The Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums of All Time
Reviewed. Rated. Ranked.
200 - 151
200. The Runaways - Waitin’ For The Night (1977)
Mark: Already on the cusp of spectacular implosion, it’s a miracle the band got this record out at all. Their punk roots are pretty much cast aside in favour of a clutch of rock and roll tunes that, whilst enjoyable, are not without their flaws.
Richard: Their first outing with Joan Jett on lead vocals is full of attitude. Varied, with some well structured and nicely crafted songs - rocky, boppy, punky and atmospheric. A couple of miss-hits, but Little Sister and the title track are superb
Steve: The Runaways rose above the snot and the snarl of 70s punk to spit out a fabulous array of catchy numbers. Even so, their third album merely signalled the start of the decline.
Top Rated Tracks: Fantasies, Waitin’ for the Night, Gotta Get Out Tonight
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.9667
199. Piledriver - Stay Ugly (1986)
Mark: The tragidramedy back story is way better than the clutch of hastily written songs that form this album. Front man and lead singer, the late Gord Kirchin is surely rock’s most accursed musician. Lots of fun when you’re in on the gag, but that’s about it
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: The Executioner, The Fire God, Chaos
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.70476
198. Bang Tango - Psycho Cafe (1989)
Mark: There’s not enough in this to make the band distinctive enough in a period when the world was literally awash with this kind of hair metal sound. Despite a decent opening quartet of songs, the album is torpedoed by a lacklustre second side.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Breaking Up a Heart of Stone, Someone Like You, Wrap My Wings
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.74333
197. Anvil - Forged In Fire (1983)
Mark: Everybody’s favourite underdogs’ third album is a somewhat patchy affair that contrives to dilute some hard rocking gold with moments of throwaway silliness. A shame, especially when 1982’s Metal On Metal had promised so much.
Richard: Nice and heavy throughout and a strong start, but this is an album that really fades quality-wise on side two.
Steve: Some seriously adorable heavy stuff on here but when they go off-message and try to get a bit clever, a bit different, they go tits-up in an hilarious way.
Top Rated Tracks: Shadow Zone, Free as the Wind, Forged in Fire
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.75667
196. Stone Temple Pilots - Core (1992)
Mark: It’s 1992 and Grunge has arrived with all its dirty production and pseudo-goth/emo introspection and self-pitying lamentation. A couple of decent tunes, but too bleak and too derivative for my ears.
Richard: At times too like Nirvana or Pearl Jam. At others channeling Led Zep, Priest and the 'Peppers. Core still has several great moments to justify its place as one of the essential albums of the genre.
Steve: The next big thing off the grunge conveyor belt, bringing angst and misery into the bedrooms of a desolate youth. Comparisons with other bands are everywhere as the melancholy eventually just grinds you down.
Top Rated Tracks: Plush, Naked Sunday, Crackerman
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.78000
195. .38 Special - Wild-Eyed Southern Boys (1980)
Mark: The highlight of the album is opener Hold On Loosely, meaning the rest of the ride through this cheese-laden drawl-fest is very much of the downhill variety, one or two other above average tracks notwithstanding.
Richard: Solid southern rock with a bit of AOR thrown in (courtesy of Survivor's songwriters). Mostly average, but a couple rise above, and Hold on Loosely is the pick of the bunch.
Steve: Decent Americana from a band who could be as cool as James Dean but also as confused as Katie Price. Sift through the mis-steps and there are some top tunes on here.
Top Rated Tracks: Hold On Loosely, Fantasy Girl, Bring It On
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.79259
194. The Angels - Beyond Salvation (1990)
Mark: There’s little doubting where the well of inspiration lay for this down-to-earth bunch of Aussie rockers, but it’s good for all that, with some no-nonsense, heads down rock and roll that’s a lot of fun if you like music of the straightforward variety.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Bleeding with the Times, Let the Night Roll On, Back Street Pickup
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.83030
193. Chrome Molly - You Can’t Have It All … Or Can You? (1985)
Mark: Even at the time this felt like a band that didn’t quite know whether it was heavy metal or melodic rock, and manages to get lost in the gap despite a handful of good tunes. Not helped by the bewildering choice of near-unmarketable cover art.
Richard: The opener bodes well and Take It Or Leave It is good, but too much of the rest is unmemorable. They did have potential but didn't get the breaks that (perhaps) they deserved.
Steve: There's a little bit of punch and the odd slap of edge, but by and large there was precious lustre in Chrome Molly's opener.
Top Rated Tracks: Set Me Free, Take It or Leave It, Thanks for the Angst
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.84000
192. W.A.S.P. - Inside The Electric Circus (1986)
Mark: Blackie’s own least favourite W.A.S.P. release gets caught pants-down-cock-out in unashamed pursuit of commercial success. One or two howlers aside, it's still damn good fun.
Richard: Blackie was disappointed with this record but he had a big part to play in its quality. His voice dominates, the guitars are non-existent and the shock-rock vocals come at the expense of good songwriting.
Steve: Blackie looked unfavourably upon W.A.S.P.'s third album, but any man who can get a bloke in his mid-50s to sing along unashamedly to the smut-show that is Shoot From The Hip should have been knighted long ago.
Top Rated Tracks: Shoot from the Hip, Restless Gypsy, Inside the Electric Circus, 9-5-N.A.S.T.Y
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.86364
191. KISS - Revenge (1992)
Mark: A case of ‘You wanted more Gene, you got more Gene!’ Five years after Crazy Nights, KISS suffer an acute identity crisis. The answer? More Demon, said the fans. The result? A couple of highs that are hopelessly outgunned by too many lows.
Richard: This heavier Kiss album has its moments, but they have done much better. Simmons and Stanley not as joined-at-the-hip as they needed to be and a couple of lacklustre tracks. That said, Take it Off is classic KISS.
Steve: Few bands dish up cheese and class on the same platter quite as unapologetically as KISS and continue to get away with it. But they bit off more than any of us should have to chew with the unpalatable God Gave Rock n Roll To You II, on an album with more misses than hits.
Top Rated Tracks: Take it Off, Thou Shalt Not, Unholy
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.87222
190. Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny (1975)
Mark: A seismic shift in aggression and power, but burdened by experimentation. We get glimpses of what Priest would become, but mistakes of like the sub-Bo-Rhap soundalike Epitaph render it a curious milestone rather than full-on metamorphosis.
Richard: You can hear what Priest would become starting to come out on this album. A very important part of their history, even if a few tracks fall short.
Steve: The best of Priest was very obviously yet to come though listening to them going through a discovery phase is nothing if not interesting. Many aspects of Seventies rock are referenced while there are sufficient snippets of that famed Priest power to keep their post-British Steel apostles content.
Top Rated Tracks: Victim of Changes, Genocide, Tyrant
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.87778
189. White Sister - Fashion By Passion (1986)
Mark: A mixed bag of tracks that swing pendulously from the sublime to a truly awful cover of Ticket to Ride. The mercurial quality of what lies in between ultimately does for an album that has its fair share of highlights amid the indifference.
