100s of the top Metal albums (and some non-Metal albums) 1980-89

Part 1: 1980-84 (Don't expect anything beyond 1984 for a long time. It took most of the year to get this far.)



I didn’t create this list just for the sake of ranking a bunch of albums, which is probably nearly impossible anyway. I’ve seen many lists of Metal albums over the years and they mostly list the same bands and albums without much variety. I’ve never believed the premise that large corporations (major record labels and commercial radio stations) were going to provide me with the best music when their objective is to make money. Ever since I've been into music, I’ve been searching beyond the popular choices to discover some hidden gems that might be out there. You’ll find many lesser known bands and albums along side the classics that most know. Many of these were not known to me before this project.


I did not rate anything by popularity or how many times I’ve heard it before.


There is no way to rank these in exact order and the order changes, but the albums near the top of the list were ones that I liked better than those near the bottom (I've decided to start at the bottom and work my way forward). Many albums are very similar and could be ranked in place of another and many albums are so different they can’t be compared to each other as far as rankings go. I had to cut many really good albums too.

The format may change slightly from year to year due to how I gathered information. The number of albums per year will change due to the shear volume that is out there in later years. I'm not necessarily good at describing the music so I'll let the music speak for itself. I may provide some details if I feel the need.

I did not include any live albums, EPs (LPs are at least 6 songs and 25 minutes long with exceptions) or Demos (unless officially released as an album later).

 

1980: (Top 16)

In 1980 there were relatively few full-on Metal albums. Many bands were stuck in a transition between Hard Rock and Metal and cross both sides of the line from song to song, or even in the same song.

The format will be:
rank number/band name/hometown/album name/record label(s)- I'll include the original label in the country of the 1st release and the US release, if applicable/any other pertinent info


16. Warrior (Chesterfield,Eng.)- Let Battle Commence (Rainbow Sound)

"Let Battle Commence" This is the most Metal song on the album. I just revisited this album and it is much tamer than I remembered.

 

15. Black Sabbath (Birmingham,Eng.)- Heaven and Hell (Vertigo/Warner Bros.)


"Die Young"

 

I haven't played this album in awhile. Maybe tonight's the night!
Very interested to see what else makes this thread. My metal/hard rock albums get played more consistently than any other genre in my collection. Great memories.

 

14. Picture (Hilversum,Neth.)- 1 (Backdoor/Mercury)


"Bombers"

 

13. Rail (Seattle,WA)- Arrival (Dynasty Records)


"Bandit"

 

12. Diamond Head (Stourbridge,Eng.)- Lightning to the Nations (aka The White Album) (Happy Face Records/self released). This was originally a self released demo known as The White Album, but was released by Happy Face Records as Lightning to the Nations (both 1980).
I don't think the album got a proper cover until the 1981 German release on Woolfe Recs.
1981 cover:


"Sucking My Love"

 

Never heard this one before. Its got a good groove to it And I dig the vocals.

 

11. Samson (London,Eng.)- Head On (Gem Records) Bruce Dickinson (aka Bruce Bruce), future Iron Maiden singer on vocals...



"Hammerhead"

 

10. Judas Priest (Birmingham,Eng.)- British Steel (CBS/Columbia)


"Grinder"

 

9. Ozzy Osbourne (Birmingham,Eng.)- Blizzard of Ozz (Jet Records)


"Mr. Crowley"

 

8. Witchfynde (Mansfield,Eng.)- Give ‘Em Hell (Rondelet Music and Records)


"Ready to Roll"

 

7. Full Moon (Hummelstown,PA)- S/T (Montagne Records) (reissued on CD w/ bonus tracks under the title, State of the Artist, on Monster Records) This is the only album by this band. They changed their name to Winter City and I'm not sure what became of that band, or if they released anything.


"All I Can Do"


I wanted to include the song "All on Board" but the youtube recording distorts the S sound in the vocals unless you listen to the full album version.

 

Nice mix of famous, obscure and completely unknown (at least to me!)

I liked the tunes you posted by Picture and Rail. Good music. Not too sure about the vocalists though.

 

6. White Boy and the Average Rat Band (Richlands,VA)- S/T (Tradewind Records) This isn't really a Metal album, but I guess the band considered themselves to be Metal. The album is dedicated to all the "Heavy Metal Rats". I would probably leave it off this list if I were to do it over and include it it in the non-Metal section of the list (That section will appear after #1).


"Neon Warriors” This is one of more Metal sounding songs on the album.

 

5. Killer (Antwerp,Belg.)- Ready for Hell (WEA)


"Ready for Hell"

 

4. Iron Maiden (London,Eng.)- S/T (EMI/Harvest)




"Prowler"

 

@Soopernaut I like the cut of your jib.

 

3. Scorpions (Hannover,Ger.)- Animal Magnetism (Harvest/EMI Electrola/Mercury)


"Animal Magnetism"


There was a song on the later reissue of this album, called "Hey You", that is also worth checking out.

 

2. Angel Witch (London,Eng.)- S/T (Bronze Records)


"Free Man"

 

1. Beowulf (LA,CA, not be be confused with Beowülf, from Venice Beach,CA)- Slice of Life (Morrhythm Records) There is very little information about this band and it appears what is out there is wrong. Metal-archives.com says not to confuse them with the Venice Beach band, but then includes some of that bands work for this band. I think Discogs is wrong too, listing a single from 1975, but I can't find the history of this band. Being from the US, they were very early for a heavy NWOBHM influence. To the best of my knowledge, this album is all they ever released. The singer and one of the guitarists did end up in short lived bands that never equaled this. The rest of the members disappeared.
.

"Slice of Life"... To me this is the ultimate Metal track of 1980 and it more than makes up for any shortcomings on the rest of the album, not that there are many.

 

Some interesting mostly non-Metal albums of the era, some Metal albums I didn’t want to cut or discovered too late to rank, or others that might be lumped in with Metal:


(bands in alphabetical order)


1980:

AC/DC- Back in Black

Gravestone (Illertissen,Ger.)- War (AVC)
"Hascher-Blues"


Motorhead- Ace of Spades

Whitesnake- Ready an’ Willing

White Spirit (Hartlepool,Eng.)- S/T (MCA/Neat) This was the only album by this band, featuring Janick Gers (future Iron Maiden) on guitar. The album was reissued with a bunch of bonus tracks.

 

1981: (Top 16)

16. Crysys (Portland,OR)- Hard as Rock (Long St. Records) The only release by this band.


"Black Out"

 

1981:

15. Cacumen (Ingolstadt,Ger.)- S/T (Rockport) This band changed their name to Bonfire in 1986 and had a little more success.


"Magic Spell"

 

1981:

14. MSG (Michael Schenker Group) (London,Eng.)- MSG (Chrysalis) Rather than refer to it as self titled, I will call it MSG because the band released an S/T album under the name The Michael Schenker Group in 1980.


"Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"