you have a guy who handles your tattoos, you are undeniably metal.
Better?
Posted by: stipe42 at January 21, 2009 1:41 PM
TK, our metal timelines are quite similar. I remember being at the record store to buy ...And Justice For All as they were pulling it out of boxes.
I think if 1986 Metallica traveled through time and met 2009 Metallica (or 1998 Metallica, or 2004 Metallica,) 1986 Metallica would beat the (un)holy shit of their whiny selves.
Posted by: bev rage at January 21, 2009 1:45 PM
Anthrax's best album was "State of Euphoria" in my opinion. Also, where is Testament's "Practice What You Preach" on this list? Just freaking stellar metal right there. But your list takes me back to 8th grade as well. Kudos!
Posted by: Isiaha Tripod at January 21, 2009 1:57 PM
first:
stipe42: If you are NOT on a first name basis with the person putting ink permanently into your dermis, then you (the collective you, not you you) my dear, are an idiot. (Not a judgment call on you, mind; just a general opinion.)
second: Gah. Cliff. Makes me sniffle. You are right, TeeK, they were never the same.
Slayer! YAY! FUCKING SLAYER!!! They don't evolve, true, but fuck, when you rock it out oldschool like that, why bother? If you do something well, just keep doing it. Matt, Slayer's newest is solid. I wish that the children I will never have could experience something so pure as golden age metal, and this would be the closet modern-day representation by far.
Snath my friend, you do pay attention. But I guess you can't help it when I'm ranting about metal at least one out of every five posts. :)
Your order is perfect, although I would bump Nuclear Assault to the end of that list.
Squee for metal. I wish more women would.
Posted by: boo at January 21, 2009 1:58 PM
Hey, don't forget Anthrax have several Stephen King songs (including the title track there) and a song about "Blue Velvet" (and covered friggin Joe Jackson)! They're really the only speed band I like, but who else was gonna be as smart and funny? I didn't need others.
Posted by: Jay at January 21, 2009 2:00 PM
If you have a guy who handles your tattoos, you are undeniably metal.
Better?
Much.
Posted by: boo at January 21, 2009 2:02 PM
I really hate being the pedantic fuck I am sometimes, and I know the correction I'm about to present has an unmentionably low prority on the list of danger signs of the apocalypse in this day and age, what with Miley Cyrus sporting an Iron Maiden t-shirt and all, but...
Scott Ian did not play bass for Anthrax. He played rhythm guitar. Was famous for his stern refusal to play any fret higher the twelfth. Might not have actually gone above the eighth fret. Had at least one guitar that didn't even have any frets beyond the twelfth.
*sigh*
Metal was so awesome back then. The songs were great, but the production values sucked. They should remake Hell Awaits and Game Over with today's recording technology.
Also: Zoetrope - Life Of Crime. The one song I never could forget was NASA, but I recently discovered to my fiendish delight that there isn't a single bad song on that album at all.
No, it's a worthy correction and lazy proofreading on my part. So consider it fixed. Thanks. -TK
Posted by: Baldo at January 21, 2009 2:24 PM
The kid who lived next door to me -- he was a year or two ahead in school -- turned me on to "Paranoid" (thanks, Regis!) and led me down the trail of sin and perdition. Must have been around 1970, so I got a little earlier start than some of y'all. But I can remember listening to Top 40/rock radio even earlier, in the late '60s, and being most intrigued by what Hendrix and the Doors and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and the like were doing, taking the music into dark corners, so I was probably headed in that direction anyway.
An aside: My mom and dad listened to the most dreadful dreck in the car, a station that aired I think it was people like the Hollywood Strings and Ray Coniff and that ilk -- no, you can't imagine how bad it was unless you were there. They also wouldn't let me go to concerts until I got out of the house and went to college in 1975. By then my tastes were kind of all over the place. I used to keep a list of the shows I went to, can't find it now, but my first concert was Kansas/Spirit/Artful Dodger. I got a slot on the college radio station and started discovering, playing (and liking) Ted Nugent, early Rush (I loved cranking "Working Man" full volume in the studio), BOC, Van Halen (first album) etc., most of whom I saw live (Nugent with Black Sabbath, though it was the "Technical Ecstasy" tour, meh).
