If any band was going to invoke The Law Of Eleven in 1982, it would have to be Anvil. Anvil Americanized the NWOBHM sound. Adding a hefty dollop of 70s Ted Nugent and early 70s NYC Proto-punk (check out my favorite track "Stop Me") to the party. Metal On Metal is a surprisingly diverse affair as a result and in my opinion one of the essential metal albums of 1982.
It’s one of those “Where were you?” moments that shook the metal community back in 1982. The opening fake out of German Alps folk music on lead track "Fast As A Shark". The frenetic, jolting record scratch. And The Scream that announced a change of the guard. That something new was on the horizon. Speed Metal. Accept from Germany ( and Raven from the UK and our boys Anvil from Canada!) were on the forefront of this new sound which would be tightened and bolted down to become thrash in the ensuing years.
Restless & Wild was THE best Speed Metal album of 1982 (right ahead of Metal on Metal), and would play a MASSIVE influence on the burgeoning Thrash Metal scene that was right around the corner!
Let's expand our borders even more, shall we? Because something was brewing up way North in Sweden. Power Metal.
It's not the best Power Metal album of 1982 (that will come soon enough). BUT, every single listen makes me love it more.
They LOVE what they are doing and that love, that PASSION, seeps all over this record. This is a true indie record. A record that they did for themselves. And it shows. The songwriting is stellar! Do NOT sleep on this. It cracked my top ten for a reason!
These are songs to get drunk to. So don't miss out. Head to your nearest castle. Storm the gates if you have to. And sing! Just fucking sing! I promise it will feel really good in the morning!
mickilennialThe Most Trusted Name in NewsProfile Detroit
Heavy Load's debut was better. Also, not power metal, and very puzzling to consider them a brick of that. They just played standard heavy metal at the time. The production is also muddy and not very good lol. Probably sounds a lot better in a 1980s Chevy than on digital.
Anyway solid underknown band, I ran into them when I was studying 70s hard rock and early metal.
Heavy Load's debut was better. Also, not power metal, and very puzzling to consider them a brick of that. They just played standard heavy metal at the time. The production is also muddy and not very good lol. Probably sounds a lot better in a 1980s Chevy than on digital.
Anyway solid underknown band, I ran into them when I was studying 70s hard rock and early metal.
As for Anvil, I always thought they were fine but ever since their documentary have been hugely overrated. Relistening to Metal on Metal right now and it is really fun, but its missing something to take it over the edge for me.
As for Anvil, I always thought they were fine but ever since their documentary have been hugely overrated. Relistening to Metal on Metal right now and it is really fun, but its missing something to take it over the edge for me.
I think it's that dose of American Proto-punk that I really love so much! At first, I thought they were overrated too, but they've really won me over. It's the type of album that gets better & better with re-listens. It's campy on purpose which I LOVE!!! And more diverse than you'd think. These guys were definitely in it for the love of music! And had geeky tastes like me! lol.
mickilennialThe Most Trusted Name in NewsProfile Detroit
Nice picks, Gowi!!! Death In The Nursery is another album that really impressed me! and would make my top 15!!! I wrote about it a little bit ago in another thread...
Go get a map or a globe. It doesn’t really matter which. Blow off that dust. And cast your eyes on (old) Jersey. Did you know it was a small island off the coast of… France?! I sure as hell didn’t! But, it explains everything about the NWOBHM band Legend. It explains why their sound is so unique. Why they couldn’t get a record contract and instead had to go the whole DIY route. And most importantly, it explains why you've (most likely) never heard about this album until now.
Because this is a THE Prog Metal Holy Grail of the early 80s. With Rush moving in a less metallic (but equally interesting!) direction in the early 80s and Fates Warning and Queensryche still a few years away, Legend kept the torch lit with Death In The Nursery. Remember. They did this themselves so the production, which would have been fine for most NWOBHM bands, doesn’t really make these prog epics shine as much as they should. But, after a couple of listens these songs reveal themselves just fine. This is definitely one of those hidden gems where all those RYM and YouTubers prove their worth!
Rating: 😈😈😈😈
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Currently on the road with my kids. Watched my hometown team, the Providence Friars, lose in the final minutes to Kansas at a random sports bar in Bloomington, IL. Will hopefully make it to Kentucky today where I'll tack on more of my top ten!
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