Track Of The Day - The Guardians Edition

Proggy Italian heavy metal.

A prog-ish power metal highlight with some speedy Iron Maiden-infused riffing and vocal glory:

Progressive US power metal from Houston, Texas.

Some pretty decent German power metal.

Dominating US power metal madness:

Radio stations can give "More Than Words" as much airplay as they possibly can, but they're missing out on this glam/heavy metal shredding head-buzzer:

My exploration of the earliest heavy metal in 1970 has seen me encounter several classic hits from those 3 albums, which true essential starters from Deep Purple...

...and Black Sabbath....

...who have also spawned underrated tracks like this one:

Pretty much the only song in Judas Priest's Rocka Rolla that would qualify for this thread, in terms of both style and my enjoyment:

Another underrated classic, this one from the second album of a band that threw away their bluesy roots for an even better revival of early heavy metal after the magic of Black Sabbath had worn off:

This bluesy hard rock/heavy metal blend is so appealing for even a young metalhead like myself, and Ritchie Blackmore's guitars and the late legendary Dio's vocals are what make this sound shine in classics like this:

Not only is Rainbow's Rising a game-changer in heavy metal, it is also perhaps the first ever album that can truly be considered power metal. The Tolkien-inspired lyrics, long song length, and blazing soloing say it all, in classics like this one:

A mystical Middle East-inspired classic piece from the final part of Rainbow's Dio trilogy:

Scorpions has had metal aggression as early as their 1975 album In Trance, which they've barely had any of after the second half of the 1970s:

Scorpions has had metal aggression as early as their 1975 album In Trance, which they've barely had any of after the second half of the 1970s:

I'd suggest that 1982's "Blackout" album is more metal than anything Scorpions released in the second half of the 1970's. In fact, it's the only Scorpions album I've heard that I'd tag as a metal record. It's still kinda 50/50 though.

I might add Blackout to my listen-and-review to-do list, though my side of the Roots of Metal project only covers albums from the 70s.

Scorpions has had metal aggression as early as their 1975 album In Trance, which they've barely had any of after the second half of the 1970s:

I'd suggest that 1982's "Blackout" album is more metal than anything Scorpions released in the second half of the 1970's. In fact, it's the only Scorpions album I've heard that I'd tag as a metal record. It's still kinda 50/50 though.

I'd tag the following as metal: Taken By Force, Blackout, Love at First Sting and maybe Lovedrive.  It's been a while since I heard Lovedrive.  In Trance is a bit lighter than those, so I wouldn't go In Trance.

I can still witness Scorpions' late-70s material having some songs metal enough to qualify for that genre. I suggest giving this song a go and checking out its metallic speed:

A true Scorpions classic that should've had more attention than those other songs that practically everyone knows:

I haven't even reached Blackout yet, and already I find Scorpions at their most metallic with this awesome speed metal assault leaning into thrash:

Definitely one of my favourite Scorpions tracks & easily the highlight of “Lovedrive” in my opinion.

Another popular Scorpions track, and actually one in which I understand the appeal of its melodic metallic sound and enjoy it much more than when I first reviewed it in this month's Guardians playlist two weeks ago, thanks to how well my side of the Roots of Metal project is going:

A 7-minute epic of the ultimate heavy metal engravement in Scorpions' legacy stone:

The last bit of Scorpions' remaining speedy heavy metal for me to enjoy:

Swedish power-ish heavy metal that fans of Dio, Dream Evil, and Rainbow might find irresistible: