Black Sabbath: All Albums Ranked Worst To Best

Black Sabbath might just be the most important band of all time to me. My parents grew up listening to Sabbath, Ozzy, Dio and all that stuff during the 80's, then I got to grow up with all that stuff during the 90's and early 2000's. By 2002, I had become interested in music myself and metal was, of course, the best shit in the world.

So where did I start off? It was Ozzy and his solo stuff that really got me into music as a whole, but with him Sabbath obviously followed. From there I discovered Dio (the band) and his previous works with Rainbow. I also kept an open mind towards the post-Dio eras of Sabbath and thus discovered that both Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes used to be in Deep Purple. You know, the list just goes on and on.

With Black Sabbath essentially being the centerpiece of my entire musical world, I just had to make one of these lists for their albums. That is all of their albums, i.e. anything labeled "Black Sabbath" which have guitars performed by Tony Iommi. So, let's begin!

Classic Sabbath: Geezer, Ozzy, Tony, Bill

19: Forbidden (1995)

 Last place and thus the worst album of Black Sabbath's career is none other than, surprise surprise, 1995's Forbidden. It's definitely the most disliked album of their career by the fan-base in general, and for quite obvious reasons in my opinion. I don't really find the album particularly bad like many others do. For instance, I don't really have a problem with the album's mix which tend to be a real earsore to some fans. I just think it lacks a lot of the essential things that make a Sabbath album being Black Sabbath. It sounds like one of those typically dated mid-90's metal records which tried too hard to be up-to-date at the time.

Favorite track: Kiss of Death


18. Born Again (1983)

The sole album featuring then former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan on vocals. This was where Sabbath kind of started to fall away from the public eye and it's quite easy to hear why. There's nothing wrong with Ian Gillan and his vocals at all, but he belongs in Deep Purple and not Black Sabbath. With that said, the bulk of the album itself was kind of lackluster and its horrible mix didn't help any of it one bit. It's still got a few great tunes, though.

Favorite track: The Dark/Zero The Hero

1983-'84: Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi, (touring drummer) Bev Bevan, Geezer Butler

17. 13 (2013)

Sabbath's first Ozzy-fronted album in 35 years just didn't quite fare all too well with me. If I'm being completely honest, then I think it's actually a really boring album. It does nothing for me. On top of that there is no Bill Ward playing drums. Yes, I am the super-biased kind of fan. After all, if anything without Ozzy no longer is "Black Sabbath", then how can it be without Bill Ward? It was always Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill. That was Black Sabbath. This isn't. Whatever. Then we have Rick Rubin's awful production. It just sounds raw in the most plastic way and, of course, it's also brick-walled to high heaven. I hate the guy's production work. Ultimately I could've just lived without this "reunion album".

Favorite track: Methademic


16. Cross Purposes (1994)

At this point it already starts to get difficult to chose where to rank a few of the lesser great albums which remain. I'd say that everything from this one and below is pretty effin' great and only gets better and better, but you know, I decided to do this so I've got to make up my mind. This album, which really is quite cool, gets the 17th place for sounding a bit too dated. It's a good heavy metal record but it also sounds like a typical product of its time.

Favorite track: Cross of Thorns


15. Never Say Die! (1978)

Another album that's been quite bashed throughout the years. Initially I wasn't too fond of it either, but it has really grown with me in recent years. It sure is different from the earlier stuff with Ozzy but I for one welcome the evolving change of their sound at the time. There are some seriously overlooked gems on this record.

Favorite track: Junior's Eyes


14. Tyr (1990)

This is quite an interesting and unusual Sabbath release. First off, it's with the most excellent (and majorly underrated) Tony Martin on vocals, but it's also the only Black Sabbath to rely more on viking themes rather than christian ones. As a Swede I find these lyrical themes quite interesting and Tony Martin was also a good writer of lyrics. The one thing that makes it a less awesome Sabbath record, however, is how it tends to sound more like a power metal band rather than Black Sabbath. It's not really anything wrong with it. I mean, they pull it off masterfully, but it's not what I want or expect(ed) from a Sabbath record.

Favorite track: Anno Mundi

1990: Tony Martin, Tony Iommi, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray

13. Vol. 4 (1972)

I know this one has a very dedicated fan-base who believes that it's Sabbath's very finest hour. I on the other hand always felt like it was lacking something. It was their fourth album in the span of two years and I think that it shows to some extent. Less memorable songs and the mix sounds more  primitive in a rushed kind of way. It's still a great record, don't get me wrong, but just not one of my favorites.

Favorite track: Snowblind


12. Dehumanizer (1992)

Sabbath's reunion album with Ronnie James Dio, at the time, and it's the heaviest shit they've cranked out since the mid 70's. The album itself, however, falls somewhat short in comparison to the earlier Sabbath records with Dio on vocals, as well as Dio's own solo material at the time. It's doomy and heavy as all fuck, but it just doesn't quite cut it anyway. It's one of those scenarios where you are just left like you expected something more.

Favorite track: Master of Reality


11. Seventh Star (1986)

It's up for debate whether this one should really be regarded as a Sabbath album or not. It was initially intended as Tony Iommi's first solo album, but record labels tend to be money hungry cunts without any respect for integrity. Still, seeing as Tony was the sole original member for most of the time after 1984, I view this as a Sabbath release anyway. It is quite different compared to most of the band's other albums, though. It's got a very melodic heavy metal sound which is quite typical of its time, but it's the exact kind of 80's sound I fucking love. Besides, Tony's rocking a mean guitar tone on this one.

Favorite track: Danger Zone

1986: Dave Spitz, Glenn Hughes, Tony Iommi, Eric Singer, Geoff Nicholls

10. Technical Ecstasy (1976)

I always thought this album was unfairly underrated for an Ozzy-Sabbath record. I love the bulk of this one, with a few exceptions. To me this is just another great Sabbath record, albeit a bit experimental but in a good way. Some moments on this one reminds me of Queen, in a good way. Some other stuff sounds like the typical riff-heavy Sabbath we all love. Bill Ward also proved to be a great singer on this record.

Favorite track: You Won't Change Me


9. Heaven And Hell (1980)

At this point it's become really hard to decide where to place the remaining albums. As classic and great as this record is, and I truly love it, it's got a few moments which don't hold up quite as well as the others. Regardless, it's more or less a flawless record and the band performs exceptionally. Bill Ward hits those drums like a beast and Dio's vocals are just as amazing as ever.