Richard: Proper, proper synth-driven 80s lite rock. The production spolis what is actually a quite varied and enjoyable pop-AOR-rock album.
Steve: A synth-soaked slab of mediocrity with the odd slice of class - Dancin' On Midnight - elevated by the efforts of Churchill-Dries, who sounds like a war-time launderette but is in fact a top vocalist.
Top Rated Tracks: April, Dancin’ on Midnight, A Place in the Heart
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.89630
188. Cinderella - Long Cold Winter (1988)
Mark: In which Cinderella never really makes it to the ball, never mind finds her prince. Devoid of the gritty, dirty blues of its glorious predecessor, this sees Cinderella freebasing on largely forgettable fluff in pursuit of high MTV rotation.
Richard: An album at least equal to their debut with more mature songwriting and musicianship. Tom Keifer's voice does grate sometimes but there are some superb tracks on this album. An important milestone in 80s Hair Metal.
Steve: Following up Night Songs was never going to be easy and they probably knew that - hence the shift in direction. Beefy chords remain but prepare for more ballads and prepare, ultimately, for an album that just doesn't quite hit the mark.
Top Rated Tracks: The Last Mile, Fallin’ Apart at the Seams, Gypsy Road
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.90000
187. Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell (1977)
Mark: 35 million sales make this the 4th best selling album of all time. The album’s back story and its cast of eccentric geniuses is arguably more interesting than most of the album itself, but its epic scale of ambition is hard to decry.
Richard: Classic rock and roll theatre. Overblown? Preposterous? At it's best - absolutely. But a couple of soppy ballads severely impact its score.
Steve: Never speak ill of the dead, but cruise line cabaret and West End kitsch is a recipe for the worst kind of end-of-year high school cobblers, which is what this is.
Top Rated Tracks: Bat Out of Hell, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.92857
186. Atomic Rooster - In Hearing Of Atomic Rooster (1971)
Mark: Vincent Crane’s benign dictatorship hobbled these early Brit-proggers to the point of commercial suffocation. A total absence of bass guitar made life tricky. Lack of clear direction made success impossible. Very, very good in places. In others, not so much.
Richard: Recorded by a band that didn't exist! A strong start with great organ and bass work and multiple influences, but it does tail off a bit towards the end.
Steve: Preposterous fusion of '60s psychedelia and '70s prog with loads of funk thrown in for good measure. Hit and miss on the grandest scale and crying out for more guitars, both six and four-string.
Top Rated Tracks: Breakthrough, Break the Ice, Decision/Indecision
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.00000
185. Y&T - Contagious (1987)
Mark: A deal with an A-game label should have put Y&T at the top where they belonged. Instead, this hit and miss affair is part hair metal bubblegum interspersed with some seriously good tunes that can’t quite pull the whole thing out of the fire.
Richard: The move to Geffen should have distilled everything that was brilliant about Y&T. Instead it turned them into a hair metal covers band. Disappointing.
Steve: A band that inspired so many, condemned to the grubbier role of cheap dream chasers. Hell, there's some decent enough bits on here, but it's just not Y&T.
Top Rated Tracks: Rhythm Or Not, Fight For Your Life, L.A. Rocks
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.93667
184. FireHouse - FireHouse (1990)
Mark: There’s nothing inherently wrong here, though only a brace of tracks are sufficiently right to make a lasting impression and suggest that but for Grunge’s onslaught there may have been better to come from glam’s new poster boys.
Richard: At times confused by which band to imitate, but there are some good songs on here, with Overnight Sensation the pick of the bunch.
Steve: Never has averageness been so richly rewarded. Acclaim and adoration accompanied this tame imitation of all that was great about 80s cool. An assortment of average songs which I'd forgotten before I even played them.
Top Rated Tracks: Overnight Sensation, All She Wrote, Lovers Lane
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.98333
183. Monster Magnet - Dopes To Infinity (1995)
Mark: Too long at 78 minutes, and often guilty of the kind of self-indulgence that manifests in a bewilderingly awful 16-minute ‘hidden’ song. Even so, there are also plenty of moments where Dave Wyndorf’s undoubted talent shines through.
Richard: Dave Wyndorf said that Nirvana songs sounded like Boston to him. Experience this album and you will find out why.
Steve: Hawkwind descendants from another world, a world of noise, feedback, lashings of humour and no issue with letting songs run their course and beyond.
Top Rated Tracks: All Friends and Kingdom Come, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Look to Your Orb for the Warning, Dead Christmas
Enter Sadmen Rating: 6.98462
182. Fear Factory - Demanufacture (1995)
Mark: Techno-thrash puts me way outside my comfort zone, which perhaps makes me ill-placed to judge it. Moments of melody and introspective composition punctuated by glass-shattering noise. Not for the faint-eared.
Richard: Phew. Makes Megadeth feel like easy listening. Herrera's drumming is like nothing else on earth and drives incredible pace and aggression. Dog Day Sunrise is a brilliant oasis in the desert storm of the rest of the album.
Steve: Pioneers in the art of bringing tech into the thrash world, plus a drummer who plays at close to the speed of light. There's a fine line between a wall of noise and sophisticated industrial metal, and they get this spot on.
Top Rated Tracks: Self-Bias Resistor, Replica, Dog Day Sunrise
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.00000
181. Spinal Tap - Break Like The Wind (1992)
Mark: Arguably funnier than 1984’s Smell The Glove, and with more quotable lyrics than you can throw an overfilled ham sandwich at. But in the end, it’s a novelty record and there are only so many times you want to hear the same jokes.
Richard: Not only does this album bring a huge smile to your face it brings some great songs too. The Majesty of Rock is - well - truly Majestic.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: The Majesty of Rock, Bitch School, The Sun Never Sweats
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.00714
180. Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)
Mark: Essential listening? Certainly. Consistently excellent? Not so much. An eclectic, largely experimental, solid second outing that reinforces the growing influence of heavy rock but suffers from budget constraints and overly-hurried production.
Richard: Wonderfully varied and hugely influential. Could have been even bigger with better production and song selection. Everyone knows the title track, but for me Fairies Wear Boots and War Pigs are the immense tracks.
Steve: A track as bleak, as heavy, as moody, as downright badass as War Pigs deserved better back-up. But this was a band making waves so we’ll forgive them one or two serious errors of judgement.
Top Rated Tracks: Fairies Wear Boots, Hand of Doom, War Pigs
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.01667
179. Mother Love Bone - Apple (1990)
Mark: Lazily labeled a grunge band, MLB in fact successfully bridge the gap between that and Sonic Temple style hair/glam metal. Catchy-as-fuck tunes like This is Shangri-La bring the fun while the likes of Bone China dial up the introspection.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Stardog Champion, This is Shangri-La, Bone China
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.02564
178. Savatage - Power Of The Night (1985)
Mark: Savatage find their feet with a set of tunes that arguably set the template for the future. With a nod to the epic, a hat tip to balladry and a bow to melody-rich power, its highlights outweigh its imperfections.
