The remaining members of Kiss are Jewish, so they are not celebrating X-mas, but Kiss is big on consumerism, so they share a great deal of common ground with this holiday. I have always championed these guys as being an underrated band. They were once thought of as metal in the early days of the genre, and were one of the most influential bands in the genre. While over half of their music today feels more like fun rock with a hard edge, some songs hold up against the common standard for metal, so I’ve made a list of Kiss’s top 10 heaviest songs. Gene’s music tends to be the heaviest, but Pal and Ace scored a few songs on here. The music speaks for itself when you are talking about wanting the best and getting the best, since the hottest band in all the land is Kiss.
I’ve listened to Kiss since I was a kid; they were the first band that I got into. I was more of a Paul Stanley fan. But the four original members of Kiss work magic together, and much like the Beatles, each member brings a vital personality to their songs. Ace is, without a doubt, an underrated guitarist. If you don’t believe me, ask other iconic metal guitarists who inspired them to play, be it Tom Morello or Dimebag. The Space Man’s light-up guitar and hug boots that kept him grounded might have overshadowed what his fingers were doing, but anyone who listened to the Kiss solo album series knows that, no matter who you are a fan of that Ace’s was the best, as he was the most capable on his own.
Having seen him with both Kiss and his solo band, Frehley’s Comet, I can attest to the fact that he held up well on his own. Sure, after those first two Frehley’s Comet albums, my interest was largely limited to his work with Kiss. You can check out the Abysmal Hymns podcast episode on classic rock, where the debate about the greatness of Kiss that I was defending went into another 30-minute episode, as I brought up the point of Ace’s influence on the next generation of players, who he ignited an excitement in. He made being a guitarist look like being a superhero without getting caught up in shredding. Ace’s solos are always melodic, always serve the song, and are always memorable enough for you to hum.
I met Ace once at a horror convention. It was 13 years ago, and he looked like he might die at any moment then, or it was cold gin time again. If you have not seen any of the interviews where Ace speaks up then you are missing rock n roll gold and need to jump on YouTube right now. I am not surprised that he was the first of the original four to go play with Eric Carr. However, I would never go see a version of Kiss with someone dressed up as Ace. At least Vinne Vincent came up with another character, though I always felt like he should have been wrapped up more like a mummy. Ace was an icon; he took his final rocket ride back into the cosmos
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Forty years later, it's time to take a look and honestly assess what were the ten greatest metal albums from 1984. This is not being weighed on album sales, as some of these did not fare that well upon their release but gained ground over time. All of these have stood the test of time, but some are better than others, which is why the number one album is where it sits, and number ten is where it is. The ranking is based on two main factors I was listening to them back when they were released, the impact they had when I heard them, and how well they have stood the test of time for the past forty years. Unlike lists I make today where it;s based more on how much I listened to them over the year, the results here are more cumulative, though the album I listened to the most in 1984 is on here.
10-Judas Priest - "Defenders of the Faith"
When this came out it benefited from the momentum of "Screaming for Vengence" which achieved the perfect balance of great songwriting but being accessible enough to pack stadiums. Songs like "Rock Hard Ride Free" just did not age as well as "You've Got Another Thing Comin". When I was a kid and id not know any better I enjoyed it as this was the era that found Priest still on top of the world, but when I want to dig back and listen to a Priest album this is not the first one I reach for. However, it's good enough to belong here and beat out both Scorpion's "Love at First Sting' and Ratt's "Out of the Cellar' for its place here.
9-W.A.S.P- "S/T"
This band found the sweet that was missing in music at the time to fall between what Motley Crue was doing on "Shout at the Devil" and what heavier bands like Priest and Saxon were cranking while adding a darker more theatrical element Kiss traded into blend-in with the hair metal scene. Sleazy anthem with the bite of Lawless' saw blade codpiece. It rocks with more earnestness than Priest had on the more contrived number ten ranking album.