Favorite track: Die Young

1980: Bill Ward, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iomii, Geezer Butler

8. Headless Cross (1989)

Another album with the excellent Tony Martin on vocals. Sadly I don't think this album would made it as far up in ranks on most other fans' lists. I am a fan of Black Sabbath regardless of what era we're talking. Tony Martin's voice is one of my favorites of all time as well. This album is yet another slightly different kind of record for Sab, as it features some typical AOR-esque influences which were popular at the time. I guess one way to describe it would be a "satanic Whitesnake and/or Blue Murder". There certainly are some traits of those kinda bands on this record, while still sounding like Sabbath of course. Tony Iommi also brings out some of his greatest guitar work on this one.

Favorite track: When Death Calls


7. Black Sabbath (1970)

Black Sabbath's debut album is as classic as it gets. It also marks something of the "official" birth of heavy metal. It's without doubt one of the greatest records of all time, still it ends up on 7th place on my list. I really think that says something about it, the band and the overall quality and impact of their music. The title-track, as well as the first Sabbath track, amazed me in a way no other song has ever done when I first heard it. I didn't really know any metal at that point, nor any other "extreme music" for that matter. I was 12 in 2002 and heard it for the first time. It could've been 1970 for all I know. To me it was so dark and sinister in a really uncomforting way, yet so chilling and amazing.

Favorite track: Black Sabbath


6. Paranoid (1970)

"How come you place this as low as 6th?! It's the best!!" Well, first off, I am a Black Sabbath fan. I listen to everything they ever put out, not just this one album. Unfortunately, it seems like this is the only album a large majority of listeners go for. Looking at Last.fm, for instace, confirms this as well. I dunno. It's their "hit record" for sure, but these songs were never their "hits" to me personally. I always liked a lot of other songs more. As fuckin' great as this record is, it's just not that extra ordinary special to me.

Favorite track: Electric Funeral


5. The Eternal Idol (1987)

"Watt fockin' album's thiz?!" You see the title above. It's also the first album with Tony Martin. Inititially this was going to feature the late Ray Gillen on vocals but I'm glad they ended up with Tony Martin instead, seeing as I like his voice slightly more. Possibly the most underrated album of Sab's entire catalogue. It's not perfect but it's a damn good record. Powerful vocals, riffs and solos. Some more notable background keyboards as well. The mix is pretty much the only downside about this one. It sounds more like a rough mix rather than a finished product. I dunno. It works but it could've sounded better. The songs, however, are really good in my opinion. I just love this album!

Favorite song: Ancient Warrior


4. Mob Rules (1981)

My favorite Sab album with Dio on vocals. Just a great heavy metal record. Unfortunately it's a somewhat underrated/overlooked one as well. The band themselves, as well as fans, seem to think lesser of this compared to Heaven And Hell. I always thought this was a better record and the songs are really fuckin' good. Some more doom and groove on this one. I guess that appeals to me more. Vinny Appice is also one of my favorite drummers. The best drummer Sabbath ever had after Bill Ward.

Favorite track: Voodoo


3. Master of Reality (1971)

For a long time this used to be my favorite Sab album. I guess I wore it out to a slight extent while the top two grew on me more. Nonetheless this is still an amazing album to my ears. The songs with their heavy riffs, Ozzy's trademark vocals and the excellent rhythm section with Bill and Geezer is just a perfect combination. Definitely one of the most classic metal albums of all time.

Favorite track: Children of the Grave


2. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)

This one also used to be my favorite for a while. This one had more variety than the previous records without going into the quite experimental routes which later Ozzy-Sabbath records did. It's just an amazingly mastercrafted piece of music. Ozzy also reached his vocal peak around this period of time and I always loved his nasally ways of singing.

Favorite track: Spiral Architect


1. Sabotage (1975)

And the winner is none other than this masterpiece right here. Initially it wasn't made favorite, as I've already pointed out, but it has grown and grown and grown on me over the years and it's just grandeur. Every single note is nothing but perfection. It's just the perfect Sabbath album in all ways imaginable. It's got great songs, a great flow and all the members are really peaking performance-wise. It's just a perfect mix of everything Sabbath was with Ozzy during the 70's.

Favorite song: Megalomania

That's a wrap, folks! I hope you enjoyed my list! And remember, it's just my personal opinions. Nothing to get butthurt over if they don't agree with your own.

Black Sabbath might be over now but their music and legacy will live on. Whereas their run has ended, my has merely begun. But at least I know that they will run with me until the day my own run ends, and hopefully beyond as well!

European Heavy Metal Is Dying, American Scene Is Blooming

Am I the only metal music fan who's noticed what seems to be a drastic change within the modern heavy metal scene, particularly within the so called NWoTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal) movement? Time is seemingly just flying by as we speak. I'm turning 27 in some months from now and it does not feel all that long ago since I was 17.

Let's rewind back to cirka 2007-'09. The whole "retro metal" movement, which we all are very well aquainted with these days, was being bred in the womb of a long-time hatred for the then dominating metalcore scene. From my POV the first old school metal sub-genre that quickly arose was thrash metal. Bands on both sides of the Atlantic were the new saviours of metal. Bands like Evile, Lazarus A.D., Bonded By Blood, to name a few, were all blooming up seemingly out of nowhere only to completely go under the radar a few years later.

In 2010 I personally noted another change within the metal scene. It seemed as if thrash had made a large crack in the metalcore scene, as it was dying in a rapid pace as far as my eyes (and ears) could tell. But it wasn't only the metalcore scene that was now suffering; the thrash revival seemed to have run its course as well. New times were ahead and it was an era of a more slow-to-mid paced style of metal music.

Around 2010 I noticed this explosion in the Swedish metal scene. Suddenly a lot of classic-sounding heavy metal bands popped up everywhere. The most notable one, without a doubt, was the excellent Enforcer who had just dropped their "Diamonds" album that year. I remember being in school and having some computer class. I was listening to Spotify while being bored, just trying to check out some new music. I stumbled upon the cover art and was amazed of its retro design. I quickly pushed play and was completely blown away - it was the best shit I had heard in years.

Enforcer quickly became a well-known name within the sub-genre and gave lots of metal fans hope for the first time in a very, very long time. Other bands such as Steelwing, Katana and In Solitude, only to name a few Swedish bands, followed. Some other bands that had been around for a while got more recognized as well. Some other older bands such as Watain maintained a great relevance as the change happened.

