Top-10 Best Metal Records By Each Year 1980-1995

I decided to put together a list of my favorite ten metal records of each year for every year between 1980-1995. Well, I tried anyway. It was easier said than done, but I managed and I think it turned out somewhat accurately presentable. I simply chose the years 1980-1995 because those are the years from which most of my music has come from.

To do an extended list beyond 1995 would be a rather difficult task as I found the 2000's in particular to provide little metal of interest, with Chimaira, Lamb of God and DevilDriver a few worthy of mention. Even for the 1970's it would be quite hard to find ten albums for each year, because I simply never really fell that much in love with the 70's sound, and it would only be the obvious bands like AC/DC, Sabbath, Priest, and so on.

Anyway, here is my list of my favorite 10 records of each year between the years 1980 to 1995. It will be an overall collection of metal - heavy, NWoBHM, thrash, death, black, etc. Anything that I simply love and regard as something extraordinary from those individual years will be listed by their release years down below.

I hope you enjoy my personal favorites-list, even if some of the choices are nothing unique or surprising, though I hope you'll find some surprises at least and perhaps even introduce some new bands to y'all.

Later //J.

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This list is presented in a somewhat correct order. The top-listed records for each year is my favorite album of that year, but after that there's not necessarily a certain order. To be honest - it's way too hard to actually rank them in a certain order.

1980:

Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell

Saxon – Wheels Of Steel

Motörhead – Ace of Spades

Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard of Ozz

Iron Maiden – S/T

Diamond Head – Lightning To The Nations

Judas Priest – British Steel

AC/DC – Back In Black

Angel Witch – S/T

Tygers Of Pan Tang – Wild Cat


Comment: The start of the almighty 80's. Musically this was a very important year for music (overall), but especially for us metal fans - it was gonna change and expand the metal scene forever. However, apart from a few albums on this list that I will forever regard as some of the very best metal records of all time, the best was yet to come in later years.
 

1981:

Ozzy Osbourne – Diary Of A Madman

Black Sabbath – Mob Rules

Tygers Of Pan Tang – Spellbound

Iron Maiden – Killers

Mötley Crüe – Too Fast For Love

Accept – Breaker

Venom – Welcome To Hell

Van Halen – Fair Warning

Def Leppard – High ‘n’ Dry

Thin Lizzy – Renegade


Comment: An improvement from the previous year, which still was a damn good one. Ozzy makes his best album ever (imo), Sab release their best one with Dio, and Tygers release their best album as well. I'll let this top-10 speak for itself.

1982:

Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance

Accept – Restless And Wild

Plasmatics – Coup d’Etat

Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast

Diamond Head – Borrowed Time

Venom – Black Metal

Scorpions – Blackout

Motörhead – Iron Fist

MSG – Assault Attack

Kiss – Creatures Of The Night


Comment: Not much change here, around the same quality as '81. Some bands (Motörhead) do, however, release some less-good albums than before. Overall this year maybe wasn't as strong as the previous two anyway. This list kind of marks the finest moments of the year, and I think that was pretty much "it". NWoBHM was already on a downfall and American heavy metal was slowly starting to arise.

1983:

Accept – Balls To The Wall

Dio – Holy Diver

Def Leppard – Pyromania

Mercyful Fate – Melissa

Ozzy Osbourne – Bark At The Moon

Thin Lizzy – Thunder And Lightning

Mötley Crüe – Shout At The Devil

Slayer – Show No Mercy

Iron Maiden – Peace Of Mind

Exciter – Heavy Metal Maniac


Comment: Wow! This was quite a year! A very rich year musically. Many bands release their finest albums this year (Accept, Mötley Crüe, Dio...) while there are a lot of interesting newcomers (Exciter, Slayer, Mercyful Fate...). A good year, a very good year indeed.
 

1984:

Mercyful Fate – Don’t Break The Oath

W.A.S.P. – S/T

Judas Priest – Defenders Of The Faith

Dio – The Last In Line

Madison – Diamond Mistress

Warlock – Burning The Witches

Metallica – Ride The Lightning

Queensrÿche – The Warning

Iron Maiden – Powerslave

Ratt – Out Of The Cellar


Comment: Wow!, pt. 2. Not much changes quality-wise from the previous year. Bands like Dio, Priest and Maiden continue to put out really strong records, while newcomers W.A.S.P., Warlock, Queensrÿche and Ratt releases great debut (full-length) albums. Metallica keeps on changing the metal industry and Mercyful Fate releases their very best record, as well as one of the most sinister metal records of all time.