Richard: Good solid power metal from the Oliva brothers. Some great riffs, good grooves and lovely melodies - but a few mis-steps too. Definitely worth a listen for the title track and Fountain of Youth in particular which is brilliant.
Steve: Criminally underrated, Criss Oliva gives a six-string masterclass on an album which powers along at a brute of a lick, though they should have stopped before the puke-inducing In The Dream
Top Rated Tracks: Power of the Night, Warriors, Fountain of Youth
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.02667
177. Terraplane - Black And White (1985)
Mark: To be honest, it’s all a bit anodyne. Luckily the band would morph into something beefier and more assured, plying their trade with riffy melodies and catchy choruses. This all feels just a bit too earnest.
Richard: A solid pop-rock debut from Bowes and Morely in their first band. The push to be more poppy from the label is evident but there are some good all-out rock songs and I Can't Live Without Your Love is a classic.
Steve: The rock charts lay some way off when this band would metamorphose into Thunder, but they peppered the nursery slopes for that project with this fun-filled slice of pop rock which is ever so cute.
Top Rated Tracks: I Can’t Live Without Your Love, You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore, Right Between the Eyes
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.03030
176. The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion (1992)
Mark: There’s much to admire in the musical ambition of Robinson brothers-led Crowes’ second outing, but after an interesting first side, the well of creativity begins to dry up into frustrating pools of sameness.
Richard: Great songwriting, real attitude and brilliantly produced. Apart from the last track this is a really accomplished piece of work.
Steve: Latter day Skynyrds invoke the ghosts of idols past and try to add loads of we're-so-cool edginess, a cocktail that only works if the songs match up - and most don't.
Top Rated Tracks: Sting Me, Hotel Illness, Thorn in My Pride
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.03667
175. Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman (1981)
Mark: Randy Rhoads' legacy secures Ozzy's status as a solo artist with a clutch of gloriously riffy, punchy tracks. An impressive opening sprint runs out of puff at the halfway mark but is enough to elevate the album beyond the average.
Richard: A worthy follow up to Blizzard and an album that settles into a really good groove. Ozzy seems more relaxed, Rhoads’ playing is sublime.
Steve: Ozzy's knack of surrounding himself with quality musicians means Diary is both strong and consistent. Accompanied by the admirable Randy Rhoads on six-string duties even the bat-biter whines tolerably.
Top Rated Tracks: S.A.T.O., Diary of a Madman, You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll. Over the Mountain
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.05833
174. Poison - Open Up And Say … Ahhh! (1988)
Mark: Lacking the dirty charm of its predecessor, Poison conjure up some beefy tunes, hook lines that are catchier than syphilis and a guitar attack powered by hairspray. Sadly, they also conjure up a good dollop of meh to go with it.
Richard: More preferable to their debut. Despite Every Rose this second outing displays better songwriting and some nailed-on classics..
Steve: Less preferable to their debut. Poison keepin' it simple, keepin’ it catchy and keepin' pots of cash as a result. It's cheap, it's cheerful and you'll have forgotten you ever heard it after an hour or so.
Top Rated Tracks: Look But You Can’t Touch, Love on the Rocks, Fallen Angel
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.06333
173. Q5 - When The Mirror Cracks (1985)
Mark: Guitarist Floyd Rose takes the production helm and manages to mix himself out of the picture. Overpowering and overbearing keys obliterate a clutch of otherwise decent tunes.
Richard: A good dose of very melodic rock. Deserved to have better production and some better songs, as there are a few weak points. The title track and In the Rain are top drawer though.
Steve: Asia meets OMD meets late 80's Whitesnake meets a bloke selling synths in a job lot – you get the picture. This is rock-lite on a never-ending bed of keyboard, as likeable as it is forgettable.
Top Rated Tracks: Stand By Me, When the Mirror Cracks, Cold Heart
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.06667
172. Anthrax - Sound Of White Noise (1993)
Mark: Armored Saint’s John Bush replaces Joey Belladonna at the mic and the sound deliberately moves away from the familiar Eighties bounce towards the grungier tones of the early 90s. Get past that, and this is is more than decent and worth your time.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Room for One More, Black Lodge, Only
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.06667
171. Exodus - Bonded By Blood (1985)
Mark: Kirk Hammett’s old mates turn in a more than decent debut that thunders along with the brute force and speed of a runaway truck. The late Paul Baloff is a fan favourite, but most would agree the album suffers badly for his vocal performance.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Bonded by Blood, Deliver Us to Evil, Piranha
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.08148
170. Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever (1977)
Mark: The self-titled solo debut proved there was life after the Amboy Dukes for this good ol’ Southern boy. And he follows up with a solid second effort, though one somewhat lacking in much more innovation than we’d already heard.
Richard: Put the opinions about Mr Nugent and his questionable beliefs to one side and enjoy this late 70s romp of a rock album and it's brilliant title track.
Steve: Proving that it is possible to be a complete knob and a rock god simultaneously, allow The Nuge to take you on a fun-packed rock journey in which he casts a spell with his six-string magic.
Top Rated Tracks: A Thousand Knives, Cat Scratch Fever, Wang Dang Sweet Poontang
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.08333
169. Suicidal Tendencies - How Will I Laugh Tomorrow … When I Can’t Even Smile Today (1988)
Mark: Surfer-punk thrash metal brandishing a winning and endlessly recycled riff. It’s good here and there, though not sufficiently so to elevate it beyond a fun-in-parts sideshow to the all-conquering hair metal fad of its day.
Richard: Punk meets thrash in an intriguing way and there are good (and not so good) results. Some great riffs and loads of energy throughout this album are diluted by not-so-good vocals and lazy arrangements.
Steve: Attitude and anger positively spit off the grooves of this cult gangland, metal gem. Very few missteps musically apart that is from Mike Muir, a man with the mane of a lion but the voice of a pussycat.
Top Rated Tracks: Trip at the Brain, Hearing Voices, The Felling’s Back
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.08667
168. Manowar - Kings Of Metal (1988)
Mark: Yes, it’s preposterous. Yes, it’s fuelled by unbridled machismo. And, yes, it is to nuance as Genghis Khan is to human rights. But it’s got monster riffs and the catchiest damn choruses this side of Valhalla. Put it on and put a smile on your face.
Richard: A damn good hard rock romp. Loads of fun and the title track is immense but a couple of weaker moments bring it down a notch or two.
Steve: Where to start? With tongue firmly in cheek presumably while trying to assess an album which veers from the anthemic to the atrocious seamlessly, which is a feat in itself.
Top Rated Tracks: Kings of Metal, Kingdom Come, Wheels of Fire
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.09583
167. Jackyl - Jackyl (1992)
Mark: Think Southern rock, think Skynyrd? Think again. Redneck hard-edged blues rock delivered with a spit and a snarl. Mostly. The final track demonstrates the thin line between success and failure. She may love your cock, lads - but I don’t.