2010-2013 were great years for European heavy metal in my opinion. Lots of bands popped up and a lot of them were pretty damn great as well. The Swedish scene in particular was suddenly a lot more fun, something it hadn't been since the early 90's death metal wave. But as those few years passed by, the scene seemed to become overfed with bands adapting to the retro styles. Bands such as In Solitude and Steelwing were already gone by 2015 and others such as the mighty Enforcer, while still putting out excellent music, just seemed to have had their hype gone quiet.

Meanwhile as the European scene seemed to be dying once more, the American scene has really been stepping up in the past few years. I am the first one to both praise and criticize the American metal scene throughout the past forty years. There are countless of great bands from all American countries, but the US (in particular) has also produced a lot of shitty metal as well as killed scenes (e.g. grunge killed all 80's metal). Where the European scene just seemed to be dying, the American scene all of a sudden started producing a lot of great stuff.

Something I've noticed about the American scene of today is its specific sub-genres. A lot of doom metal, hardcore and old school heavy metal seem to be the largest exports of good music in 2017. While I have a rather hard time thinking of any good European heavy metal in 2016, I can think of a lotta American stuff - Sumerlands, Eternal Champion, Cauldron, Spell, and the list goes on. There's also a strong hardcore-influenced death metal scene going on (sometimes coined "Entombedcore") which I enjoy a lot as well.

Say what you will about American and particularly US metal throughout time. They were largely responsible for hair metal, grunge, metalcore, nu metal - whatever trending metal style you can think of. I'm not necessarily saying that those styles were bad in any way, but they came, conquered, destroyed and ultimately got destroyed by one another. Today, however, the US actually seem to have a lot of diversity rather than just one particular dominating style, and I like that a lot.

European or Swedish pride, whatever, I can be honest and say our scene is (seemingly) dying on the operating table at the moment. The American scene is very healthy and well worth checking out for any metalhead in this day and age.

Some of my personal recs:

Sumerlands (US)
Eternal Champion (US)
Cauldron (Canada)
Spell (Canada)
Satan's Hallow (US)
Magic Circle (US)
Lucifer's Hammer (Chile)
Khemmis (US)
Natur (US)
Skull Fist (Canada)
Resurrection Kings (US)

Top-10 Favorite Sleazy Hard Rock & Glam/Hair Metal Bands

Anyone who's been reading this blog before will know what an open-minded kind of metal listener I am. During my early days of exploring and discovering metal music, my biggest genres were NWoBHM, thrash and typical glam/hair metal. Just like with any metal sub-genre there were some bands which I liked in particular and some others not so much at all.

During my first five years as a metalhead I was still somewhat of a casual listener to hair metal and similar sounds. I pretty much stuck to the more obvious choices - GN'R, the Crüe, and so on - as I spent so much time discovering all kinds of metal sub-genres during those years. Around 2008, however, I really got into this particular style of metal and I kinda considered myself a "hair metalhead" between 2008 and 2010.

For two years there I really dug into the genre and all of its largely unnoticed bands. I quickly realized that my favorite era of hair metal was 1988-1992, where the genre kind of bloomed better than ever, but with many great bands unfortunately slippin' under the radar due to the success of thrash and death metal, but also particularly (and obviously) grunge in the early 90's.

I will now present to you: ten of the greatest bands in glam/hair metal and sleazy hard rock music, all according to my personal taste. I hope you enjoy!

Starting at...

10. Mötley Crüe

Comment: The kings when it comes to glam metal and for good reason. Nikki Sixx sure knows how to make great songs, but at the same time I can't really say that I'm a huge fan of all the Crüe's albums. I'm the kind of fan who jammed "Too Fast For Love" a lot, truly loved "Shout At The Devil", was confused by "Theatre Of Pain", thought "Girls, Girls, Girls" was misunderstood, and absolutely hated "Dr. Feelgood" (ironically enough felt very bad about it). I'll just leave it at that.


9. Ratt

Comment: Possibly the best guitar tone of the genre. I just love that crispy guitar sound! The guitar work is overall great as well, accompanied by some very distinctive vocals and great grooves. Ratt is just one very solid band in the genre. Particularly the first two full-length albums are great.


8. Skid Row

Comment: Back in my teens I wanted to be Sebastian Bach (or have his looks at least) to get the chicks. Around 2009 my buddy started calling me "Seb Bach" because of my long and straight blonde-ish hair and feminine face features. It felt good, in a way. But it was not all about Bach either. Skid Row's one of the best bands in the genre. The debut is great but "Slave To The Grind" stepped up things even further. I just love how heavy it is.


7. Warrior Soul

Comment: With no disrespect meant against these guys, I'm aware they might not really qualify for this genre. Seeing as they are often put in the same batch as these bands, however, I will use that to my advantage of praising them. Hailing out of NYC, a city I've got an obsession with and a dream of moving to, I just love the dark and gutter-y vibe to their sound. It's hard and straight to the point. The lyrical themes are also real, unlike most bands in this genre who are - well, honestly - quite a bunch of posers and love failures.


6. Cinderella

Comment: Something with this band is just perfection to me. The vocals, guitars and vibes are all there. They are great at combining gutter-rockers with really good ballads. I usually despise a lot of glam ballads because of how cheesy they are, but Cinderella are just pros at their craft. "Night Songs" and "Long Cold Winter" are two of the genre's very best albums.


5. The Almighty

Comment: One truly underrated band in my opinion. These guys were, according to themselves but also somewhat accurately put, a bunch of Motörhead wannabes. With that said, I love their first two albums - "Blood, Fire & Love" and "Soul Destruction" - which are great sleazy hair metal. The rest of their albums, however, changed in musical styles and did not fare too well me though.


4. Sleeze Beez

Comment: These guys hailed from the Netherlands but they sounded very much like genuine L.A. hair metal, albeit better than a lot of those bands. Their sound was quite heavy and definitely rockin' with a high energy level. Great songs, great vocals. "Screwed Blued & Tattooed" and "Powertool" are two of the best albums you can get your hands on.


3. Saigon Kick

Comment: A very unique band within the genre. They actually covered a lot more musical styles than just typical hair metal of the time, which is something I enjoy a lot. Any fan of these guys will know what I'm talking about. On a single album they would go between playing thrash-y hair metal to acoustic ballads to funk to soul-esque stuff. They were rather musically entertaining as they made anything turn out great. The first album is the most pure hair metal release they did, but I'd really recommend anyone of their first four(!) albums, which I think is saying a lot.