Probably the best lineup I saw from that era was Def Leppard/Scorpions/Judas Priest, in that order.
So, that's always going to be my "Golden Age."
("Raise your glass of beer on high/And sing this song together/Our best years have passed us by/The Golden Age of Leather")
Eventually I took a more New Wave direction (Cars, Joe Jackson etc.) but it took a while for me to lose my interest in much metal.
In the middle '80s I took a job in southwestern Virginia, which was a musical wasteland. I went to three concerts in four years (ZZ Top, the Kinks and John Stewart, at a club). Somewhere in that time span, in the car one night, I heard the college station in Christiansburg play Husker Du's "Green Eyes" and that changed the course of my life forever. I started picking up more punk records, which must explain how I missed all the good metal coming through around that time (I tend to lump all the late '80s into the Hair Band Era).
I got the same seismic shock when Nirvana exploded, though I had already been listening to a local band, 63 Eyes, that had some grunge elements. But I generally hated what followed, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains and ... ick. I liked hardcore early rap (Public Enemy, NWA), which I thought was heavy metal for black folks. For awhile I thought maybe Living Colour was going to save us all, then I thought maybe The Cult.
But since all that petered out, music has kind of gone up on the shelf for me. There's a handful of bands I pay attention to now (DBTs, as you know, for instance), mostly local, but I feel like I don't really have the energy to look for the Next Big Thing anymore. I'm kind of content to stick with my back catalog and from time to time go see the new music my friends are making.
Hope that's OK with everyone.
Posted by: bucdaddy at January 21, 2009 2:25 PM
I'm just gonna say it. Act III by Death Angel is definitely one of the best metal albums of all time. I'd place it after Priest and before NA in this list. Seriously, major bonus points for adding funk and jazz elements with the thrash was brilliant.
Posted by: Jason at January 21, 2009 2:44 PM
FUCK YEAH.
weirdly enough, the "golden age" of metal's been on my mind a lot over the last week or so. on saturday, i had a 2 hour conversation with somebody about our favorite bands and albums at a burgundy tasting i went to. that was a bit unexpected.
i think i'd push the start date a bit earlier though, probably back to 81 since that allows you to pull in the following albums:
Venom:
Welcome to Hell - 1981
Black Metal - 1982
At War with Satan - 1983
without Venom, you don't get most of the bands on the list above, certainly Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, as well as the vast majority of subsequent European metal. the ur black metal band.
Iron Maiden:
Killers - 1981
Number of the Beast - 1982
a tremendous influence on the American metal that would emerge within a couple of years, the two albums straddle the change between Paul Dianno and Bruce Dickinson and the evolution between a up-and-coming rock oriented metal band and stadium filling metal juggernaut (bonus points for "Number of the Beast" pissing off large heapings of Reagan-era douchenozzles)
Black Sabbath:
Mob Rules - 1981
the 2nd and superior of the Dio/Sabbath albums and the last Sabbath album worth a damn (to me, ymmv), this represents a passing of the torch from the older generation of British proto-metal to their multi-cultural descendants
Ozzy
Diary of a Madman - 1981
last album with Randy Rhodes, the last high watermark of Ozzy's career, eerily echoing the same passing with his former bandmates and their efforts of the same year.
Posted by: Soylent Green is Sheeple at January 21, 2009 2:56 PM
While I'm certainly more of an industrial fan, Dio, Priest, and Sabbath are totally the shit.
l_l
Posted by: Nadha at January 21, 2009 3:09 PM
would also add that Anthrax and Nuclear Assault were also germane to the genesis of S.O.D., whose debut album "Speak English or Die" was one of the seminal moments in the intertwining of hardcore punk and thrash (i'd also cite the work of Carnivore, especially their 2nd effort "Retaliation", undoubtedly the finest album ever to feature 45 seconds of a man vomiting into a toilet).
Posted by: Soylent Green is Sheeple at January 21, 2009 3:13 PM
When I was a freshman in high school I met a guy who gave me the tummy tickles like crazy. So when he invited me to a concert I was excited beyond belief. I'd never heard of the bands - Girl's School, Scorpions, Iron Maiden. Yeah, I was sheltered and in an all girl's Catholic school and listened to the Clash, Ramones, Springsteen, so I was entirely unprepared for the experience. I don't remember clearly which scared me more, the music or the audience. To be that naive again!