Richard: Up-yours, in-your-face, AC/DC-inspired hard boogie-rock fronted by the chainsaw-wielding Jesse James Dupree. Another little-known gem that's worth adding to any collection. When WIll It Rain and I Stand Alone are cracking tracks.
Steve: Dixie rock crunches into G N’ R with the added extras of chainsaws and videos featuring lots of unfeasibly large-breasted girls. What's not to like?
Top Rated Tracks: When Will it Rain, I Stand Alone, Down on Me
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.10606
166. Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Part I (1987)
Mark: Widely regarded as one of the German outfit’s premier releases, this is a feast of largely catchy, riff-heavy power metal tunes that are mostly lots of fun, but demand richer production than this offers.
Richard: Lauded as the first power metal concept album, this is an enjoyable fantasy romp. Who knows if it chronicled the problems within the band as it contains some real gems.
Steve: A German power metalfest which deserves more listens than I gave it back in the day. Sod the concept, just feast on the riffs and be thoroughly entertained by a kind of Bad Steve (see above) on hormones.
Top Rated Tracks: A Little Time, Future World, I’m Alive
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.11111
165. Nazareth - Hair Of The Dog (1975)
Mark: A fighty piece of Scottish hard rock driven by Dan McCafferty’s glass-gargling vocals and Manny Charlton’s glorious riffing. If the infectious title track doesn’t get you, Beggar’s Day will.
Richard: Huge variety from an age where bands had complete creative freedom and Nazareth took that to the limit here, resulting in both some fantastic music and perplexing pieces. The brilliant title track is eclipsed by the awesome Beggars Day.
Steve: A classic 1970s cocktail of great musicianship, a range of instrument, an even bigger range of styles and a compulsion not to let tracks finish. That said, weird in places.
Top Rated Tracks: Hair of the Dog, Beggars Day, Miss Misery
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.11250
164. Scorpions - In Trance (1975)
Mark: An album about transition that consequently suffers something of an identity crisis. The point at which we first hear the Scorps’ definitive sound is also their final outing with Uli Jon Roth. The best is yet to come, but this is a vital waypoint.
Richard: The album where the Scoprions sound we all know and love was born. The foundations for Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism and Blackout were laid here. Meine's volcals throughout are a joy to listen to - unlike Roth's.
Steve: A stepping stone between two eras and therefore an essential listen if you value the Scorpions' story. Even if you don't, there's enough on here to keep you amused.
Top Rated Tracks: In Trance, Evening Wind, Robot Man
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.12667
163. Marillion - Holidays In Eden (1991)
Mark: Album #2 of Hogarth-era Marillion is the first that was written with the new kid. The result is an album that sounds nothing like the Marillion of old, opting for poppy wannabe chart fodder and just a glimpse of familiar depth here and there.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Cover My Eyes, Splintering Heart, The Party
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.14074
162. Praying Mantis - Time Tells No Lies (1981)
Mark: Wrong time, wrong place. Landing slap bang in the kill or be killed riff frenzy of NWOBHM, the UK frat house of denim and leather had precious little time for Mantis’s cultured harmonies and clever song structures. Deserving of far more commercial success than they were afforded.
Richard: A real melodic surprise given the band name and album artwork. A wide range of influences combine to create a really interesting album that’s well worth a listen, although they fall into the "include a cover" trap like so many others.
Steve: NWOBHM makeweights who were far better than that, adding bags of melody. Opener, Cheated, is a cracker and Mantis happily do what many don't, by bringing this baby home with a pair of belters.
Top Rated Tracks: Lovers to the Grave, Children of the Earth, Flirting with Suicide
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.16667
161. Mountain - Climbing! (1970)
Mark: Officially the band’s debut album, there’s much to admire here, but side 2 never really fully recovers from a flaccid opening. Loads of experimentation, as was de rigeur back in the day, and when it misses, it misses big.
Richard: A desire to be the US answer to Cream perhaps took them down a wrong route. A few misses, but also a few really good songs including Never In My LIfe which is a corker plus of course the cowbell stomper Mississippi Queen.
Steve: Guitar god Leslie West's first big group assignment which kicks off with a classic in Mississippi Queen, the prelude for a mixed bag whch promises much but actually struggles to deliver.
Top Rated Tracks: Never in My Life, Mississippi Queen, Sittin’ on a Rainbow
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.17037
160. Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve - Through The Fire (1984)
Mark: Just as with Hardline, Neal Schon flexes his fretboard and crunches out some banging riffs. Add the superlative voice of Sammy Hagar, and we get a generally superior collection of upbeat, riffy, melodic rock tunes … and one horrific misstep.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Top of the Rock, Missing You, Valley of the Kings
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.18750
159. W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol (1992)
Mark: Blackie’s attempt at a concept album is convoluted, hammy and arguably devoid of purpose. Thankfully, his knack for writing monster hooklines and infectious licks combines with a superior cast of musicians to deliver a welcome punch.
Richard: The story is better than the storytelling. Over-complicated and messy in parts and Lawless' voice starts to grate after a while.
Steve: Can't argue with the ambition, just the end result. Blackie sought to go a bit Bat Out Of Hell but ended up vanishing down a cul-de-sac (rue morgue?) of self-indulgence.
Top Rated Tracks: Arena of Pleasure, Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue), Invisible Boy
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.19000
158. Robert Plant - Manic Nirvana (1990)
Mark: Eclectic doesn’t even begin to cover it. Experimentation and sudden sorties into surprising territories is to be expected. The problem is that the quality of those voyages of discovery is too inconsistent with too much feeling at best average.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Your Ma Said You Cried In Your Sleep Last Night, I Cried, Tie Dye on the Highway
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.19333
157. Vow Wow - Cyclone (1985)
Mark: Too little Japanese metal made it out of the Land of the Rising Sun in the 80s, but what did was always worth hearing. Same here as Vow Wow unleash a blunderbuss-load of riffs. Some hit and many don’t in what is still a riot of good fun.
Richard: Some good songwriting and Yamamoto’s guitar at times is breathtaking. But this borrowed too heavily from elsewhere and after a while Hitomi's vocals start to grate.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: U.S.A., Hurricane, Rock Your Cradle
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.19630
156. Motörhead - Orgasmatron (1986)
Mark: New line-up, same crunching sound. A handful of tracks that stir echoes of the 4-album golden period of 1979-80, including the relentlessly brooding title track, all wrapped up in one of the coolest album covers of the decade.
Richard: Whilst not as good as the holy trinity this is still a bloody good Motörhead album at its core, but absolutely ruined by the production. Some tracks do still shine through including the monstrous title track.
Steve: Lemmy's best days were behind him, so too Motörhead's, and all this album makes you do is pine for something older and better.