2. W.A.S.P.

Comment: It's been well-discussed over the years whether they are glam or simple heavy metal. Considering they dressed like trannies and made glam-esque music on their first three efforts, I'd definitely include them as a glam metal band, even if they actually were rather heavy. There's just something magic about 'em. Blackie Lawless voice is so haunting and one of the best voices I know. His voice's also aged gracefully in my opinion. Just an amazing band with many truly great albums under their belt.


1. Spread Eagle

Comment: And the winner are these guys from NYC. These guys came too late, debuting in 1990 and basically failed to make an impact in the then-dying hair metal scene. It's kinda funny that they would take the first spot considering they only made two albums, with one of them (the debut) being fuckin' awesome while the second is no good at all (in my opinion as well as many others'). Quite interesting, I think. But at the same time it's just a proof of exactly how good the debut is! Think of a rawer and heavier Skid Row and you've got these guys. Too bad they never did any more good stuff.

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So that was my top-10 favorite glam/hair metal and sleazy hard rock bands. I think it's safe to say that I definitely prefer the heavier bands in the genre, and also the bands with the least amount of make-up and emptied cans of hairspray. Not that most of those "girlie" hair metal bands (if I may call 'em that) were bad or anything, I just like the bands that, obviously, were into heavier sounds. As far as hair metal hairdos go, I definitely like it on band members in bands such as Vixen. Not so much Poison or Tigertailz. Chicks with big 80's hair are great. The males just looked like my grandmas.

Just my five cents thrown here. I hope you enjoyed the list at least! Maybe there was some surprising choices and maybe even a new band or two to check out? I hope so!

Another 7 Great Metal Records Of 2016

Some of you might have read my top-10 list of the best metal records of 2016, which I posted shortly before last year's end. In that article I mentioned how I haven't really dug too deep into the music released in 2016. Well, I certainly have done a lot of diggin' through last year's releases this year (so far) instead, and guess what - I did find some more great records!

So what I did with my top-10 list was that I chose an actual top-10, but I also mentioned quite a bunch of other records and why they didn't end up within the ten best. Because they were already mentioned (somewhere in the article) I won't include them again. Instead I will simply bunch together another seven great metal records, albeit in no particular order this time, all released in 2016.

I also feel like I could alter my top-10 of 2016 a bit, but I don't really want to or have the energy for it. Just enjoy an additional seven recommendations down below.

• Tarot - Reflections

Actually kind of more like 70's hard rock, but I'll let it pass as metal (it's got its heavier moments). I definitely feel this like some bastard child between Uriah Heep and Manilla Road, but also with sweet soundscapes/atmospheres reminiscent to that of Deep Purple and Rainbow. A great one!

• Inquisition - Bloodshed Across The Empyrean Altar Beyond The Celestial Zenith

Black metal wasn't actually my biggest craving in 2016. I'm the kind of music listener who delves into more of one particular style at the time and stay in there until I get bored for the time being. I simply didn't get any larger cravings for black metal last year. This one, however, did eventually show up on my radar and I gave it a try. It's my first listen to this particular band I enjoyed it a lot.

• Deströyer 666 - Wildfire

I've been aware of this band for a long time and had heard some stuff a bunch of years ago, but I never was an active listener or fan of theirs. This one sounds great, however, as it reminds me of some darker thrash bands as well as bands such as modern-day Watain. Some really great tunes and overall a solid album.

• Spell - For None And All

Probably my favorite one on this list, and definitely one that would've ended up in my top-10 of 2016 if I had heard this one earlier. Late is better than never though. This stuff is really good. Think of a hard rock-ish heavy metal sound around 1980 (actually anytime between like 1978-'82), like Rush meets Ozzy solo or something along those lines. These guys also recorded the album with analogue equipment, which I think resulted in a great outcome. Fuck Pro-Tools and "Drumkit from hell".

• Trap Them - Crown Feral

A so-called "Entombed-core" album with relatively short and straight-to-the-point tracks filled with rage and heavy-ass guitars. This shit will totally rip you a new one!

• Gatecreeper - Sonoran Deprevation

More "Entombed-core" but compared to Trap Them this is somewhat more true to the death metal aesthetics, in my opinion. Lots of heavy double bass assault on this one. If you like metal sounding like a sledgehammer swingin' at your head, this will satisfy your needs.

• Grey Wolf - Glorious Death

Some old school-style (true) heavy metal. Nothing extra ordinary but does a great job at what it's supposed to be. Definitely better than most modern run-of-the-mill wannabe:s playing old school heavy metal.

In retrospect: MOTÖRHEAD

Hello and welcome to a new episode in my retrospect series. I believe this is my third installment and the first of 2017. I'm not gonna waste anytime so I'ma get straight to it: I'll cover Motörhead's entire career, album-to-album, where I somewhat rank 'em and comment on them all.

Remember, it's just my personal opinion and it's not as an absolute statement for everybody. OK? Let's go!

• 1977: S/T

Comment: The start of Motörhead a very punk-fueled one at that. If memory serves me correctly, this was the first Motörhead CD I ever bought. Some leather edition about 10-ish years ago, possibly a few more years back. With that said, it never was a favorite album. Maybe even my least favorite. Their sound was still in the construction phase at this point, which means better things were to come.

Favorite track: Motorhead

• 1978: Overkill

Comment: A most classic release. This is also what I kind of tend to view as their true debut album. Their sound was really shaping up on this album, which is evident as you can listen to this and some other album from ten or twenty, even thirty years ahead, and clearly you'll hear it's the same band. One of my favorite Motörhead records although not quite the favorite one.

Favorite track: Metropolis

• 1979: Bomber

Comment: There's a high probability that this one's my favorite Motörhead record, at least out of the old/early ones. I really like the songs on here and I always felt like this album was viewed as somewhat "mediocre" by Motörhead standards. A lot of the tracks sure were missing on their compilation albums throughout the years. Whatever the case be, I totally like this album. A lot. The album cover also fascinated me as a kid. My dad used to have this CD in the car all the time. The bomber plane always looked as hell to my eyes.

Favorite track: Talking Head

• 1980: Ace of Spades

Comment: Such a classic in many ways. You know, when talking about bands' most popular (or best selling) albums as being their best works, I usually beg to differ. There are so many cases with bands where the most obvious album is not their best. In the case of Motörhead, however, if anyone says this album is their best, I would completely understand why. Although not my favorite of theirs, it's really good. Legendary.

Favorite track: The Chase Is Better Than The Catch

• 1982: Iron Fist

Comment: Classic album but for what reason? It's not bad by any means but put up against the previous albums, apart from the debut (possibly), it's not really any contest about which album is the worst. It's got a few great numbers but overall somewhat inconsistent.

