1980: Metal by Repo

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’80:2 Tears For Remembrance. Tears for Joy.

Setting: It didn’t take very long. Maiden were just that much better than everybody else. And it was bloody obvious right from the beginning, my friends. 1980 was the year that the New Wave Of British Metal (NWOBHM) took the metal world by storm. It boasted seminal releases from Angel Witch, Diamond Head, Saxon (x2!), Judas Priest and Motorhead. (That's a shitload of important albums! I almost feel that one of these SIX ( Twisted Evil ) albums just has to make the list too. Don’t you?! Think ) But the best of them all, even at this stage, was Maiden with this almost unbelievably confident and assured debut.

The Listen: Again, the most startling aspect on hearing this again is their maturity and confidence. Almost impossible to believe that this is their debut. Like The Cure, they create an atmosphere that is unrivaled. “Remember Tomorrow” and “Strange World” being the most obvious examples.

Verdict: This is bloody simple ain’t it! Throw it on the pyre, boys and be down with it. We got ourselves another keeper!
[First added to this chart: 06/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,830
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Overall Rank:
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Comments:
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'80:12 Behead The Gorgon

“The whole NWOBHM thing didn’t exist when I wrote Angel Witch,” he recalls. “We were called Lucifer at that point and we were just a heavy rock band. I was in love with Sabbath, you know? I didn’t like anything else I was hearing. I liked bands like Led Zep and Deep Purple, but I preferred the Sabs because it just made more sense to me, with everything that was happening around me. I thought, ‘Why is everyone writing love songs?’ I was into the fantasy thing and horror and I just felt that was more of the way to go.” – Kevin Heybourne, founder, guitarist & vocalist of Angel Witch

The Setting: Two bands really stood out from the pack on the Metal For Muthas compilation. The comp that we can succinctly say heralded the arrival of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). A comp so important I almost named this post after it. Iron Maiden, as I noted earlier in this diary, were the clear head of the class. We all know what happened to them. But what, if anything, did the salutatorians have to add?

The Listen: Demons. Lots & lots of demons. Angel Witches. White Witches. Sorceresses. And Gorgons. Clearly not the kind that hid under his bed. No, my friends. These were the kind of demons poor Kevin wanted in bed. It seems our protagonist had girls on the brain. He tried to will his way into their hearts, but “The more love I feel for you, the more you fade away” he lamented in the their classic title track "Angel Witch". Frustrated, confused, and probably more than a little horny, Kevin took to the dark arts of metal, and crafted one of the few genuine classics of the original NWOBHM movement.

The Verdict: NWOBHM was cut short. Born in 1979, it's growth was quickly stunted once thrash quickened everyone’s pulses in 1983. But, you know what? As of lover of early 80s metal, I’ve always secretly wished that thrash had waited just a few more years to get its ball sack hair. Luckily, Kevin and his Angel Witches gave us this consummate NWOBHM classic. If you love those first two Maiden albums as much as I do, well brother, what the fuck are you waiting for? Unlike Kevin's demons, this is the real deal.

Rating: Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil
[First added to this chart: 06/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
135
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No band better understood and capitalized on suburban high school burnout culture than Van Halen in the late 70s/early 80s. Total classic sleaze rock as only they could do. [First added to this chart: 06/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
596
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Buy album United States
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Rush transitions from Heavy Prog Rock to intricate, intelligent AOR friendly Hard Rock with uncanny ease. The best band in the world in 1980! [First added to this chart: 06/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,245
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Buy album United States
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Mach II of the greatest metal band of all time. [b]Heaven & Hell [/b]and [b]Mob Rules[/b] sounded [i]completely [/i]different than Mach I Sabbath and were every bit as good (& in many ways influential.) Very few bands can just completely reboot their sound like this. Just one more reason that Black Sabbath are the greatest metal band of all time!!! [First added to this chart: 06/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,291
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Comments:
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Rank 'Em #2: Saxon & 1980

Judas Priest owned 1978 with Stained Glass and Killing Machine.
Motorhead owned 1979 with Overkill and Bomber.
And Saxon unequivocally owned 1980.