8-Slayer - "Haunting the Chapel"
There was a college radio station I listened to as Kid that has a metal night on the weekends, that played "Aggressive Perfector' which was the first Slayer song I ever hear, It sounded like Venom to me at the time, and it was not until I heard the song "Die By The Sword" on the "Live Undead' album that Slayer really clicked for me, though I was aware Kerry King played on the "Liscenced to Ill " album. These songs aged well.
7-Dio - "The Last in Line"
As a kid when this came out, I was reluctant to give this album a shot, as I only knew Dio from the two Sabbath albums he sang on, which I was surprisingly ok with given that I was such an Ozzy fan at the time. So "Holy Diver" was the first solo Dio album I bought, and then I went back to check this one out. The title track which he had a video for, I liked, but the album as a whole had to grow on me, and once I discovered Rainbow, then the more it all clicked into place for me.
6-Queensryche - 'The Warning"
If this album came out today it would be called power metal. I like "Rage For Order' so much that I forget how great this album is. They brought all the elements of what we now think of as traditional metal into play in a manner that had both grace and balls to the songwriting, and Tate established himself as one of the best vocalists in metal at the time.
5-Twisted Sister- "Stay Hungry"
The anthemic classics that everyone knows are not why this album ranks so high, but songs like "Burn in Hell" and "Captain Howdy" that are darker and carry more grit to separate them from the rest of the rising hair metal bands at the time,as they have more in common with Accept and Judas Priest. Great songwriting wins the day, they were not shredders but entertainers.
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4-Kiss- "Animalize"
This is the most underrated album on the list, the opening track alone rocks harder than most of their peers at the time. If this was a list of the albums I listened to the most in 1984 this would be at the top of the list. The guitar attack on most of these songs should silence questions regarding if this is in fact a metal album. I would say "Asylum" that came out after this would be the turning point from metal. This is the best of the post-make-up years, and their last great album, as none of the other releases after this would ever measure up. Paul Stanley sounds great here.
3-Metallica - "Rider the Lightning"
This might be the band's best album as it runs neck and neck against "Master of Puppets". I think the effects of touring and substance abuse were beginning to weigh on them when they made "Master of Puppets" and I might prefer this one as it's a darker album, and more refined than "Kill'em All" there is the perfect middle ground of thrashing and melody here. This album grew on me over the years as when this came out, I was not as into Metallica, as when I became more willing to give this one a more solid listen after getting hooked in by Puppets.
2-Iron Maiden- "Powerslave"
I am not saying this is Maiden's best album, it's not. I am saying this album is better than the eight previous albums mentioned here they are all great in their own right. Any arguments against this fact can simply refer to "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" which is better than mosts band's entire careers .
1-Mercyful Fate- "Don't Break the Oath''
As a child, I did not have the musical vocabulary to explain what I wanted when I went into music stores, so when a tall skinny adult with long hair and a chain wallet started working at the record store my grandparents took me to, I did not know what I wanted to ask was 'What's the darkest metal album you have?" so instead I asked "What's the scariest metal album you have ?". The answers in 1984 would have likely been the same as he handed me this cassette. It blew me away, and scared me a bit, while I was more into Kiss and Ozzy IN 1984, I grew into this album, and it might be not only the best album of 1984 but the best metal album of all time.
Now we are getting deeper into the second half of the list, harder choices are having to be made. I am having to be more honest with myself in what we are doing here which is focusing not only on technical vocal ability, in terms of range and power, as well as their dynamics, phrasing and the overall character of their voice. Can they emote from different places? How well does their voice hold up live? . How they control a crowd or their entertainment value as performers is also not a factor; there are some great front men who are also sub-par singers. There are also not going to be any Bob Dylan like singers, who are better songwriters than vocalists.