Favorite track: (Don't Need) Religion

• 1983: Another Perfect Day

Comment: First album without "Fast" Eddie Clarke on guitar, and the first and only album featuring Brian Robertson from Thin Lizzy. Another record in the same kind of quality-vein to that of its predecessor. As far as the line-up change went, however, the band got a lot more melodic which sounds cool and refreshing. At the same time I'm pretty happy it only lasted one album, as I don't see this melodic Motörhead sound being very interesting in the long run. This album is unfortunately also plagued with a real shitty production.

Favorite track: One Track Mind

• 1984: No Remorse (new songs)

Comment: While this is a compilation album it featured no less than four new songs (not counting an additional two single B-sides). Those four songs, including my all-time Motörhead fave (listed below), also introduced another new line-up for the band. Entered did the band's long-timer Phil Campbell as well as Würzel, who was with the band for a good 10+ year run. The songs are all great in my opinion and all-in-all this is one of the best (and few interesting) compilation albums ever made.

Favorite track: Killed By Death

• 1986: Orgasmatron

Comment: I like this album a lot. It's not perfect by any means but it's got some of the band's most killer songs. Some of the other songs, however, are kind of filler-like. The great songs do make up for that anyway. Overall one of my higher-ranking albums of their career, even if the production is uneven a lot of the time.

Favorite track: Mean Machine

• 1987: Rock 'n' Roll

Comment: The band's last 80's studio effort is argubly also their worst album up till that point. While Motörhead never did any outright bad albums, this one is really a pushing contestor for that spot. I just never got into this one very much. The songs are overall just pretty boring by Motörhead standards. A few stand-outs are to be found as usual though.

Favorite track: All For You

• 1991: 1916

Comment: At the time it was Motörhead's first album in four years and some things had noticably changed. First off, this album is really a major step up from the band's previous album, but it's also a musically more varied album than earlier efforts. The typical Motörhead sound is to be found on here, but also that typical early 90's hard rock sound in a few tracks. Some other tracks experiment with keyboards and other different sounds for Motörhead. All-in-all a good album. My understanding is that both the band and fans like(d) this one a lot. For me, however, it stands as one of their "middle" albums.

Favorite track: Love Me Forever

• 1992: March Ör Die

Comment: For the second and final time "Philthy Animal" Taylor was gone from the band. Performing on only one track on this album, the rest was done by the great Tommy Aldridge. The album, however, is something of a disaster for the band's standards. Once again a major step down. In a way, this is also reflected in the awkward album cover's depiction of Snaggletooth.

Favorite track: I Ain't No Nice Guy (feat. Ozzy Osbourne & Slash)

• 1993: Bastards

Comment: One word - finally! At the time this was the band's strongest work since 1986. Possibly even 1980! This album also saw Mikkey Dee taking on the drumkit, which he obviously maintained until the band's end. This album is very well done in most ways possible. The cover art is simple but effective. The songs are great. The production is better than in a long time. Overall just very well done. One of my favorite Motörhead records.

Favorite track: Devils

• 1995: Sacrifice

Comment: A step down from the previous album but understandable considering how good it was. This one shows the band taking on a rawer style once more, somewhat blending the sounds of the previous album and their early efforts. It's overall very riff-heavy and is something of a start to what the band would sound like in the 2000's. Ultimately one of their middle albums for me and also the last one featuring Würzel (and the band as a four-piece). It's a good album but not a masterpiece. Great album cover by the way, penis-tongue and all.

Favorite track: Sacrifice

• 1996: Overnight Sensation

Comment: The band's first album as a three-piece since 1982 showcases the band's longest and final line-up continuing down the path of the previous two albums. It's heavy, smashing, catchy and nicely produced. The album cover is not a favorite of mine (where's Snaggletooth?) and the album always struck me as somewhat overlooked. It's definitely one of the band's best 90's albums and also a top-10 of their career, at least.

Favorite track: I Don't Believe A Word

• 1998: Snake Bite Love

Comment: Widely regarded by many as the band's worst album. Even Mikkey Dee has expressed some dissatisfaction with this one. It's truly not one of the band's better albums in my opinion. Quite the opposite indeed, actually. But while it's not bad in general music standards, it certainly takes the cake for being a bottom-3 album for Motörhead. It's definitely their worst from the 90's, if not their entire career.

Favorite song: Love For Sale

• 2000: We Are Motörhead

Comment: Definitely a good step up from its predecessor but still somewhat short of quality songs compared to most the band's other catalogue. It's an alright album I suppose but not something I usually think of and/or crank when in the mood for some Motörhead rock 'n' roll.

Favorite track: We Are Motörhead

• 2002: Hammered

Comment: This album was totally fresh out of the studio when I got into the band. I remember having and wearing a pin with the album cover, which I thought was cool as hell. The album itself, however, is something of a continuation down the road of mediocrity for Motörhead. It's better than the previous two albums but not much more than that. Its production is also a sign of the times - early 2000's cheap-sounding digital recording. It just doesn't sound very good to my ears and I'm sure these songs fared a lot better live than on this record.

Favorite track: No Remorse

• 2004: Inferno

Comment: This one came out when I was a young newbie fan of Motörhead and thus it holds a really special place in my Motörhead heart. It's not only the nostalgia factor that makes this album so great for me. The music is also real good! It was the best album they had done since 1993 and one of the best albums of their entire career. I remember crankin' these songs over and over back in the day and I still find myself doing the same thing 13 years later. Badass album title. I love the album cover as well. Truly a great record.

Favorite track: Fight

• 2006: Kiss Of Death

Comment: While a step down from the previous (once again this is understandable from my p.o.v.) it's still a very good album. It definitely showed promise that Motörhead was seemingly going stronger than they'd done in the late 90's and early 2000's. This album was also the second album to be produced by Cameron Webb, who entered on the previous album and ultimately did all of their subsequent albums as well. This album definitely keeps up sonically with the previous album and also manages to differ some in sound and songs.

Favorite track: Trigger

• 2008: Motörizer

Comment: Out of the band's latter day albums (2004-2015), this one is my least favorite. Upon release it didn't fare as well with me as the previous two did. These days I have pretty much the same opinion about it. I dunno what it is, but it just doesn't quite cut it for me. I mean, this album is a beast! It's filled with fast three-ish minute tracks which makes it more intense than any Motörhead album in a long time, possibly ever. At the same time I just think most of the songs are missing something. While not a bad album by any means, it definitely is down somewhere in between the middle-to-bottom listed Motörhead albums in my book.