Wheels Of Steel and Strong Arm Of The Law are probably the best albums to define NWOBHM, and every serious metal collection needs them. They're perfect. You honestly cannot get a better representation of heavy metal in 1980 (besides maybe Maiden's s/t. But that's debatable.)

But the rot, cheese rot to be precise, set in quickly with Saxon beginning even with the highly respected, but honestly merely adequate and rather staid Denim & Leather. Just listen to tracks like "Rough & Ready," and "Play It Loud" (which sounds like generic AC/DC without the balls!) to reveal a band that was riding on fumes at this point in their bid to crack the States. And then in 1983 we got the mixed bag & frustratinglyimperfect Power & The Glory. So frustrating! Because Power & The Glory starts off with a bang with three killer pulse quickening numbers in the title track, "Redline" & "Warrior" before slipping & stalling in the most generic & downright laughable "This Town Rocks. " And then with Crusaderin 1984, which again has a killer title track, Saxon's "Sail To America" officially sinks.

tldr: There are TWO albums by Saxon that I feel are ESSENTIAL for the metal canon. AND they both came during 1980 when Saxon were easily one of the top and most influential metal bands on the planet ...

THE TWO U NEED
1. Wheels Of Steel (1980)
2. Strong Arm Of The Law (1980)

But, for one year, they were the biggest, most important band in metal. And to see what all the fuss & promise was all about, you need to check out....

The gold standard of the NWOBHM. Take no substitutes! (Unless you're talking about Wheels Of Steel also released by Saxon in 1980! These boys were just killing it back in the early 80s.)
[First added to this chart: 06/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
239
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Proto-Proto Death Metal (1980)
South Of The Dial #2

Ok. These guys are NOT Death Metal. AT ALL,.Like, not even close. They ARE Proto-Doom though. If you're into doom, especially the druggy, retro quasi-hippie stuff where Black Sabbath are spliced with all that late 60s psychedelic blues band stuff like Jethro Tull than this is your Holy Grail. Perhaps Ground Zero of that entire Doom Movement. Whereas bands like Saint Vitus took the hardcore punk approach to Sabbath's back catalog, band's like Witchfynde in 1980 and Witchcraft in the 2000s mined the psychedelic, hippie-ish elements. I love BOTH approaches and will be writing about Saint Vitus soon enough.

HOWEVER, as a prime NWOBHM band back in 1980, Witchfynde influenced Venom in other ways. Their satanic imagery and album cover was obviously massively influential on Venom (I mean just compare those two album covers. Case closed.) and thus the entire black and death movements that followed.

At any rate, just an incredibly killer NWOBHM, Proto-Doom release from 1980 that deserves to be in more charts and onmore turntables. One of my favorite metal releases to be on from 1980.
[First added to this chart: 07/13/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
68
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Buy album United States
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The most influential metal album of 1980.

The heaviest ( and most "extreme") metal band in the world in 1980. No other album released in 1980 would be as influential on the direction underground metal would head.
[First added to this chart: 06/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,285
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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The one album that every self respecting burnout/metal head bought in 1980! All my friends owned this. We probably played this more than any other album in 1980 (very) closely followed by [b]Back In Black[/b]! [First added to this chart: 06/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,601
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Very few bands could survive the loss of, not one, but TWO guitar gods (Uli Jon Roth & Michael Schenker...In TWO years to beat all!... and still survive. But, this is actually (far) BETTER than Schenker’s album from 1979 – Love Drive – with the band which was sort of a mixed bag. Animal Magnetism goes heads-to-head with Blizzard of Ozz for the best AOR Metal album of 1980. In some respects it’s even better as there are no duds whatsoever. ( I'm looking right at you "No Bone Movies"!) Just banger after banger. This album deserves far more attention than its gets. Easily, The Scorpions' best album after the Uli Jon Roth years! [First added to this chart: 07/13/2021]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
144
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 37. Page 1 of 4