Top Rated Tracks: Orgasmatron, Deaf Forever, Ain’t My Crime
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.20741
155. Lionheart - Hot Tonight (1984)
Mark: Dennis Stratton was fired from Maiden because his penchant for melodic rock was at odds with Steve Harris’ vision for the band. His bad luck is our good fortune. An infectious, if flawed, suite of catchy guitar-orientated tunes
Richard: Magnum meets Grand Prix meets Def Leppard. Some good songs - some less good but definitely no turkeys. An enjoyable is uninspiring collection.
Steve: Amidst the cheese, saccharine and shoulder pads, there is some seriously uplifting AOR in here, stapled together a treat by the tonsils of the quite excellent Chad Brown.
Top Rated Tracks: Hot Tonight, Another Crazy Dream, Die for Love
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.20741
154. Death Angel - The Ultra-Violence (1987)
Mark: A big slice of energetic and accomplished American thrash metal, delivered by a bunch of kids just out of high school (and in one case, still there). There’s lots of disorder here, but some absolute gems that more than save the day.
Richard: Absolutely mental but great fun. Amazingly fast and brilliant technique where these kids showed the old ones how it's done.
Steve: If you're good enough you're old enough as these teen tearaways proved with a hectic, breakneck and surprisingly accomplished slice of old-school thrash.
Top Rated Tracks: Final Death, Voracious Souls, Mistress of Pain
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.20833
153. Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind (1983)
Mark: Maiden's fourth album isn't their best (honest), but it may be their most important, setting the template for everything that followed. From the chart-friendly smash and grab of The Trooper to the sprawling To Tame A Land, it's a formula from which they have rarely deviated since.
Richard: Piece of Mind absolutely gallops along - literally - due chiefly to the arrival of Nicko McBrain. Enough literary influences and reference to write a PhD underpinned by thundering roffs and bass throughout. Classic, classic Maiden.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: To Tame a Land, The Trooper, Revelations, Still Life
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.23333
152. Twisted Sister - Under The Blade (1982)
Mark: Their passports may be American, but the soul of Dee and the gang’s debut is pure NWOBHM. With a decade of club shows under their belts, Under The Blade is a riot of super-tight and razor-sharp hit and run tunes.
Richard: The world was a richer place with Twisted Sister who had polished their craft well ahead of entering the studio to be brilliantly captured on this record by Pete Way.
Steve: Uber-theatrical glam/punk from a band the world may not have been ready for, but didn't have any choice in the matter!
Top Rated Tracks: Shoot ‘Em Down, What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You), Under the Blade
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.23333
151. Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd) (1973)
Mark: Skynyrd were never better than on this, their 1973 debut - and although it takes the odd misstep, there's plenty enough here to love.
Richard: Everyone knows Freebird and Simple Man but other tracks on this album shine through. I Ain't The One is a classic and the calling card for the rest of Skynyrd's career.
Steve: Southern rockers who were masters of their art and bookended their debut with a pair of corkers in I Ain’t The One and Freebird. I sense they had plenty of fun recording the rest, more than I had revisiting it.
Top Rated Tracks: I Ain’t the One, Freebird, Simple Man
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.23333
200. Van Halen - Balance (1995)
Mark: A decade after their split with David Lee Roth, Balance once again finds VH on the verge of implosion. It’s markedly better than OU812 - though that bar was pretty low - but fails to live up to either 5150 or For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Love Don’t Stay, Lonely Man, Running Out of Time
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.48148
199. Tygers Of Pan Tang - Crazy Nights (1981)
Mark: Marking the final piece in the Tygers’ 1980-81 holy trinity of releases following Wild Cat and Spellbound, this is as good as the band ever delivered in its formative years. Everything here is on point - a must-have for any true rock fan.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Love Don’t Stay, Lonely Man, Running Out of Time
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.48148
198. Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond (1972)
Mark: Heavy riffs, prog ambition, and cosmic psychedelia blend for a cult classic. Impressive for its brilliant musicianship and seamless flow, but brief interludes and uneven songwriting serve to undermine the whole. A must-listen if not a must-buy.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air) / Armworth / Myopic Void, Mesmerization Eclipse, Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Intro) / Frozen Over / Thousand Days of Yesterdays
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.4866
197. Accept - Balls To The Wall (1983)
Mark: Nothing disappoints on Accept's fan favourite other than the fact it blows its wad right off the bat with the title track and has nothing left that comes close to matching it. A slightly meandering final quarter makes for a sloppy finish.
Richard: The title track is still immense after all these years and still the standout track by a good margin. The rest of the album is packed with fabulous riffs.
Steve: For so long labelled (unfairly) as Germany’s other metal band, Udo and pals were at their absolute finest on Balls, an album that will always be defined by the title track but is so, so much more.
Top Rated Tracks: Balls to the Wall, Losing More Than You Ever Had, Fight It Back
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.48667
196. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
Mark: A year after 7800° Fahrenheit fell on the sword of critical indifference, Jovi returned with the record that lit hair metal’s blue touchpaper. Age has been unkind to it, but it’s still good fun.
Richard: Songs so overplayed that many of us are fed up to the back teeth with them, but there are killer tracks on this album. All that said, side 2 has some howlers that unfortunately point to what the band would become.
Steve: Award-winning stadium rock on a level we'd never seen before from a band who had the world in their hands. However, side one's karaoke killers cannot mask a couple of moments of lame dross on side two.
Top Rated Tracks: Wanted Dead or Alive, You Give Love a Bad Name, Living on a Prayer
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.48667
195. Megadeth - Rust In Peace (1990)
Mark: According to some, one of the greatest metal albums ever recorded. It’s not. But it does boast a collection of iconically blistering riffs and is perhaps the most coherently polished of the band’s catalogue. Superior rather than stellar.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Hangar 18, Holy Wars … The Punishment Due, Tornado of Souls
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.48889
194. Accept - Russian Roulette (1986)
Mark: A return to Balls To The Wall form after the supposed commercial-step-too-far of the previous year’s Metal Heart. This is stuffed with vintage prime rib metal that’s arguably more consistent than 1983’s fan favourite.
Richard: Classic Accept and an album that many might not know but which deserves a damn good listen. Doesn't quite hit the highs of Balls To The Wall, but is much more consistent, and doesn't have the lows either.
Steve: There's no smoke and mirrors here, just Udo being Udo and that adds up to a Teutonic metal gem, full of honest-to-goodness blood, sweat and riffs.
Top Rated Tracks: Russian Roulette, Stand Tight, Monsterman
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.49000
193. White Spirit - White Spirit (1980)
Mark: Lazily tagged as a NWOBHM act, the one-and-done band that introduced current Maiden guitarist Janick Gers was more progressive than most early 80s metal bands. A few missteps, but the ambition and potential is there for all to see.
Richard: A lesser known but very good slab of 80s NWOBHM. Definitely worth discovering and Midnight Chaser is a belter.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Midnight Chaser, Red Skies, High Upon High
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.49048
192. Shark Island - Law Of The Order (1989)
Mark: A decent enough slice of melodic hard rock - a couple of corking anthems in Paris Calling and Somebody’s Falling, but a cover of The Chain aside, much of the rest can be filed under ‘F’ for fun but largely forgettable.