Pop singers, are far and few between, with; a few country or jazz singers who crossover just enough to qualify for this list, while having a significant influence on rock music. Don't expect rappers on this list or metal vocalists who just scream or growl, but never actually sing. I am keen on singers who are derivative of other singers. The bulk of these do their own thing, the few paying tribute to other artists made enough of an impact with their music. Having a unique vocal quality is going to be one of the most important factors often trumping technical ability. If they sound too much like Steve Perry from Journey after listening to their vocal coach rather than developing their own style, it is also not going to fly. Some of these might have been ignored by mainstream music media, but by the time we get to the top 10, I am sure it will all make sense, so here are the Top 200 greatest rock singers.
50-Micheal Hutchence
The late great singer of Inxs was a powerhouse of energy and gut wrenching intensity in what became 80s anthems surpassing their more post-punk beginnings, thanks to what he was capable of.
49-Bryan Ferry
One of my favorite voices, but he is just that which is why he is not in the top ten. Putting the silky falsetto filled Ferry here feels pretty fair as he is not going to out gun some of these others guys and girls.
48- Sinead O'connor
If I was going to rate singers by how emotionally heavy they were able to get by pulling their guts out by way of their vocal cords then she would be at the top of the list. Her range and the scope of her work is stunning.
47-Chelsea Wolfe
She sings lullabies to the demons she wrestles with. That is what her voice is for. Sometimes she writes a rock song, but mostly she sings lullabies to her demons. No wonder she is one of my favorite singers. Darkness normally describes the sound of a band's music here it describes her voice, but she swears she is not goth... lol.
46-Trent Reznor
If you think he only wants to fuck you like an animal then you have it only half right. He can also croon out apocalyptic ballads of nihilism, and make you love his masochism.
45-Axl Rose
You can say live he is spotty, but don't forget the second half of the "Lies" album is live. Are there effects on his voice on the first album, sure, but not auto-tune. His performance on the first half of his legacy is nothing short of legendary.
44- Elton John
Yep from getting coked up and screaming , blew out his voice in the 70s , but that live in Australia album proves he came back better. For his style of glam rock he had all the bases covered vocally.
43-Paul Stanley
If 12 year old me made this list he would be in the top five. His disco falsetto meets heavy metal is the best. In his prime he went above and beyond what he needed to do in Kiss.
42- Ann Wilson
This bitch snag Barracuda...nuff said.
41-Justin Vernon
His voice is otherworldy yet , has the soul of the streets, yet you know he is cutting his vocal tracks from his living room because he is a depressed recluse. Not sure what to call his voice or style of music that is Bon Iver but divine inspiration.
Digging deeper into our list of the top 200 greatest rock singers, inspired by the travesty that was Rolling Stone's supposed list. Where they got it wrong, this list hopes to be more effective, not only focusing on rock singers and those adjacent to the genre. I am placing the spotlight on the singer's technical vocal ability, in terms of range and power, as well as their dynamics, phrasing and the overall character of their voice. Can they emote from different places? How well does their voice hold up live? All factors are being considered here, lyrical content and the instruments they play do not factor in as these ranking are based on vocal merit alone. How they control a crowd or their entertainment value as performers is also not a factor; there are some great front men who are also sub-par singers.
The same can be said of song writers which is why most Bob Dylan songs sound better covered by someone else. Needless to say, ole Robert Zimmerman is not making the cut. Most pop singers won't appear here, but there are a few country or jazz singers who crossover just enough to qualify for this list, while having a significant influence on rock music. Don't expect rappers on this list or metal vocalists who just scream or growl, but never actually sing. I am keen on singers who are derivative of other singers. The bulk of these are doing their own thing, the few paying tribute to other artists have still made enough of an impact with their music. Having a unique vocal quality is going to be one of the most important factors often trumping technical ability. If they sound too much like Steve Perry from Journey after listening to their vocal coach rather than developing their own style, it is also not going to fly. Some of these might have been ignored by mainstream music media, but by the time we get to the top 10, I am sure it will all make sense, so here are the Top 200 greatest rock singers.
110-Bradley Nowell
The late Sublime singer had a lot of depth and soul to his voice. Not a big reggae fan, but his delivery won me over more than most, as well as his ability to make the most of his resonate croon in his lower register when called for.