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1980: Metal composition

Year Albums %


1980 37 95%
1981 2 5%
1982 0 0%
1983 0 0%
1984 0 0%
1985 0 0%
1986 0 0%
1987 0 0%
1988 0 0%
1989 0 0%
Artist Albums %


Saxon 2 5%
Witchfynde 2 5%
Diamond Head 1 3%
Michael Schenker Group 1 3%
Cirith Ungol 1 3%
Samson 1 3%
Kiss 1 3%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 22 56%
United States 8 21%
Canada 3 8%
Germany 2 5%
Finland 1 3%
Switzerland 1 3%
Australia 1 3%
Show all

1980: Metal chart changes

1980: Metal similarity to your chart(s)


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1991: Even More Gems by Repo (2023)
1992: Even More Gems by Repo (2023)
Pitchfork Music Fest 2018 by Repo (2018)
Repo Music: An Alt Hx of Cosmic Music by Repo (2018)
Repo Country by Repo (2023)
2017 Tourney by Repo (2018)
70's: Hard Rock & Metal by Repo (2022)
1990: Even More Gems by Repo (2022)
1994: Even More Gems by Repo (2023)
Best Albums of The 40s by Repo (2018)
AMBER VIOLET R WORLD (The REAL Tilly) by Repo (2020)
Collaborative Diary: 2010 by Repo (2019)
Hip Hop by Repo (2020)
2018 Tourney by Repo (2019)
View of The 2010s From Under The Bleachers by Repo (2020)
kinda crazzy REAL TILLY by Repo (2019)
Best Hair Metal Albums by Repo (2020)
The Mellow (Metal) Zone by Repo (2020)
80s Cowboy by Repo (2020)
2019 Tourney by Repo (2020)
70s Cowboy by Repo (2020)
The Mellow Zone by Repo (2020)
Reggae by Repo (2021)
1977: Even More Gems by Repo (2020)
Early 80s GOTH by Repo (2020)
NWOBHM (1979-1984) by Repo (2023)
Repo Goes Southern ! by Repo (2023)
2010: Even More Gems by Repo (2020)
Skinny's Tourney by Repo (2021)
Extreme Metal & Punk by Repo (2020)
2021 AOTW Queue: Decisions, Decisions!!! by Repo (2021)
2021 ALC by Repo (2021)
Repo Recs: 80's Metal by Repo (2021)
Post-Punk by Repo (2021)
2020 Tourney by Repo (2021)
1980: Punk by Repo (2023)
1987: Metal by Repo (2024)
1992: Metal by Repo (2023)
1991: Metal by Repo (2023)
1990: Metal by Repo (2024)
1988: Metal by Repo (2023)
1981: Metal by Repo (2024)
1993: Even More Gems! by Repo (2024)
1993: Metal by Repo (2023)
1989: Metal by Repo (2023)
1985: Metal by Repo (2023)
1971: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)
1973: Metal by Repo (2023)
1984: Metal by Repo (2023)
1983: Metal by Repo (2023)
1982: Metal by Repo (2024)
1986: Punk by Repo (2023)
1981: Punk by Repo (2023)
1986: Metal by Repo (2024)
1983: Punk by Repo (2023)
1984: Punk by Repo (2023)
1982: Punk by Repo (2022)
1979: Punk by Repo (2023)
1989: Punk by Repo (2023)
1991: Punk by Repo (2023)
1990: Punk by Repo (2023)
1978: Metal by Repo (2024)
1974: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2023)
1968: Heavy Shit! (Psych/Prog/Blues & Rock) by Repo (2024)
2010: Metal by Repo (2021)
1970: Punk by Repo (2021)
1980: Even More Gems! by Repo (2022)
2019: Metal by Repo (2023)
2018: Metal by Repo (2022)
2017: Metal by Repo (2023)
1987: Punk by Repo (2022)
Repo Goes Dylan! by Repo (2021)
1978: Punk by Repo (2024)
1979: Metal by Repo (2023)
1977: Punk by Repo (2024)
1973: Punk by Repo (2023)
1977: Metal by Repo (2024)
1971: Punk by Repo (2021)
1993: Punk by Repo (2024)
2015: Metal by Repo (2022)
