The Top 10 Metal Albums of 1984

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. 

           . 

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. 

pst661

the Top 200 Greatest Rock Singers-40 to 31

 -

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.

40-Peter Murphy

Unlike Ian Curtis, he actually sings, and can belt it out with more resonance than Robert Smith which is why Mr. Murphy made it up this high on the list. His voice has held up pretty well for all the meth he was getting arrested for. 

 

 39-Siouxsie Sioux

Yes she is an icon. She is one of the goth queens, if we are talking about the punk rock vein of the genre, I am not going to say she is the best female singer the goths can claim as there are a few who ranked higher. But she is great at what she does. 

 

 38- Chris Stapleton

How did a country singer get this soulful? He is unreal, though not the highest ranking country singer on the list, which considering who beat him for that spot I am sure Chris would want it no other way.

   

 37-Bjork

Bjork does not give a fuck, she will sing to aliens , mushrooms, mecha teddy bears, she uses her voice as an instrument and a weapon. She could have been a pop singer if she wanted to but did I mention the part where Bjork does not give a fuck. That is her strength as she will break all the rule of how you are   supposed to sing.

 

36-George Jones

He sings the songs of broken hearts, the greatest country singer of all time. I do not want to hear shit about Johnny Cash or even Hank sr as they could not sing their way out of a paper bag compared to George .

   

 35-Shannon Hoon

Who knows what this junkie hippie would have done if given the chance. He died to soon and all we have are the two full lengths and collection of other tid bits to reflection upon, there was a rawness to his voice that is spell binding.

 

34- Dio

 He is the singer of Rainbow and Black Sabbath, this magic elf of a man, some might bemoan is not higher on the list. He really had too dynamics to his voice belt it out from his chest register than a more hushed almost feminine croon that was still not a falsetto. He is amazing , but not the highest ranking metal singer on this list. 

  

32-Tori Amos

 Does she owe her career to Kate Bush? Yes, but she made the most of it an almost established her own identity by putting enough of her own pain in her voice. She is Kate Bush for people who prefer coffee houses to theater.

32- Thom Yorke

 I am not sure what drugs he got on after "Ok Computer" but they were good ones, he really started using his voice like an instrument. His falsetto is self deprecating rather than flamboyant.

   

 31- Geoff Tate

I want you to listen to the Rage For Order album and come back and tell me how Dio should be higher than Tate on this list so I can knock your fucking teeth in. 

    

Queensryche : "Digital Noise Alliance"

Queensryche used to be one of my favorite bands, so this is really difficult to reconcile. Now down to two original members, this band has made a fourth album with Todd La Torre, and they feel more like a tribute than ever. They are playing Mindcrime like riffs, but with none of the clever hooks of songwriting smarts. So, if you are looking for classic Queensryche sound, they have you covered. If you want the kind of progressive metal Queensryche pioneered, then considered this more regressive. "Lost in Sorrow" is the first song that works for me, because it grooves of a darker "Rage for Order" riffing.  Then the fall back into the churning miasma of things that should sounds like Queensryche, but lack the x factor, that is Geoff Tate. 

"Behind These Walls" works much better as it is darker and heavier. The emotion behind Todd's prefinance, and it's funny that they have Grillo from Kamelot on the drums as that is who this reminds me of. They are not as effective on "Nocturnal Light" though it is better than say the second song on this album. The more deliberate groove certainly helps. "Out of the Black" might not sound like the best the band has done, but at least it sounds like what they do. The biggest problem seems to be the hooks do not hit like they did with Tate, it is how the melodies are constructed. This is why Dio worked as a replacement for Ozzy, he was not trying to write songs that sounded like Ozzy. He did his own thing. 

"Forest" seems to understand where the band was going on albums like "Empire". Though it is not "Silent Lucidity" but wants to go in that direction.  They do recapture the Pink Floyd like guitar tone they had for that. "Realms "begins to create what would be a better Kamelot song than we have heard from that band in some time, is this really Queensryche. Going back to the Dio analogy, the albums he made with Sabbath are still Sabbath, mainly this is because the two major songwriters were intact. Without Chris Degarmo, the band could still make it as they had Tate, without him we are seeing how the core of the band is taxed. They do stumble into the band they used to be on songs like "Hold On".  But then we have the problem with the choruses again. 