1985:

Saxon – Innocence Is No Excuse

Anthrax – Spreading The Disease

Slayer – Hell Awaits

Twisted Sister – Come Out And Play

Dio – Sacred Heart

Fate – S/T

Treat – Scratch And Bite

Ratt – Invasion Of Your Privacy

Celtic Frost – To Mega Therion

Warlock - Hellbound


Comment: After the excellent '83 and '84, or simply after a great half-decade of metal bands/records, I always felt that 1985 was kind of a "sabbatical year" for metal. Yes, the quality dropped quite a bit I have to admit, with some bands (Dio, Ratt, Warlock...) releasing not-as-strong albums as previously. But the biggest thing is that it just felt like a like a poor year, if counting actual records released during the year. I guess most bands just were getting really big and toured throughout, or that they needed their first lengthier break in many years. Not a bad year, but perhaps the weakest year of the decade.

1986:

Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time

Dark Angel – Darkness Descends

Ozzy Osbourne – The Ultimate Sin

Crimson Glory – S/T

Metallica – Master Of Puppets

Megadeth – Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?

Queensrÿche – Rage For Order

Cinderella – Night Songs

Onslaught – The Force

Kreator – Pleasure To Kill


Comment: Wow!, pt. 3. After the kind of "pause" year of '85, the musical quality returned this year with a lot of awesome records. Not only just that either, but now the latter half of the 80's will be a change from the previous half. Almost gone is the NWoBHM scene, at least as far as any releases worth of mention go (only Maiden pretty much continue to be relevant or good/appreciated). Thrash metal makes an official entry and this also marks the strongest year in thrash metal records. Opposite thrash we now also start to see an increase of glam metal bands, with only a few like Cinderella that are of any greater (musical) interest to me personally.

1987:

King Diamond – Abigail

Dio – Dream Evil

Testament – The Legacy

Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction

Bathory – Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

Coroner – R.I.P.

Overkill – Taking Over

Savatage – Hall Of The Mountain King

Anthrax – Among The Living

Death Angel – The Ultra-Violence


Comment: Another really strong and interesting year, although not quite as strong as '86. The thrash vs. glam battle is still a bit on the rise, although it's already quite big. You know, it's just metalheads in a fucking nutshell - you can't like everything, like I do, but you must choose sides. If not, then you're either a poser (glam) or a fucking hobo (thrash). Fuck that. I rage and fight to thrash, and I fuck and party to glam.

1988:

Ozzy Osbourne – No Rest For The Wicked

Danzig – S/T

Testament – The New Order

Bathory – Blood Fire Death

Vicious Rumors – Digital Dictator

Jane’s Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking

Metallica - …And Justice For All

Overkill – Under The Influence

Anthrax – State Of Euphoria

Crimson Glory – Transcendence


Comment: For many years I thought of this year to be somewhat of an "odd" year, I couldn't quite wrap my mind around what I thought of it. I guess I did in fact not like the music released this year that much, but in latter years I've really discovered or rethought my feelings of what was actually released in '88. These days I really think it was a good year in metal music, although not the best year of the decade. Some new favorite bands of mine like Danzig and Jane's Addiciton really came through this year, and Bathory semi-started a new era.

1989:

W.A.S.P. – The Headless Children

Faith No More – The Real Thing

Cro-Mags – Best Wishes

Coroner – No More Color

Sepultura – Beneath The Remains

Overkill – The Years Of Decay

The Almighty – Blood, Fire & Love

Babylon A.D. – S/T

Black Sabbath – Headless Cross

Blue Murder – S/T


Comment: Last year of the great 80's. Not the decade's strongest year, but an improvement from the previous year, perhaps over '87 as well. The thrash vs. glam battle is at its largest at this point and I would probably think that few was expecting what was lying around the corner, waiting... Anyway, while there were simply too many bands in (particularly) the thrash and glam scenes to count, some of the more unnoticed bands (The Almighty, Babylon A.D., Coroner...) of both sub-genres released some of the best albums of the year. Bands like Faith No More, W.A.S.P. and Sepultura release their strongest works (imo), while Black Sabbath makes their best record in many years.

1990:

Alice in Chains – Facelift

Spread Eagle – S/T

Danzig – II: Lucifuge

Anthrax – Persistence Of Time

Entombed – Left Hand Path

Nocturnus – The Key

Sleeze Beez – Screwed Blued & Tattooed

Warrior Soul – Last Decade Dead Century

Jane’s Addiction – Ritual De Lo Habitual

Pantera – Cowboys From Hell


Comment: With the 80's officially over and the 90's started, I figure many people were expecting some huge changes to all kinds of media. In metal, there were some larger changes indeed, but I would say that they had already been developed in the last years of the 80's, and just kind of broke out of the underground during this year. Of course I'm talkin' about death metal. Thrash metal is pretty much a thing of the passed 80's now, and death metal is its successor - freshly so. I would also argue, I think, that this year was the best year in death metal? Anyway, death metal and alternative music (Faith No More, Jane's Addiciton, etc.) are at large as the 90's kick off, but soon there will be another uprising as we all know.