Richard: .
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Paris Calling, Somebody’s Falling, Why Should I Believe
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.49667
191. Motörhead - Ace Of Spades (1980)
Mark: The album that turned Motörhead into a global commercial powerhouse isn't their best, and one or two tracks display echoes of better material on earlier albums; nevertheless, it was the battering ram that bullied Motörhead into the mainstream.
Richard: Even today, an absolute monster of an album. Just put it on, turn it up and allow yourself to be bludgeoned. There’s plenty of swagger and some fantastic grooves here.The Chase Is Better Than the Catch is Motörhead's finest 4 minutes.
Steve: The godfathers of thrash, or a rock ‘n’ roll band? Depends who you listen to – and that’s presuming you can still hear at all after this fun-packed aural assault, which unleashes gems far beyond the title track.
Top Rated Tracks: The Chase Is Better Than The Catch, (We Are The) Roadcrew, Ace of Spades
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.49722
190. Flotsam And Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver (1986)
Mark: An absolutely solid and musically accomplished - if somewhat gauche - debut from a band that have been largely underrated outside their own sphere of support. Over-exuberant giddiness causes the occasional misstep, but enough good stuff here to forgive that.
Richard: Very clear why this is seen as an absolute pioneer for Thrash. Relentlessly fast and immense riffing. And the quality of Jason Newsted's bass playing shines through. Hammerhead and the title track are the highlights for me.
Steve: F&J will always be remembered as the band who gave Metallica Jason Newsted but they were so, so much more. This debut is dazzlingly fast, wonderfully atmospheric, naively simple and the trash-can production only adds to the joy of it all.
Top Rated Tracks: Hammerhead, Doomsday for the Deceiver, She Took an Axe
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.5000
189. Queensrÿche - Rage For Order (1986)
Mark: The sophomore effort from Seattle’s high concept kings lays down a clear marker for what would follow over the next four years (and arguably longer). Complex compositions and an effortless feel for melody and power.
Richard: The album that laid the foundations for their future sound and success and showed fantastic creativity. Great musicianship, power, melody and balance.
Steve: Very glossy slab of arthouse metal from a band who loved to show off and did it very well. A gateway to bigger and better things to come.
Top Rated Tracks: Walk in the Shadows, I Dream in Infrared, Gonna Get Close to You
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.5000
188. Aerosmith - Get Your Wings (1974)
Mark: ‘Smith’s 3x platinum follow up to the 2x platinum S/T debut sees the band honing its sound. With the trademark dirty blues swagger delivering groove and feel, and a soon-to-be-staple leery-ness, it’s boundlessly confident, if not wholly consistent.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Seasons of Winter, Lord of the Thighs, Same Old Song and Dance
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.50000
187. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (1975)
Mark: There's no doubting the creative and technical excellence of Led Zeppelin - this offers the best of it for all to hear. But there’s also a good deal of padding. As a single album, this would rival or surpass the towering majesty of IV. As a double, a flabby second half lays bare its shortcomings.
Richard: Recycling older material that didn't make it onto previous albums was a weird decision. There are still some incredible songs on here - Kashmir,Trampled Underfoot - but quite why the pick of the bunch - Houses of the Holy - wasn’t on the album that bears its name is baffling.
Steve: Can you use the phrase ‘mish-mash’ for a Zeppelin album? Well yes, and you certainly can for this opus, a piece of work which has been held up by many as a disc from the gods yet contains mortal flaws and, to paraphrase the band themselves, doesn’t half ramble on.
Top Rated Tracks: Houses of the Holy, Kashmir, Trampled Underfoot
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.50000
186. The Almighty - Soul Destruction (1991)
Mark: Ricky Warwick and co return from 1989’s debut outing Blood, Fire & Love with an equally belligerent but less accomplished release. Too long, and too schizophrenic, yet some exquisite moments manage to raise it above the average.
Richard: Explosive power and great grooves. But classics like Free ‘N’ Easy and Bandaged Knees are watered down by too many average tracks on an album that is far too long.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Bandaged Knees, Crucify, Free ‘N’ Easy
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.50833
185. Yes - 90125 (1983)
Mark: Yes reinvent Yes for a more mainstream, pop-orientated audience. Reaching near-stratospheric heights at times, and untypically catchy and beautifully layered, it’s ultimately let down by a second-half slide into ordinariness.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: It Can Happen, Owner of a Lonely Heart, Changes
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.51111
184. Dokken - Back For The Attack (1987)
Mark: Clocking in at around an hour, this is much too long. Pared down to its strongest songs, it would comfortably have made the top 100. The best of it is classic Dokken - with an emphasis on melody, power, and damn catchy hooklines
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Standing in the Shadows, Dream Warriors, Kiss of Death
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.51282
183. Journey - Infinity (1978)
Mark: Journey were still three years away from the all-conquering high of Escape, but this nevertheless gives a good indication of the direction of travel. When it’s good, it’s Escape-level good. It just fails to scale those heights consistently enough.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Winds of March, Wheel in the Sky, Lo Do Da
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.51333
182. Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed (1982)
Mark: An album that captures the essence of Barnsley’s finest in full flight. From the breathless Motorcycle Man to yet another defeat for the balcony in the Wheels of Steel call and response, this is Saxon at their best over two nights at Hammersmith.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Strong Arm of the Law, (747) Strangers in the Night, Princess of the Night
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.51667
181. Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance (1982)
Mark: Consistently above average fare from the UK’s forefathers of heavy metal as they dish out a smorgasbord of crunching riffs that beg you to bang your head. And, as expected, among the business as usual standards are some out and out bangers.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Devil’s Child, Hellion/Electric Eye, You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.51852
180. Loudness - Lightning Strikes (1986)
Mark: Loudness hit their commercial peak internationally with this power-pop-metal follow up to ‘85’s Thunder In The East. A treat throughout thanks to the combined swagger of singer Minoru Niihara and god-like guitarist Akira Takasaki.
Richard: Pitch-perfect precision hard rock with great energy and enthusiasm. One of those albums that fills you with energy and makes you smile.
Steve: Flagbearers for Japanese rock for as long as I can remember, churning out big US-friendly numbers that rarely miss the target. Guitarist Akira Takasaki should be in anyone's list of top 20 axe-wielders.