Sure "Tormentum" is one of the heaviest songs released under the band's name, but is this who they are, it sounds more like a bookend for a guitar solo. Is this good generic metal with a high dexterity score? Yes. If that is what you want, then they struck gold. It also means you are a little too easy to please. Not the first cover they have done, with Tate they have a whole album of them. Todd pulls of a convincing Billy Idol for the cover of "Robel Tell". I wish we could have heard more of his lower register as it would have been more authentic for where the band was going. I will round this down because it's a great Kamelot album, but not the best Queensryche album, with that said there is still some great metal that is just not who this band is within.      

Queensryche : " the Verdict"

Queensryche used to be one of my favorite bands. So much so I considered getting the logo tattooed on my wrist before it turned into a shit show. I was hard-core as I hung with them even into "American Soldier". When they split with Geoff Tate they lost me. I think even here it's proof that you can have someone who can hit all the notes that Tate could in his prime, but he doesn't put them in the same places with the same sense of theater, because well...he is not Geoff Tate. This might be there 3rd album with this guy, I know it's bad journalism to not know, but I do not give a fuck, because they were dead to me during this time. So I have a great deal of baggage I am having to put aside in order to give this album a shot.

t makes sense that the former Kamelot drummer would be playing with them on tour. The singer Todd La Torre, who got his start as a drummer plays on the album. But this begs the question what the fuck is the point without Scott Rockenfield. This is just Eddie Jackson and Micheal Wilton, trying to pass off originals as a Queensyrche cover band. La Torre who I was first very resistant to , does an admirable job of a Geoff Tate impersonation. I think what sells me more is he sounds more like a mix of "Operation Mindcrime" Tate with a side order of "Rage For Order" era. From a songwriting perspective it's all on the vocals as the other keystones of their sound are kinda dialed in. What this does have going for it is this is more metal than the later Tate albums. They experiment along the lines of what they did post-"Empire" on "Inside Out" . Speaking of "Empire" there is hint of that album on the song "Propaganda Fashion".

"Dark Reverie" is the first song where I think ...Ok this is Queensryche for real. So I am going to need more of these moments. It's not that this is a rocker in fact it's more of a power ballad , but all the marks they need to hit are there. There is a darker "Rage For Order" like tone to " Bent". This comes closer to sounding like them, until they speed and try to be heavier than it sounds like they comfortable. La Torre begins to remind me a little of Warrel Dane in a few places . "Inner Unrest" sounds like uninspired run of the mill power metal. "Launder the Conscience " is more of the same. It's not unlike the more ballad like "Portrait" that inspiration returns. They seem to do better on the power ballads. I'll give this album an 8 , it's better than I hoped for, but only marginally Queensryche, but the impersonation might fool you.

The Top 50 Metal Guitarists - 40 to 31

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.


40-Joey Z

How memorable is your work? Joey would answer very, which is why he is hanging tough along side guitarists who might be more technically sound. He is like the hard core little brother of Kirk Hammett the way he works cool melody lines into their riffs.


39-Eyal Levi

The problem with most death metal that makes it not worth a second listen is the guitarists all go for maximum speed and density, think being influenced by Slayer instead of Incantation is expanding their horizons, and play variations of the solos found on "Altars of Madness" . Eyal did not follow the status quo in that regard. He brought a hooky sense of groove to his band and layered it with neo-classical musicality that did not demand a pirate shirt to be worn.



38-Vivian Campbell 

He plays on the first 3 Dio albums...end of story


36-Chris De Garmo

There was once a awesome band who lost their guitarist who crafted their best work, then became a variation of Spinal Tap.



35-Bill Steer 

Helped create grind core. Napalm Death brought the more spastic elements, while his band brought the more gore ridden death metal elements to it. The riffs are so mean they would eat you if he was not a vegetarian.He proves brutality and melody can co-exist.