2003: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2023)
1997: Metal by Repo (2024)
2001: Metal by Repo (2023)
1995: Metal by Repo (2024)
1992: Punk by Repo (2023)
1994: Punk by Repo (2022)
80s_thrsh by Repo (2022)
1966: Heavy Shit!!! by Repo (2023)
1975: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2023)
1972: Metal by Repo (2023)
2021: Metal by Repo (2023)
1988: Punk by Repo (2022)
1985: Punk by Repo (2023)
1994: Metal by Repo (2024)
1995: Punk by Repo (2023)
1970: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)
2002: Metal by Repo (2023)
2000: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)
2006: Metal by Repo (2023)
2005: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)
1999: Metal (+ Hard/Prog Rock) by Repo (2024)
1996: Punk by Repo (2023)
2022: Metal by Repo (2023)
2020: Metal by Repo (2024)
1969: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)
2011: Metal by Repo (2022)
2002: Punk by Repo (2022)
Rank 'Em: Miles Davis by Repo (2022)
1964: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2023)
1967: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)
Riot Fest '22 by Repo (2022)
1996: Metal by Repo (2024)
Rank 'Em: Motorhead by Repo (2022)
2013: Metal by Repo (2023)
GBV! GBV! GBV! by Repo (2022)
1976: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)
1997: Punk by Repo (2022)
1998: Punk by Repo (2022)
2001: Punk by Repo (2022)
1999: Punk + Post-Rock by Repo (2024)
LA Punk by Repo (2022)
1993: Hip Hop by Repo (2023)
1992: Hip Hop by Repo (2022)
1990: Hip Hop by Repo (2022)
1989: Hip Hop by Repo (2023)
1990: Country by Repo (2022)
The Meditation Zone by Repo (2022)
Rank 'Em: The Church by Repo (2023)
FF => RWD (Jan '23) by Repo (2023)
FF => RWD (Feb '23) by Repo (2023)
2023: Metal by Repo (2023)
FF => RWD (Mar '23) by Repo (2023)
The Skies Went Black by Repo (2023)
1998: Metal by Repo (2024)
'80s Thrash by Repo (2023)
Chicago, Baby! by Repo (2023)
Rank 'Em: Black Sabbath by Repo (2023)
1976: Punk by Repo (2024)
Rank 'Em: Death Cab/Postal Service by Repo (2023)
Riot Fest '23 by Repo (2023)
Repo Ranks 'Em: RIDE by Repo (2023)
No Bullshit: Repo's Top Metal Albums! by Repo (2023)
1994: Hip Hop by Repo (2023)
1991: Hip Hop by Repo (2023)
1995: Hip Hop by Repo (2023)
1995: More Gems by Repo (2023)
No Bullshit!: '90s Metal by Repo (2023)
Repo Rank 'Ems: BREEDERS by Repo (2023)
2004: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)
2007: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2023)
Repo Ranks: Bowie 90s+ by Repo (2023)
1989: MORE GEMS by Repo (2024)
2023: Even More Gems by Repo (2024)
2009: Heavy Shit! by Repo (2024)

1980: Metal ratings

Average Rating: 
88/100 (from 2 votes)
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05/20/2023 23:28 mrmcrook  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 39392/100
  
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02/02/2022 16:52 LedZep  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,07884/100

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1980: Metal favourites

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From 05/20/2023 23:28
Great notes. Fantastic list
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