Favorite track: Heroes

• 2010: The Wörld Is Yours

Comment: After its predecessor and being somewhat into other musical styles back around 2010, I remember not being too anticipated about this release. Regardless, it's Motörhead and I obviously picked it up anyway. I remember my initial opinion being somewhat unimpressed, like it was a mediocre effort from the gang. In the years since its release, however, it's been a real grower on me. Maybe it was because I actually got more back into a lot of old school sounds again, or maybe its quality just struck upon me over time. Anyway, it's definitely a solid album even if it's not quite among their best works. Some of the band's greatest latter day songs are to be found on this one. Great production as well.

Favorite track: Devils In My Head

• 2013: Aftershock

Comment: At the time of this album's release my days of exploring new music had vaned a lot. My mind was totally back in old school mode and Motörhead was once more very interesting. I remember thinking a few things about this one. First thing was the album cover and how lightly colored it was. It definitely felt "out of character" for Motörhead in my opinion. Second was the album title which I found to be great. The last thing was the actual music. This album is a great Motörhead record, the best since 2004 and overall one of my higher ranking albums of theirs. The art work, to me, displayed a slight change which I think is present in the songs. It's very much a Motörhead record but it's still different in some way. I just like this one a lot. If this was the "aftershock", I don't think I even wanna know what the actual main shock was. I wouldn't be able to brave it.

Favorite track: Coup De Grace

• 2015: Bad Magic

Comment: And so we're down to the last album by Motörhead. This one was in several ways a quite strange album, I believe. I remember as it was being released, I was thinking about how Lemmy just keeps on going and going. As the album was released, however, we got some clarification. For the first time we got proof that the man indeed is growing old. For the first time ever we all got to hear Lemmy's voice now obviously aged. Shortly after the release, as we all now know, the man started to experience serious health issues. Then just like that - Lemmy was gone. This album, in a way, showed Lemmy being aware of his mortality. At least that's what I believe. Some songs on here are so hauntingly suggesting that was the case anyway. It's like Lemmy bid his farewells and just went out the way he wanted. It's a great album in my opinion. Definitely a worthy swansong album.

Favorite song: When The Sky Comes Looking For You

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So that was my retrospect of Motörhead and their career. While I did not include a hell of a lotta live and compilation albums, the studio releases are the most essential to bring. Motörhead had a great career, that much is sure. They had their fair share of ups and downs just like every other band out there, but they never made one truly bad album. That's more than I can say for the majority of bands I listen to.

Motörhead is one of my all-time favorite bands. They were one of the first bands I ever got into and they've had such a huge impact on my life growing up. Lemmy always was an iconic inspiration for me. Not a rolemodel by any means, but definitely a huge inspiration in life.

My father also once told me (while drunk) how I was conceived to the song "Fire Fire" from Ace Of Spades. It doesn't surprise me one bit seeing as he's a huge fan himself. During my upbringing he would listen to Motörhead a whole lot. Maybe that's why I have suge a huge love for Motörhead? I bas basically nutured on their music my entire upbringing.

Thank you Lemmy for all the great music!

Thoughts and opinions on: OVERWATCH

I recently started playing Blizzard's recent FPS shooter Overwatch. I'm not previously too familiar with Blizzard and their games. My girlfriend plays World of Warcraft a lot so I know that much about them. I also know they've made at least one Diablo game, but I don't play those games. I'm not really the biggest fan of shooter a.k.a. deathmatch-type games. I do play shooting games but it's more like sandbox games and story-based FPS games. Think of the GTA franchise and Fallout 4, that's my kinda deal.

Now, some of you might think I'm being contradictious here right now, playing GTA but not liking shooter games. I love GTA (except for the awful GTA V story mode) but I don't really like the PvP aspects of it. When playing GTA I mostly drive around on motorcycles doing my own random shit, or hangin' out with friends doing missions and whatnot. I never play deathmatches or adversary modes though. I just don't enjoy it that much, despite being a rather good player if I may say so myself. Bored psychotic 10-y-o kids just ain't my definition of fun, you know?

So a while back my dudebro Dee got this Overwatch game and wasn't really impressed by it. In fact, I didn't even know he'd gotten it. Maybe he told me about it but then it must've been in the wind somewhere. A while later, however, he slowly got more into it and started to like it a lot. He started talking about it frequently and encouraged me to get it as well. I was skeptical judging by the fact that it's a pure deathmatch-type game. My old CoD (1+2) reflexes are pretty much long gone.

After much nag about the game, I finally got it and made my buddy a jolly little fellow. For starters I wasn't really that impressed by it either, nor very interested in playing it to be honest. I did like the art style a lot, however, which made me invest some time into the game. After a day or two I was rather enjoying it. In fact, my buddy seemed to have a lot more fun with it now as well, and we've just been goin' at it for a few weeks now.

This is Reaper, my favorite character. I have thing for big guns and he wields dual shotguns. He looks rather "metal" as well, don't you think?

You know, at first look Overwatch might seem like a kids game and I'm sure a lot of its players are kids as well. Looks can be deceiving though. "Never judge a book by its cover" is a quote which really comes to mind regarding Overwatch. Going from highly skeptical and overall uninterested in the game, I am now somewhat addicted to it. I get these urges to play it a lot.

So how did my playing urge come to pass? The characters! You know, there isn't a lot of details or general information about the characters within the game. None at all, really. You're just left with a bunch of characters all of which have special powers and abilities. Now that's an aspect I like a lot! Instead of the old CoD/Battlefield kind of gameplay you are now a unique team each round you play. That creates a lot of diversity not to mention longevity to this kind of game. Overall I think this is very well executed.

One of the several short animated movies you can watch to get some more depth to the characters.

The art style is fantastic! It reminds me a lot of WoW and I think the reason is rather obvious. The characters do have some informative videos on YouTube which you can look up, and there's also the regular kind of Wiki pages around for it as well. That way you can (and will) get to know the characters as well.

Overall I am glad I decided to get the game. I'm enjoying it a lot and I think there is great potential for it in the future as well. A simple formula which creates something greatly effective. Although I'm not at all good with all the characters, their diversity creates a lot of fun. You win some, you lose some. What matters is you're having a good time, and I know I certainly am.

This is Torbjörn, a Swedish viking-like character. This is one of his several outfits you can get and equip. Possibly my favorite character outfit in Overwatch. A Swedish viking biker? Hell yeah!

Mid-February 2017 and the "new" LAST.FM still sucks!

Ever heard people talking about how fast time flies? I certainly have. My life's been ten times fuller of stuff compared to "most" other folks I meet, but at 26 years of age now I have really started to acknowledge time. My first twenty years of life felt like 40, but these past six have been like two years or so.

So, I'm not going into this because I'm experiencing a life crisis or whatever. No. It's because I just realized how long it's already been since LAST.FM changed their website's layout. Well above 1,5 years as of today, possibly even two years since the beta version was released. Anyway, guess what?! It's still shitty as fuck!

In the early summer of 2015 I did a post on this blog about my opinions on their new layout. It was not positive, and nor did a great majority of their users think it was a good change either. I don't really know what's going on at the LAST.FM HQ, but they certainly have not listened to their users/customers. The activity dropped noticably after the layout change. I mean, the site had been notably on a decline for several years up till 2015, hence why I suppose they did the layout change, but they kind of shot themselves in their foot with that one.

Except for a few old school die-hard scrobblers including myself still active on the site, it's completely died. There might be some minor activity going on if you head into Metallica's or Slayer's page, but it's still nothing compared to a few years ago. Anywhere else; any underground to minor to average metal band: their pages are dead.

You know, I really sincerely miss the early days of LAST.FM. I joined up in late 2007 and it was a great music community at that time. Lots of people scrobbling and interacting on the band's pages, the site's forums and whatnot. Great times. The layout was good as well. I spent most of my time online on LAST.FM because of all the fun it was back then. I guess it lasted to around 2011 or so. In 2012 I had a break from the site and when I returned in 2013, it was not quite as alive anymore.

As a dedicated user of theirs for ten years this year, I feel "cheated" by their current shitty layout. They killed what little community they had left on there. Whoever thought the current layout was a good idea should be fired asap. The fact that they scrapped the forum and personal aspects of your profile further shows what a stupid movie the makeover was. What did you think there, honestly?

What's even more odd, however, is why they proceeded with launching the layout when they got such a massive negative feedback on the beta and during the early period post-launch. As if this wasn't enough though, people also cancelled their subscribtions to their radio-stuff and deleted their accounts permanently just to show their disappointment. Not even the shoutbox trolls stayed. You know, all of this, I think it speaks for itself. LAST.FM just ignores it which is a real shame.

These days it honestly feels like I'm one of, like, five old users still hangin' around there...

Truth be told, I quite don't understand why I'm still hangin' on LAST.FM either. I'm not exactly hangin' around like I used to - obviously there's no use for it - but I look up my personal scrobbles and such.

You know, the saddest part about LAST.FM is how much potential they've still got but don't see. With Spotify and all those streaming services massively available and used out there today, they could have had more people joining up these days.

I personally believe there are a lot more people interacting with Spotify these days than there were people with local music files back in 2008. So maybe LAST.FM wouldn't get their own subscribers back, unless they join in and battle the market, but they could still achieve revenue from adds and whatnot. But now ... their site's just dead.

NO ONE LIKES THE CURRENT LAST.FM
OPEN YOUR EYES AND REALIZE
YOU LOST WHAT YOU ONCE HAD
BUT STILL YOU'RE TOO BLIND TO SEE IT YOURSELVES...

So... Why am I still using the service then? Old habits die hard, I guess. I invested so many years in scrobbling my music onto their site. It feels sad to just quit that because their layout sucks nowadays.

And then I guess there's some hope, somewhere, that someday someone will make LAST.FM great again.

Top-10 Favorite Hard Rock & Metal Drummers

If you've been reading older posts in this blog you'll know I'm a drummer myself. I started drumming in early 2004 by joining my first band, which lasted for ten years before changing its name (and further continues to this day). We were all around 13-14 at the time and our first year was mostly spent learning our instruments by studying and learning different cover songs.

I always found it as interesting to know the players as much as the band's music. When I had just started playing drums I found it particularly interesting to study the drumming in the bands which I fancied. I googled the drummers and got to learn a lot of their setups, styles, influences and all that stuff. It really inspired me to become a drummer myself and it also made my aspiration more fun.

As a drummer I always listened to other drummers with critical ears. The more I learnt and developed myself, the more picky I became with other drummers' styles and whether I thought good of them or not. A little judging perhaps. Even arrogant, maybe. But I always found many drummers to miss a good groove, or feeling if you will.

With that said, let's go through my top-10 favorite drummers of hard rock and metal music (in no particular order):

• Chuck Biscuits

Chuck Biscuits is probably most known for his work with Danzig (the band). He also played in a bunch of punk rock bands including D.O.A. before that, but I never had a lot of interest in those bands to be honest.

Danzig, however, is another story. I love Danzig! I'm definitely one of those fans who prefer the early days and the first four albums (all featuring Chuck on drums), but I never gave up on (Glenn) Danzig and I enjoy their other, more recent stuff as well.

So what's so special about Chuck's drumming? First off, the man is an animal behind the kit. He's got a hard-hitting playing style with lots of dynamics and a good, loose groove (many o:s there). He always kept his setup rather small and made great use of everything at his disposal.

To me personally, Chuck could be the greatest influence in drumming. If you look at the photo of him above and study his rig, then you'll have a good idea of how my rig looked like throughout the years. I will not say that I copied his setup, at least not intentionally, but I pretty much did. His style also undoubtedly influenced me to become a hard-hitting drummer and opting for a loose groove.

• Fred Estby

Fred is most (but not exclusively) known as the drummer of Dismember, one of Sweden's most classic old school death metal bands, and my personal favorite death metal band of all time. Fred was the band's drummer live and in the studio, but he's also a guitarist and therefore he was somewhat of a chief songwriter for the band as well.

Fred's drumming is/was a mix between extreme metal and punk beats, filled with a kind of groove which I really dig. He's a very loose player, always sounding live on studio recordings and that's how I like it in most cases. It just adds a whole new depth and life into the drumming which makes the music as a whole more organic.

Fred is perhaps not what most metalheads would consider a "great drummer", but his style and groove influened me a lot more than most others throughout the years. Particularly his groovy bass drum work shaped my own style. He also had a way of finding good tones and sounds on Dismember's studio recordings.

• Vinny Appice

Vinny is well-known for have provided drums for many names throughout his career, but most known (and dear to me personally) is argubly his work with Dio (the band).

Vinny was part of Dio's original line-up and did the drums on more than half of Dio's entire catalogue. His style is kind of laid back with great groove and power. He definitely has his own unique vibe and style to his playing.

While Vinny always was a great influence for me, I would not say that my personal style sounds very influenced by him. So why is that? Well, first and foremost: I never learned to play like the man. Secondly: I wouldn't wanna copy the man's style and become a B-rate version of him anyway. But the man's drumming always catches my attention when listening to stuff like Dio and Black Sabbath.

• Gene Hoglan

Also known as "The Atomic Clock", or simply the human drum machine, Gene Hoglan is possibly the world's fastest drummer while also being overly technical much of the time. Like that's not enough, the guy also used to be big as a house, but he's lost a lot of weight in recent years (good to see, Gene).

Out of the drummers I fancy the most, Gene is definitely the most technical and fast one. I generally don't like machine-like drummers but I still feel like Gene's got a very unique touch to his style. Sure, he is indeed playing like a monstrous machine, but he's got a trademark that's always there.

Despite having done records for bands like Death, Testament, Forbidden, Zimmers Hole and many, many more, you can always listen to the drum work and you'll know it's Gene. That's exactly what I love about his playing, and it's also interesting to hear him do all the crazy stuff seemingly like it's a real piece of cake.

My personal favorite bands featuring Gene are Strapping Young Lad and Dark Angel. SYL is simply awesome in a very crazy, heavy and brutal way. Dark Angel was his first band (in the public eye anyway) and that was back in the 80's. "Darkness Descends", legendary thrash record which even put Slayer and "Reign In Blood" to shame in 1986. Back then Gene wasn't as consistent in his playing yet. Techincal and lightning fast, but a bit more "human". I really liked that.

• Stefan Kaufmann

Stefan is one of the most underrated drummers of all time in my opinion. Playing with Accept during their entire 80's run, as well as a few albums in the 90's, I always found much inspiration in his drumming style.

Stefan always adapted his style to whatever kind of tune Accept was playing, doing some real solid double bass drumming before it had really become a standard in metal music, as well as playing groovy beats to fit the slower and/or mid-paced songs. Versatile to say the least.

During the 90's Stefan suffered from great back pain and had to stop drumming in Accept. He later joined Udo's solo band as a guitarist, but a few years ago his back still caused too much trouble, effectively forcing him to quit Udo's band as well. His drum work will always continue to inspire my drumming.

• John Boecklin

Say what you will about the New Wave of American Metal or metalcore: whether you're a fan of the bands or not, you can't deny a lot of them are great musicians. In a way I find that drummers, in particular, have all trained techniques too much, essentially making it not-so-special anymore.

Despite that fact, a few drummers (in this case) still stick out from the masses. I know a lot of people praise Chris Adler (Lamb of God) and Andols Herrick (Chimaira) and they're great. People rarely talk about DevilDriver's John Boecklin, however, which to my surprise is really sad.

John's got some real cool chops in his playing style. He's techincal, fast, precise and has a great groove. I find his work with toms and percussion to be particularly cool and it's also been an influence for me in latter years since discovering DevilDriver (I never listened to them 5-10 years ago).

• Dave Lombardo

I think it's safe to say that Dave Lombardo's something of a living legend in the metal world. Having made a great name for himself during has many former years with Slayer, the man's given more influence than most other drummers within the genre (and subgenres).

But Dave's popularity is not just all talk. He's actually a fucking beast behind the kit. He's probably most known for his quick thrashbeating, but in my book it's his groove which makes his drumming sound so awesome. He's also got great tones and sounds.

Personally I am a huge fan of Dave's style. Not for his ability to play thrash beats or fast in genreal but because his style is so distinctive and versatile. The way he just comes raging down of his drums is ferocious, like a beast tearing human bodies apart. I'm not familiar with quite all of his several projects throughout the years, but my favorites are Slayer (of course), Grip Inc. and Fantomas, all of which are really cool bands with great drumming.

• Scott Asheton

The late Scott Asheton is unargubly most famous for being the drummer of The Stooges, the so called proto-punk band which launched the charismatic singer Iggy Pop into the public eye.

The Stooges did three fan acclaimed albums during the late 60's and early 70's which would come to prove a great influence on both punk rock and later grunge. Their style was hard and relatively raw, with rather simplistic compositions which were powerful and effective for rebelling against society. I believe they put out some of the hardest rock music ever made.

What I like about Scott's drumming is his powerful style. He had a firm groove which maintained an organic feeling and kept things rather simple yet interesting. I'm personally very influenced by his style as I like the "rainy-day-in-the-rehearsal-place" feel of it.

• Bill Ward

Bill is undoubtedly most famous for his work with Black Sabbath, and for very good reason. Playing on all the classic Sab records including all the 70's records featuring Ozzy Osbourne, as well as 1980's "Heaven And Hell" with Ronnie James Dio, Bill Ward helped creating Black Sab's great legacy.

Since Black Sab was the start of the entire metal movement, essentially anyways, Bill's drumming style was not exactly very metal oriented. His style was more rooted in blues and jazz and in my opinion, that helped a lot in creating the sound of some heavy and experimental drumming for the metal sound. He's just got a very nice swing to his playing, very organic and dynamic.

I'm personally a fan of all Sabbath albums, regardless of backing musicians or singers, so with that said I'm a fan of every album featuring Bill. I think it's hard to just chose one album or so where he really shined the most, but I do think "Technical Ecstasy" is a criminally underrated Sab album. Bill also sings on one track on that album (and does it great), but his drumming is also very versatile. Otherwise, I think just about any Sab will do.

• Tony Niemistö

Also known as Tony Reno. He was the original drummer for the Swedish band Europe, you know the one which made "The Final Countdown"? Anyway, he played in the band before they made that album and while they still were a lot heavier, ultimately appearing on the band's first two albums only.

While this may seem like an odd and/or random choice, it's really not. Europe was already a relatively huge band in Sweden from their get-go and thus we don't only listen to their more commercial late 80's stuff, but everything they made.

Personally I think Europe peaked with "Wings of Tomorrow" in 1984, the second and last album to feature Tony on drums. I listened a lot to the band's first two albums around the time when I was first practicing drums, and I always found Tony's drumming to be very heavy and powerful, like I thought and imagined that real heavy metal drumming was like. His style and sound influened me a lot during the first two years or so and looking back on it, I completely understand why. I wish the band would've kept him. His style went so well with John Norum's excellent guitar playing.

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I hope you enjoyed my list! Keep in mind that these are my personal favorites and greatest influences throughout the years. While there are of course a bunch of other drummers that influenced me as well, these ten are simply the greatest in my book.

Bonus:

 Here you've got a 16-y-o me with my "Chuck Biscuits setup" back in 2006.