34 William Wright Barrow

This British gent brings a dignified and progressive quality to his band's brand of black metal that almost makes it steam punk in the nuanced Victorian quirk it possesses , so to make sounds that are visual is a feat. 




 33-Devin Townsend 

Got his start playing with Steve Vai. He then thought he could keep up with the drummer from Dark Angel. His various projects have covered a broad expanse some more metal than others. He has a distinct tone.


32-Peter Lindgren

He originally joined the band as a bass player and switched to guitar. As his band's vocals shifted their focus and added melody he augmented his playing to do the same incorporating a David Gilmore like sense for less is more.

< 

31-Greg Chandler 

He brought a degree of musicality to funeral doom that has been rarely rivaled in the genre. This tone grasps the kind of despair needed. He paints sonic picture rather than just overpowering you with a wall of feed back and distortion.


 

Catching Up With 2013 : Queensryche - s/t

I was afraid to check out this Geoff Tate -less version of Queensryche , as his yodel was always been their calling card. While it is not something I see myself running to listen to on a regular basis , its not as bad as I feared it would be. In all fairness I should Tate's version of the band a chance as well to see which is better, though  I've grown too far from this brand of commercial prog metal to be able to take both in one day.

It doesn't wear on me until the fourth song, which is almost too happy when it gets to the chorus. He does unleash some old school metal high end. "Redemption" allows itself to forget this is not the late 80's with pounding groove.  


At times it feels more like I am listening to Kamelot, as they some times veer into more of a modern almost nu-metal guitar tone. Sure the riffs are better than most of what they have been doing in recent years and it makes me think if they had used this producer for the last few Tate albums they would have better. The main problem is in the writing, this new guys doesn't have the talent in writing the same type of chorus' Tate did.In fact the chorus to a song like "In This Light " is straight up pussy shit like Warrant. This comes from some one who prefers melody in metal and is o.k with Skid Row.&

There is a cool darker turn taken on "A World Without" . While Torre takes a dip into a lower register it doesn't feel as convincing as Tate. There is a slight Mindcrime feel to the beginning of " Don't Look Back " , but the riff goes to straight ahead from my taste. This is only slightly better than some of the stuff on Sliverthorn, due to Torre yodel, but the problem is I am comparing them to a band influenced by Queensryche rather than their legacy.

"Fallout" gets a little heavier, but goes into the typical prog-powerisms. The reason I don't like most modern power metal or prog metal is that it is often too happy for me. This song might have a heavier riff but the song writing is blander. The album closes out with a fitting power ballad. It was about time for one. Torre's voice handles it well as far as power ballads go for this band the bar is raised pretty high. It might be one of the albums better tunes, but fails to take hold of the flame.  >I'll round this down to a 5.5 because even without Tate the remaining members should be held to a higher standard, but it is not as bad as I was afraid it might be. &

Having Grace Under Pressure

Progressive metal has fallen from the pedestal I once held it on. The most vicious blow the recent departure of Geoff Tate from Queensryche, something fans of the band had seen coming as his attitude in early summer festival performances was...umm needing adjustment. They have been one of my favorite bands since I first hear the song " Queen of the Reich". Mindcrime was a monumental album, though Empire was a joltingly commercial affair, I liked when It came out but when silent lucidity took over the airwaves the sellout was hard to swallow as a teenager. Back in 2005 I went back and re discovered the rage for order and warning albums and rekindled my fandom, this was aided by the fact they released string of decent albums around this time and went on to put on a really great show in 2008. So it was heart breaking to read micheal Wilton recount in gory detail the disintegration of their relationship with Goff Tate.

Later that night I finally got around to watching the Rush documentary beyond the lighted stage. Filmed by Sam Dunn who also created the history of metal show and metal a head bangers journey, the fil was filmed in similar fashion with interview clip interspersed in the history.an impressive list of rockers paid homage,Danny Carey, zakk Wilde, Kirk Hammett, mike portents , Russ abbot, billy corgan,. While creatively the band went through its ebb and flow, most notedly their keyboard heavy new wave period, they always held a certain integrity . What Queensryche needs to do is sit down some kind of monster style and watch the rush documentary and learn how to have some fucking class.

Even when Neil pearl pretty much comes out and says he can,t stand being around the fans, he turns around and shows strength of character overcoming the death of his daughter an wife and making a graceful return to stage.

Granted watching recent YouTube footage of the band playing old songs discouraged me because Geddy lee sounds like a mongoloid losing its hearing, as he voice just can't find where to go. So this will be the deterrent from keeping me from throwing down the big bucks to catch them live. Instead I will hold the memory of the last time I saw them ten years ago , where Geddy might not have power it out like he use to but was in the ball park. I will load my i-Pod up with Rush and I'm talking about Power Windows and some of the albums I might not have given a fair shot at the time.

Queensryche's drama continues to unfold now the band has brought in the replacement singer of Crimson Glory to now serves as their replacement singer, meaning the kid clearly has no style of his own and with be a bland star search sounding prog singer who could very well be the dud from Circle to Circle of a second string version of Fates Warning, but will be able to hit note in a mimicking fashion with no style of his own. Lets face it a Queensryche with out Geoff Tate is not Queensryche. I am going to try to refrain from reading the mudslinging to come and when I feel the urge to peak at the car wreck then I will go listen to Rush.

Iconoclast vs Dedicated to Chaos

Two new albums from supposed leaders in the genre of progressive metal, and to be honest both are little bit of a let down. Granted in this debate there is going to be a slight bias as i am a huge Queensryche fan however there most recent effort , though the term should be use loosely as to the amount of effort put into the song writing seems slim, so i could argue that i am going be harsher on the Ryche as i expect more from them. Symphony has the bar held pretty high you would think after paradise lost and if we put these two albums head to head on a metal forum board , the edge would go to them because it is heavier and an actual metal album where it would be harder to label Queensryche's new as metal. Though it's not a wimpy as i was lead to believe by the rather Foreigner sounding single.
I can say both Allen and Tate both sound less than inspired in the vocal delivery, though Allen' gruffer tone allows him to get away with it . His higher register stalls out never soaring as it's capable and Tate never really gets off the ground from a croon. So lets hear from the prosecution who lays the same charge against both bands , to be so -called progressive both albums feel like a regression , neither break's ground i would call progress or moving their sound forward. in some ways i question the economy coming into play on this , do they feel if they don't take a middle of the road approach they are going to shake the boat ? Granted Symphony x is winning out here as along as they stay heavy a certain metal head fan base is going to stick by that . But i have had a problem listening to this album because all the songs sound the same , and even though it's heavier it's boring song writing , the only progressive elements are the solo sections, so you have keyboard solos to go along with your guitar solos , i guess this is all it takes to be prog these days, some one should call up Robert Fripp and let him know. They had chops on paradise lost so i know it's possible for these guys to be more engaging , but it really sounds like Russell singing Nevermore Karaoke. As many times as i have tried to get into this album, the sogs run together and become a blah .
Quneesryche 's lyrical content is as bad as the new morbid angel's, though served with a plentiful side of cheese , i like the american soldier album , not their most crowning achievement even the cover album had it's moments nd the lyrics on the new symphony x are nothing to write home about either . to be honset this isn't the first time the ryche has wimped out , do you remember an album called Empire ? i think the difference here is the execution in song writing, you can't say the same level of pink floyd plagiarism, there is a riff holding some similarities to fame by david bowie, and at times comes across like robert palmer's rip tide album for reasons i can't place, after listening to the album , i recall there were six songs i thought i could pass for queensryche , though none of the songs are what i would think of as classics ryche in the least .but those six songs are listenable , the more commercial stabs solicited as singles are plain terrible, wot we do and some other power balled i tried to forgot . the chorus' on iconoclast are only slightly less cheesy, while in the minds of a large percent of metal heads can be sold on heavy alone i think iconoclst might slight in that regard , i guess i have until october to see if dedicated to chaos has grown on me, it didn't make the cut to deserve a download onto my ipod so that is a shaky proposition - fans of bland nevermore ish stuff will dig it and continue to swell there popularity with the mall crowd.
in wrestling it would be called a double dis qualification both bands were counted out of the ring for boring me