109-Paul DiAnno
Many of you might be surprised this guy did not make it higher since he sang for one of my favorite bands. He has more streets smarts to his voice, but struggles in his upper register, thus the comparison is this ...Bruce can sing his songs, but he could not sing Bruce's songs to end further debate. Still, he sung for Maiden's first two albums earning his spot here.
108- Phil Collins
His singing style took Genesis down a more commercial path the first few albums where he took over for peter earned him a spot here.
107- Joey Belladonna
The Anthrax singer has the pipes to bridge the dramatic yodels made popular by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and grit of thrash.
106-Gene Simmons
Peter Criss might have the bigger hit ,but Simmons is the better singer. He might not be the best singer in Kiss, but his throaty belting gives the band a grittier edge as needed.
105-Debbie Harry
Her voice helped her band navigate the tricky spot in the 70s to weave between punk and disco. She went from rapping with attitude to her head register with grace.
104-Jim Morrison
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He was not just a displaced beat poet who found himself in a jazz band playing rock. Morrison has a croon that held a great deal of darkness, he could unleashed a drunken blues belt or go into outright manic screaming to climax a song , before screaming was common place. He was an icon front man , so people might expect him to have placed higher, but in terms of his pipes he worked well with what he had
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103- Daniel Gildenlow
Over the years his band Pain of Salvation has going from being an eclectic progressive metal band to spanning a wide scope of sounds. His range and power has been the catalyst that allows them to traverse all these sonic spaces. He covers all bases from metal screams to dramatic falsettos.
102-Grace Slick
Her powerhouse voice made her a one of a kind singer in the 60s that would influence many female rock singers to come.
101- Dave Byron
This band bridged the gap between prog and metal. Byron's falsetto yodels were commanding voice made him a bard declaring tales of demons and wizards with theatrical flare that would influence countless metal singers to follow.
This might not be genre most of you associate with me. It is one I grew up with.Many of these albums I still hold dear today . When the 80s were ranging I was not listening to the Cure, I did not get my interest peaked in them til 1990. I listened to music heavier and darker than this in the 80s for sure, but this was the sound of chasing girls at the mall and smoking pot in my cousins car. I choose 40 since many of these acts represent a time when this kind of music cracked the top 40 . It was a time when MTV began to dominate so image became every thing. Many of these band would put out album that were not metal at all, nor would I consider them metal bands. Granted most are on the low end of the heavy scale, with a few evolvoing into something heavier. I will make a Top 40 Glam Rock albums of all time to clearly contrast the difference, glam rock being more in the vein of Bowie and T-REX. Yes, some of these artists also crossed over into glam , but hair metal has a more cock rocking flair to it and is less androgynous.
These albums are more about doing cocaine and getting pussy, devoid of any political correctness, none of this would fly in 2020. It would get a hastag for sure. Any this list should speak for itself, in some cases it might not be the most popular album or the album that broke the band through , but the album I feel has the best songs when it comes to hair metal. Remember that as some of these bands have better heavy metal albums, but we are talking about the best to tease your hair up and get a blow job to. So here are the top 10 hair metal albums of all time.
10-Ozzy Osbourne - "No Rest For the Wicked" 1988
He was headed in the hair metal direction on "Bark at the Moon" , but fully commits on this album . "Tattooed Dancer" being the most cock rocked out moment. But it's Ozzy and Zakk played with so much fire on this album that it overshadows this.
9-Cinderella -" Night Songs" 1986
This album came out at the same time as "Look What the Cat Dragged in" and proved to be the better of the two albums. They did everything Poison did with more balls and darker.
8-Ratt -"Dancing Undercover" 1986
Yeah, "Out of the Cellar" put them on the map. This album has higher energy and builds off what they are best at. It was actually a tougher call between this and "Invasion of Your Privacy".
7-LA Guns- "Cocked and Loaded" 1989
More punch than sex action. These guys always felt more believable than many of the other bands trying to be tough bikers while looking like women. "Rip & Tear" is a fucking mean song too.