On a related note, I was in a ceramics class last night and I cracked a Spinal Tap joke about a piece that a student made of a 15" chair in the shape of Stonehenge. All the students just looked at me with completely blank faces. God, I feel so old.
Posted by: Iwantsprinkles at January 21, 2009 3:27 PM
you cant leave solo ozzy, saw him come on after pantera, and nobody can top live pantera, but it was ozzy; and as far as bridging the into the 90s gaps and keepin it goin, first slipknot album badass and some early tool was metal enough to keep us happy; alice n chains was around before grunge
Posted by: furtherbeyond at January 21, 2009 3:30 PM
RIGHT NOW is a golden age if you like your metal sludgy and/or fuzzy. Or, If you`re stoned. Mastodon, Neurosis, Boris, High On Fire, Kylesa ... OH HOLY SHIT THEY`RE ALL PLAYING A FREE SHOW TOGETHER NEXT MONTH http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/148601-mastodon-boris-neurosis-play-ridiculously-badass-fest
Posted by: mastodan at January 21, 2009 4:11 PM
Nice post.
The only recent metal band I've really gotten into is Five Finger Death Punch. Not only is that a great name for a metal band but they are still pretty damn good. I don't know how popular they got but their album was definitely worth getting if you haven't. I also loved the shit out of Killswitch Engage. Probably because they ALSO have a kick ass metal name.
and Warrant was a lot better than I think they got credit for. Cherry Pie has some great songs and Dog Eat Dog came out at entirely the wrong time but it's still solid.
Posted by: TylerDFC at January 21, 2009 4:35 PM
WOOHOO! Quoted!
Truly, isn't it a shame, when you think about it, that Metallica peaked 23 YEARS ago? And that they are still doing music? They should really take their metal badge away for every album, plus the movie that came in the wake of the dreaded disaster known as Load. I think it traumatized them even more than it did us.
Posted by: jpguy13 at January 21, 2009 4:55 PM
Jason - Fuck yeah, Death Angel!
Other thrash / speed metal acts (and one fusion) I haven't really seen mentioned but deserve recognition:
Body Count
Metal Church
Exodus
D.R.I.
Suicidal Tendencies
Now if you want to get into all of the different sub-genres, I'll have a list that will make your server cry...
Posted by: longcoat000 at January 21, 2009 4:56 PM
Of the albums on this list, Reign in Blood was far and away my favorite. I played the hell out of that album, until "the incident".
I was driving home from college, blasting Reign in Blood when I got stuck in a traffic jam. Traffic was at a crawl for 15 minutes or so. Finally, I made it to the scene of an accident. Paramedics were standing over somebody on the ground and were covering up their entire body. It was at that exact moment when the "ENTER TO THE REALM OF SATAN!" chorous kicked in (swear to God). Even at 19, that freaked me the hell out, and I haven't listened to this album since.
Posted by: Laughner at January 21, 2009 5:36 PM
1983-1991, you say? Despite only having been born in 1984, my all-encompassing obsession with metal (which started when I was about four, raiding my dad's vinyl collection) means I've done enough extensive research to agree with you. I mean, Iron Maiden's 'The Number Of The Beast' from 1983 is one of my favourite albums, containing the anthemic classic track 'Hallowed Be Thy Name', which remains a staple of Maiden's live set to this day.
Coming from the more extreme end of things, Celtic Frost's 1984 release 'Morbid Tales', whilst being an extremely influential record (its oppressive atmosphere, snarling guitar tone and muscular riffage set a template that many acts to this day still follow) is also a stormer of an album in its own right. Try to listen to 'Into The Crypts Of Rays' or 'Dethroned Emperor' without headbanging involuntarily.
Similarly influential if criminally ignored by the larger populace are Canadian technical thrashers Voivod, whose 1984 release 'War And Pain' harnessed a go-for-the-throat intensity married to a guitar tone that sounded like a pack of cyborg Dobermann's straining mightily at rusted metal leashes.
There are so many more, too - Exodus' seminal 'Bonded By Blood' (1985), Death Angel's 'The Ultra-Violence' (1987), Napalm Death's debut 'Scum' (1987), Saint Vitus' doom metal classic 'Born Too Late' (1987), storming death metal albums from Death (87's Leprosy), Pestilence (88's 'Malleus Maleficarum'), Autopsy (89's 'Severed Survival'), Carcass (89's 'Symphonies Of Sickness')...
Fuck it, I'm making a golden age playlist now.
Posted by: Dill The Devil at January 21, 2009 5:39 PM
Mastodan, if you are talking about the Scion fest in ATL, then I am so there.
PS: Scott Kelly is playing a solo show the night before the fest, (!!!) but I don't know where yet. TBD, but I'm all over it.
My hubs is a HUGE Neurosis fan. :)
Also, anyone heard of the Shrinebuilder supergroup? Oh yeah. That sound you just heard was my vagina having a vaginattack.
Posted by: boo at January 21, 2009 5:43 PM
SOYLENT GREEN IS SHEEPLE - Holy Shit. I forgot about S.O.D. Not only did they combine hardcore punk and thrash but they added humor as well. I remember playing the "Ballad of Jimi Hendrix" for my mom. The opening chords of Purple Haze followed by four guys saying "he's dead." The perfect 5 second song.
LONGCOAT000 - One of the best shows I've ever seen was Metal Church/Anthrax at a bar in Denver called Normans. MC was supporting "The Dark" and Anthrax "Among the Living." Fantastic show. Better than any stadium or arena concert I've seen.
Posted by: Matt at January 21, 2009 5:48 PM
Matt - of course, you remember that Billy Milano followed up S.O.D. with M.O.D. and followed up the "Ballad of Jimi Hendrix" with the 12 second "Ballad of Dio" which simple consisted of a power intro leading to the lyrics "in the dark of the day to the black of the sun, he's coming for you ... LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT!" with the song fading out. obviously a specific nod to the Sabbath song "Children of the Sea", but more generally to Dio's general style.
I later read an interview with Milano where he said, about the song, "yeah, dio used to be cool, but now he's a squid" which pretty much sums up ronnie james' career at that point.
Posted by: Soylent Green is Sheeple at January 21, 2009 6:12 PM
I know you have to take article length into account, but man this list way too focused on thrash metal. I mean all the sub genres were around back then to. I know Possessed had put out "Seven Churches" and Morbid Angel had "Alters of Madness" Dark Throne had "Soul Side Journey" Carcass had put out "Symphonies of Sickness. That covers Black Metal, Death Metal, and Grindcore. I know that wasn't the "popular" metal, but focusing one type of metal is boring. That's why there are approximately ten million bands that sound like At The Gates in the scene today. Commence flame war.....now!
Posted by: BeholdTheCakeola at January 21, 2009 6:14 PM
Soylent Green is Sheeple - I remember M.O.D. In college I was dating this uber-liberal feminist girl and she nearly dumped me when I played her the song, A.I.D.S. (Anally Inflicted Death Sentence). Good times, good times.
Posted by: Matt at January 21, 2009 7:07 PM
Of COURSE it's at the Masquerade. Oh dear. Boy I hate that place. Weirdest experience there was the Zombies show, where it became completely impossible to be cool or hip. A lot of sharp youngsters love The Zombies, and I do too, but the Masquerade was also full of our PARENTS, and they totally had that album before you'd ever heard of them. It was great. Dexter Romweber opened too.
Posted by: Jay at January 21, 2009 7:07 PM
I have 5 that you missed.
Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime, the best hands down hour of metal you can listen to. How about this tour, Queesryche backing this opening for Metallica backing And Justice for All. Best 3 hours of my concert life.
Ronnie James Dio: Holy Diver. A young Vivian Campbell was fantastic.
Maiden: Piece of Mind
Whitesnake: Slide it In. This was before Coverdale went clit whacko turning out shit.
Savatage: Dead Winter Dead. Combine the history of Balkan unrest with fantasic lyrics and a current Trans-Sibieran Orchestra classic, makes a complete concept album that rates only behind Queensryche, The Who, and Floyd.
Posted by: richmac at January 21, 2009 7:32 PM
Very nicely done sir. Metallica really should have quit after ...And Justice for All or the Black Album. You cannot leave out Sabbath for straight up old-school metal. Sabbath live remains one of my concert going highlights. "Paranoid" truly rocks live. Slayer on the other hand is awesome live and easily one of the stranger concerts I have been to in my life. They started the show with a scene of a guy cutting "Slayer" into his arm with a razor blade.
