The Heavy Metal Thread

For this weekend's weekly top ten list I decided to tackle heavy metal. Here's my all-time list:

01. Iron Maiden - "Somewhere In Time" (1986)

02. Iron Maiden - "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" (1988)

03. Iron Maiden - "Powerslave" (1984)

04. Judas Priest - "Painkiller" (1990)

05. Ozzy Osbourne - "Speak Of The Devil" (1982)

06. Black Sabbath - "Paranoid" (1970)

07. W.A.S.P. - "The Crimson Idol" (1992)

08. Iron Maiden - "Live After Death" (1985)

09. Crimson Glory - "Crimson Glory" (1986)

10. Black Sabbath - "Live Evil" (1982)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/138

It's obviously very heavily weighted to a few bands which is a strong indication of just how much of an impact nostalgia for my childhood has had on the result. But it is what it is as they say.

What are your top tens guys?

1. Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)

2. Iron Maiden - Killers (1981)

3. Angel Witch - Angel Witch (1980)

4. Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)

5. Grand Magus - Hammer of the North (2010)

6. Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1975)

7. Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations (1980)

8. Motörhead - Bomber (1979)

9. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (1973)

10. Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind (1983)

Similarly mine is heavily weighted with nostalgia - maybe those early albums that get us into metal have a more profound effect on us than any others.

The only modern act to get a look in is Grand Magus whose Iron Will and The Hunt albums would definitely get in my Top 20.

Here's my top 10:

10. Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth (1997)

9. Virgin Steele - Age of Consent (1988)

8. Accept - Metal Heart (1985)

7. Sanctuary - Refuge Denied (1987)

6. Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian (1986)

5. Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King (1987)

4. Queensryche - The Warning (1984)

3. Crimson Glory - Transcendence (1988)

2. Running Wild - Death or Glory (1989)

1. Riot - Thundersteel (1988)

Savatage - "Streets: A Rock Opera" (1991)

Another Savatage classic, another failure to keep me engaged. I really dig some of Savatage's first attempt at a heavy metal rock opera, particularly the more metal oriented tracks like "Streets" & "Ghost In The Ruins". The stunning guitar solos from Criss Oliva may be the finest of his career & there's a hefty dose of Van Halen worship going on throughout a good chunk of the song-writing too. Unfortunately though, Jon Oliva's overly theatrical & often out of key banshee wails will never sit well with me & neither will the wall of pure cheese that's thrust upon me every few tracks as the band indulge themselves in some of their more cringe-worthy story-telling balladry to the time. I just don't get the universal appeal these guys seem to offer the metal community. The tracks that are the most highly celebrated from this band are generally the ones that I have the most difficulty accepting. There's some good shit on this record but it's simply too hard to sit through the filler. This isn't a patch on 1993's "Edge Of Thorns" which is still the only Savatage record I've enjoyed. No surprise that Jon Oliva wasn't behind the mike for that one.

For fans of Jon Oliva's Pain, Virgin Steele & WASP's "The Crimson Idol" album.

3/5

Running Wild - "Port Royal" (1988)

Another Running Wild album, another fairly flat & dull heavy metal record with poor vocals in my opinion. The production job is very 80's with a thin guitar sound but the bass is unusually loud in the mix & subsequently plays a more significant part than it might otherwise have. The guitar solos are entertaining & there are some cool heavy metal riffs included but (as usual) axe-slinging front man Rock 'n' Rolf is simply not capable of filling the shoes of a tier two heavy metal act. In fact, he spends a fair amount of the run time drifting in & out of key if you wanna get technical about it & the excessive reverb he's been drenched in doesn't help much either.

The tracklisting starts off with four of the weaker tracks on the album & doesn't really get going until the middle of the record with catchy heavy metal songs "Uaschitschun" & "Blown To Kingdom Come" offering me a lot more appeal than the earlier material while speed metal anthem "Warchild" has some really good energy about it. But it's (perhaps unsurprisingly) the instrumental piece "Final Gates" that represents the highlight of the album for me personally, despite really being more of a showcase for Jens Becker's bass guitar skills. You'll notice that I'm still yet to mention power metal anywhere here & there's a reason for that because (as with some of Running Wild's other material) I once again find myself struggling to pick up where people are finding the link. Of the ten proper songs included here seven of them sit firmly in the traditional heavy metal camp while "Into The Arena", "Warchild" & lengthy closer "Calico Jack" veer over towards a faster, more energetic speed metal sound but there are only ever hints at genuine power metal & not enough for a primary tag in my opinion. As usual the pirate references are purely to do with the lyrics, cover art & intro track & you can easily overlook them if you choose to (which I clearly do).

The long & short of it is that I just don't think Running Wild will ever be for me & I really struggle to see the appeal that people find in them. They just sound a bit flat to my ears rather than being genuinely bad so I always find myself reaching for a disappointing 3/5 rating with "Port Royal" being no exception. If I look at Running Wild's back catalogue, I'd suggest that I prefer it to the band's 1985 sophomore album "Branded & Exiled" & noticeably weaker "Wild Animal" E.P. from 1990 but I'd probably take 1994's "Black Hand Inn", 1989's "Death Or Glory" & their 1984 debut album "Gates To Purgatory" over this one even though I have pretty similar feelings about all of them. Perhaps I'm destined never to find a Running Wild record that I enjoy & I'm at peace with that as I've certainly given them a good Aussie crack.

3/5