6-Lizzy Borden- "Visual Lies" 1987
One of the most under rated bands from this era. He has a great voice and adds a darkside to his getting pussy songs.
5 -Skid Row- "Slave to the Grind" - 1991
They avoid the sophomore slump by getting heavier. There is more to these song than just the big hooky choruses that ruled the first album and put more emphasis on metal than hair.
4- Kiss - "Animalize" - 1984
Hair metal for Kiss was ... well they are pretty much the godfathers of it as most bands on this list would not exsist without them. This album pretty much speaks for it self the best of their Desmond Child era albums.
3-Queensyrche- "Operation Mindcrime" 1988
Ok, it's somewhat proggy hair metal. Most bands of their kind were not as ambitious and this albums is a piure masterpiece and could have been number one if not fur the next three albums.
2-Guns N Roses- Appetite For Destruction"1987
This album is number tow because I do not like "Paradise City' and the number one album I like
every song. But this is still a classic.
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1-Motley Crue- "Shout at the Devil" 1983
Flawless front to back. They were still standing their ground as a heavy metal band and had an aire of danger to them.
Music is obviously important to me . I commit an average of 12 hours a week just writing about it for this blog, not to mention the others . Music is the fuel of my soul. So for me to share music with someone , what I am really saying is these are the pieces of me that I don’t have words for as they are an amalgamation of my thoughts and emotions relating to sonic vibrations. Music can always take me back to a place in time. When I first hear a song. Due to my heavy drugs use earlier in life I have large blank spots of time not accounted for , this makes my sense of the past somewhat hazy when it comes to recalling specifics. So I tend to organize these by thinking about the music I was listening to at the time. So these would be songs from the first ten years of my life. This is not a weekly playlist but a 4 part sonic scrap book you dear reader are being a voyeur for. While I have organized it in terms of the year these songs are released . The story they tell is somewhat loose. But if I had to make a soundtrack to my life I think these songs would work well. This is me giving these songs as token to someone of what was inside me before they knew me. This is what my life sounded like before I met them.
The death of a guitarist I played with turned my thoughts to what makes a good guitarist great. Metal finds the stakes for guitarists high. Shredding can come before playing a fucking song. While all of these guitarists can play a solo, I was also looking for tone, impact on the genre as a whole and how their personalities came through in their playing. So this list of the top 50 Metal Guitarists. If you don't find your favorite guitar player here then know they were just wankers.
20- Kerry King
Sure his solos are formulaic,and has a punk sloppiness to it at times but his playing has a fire to it that helps define the sound of his band. Marrying metal and punk at the cross roads that became thrash. He uses an evil chaos in his playing that made his band darker than the other thrash bands at the time.
19-Ihsahn
His playing goes beyond black metal. Romantic touches of neo-classical gives a more gothic touch to the architecture of his songs.He has branched out to 8 strings for his solo work. More of a shredder than you might expect he will go down as underrated except on this list where he is earning his rightful place.
18-Adam Jones
He doesn't solo in the traditional sense. He does add sonic dynamics where solos would go and is almost jazz like in the way he gives the drums and bass room to breathe. He knows how to keep the tension and get a big arena rock sound when needed. He influenced an entire generation of progressive metal players who live for the groove no matter how complex or simple.
17-Kirk Hammett
He has some memorable solos. His band is known for their big riffs, but he works around the chugs and gallops owing more of a rock sensibility to his playing that heavy metal thunder. I don't think his band could work without him even though he stepped in to replace Dave Mustaine many moons ago.
16-Kim Thayll
How could he beat out Hammet you ask? His playing is more creative and darker. He uses up more sonic space to create a sense of unease on his band's earlier work, but is able to solo with the best of them when it is called for. He weaves in noise and chaos while still managing to create grunge anthems that dominated the air waves.