Top Rated Tracks: Dark Desire, Ashes in the Sky, Street Life Dreams
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.52222
179. Aerosmith - Pump (1989)
Mark: Aerosmoith follow up ‘87’s Permanent Vacation with solid commercial gold. Love in an Elevator was the pheremone-drenched Billboard 100 foothold, and side one is stellar. But it’s brought crashing back down to earth by a flaccid second set.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: F.I.N.E., Going Down/Love in an Elevator, Water Song/Janie’s Got a Gun
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.52333
178. Loudness - Thunder In The East (1985)
Mark: Loudness hit commercial paydirt - largely through colossal riff-driven opener Crazy Nights and a spot on MfN compilation platter Welcome To The Metal Zone. It goes out with a bit of a whimper, but otherwise effortlessly punches its weight.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Crazy Nights, Heavy Chains, We Could Be Together
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.52667
177. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)
Mark: The album that forged doom metal’s blueprint: monumental riffs, cathedral atmosphere, and operatic despair. Slow, crushing, and majestic, it turned gloom into grandeur and launched an entire genre.
Richard: The slowest, heaviest, doomiest piece of music you can own. Candlemass created a new genre with this album and it still sets the standard. Truly Epicus.
Steve: The gold standard at the time for Norse doom-mongers, leaning heavily on early Sabbath and assiduously blasting it out at their own sedate and challenging pace.
Top Rated Tracks: Solitude, Under the Oak, Black Stone Wielder
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.52778
176. Rainbow - Down To Earth (1979)
Mark: Rainbow’s fourth album is their first without Ronnie James Dio on the mic. Bonnet is a more than adequate substitute but, Since You’ve Been Gone aside, struggles to lift material that’s broadly inferior to the opening trio of releases.
Richard: A shift by Blackmore to become more commercial, but without losing the essence of Rainbow - much on here to like through tracks like Eyes of the World and Since You Been Gone.
Steve: Never has an album been more accurately titled, with Richie and co shelving Dio's demons and wizards and crashlanding with the help of Graham Bonnet into something ever so mediocre.
Top Rated Tracks: Since You’ve Been Gone, Love’s No Friend, No Time to Lose
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.52917
175. Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984)
Mark: Having developed a formula over the previous two albums that had proved as tried and trusted as McDonalds’ special sauce, Maiden double down on it for album number five with big riffs, big themes and an epic (and I mean epic) closer.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Two Minutes to Midnight, Powerslave, Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.52917
174. Skid Row - Slave To The Grind (1991)
Mark: Following the acclaimed self-titled debut, Skid Row return with monster riffs, epic hooklines and further proof that they’re the kings of the rock ballad. An album that laid waste to all in its path on its march to the top of the US Billboard 200.
Richard: Briliiant second outing from Bolan and co. Superb balance of power and precision and Bach (mostly) manages to keep things at the limit without going OTT. Monkey Business is immense.
Steve: Took the swagger and the smut from chapter one and added dollops of sophistication and maturity with the sequel. Okay, it ain't genre-defining but when they add beauty to the power - Quicksand Jesus for example - it's hard not to be impressed.
Top Rated Tracks: Quicksand Jesus, In a Darkened Room, Riot Act
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.53056
173. Queensrÿche - The Warning (1984)
Mark: Musically, as accomplished as anything they’ve ever done, though it’s let down in comparison by the tinny production. The problem here is Geoff Tate’s always-at-eleven shrieking that proves a constant distraction to what’s going on behind him.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Take Hold of the Flame, Roads to Madness, No Sanctuary
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.54444
172. Warlock - True As Steel (1986)
Mark: Doro Pesch and the band hated the label-enforced mix on this, but the tunes reveal a band on an undeniable upward trajectory. A record that put them on an equal footing with their countrymen Accept and the Scorpions.
Richard: A nice varied album by Doro and the boys. Love in the Danger Zone is a classic, allowing the Queen of Metal to showcase all her emotion and range.
Steve: Born in the Fatherland, sadly remixed in LaLaLand and the upshot is that it's far slicker than its predecessors. That said, it's also their best written album to date and Doro, as ever, sounds electric.
Top Rated Tracks: Love in the Danger Zone, Fight For Rock, Mr Gold
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.54848
171. Motörhead - Another Perfect Day (1983)
Mark: A glimpse at what might have been. With ‘Fast’ Eddie gone, Brian ‘Robbo’ Robertson brings musicality and melody to the Motörhead chaos. Much maligned on release, it’s a far, far better album than people appreciated. For me, one of their best.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: I Got Mine, Back at the Funny Farm, Dancing on Your Grave
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.55667
170. Metallica - Kill ‘Em All (1983)
Mark: The band that ultimately changed the game for everyone arrive with the album that legitimised the thrash genre. A thrilling debut.
Richard: It's clear to see how this album was a game-changer for rock, the thrash metal genre and Metallica. Incredible energy and punch. Hit the Lights, The Four Horsemen, Whiplash and Seek and Destroy set the bar. But Anesthesia should have been strangled before birth.
Steve: Disregard the instrumental folly that is Anesthesia and focus instead on the remainder of an album that set the thrash bar. Many had crashed and banged before Metallica arrived but few did it with this amount of controlled aggression and song-writing nous. And this was just the start.
Top Rated Tracks: Seek and Destroy, Whiplash, The Four Horsemen
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.56000
169. Epitaph - Outside The Law (1974)
Mark: Formed in Germany in the late Sixties, Epitaph’s third album is good and not so good in more or less equal parts - but at its best captures the hypnotic essence of Zeppelin and the swagger of Grand Funk Railroad.
Richard: Atmospheric, layered and very well written. Another gem from the early 70s that's worth discovering. Woman is an absolute classic.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Woman, Fresh Air, Outside the Law
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.56190
168. Deep Purple - Burn (1974)
Mark: After the departure of Gillan and Glover, Purple are reborn with Glenn Hughes on bass and sharing lead vocals with a then-unknown David Coverdale. It’s a shift toward a sultrier blues style, but there’s still bite within the velveteen sound.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Sail Away, Burn, Might Just Take Your Life
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.56250
167. Black ‘N Blue - Black ‘N Blue (1984)
Mark: Taken under the wing of KISS co-founder Gene Simmons and snagging the production services of Scorpions’ stalwart Dieter Dierks, Black ‘N Blue chalk up a compellingly confident debut that’s full of big riffs, catchy melodies and heady hooks.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Hold On to 18, School of Hard Knocks, Chains Around Heaven
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.56667
166. REO Speedwagon - Hi Infidelity (1980)
Mark: Huge hooklines and soaring keyboards = instant radio gold in a gloriously punchy first half that gives way, with a small sense of inevitability, to a slightly less sure-footed Side 2.
Richard: A wonderful album. As good now as when I bought it back in 1981. Some absolute corkers on side 1 that define the whole AOR genre. Richrath's guitar playing is sublime and Cronin's vocal control and power is at its peak.
Steve: Name a musical genre, chances are a dash of it will appear on Hi Infidelity, an album with more variety than a box of Quality Street. It’s brash, it’s funny, it sweeps you up and floats you down. Pretty much AOR gold.
Top Rated Tracks: Don’t Let Him Go, Keep On Lovin’ You, Take It On The Run
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.56667
165. Genesis - Nursery Cryme (1971)
Mark: Steve Hackett and Phil Collins form the lightning rod that ignites a 3-album hot streak. A majestic suite of superbly layered compositions that bull-headedly refuse to yield to conventional wisdom - even when they should.
Richard: The arrival of Collins and Hackett provide the secret sauce to propel Genesis away from break-up and towards superstardom. Intriguing; at times beautiful and occasionally impenetrable.
Steve: Part one of the holy trinity of Gabriel-era Genesis albums with newboy Steve Hackett turning possibilities into reality. Harold The Barrel offers humorous relief in a sea of melancholy which is utterly enchanting.
Top Rated Tracks: Musical Box, The Fountain of Salmacis, Return of the Giant Hogweed
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.57143
164. Flotsam And Jetsam - No Place For Disgrace (1988)
Mark: Two years is a long time in evolutionary terms, as F&J prove with a more sure-footed follow-up to the youthful enthusiasm of Doomsday For The Deceiver. A hideous Elton John cover aside, this is deliciously ballsy, belligerent and brutal.
Richard: Much more mature songwriting and playing on this outing. The speed and power remain but are balanced with more layers and melodies. So it's more accessible whilst still belting you around the head quite nicely.
Steve: The F&J boys were in the process of growing up and fine-tuning their style, though don't for one minute think they've compromised on the speed and brutality which so endeared us to Doomsday.
Top Rated Tracks: N. E. Terror, Escape from Within, The Jones
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.57333
163. Gillan - Mr Universe (1979)
Mark: After a huffy split with Deep Purple and an ill-conceived flirtation with jazz as a solo artist, Ian Gillan returned to sensastional form as NWOBHM dawned with an album that showcases both his exceptional voice and hard rock credentials.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Fighting Man, She Tears Me Down, Dead of Night
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.57667
162. Dio - Sacred Heart (1985)
Mark: A solid return to the fray for Dio for what would be the last album to feature Vivian Campbell, fired during the ensuing tour. It lacks the stratospheric high points of the first two albums, but is also happily unfettered by its predecessors’ lows.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Sacred Heart, Rock ‘n’ Roll Children, Hungry for Heaven
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.57778
161. Van Halen - Fair Warning (1981)
Mark: Arguably a step down from the preceding year’s Women And Children First, but comparative margins are fine here. There’s grit, groove and swagger in plentiful supply - enough to make 1982’s follow-up, Diver Down, something of a let down.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Unchained, Mean Street, Hear About it Later
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.58148
160. Krokus - Heart Attack (1988)
Mark: Routinely lampooned at times for being derivative, the veteran Swiss rockers nevertheless serve up a great big ball of fun that boasts some killer riffs and well-executed knock-off melodies.
Richard: Thoroughly enjoyable romp from the best impersonators in the business. Hear all your favourite hard rock bands on one album! (But seriously, it’s worth a listen).
Steve: Switzerland's greatest AC/DC tribute act emerge from their Alpine lair once more with a slab of derivative, crowd-pleasing 80s metal which will leave you feeling warmer than a shot of gluhwein.
Top Rated Tracks: Everybody Rocks, Wild Love, Let it Go
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.58667
159. Giuffria - Giuffria (1984)
Mark: The fact that synths and piano are at saturation point on an album bearing Greg Guiffria’s name is no great surprise. What is surprising is that after an opening high of Do Me Right, too much of the rest of the album is pretty forgettable.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Don’t Tear Me Down, Do Me Right, Turn Me On
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.58889
158. Loudness - Disillusion (1984)
Mark: Blazing riffs, lightning solos, and relentless energy showcase Loudness at arguably their fiercest. Classic 80s heavy metal that would be at least partially sacrificed in pusuit of commercial success with the following year’s Thunder In The East.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Dream Fantasy, Ares Lament, Milky Way
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.58889
157. UFO - Phenomenon (1974)
Mark: A seismic shift as UFO transition from impenetrable über-proggers to honest-to-goodness hard rockers. The introduction of a young Michael Schenker and the sublime Doctor Doctor and Rock Bottom merely hint at what was to come.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Doctor Doctor, Rock Bottom, Space Child
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.59000
156. Grand Prix - There For None To See (1982)
Mark: An album that surprises and frustrates in equal measure. Thin production never quite manages to wholly derail a band that defines the spirit of early prog metal with big slices of melody and Robin McAuley’s angelic pipes.
Richard: A hugely underrated album from a band that deserved more. A brilliant mix of melody and power and great songwriting. Tough of the Track is a gem.
Steve: Well I saw it, just didn't fully understand it. That's not to say it's not good, it just has a nagging knack of threatening to slap you round the face with some metal majesty, only to resist the opportunity. Frustrating.
Top Rated Tracks: Tough of the Track, Relay, Keep on Believing
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.59333
155. Machine Head - Burn My Eyes (1994)
Mark: Brutal in places, but a masterclass in seething control from a band that manage to find melody in the most unlikely places. Ignore your preconceptions.
Richard: Crunching riffs and abusive beats with good arrangement and production and even the odd melodic bit - this is highly recommended and a really assured debut.
Steve: Don't be duped by the Purple moniker, there's no Jon Lord ivory tinkling here. In fact, present Rob Flynn with a piano and he'd probably turn an angle grinder on it, as loud as possible and make it into a song. I likey!
Top Rated Tracks: A Thousand Lies, I’m Your God Now, Nation on Fire
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.27273
154. Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality (1989)
Mark: Midway through an extraordinary six-album run of excellence, Sabbath flatten all in their path once more. The relentless onslaught of Children of the Grave takes the plaudits, but there’s far more light and shade here to enrapture the ears.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Children of the Grave, After Forever, Into the Void
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.59524
153. Skid Row - Skid Row (1989)
Mark: Skid Row announce themselves in style with fat riffs, big melodies and glorious hooklines. When it’s good, it’s extraordinary, but sadly the highs are more than matched by the lows of some fairly flaccid fare at the back end.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Youth Gone Wild, 18 and Life, Big Guns
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.59697
152. Morgana Lefay - Sanctified (1995)
Mark: Punchy riffs, sly melodies, and theatrical mood swings delivered with orchestral bravado, enough musicality to please the ear, and plenty of heads-down power metal attitude - but it fades with a whimper at the back end.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Sorrow Calls, To Isengard, Why?, Another Dawn
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.60000
151. Fastway - Waiting For The Roar (1986)
Mark: Fastway continue their progression from straight ahead blues rock to synth-laden mid-Eighties pomp. Superior compositions and killer riffs elevate things far above the standard fare of the time, but the keys occasionally distract and detract.
Richard: Some lovely tracks on a real surprise of an album that is really worth a listen. Fast Eddie really couldn't get further from Motörhead if he tried, and that's not a bad thing.
Steve: 'Fast' Eddie Clarke brings not a hint of Motörhead to this keyboard-saturated slice of 80s synth heaven, full of melodies and riffs and a strings-sapped opener in The World Waits For You which could grace the Albert Hall.
Top Rated Tracks: The World Waits for You, Move Over, Waiting for the Roar
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.60667