Pantera and Cowboys from Hell takes me straight back to high school.
Posted by: Melody at January 22, 2009 12:39 AM
Holee hell...look what I went and missed.
As someone who hit puberty as grunge hit its stride, I should have zero idea who these guys are.
But instead of falling for Pearl Jam or Nirvana, I was jamming to Metallica, Megadeth, Priest, Maiden and so much metal.
I'll co-sign Holy Diver, Piece of Mind, Ace of Spades and Screaming for Vengeance btw. Great, great albums.
BTW, a music journalist once did an amazing retrospective on Metal for VH1. He covered everything from New Age of British Heavy Metal through Metallica and Slayer to today's metal and even the Nordic death metal scene. Really encompassing -- wish I'd remember the name.
Posted by: Fredo at January 22, 2009 8:17 AM
Megadeth have always been much better than Metallica. Metallica have been a bunch of fucking poseurs for a long time. Mustaine was and still is an angry and bitter guy which is why he still produces true metal while his former bandmates produce more and more worthless albums.
Kerry King is also one angry motherfucker! This is why Slayer albums still rule.
Nice list and interesting article... I'm off to listen to Youthanasia.
P.S. Megadeth have the coolest metal album covers ever.
Posted by: Chris at January 22, 2009 1:04 PM
i have so much to say about this, but i'm looking down the barrel of a deadline this morning.
i fucking love good, classic metal.
rock on.
yeah.
fuck.
Posted by: celery at January 23, 2009 7:47 AM
oh yeah, i wanted to comment on the EE thread but that section is messed up/unreadable/in code on my computer.
someone who is not me should fix it. i'd say "please" but that's so not metal.
Posted by: celery at January 23, 2009 7:50 AM
Good choices, TK. You were about 5 years behind me. I actually got to see Metallica on the Ride The Lightning tour in Germany, and was at that Metal Hammer fest they show video footage of on the Cliff 'Em All video.
You have some awesome picks here, and I would have to second the Testament album people have discussed here as well.
While I agree that there has to be some mention of Anthrax, I find that I enjoyed Spreading the Disease more than anything after that. Their first, Fistful of Metal with a different singer than Joey Belladonna, had some good stuff on it as well. The references to Stephen King, Blue Velvet and comic books was cool in high school, and then years later, looking back, made me wonder what the hell I was doing listening to these guys. I think the best stuff they did, to this day, was the b-sides to some of their singles (a cover of Black Sabbath's "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath", the cover/remake of "Milk" by S.O.D., and generally the whole Killer Bs release.
I would also have to agree with your assessment of Helmet. Although I find a lot of their stuff "cold" at times, the first two albums (Strap It On and Meantime) are solid, as is their cover of Melvins' "Oven". In fact, I would say that Helmet fits well in whatever category Melvins fall into. I saw both bands together one night in '92 at the 7th Street Entry in MPLS.
Posted by: Jez at January 23, 2009 9:22 AM
TK you killed me with this article. i too was in jr high and ALL these albums absolutely resonated with me, especially reign in blood. if i would have known you back then i think i would have tried to convince you to accompany me behind the Payless to make out. metal god!
Posted by: robin2877 at January 27, 2009 4:56 PM
What, no Guns 'n' Roses? *outrage*
Posted by: S.K. at January 27, 2009 4:59 PM
and props to Death Angels' Act III, honorable mention.
Posted by: robin2877 at January 27, 2009 5:03 PM
sorry, dear- GNR is NOT metal.
Posted by: robin2877 at January 27, 2009 5:04 PM
You have no clue. Metallica? Try BOC and Black Sabbath you pinhead!
How can you talk about the golden age of metal when you start with Metallica! BOC first mentioned Heavy Metal in ME 262, you 33 year old tone deaf mouth breather!
Slayer? Slayer? Poser Metal? Metallica's just angry noice and Slayer wasn't much better.
Know what, sonny? Listen to some real metal and then try again.
You missed the Golden Age, kiddo!, and you are too stupid to know it.
Posted by: Metal Man at January 28, 2009 3:57 PM
This column almost makes me sorry I'm gonna waste your ass.
You have good taste, dirtbag.