15-Zakk Wylde
He had some big shoes to fill. Rather than living in the shadow of the great players who stood beside he boss before he, Wylde carved out his own sound and brought something new to the table. He could pulls off the Randy Rhodes stuff with his own flair which was impressive live.
14 Arve Isdal
Until you see this guy rock it live you have no idea. He is the prime reason his band almost blew Dimmu Borgir off the stage. They might play viking prog, but his playing keeps the band rooted in the rock side of classic metal.
13- Don Anderson
He can pulls a sweep arpeggio out of thin air, despite the fact he is mainly adding melody to the more post-rock side of his former band Agalloch. I haven't sought out his current project as Agalloch is a moment in time I do not want to put down.
12- Ace Frehely
You wanted the best you got the best. He plays guitar for the hottest band in the land. Technically he is outclassed by many players ranked lower than him, but chances are they would not have picked up a guitar in the first place if it was not for him.His solo work is also pretty decent for all you rock soldiers who want the Ace back like he told you so.
11- Trey Azagthoth
He took what Kerry King did and sacrificed it to the Ancient Ones. It returned back to this plan as death metal and crushed many souls. The unique twisted on his personification of chaos, sets him aside as his own island in a genre guilty of rehashing the same old grind. He is the Eddie Van Halen of death metal.
Some of these might straddle the fence between metal and hard rock, but love songs are always more sensitive, which is why there are so few in real metal, and the harder the song the broader the definition of romance.
What the fuck is a weekly shuffle you ask. Well I hit shuffle mode on my iPod and review the first ten songs that pop up. It is back by popular demand so here we go.
the Last of the Famous International Playboys by Morrissey
This song is golden, smartly written though not as mean spirited as some of his solo work, but it is tons of fun none the less. People always call Moz depressing, but this song makes me smile every time.
Bulletproof Cupid by Placebo
Sure its a cool riff, but that doesn't make this a song . It feels more like the intro to the Sleeping With Ghosts album.
Ups by Cocteau Twins
This song flutters like fairy birds. She rolls her consonants strangely on this one and is speaking in tongue most of the time here , but that is the great thing about Liz is she uses her voice more like an instrument rather than just the tired old verse chorus radio rock.
Saturday's Child by Brendan Perry
The male half of Dead Can Dance whose voice once reminded me too much of Neil Diamond, so I used to fast forward past his songs most of the time and now he is one of my favorite singers. Live the man is an unsung powerhouse. I like this song because the way he transitions up into falsetto is very endearing.
Day of Lords -by Joy Division
Damn, the Weekly Shuffle returns only for my iPod to pump out a bunch of goth, "Where will it end" laments Ian Curtis. This song is heavy even though its not metal. The bass really pumps nicely into the drums on this .
Obedience by Wreck and Reference
O.k something closer to metal. I am still not over the fact this band's name is not No Youth. This was a great almost industrial album that shows much like Pinkish Black that you don't have to have guitars to be heavy. The tormented vocals that come close to screaming with out screaming are brilliant.
The Earth is My Witness by the Gathering
The golden years from these guys and ..gals. There is a dark yearning to this album that feels like snow to me. This was my first exposure to this band and really stuck with me , despite popular opinion their other albums fall short of this one.
Whiskey Funeral by Darkthrone
The black and roll years of this band are sadly under rated much like Kiss' disco days or Vegas Elvis. I am a champion of the under dog when it comes to bands getting away from their comfort zones to find something else that works just as well as the sound you expect from them.
Christine Sixteen by Kiss
Speaking of Kiss...there's no use in pretending. I like Gene's creepy moment when he is talking to himself about how he has got to have her. The Lolita weirdness continues on Goin Blind. Musical it's catchy I'm not sure the under current of the Elton John piano line really works but thirty years later the song is in my iPod.
Into the Coven - Mercyful Fate
That intro is sweetly played as the calm before the storm. The riff is metal up to 11 no question. Fate is rawer than King's solo works and this appeals to people who are really into the first two Maiden albums as well, as long as they aren't pussies about becoming Lucifer's Child.
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