1991:

Dismember – Like An Ever Flowing Stream

Mordred – In This Life

Entombed – Clandestine

Overkill – Horrorscope

Type O Negative – Slow, Deep & Hard

Skid Row – Slave To The Grind

Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears

Coroner – Mental Vortex

Mr. Bungle – S/T

Sepultura - Arise


Comment: Grunge. Well, fuck that. I never were a big fan of grunge. It just felt like a shittier style of...everything. You know, the grunge bands just never appealed to me (apart from the heavy and awesome Alice in Chains...and earlier Soundgarden). Grunge just exploded in '91 thanks to fucking Nirvana. While it actually was a strong year in the metal music department, all that was pretty much overshadowed by Nirvana, Soundgarden and some others. They were like shittier versions of punk bands, of rock bands, of metal bands. Just fucking...shit.

This year was like the final nail in the coffin for most glam and thrash bands still lurking around, and death metal was largely held back because of this musical change as well, and don't even get me started on fucking Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and what they did to the scene during this year.

1992:

Faith No More – Angel Dust

Danzig – III: How The Gods Kill

Alice in Chains – Dirt

Cro-Mags – Alpha Omega

Fear Factory – Soul Of A New Machine

W.A.S.P. – The Crimson Idol

Saigon Kick – The Lizard
Malevolent Creation - Retribution
Pantera – Vulgar Display Of Power

Rage Against The Machine – S/T

Comment: Grunge is still at large, unfortunately. Most of the last few (notable) traces of glam and thrash bands are to be found in this year - many of them released their final albums (at the time) and broke-up. If not, they changed to adapt to the style that Metallica had made famous the previous year (Testament, Megadeth, etc.). Fortunately for me, a few bands managed to actually held back grunge a bit and showed 'em how it's done. Faith No More and newcomers RATM and Fear Factory were all modern, but were not grunge bands but instead mixes of several other styles that would prove to be very, if not more so than grunge, influential to future bands of the 90's.

1993:

Life of Agony – River Runs Red

Carcass – Heartwork

Dismember – Indecent & Obscene

Coroner – Grin

Benediction – Transcend The Rubicon

Dio – Strange Highways

Dissection – The Somberlain

Saigon Kick – Water

Death – Individual Thought Patterns

Type O Negative – Bloody Kisses


Comment: While grunge was still the biggest thing at this point, together with Metallica and RHCP of course, there actually were opportunities for other styles to shine again. Many of the greatest death metal records were released in this year, many of which were rather successful. Some other bands such as the crossover-groovy Life of Agony and the gothic Type O Negative really came on and put in new influences for future groove and alternative bands respectively. Not an exceptional year, but a very good one nonetheless. Oh, and fuck grunge.

1994:

Septic Flesh – Mystic Places Of Dawn

Machine Head – Burn My Eyes

Megadeth – Youthanasia

Danzig – 4p

Bolt Thrower - …For Victory

Running Wild – Black Hand Inn

Testament – Low

Darkthrone – Transilvanian Hunger

Pantera – Far Beyond Driven

Body Count – Born Dead


Comment: R.I.P. Kurt Cobain, and pretty much the whole grunge scene with you. While I never were a big fan of Nirvana, or most other grunge bands, I did not have anything against people like Kurt Cobain personally. But with his tragic death, so went grunge with him, kind of. I guess that is just the sad reality of people - they fanboy/girl one person rather than the actual legacy of his/her. I really do believe so was the case with Kurt as well. I mean, what are the odds?  He died - grunge died. There were lots of better grunge bands than Nirvana, but he was like the God of it, and when he was gone, so was the whole musical genre basically.

Besides grunge's last breaths, death metal was not really prevailing this year either. Instead the year was rather filled with new styles such as rap/nu metal, groove metal and some more underground black metal stuff that was slowly rising up.

1995:

Face Down - Mindfield

Fear Factory – Demanufacture

Dissection – Storm Of The Light’s Bain

The Gathering - Mandylion
Death – Symbolic

Hate Squad – I.Q. Zero

Dismember – Massive Killing Capacity

White Zombie – Astro-Creep 2000

Grip Inc. – Power Of Inner Strength

Suffocation - Pierced From Within


Comment: The last awesome year of the 90's, to me. After this year, I honestly have a rather hard time finding more than ten albums a year that appealed to me, at least until 2003. I know I could find it for 1996 and 1997 as well, but it's just, literally, scraping the good out of the pile of shit.

1995 showed us as well as set the bars for what the remainder of the 90's would pretty much come to be like. We get more groove metal as well as industrial metal, which at this point had become a popular (and rather commercial) style of metal. Death metal is pretty much over, at least as far as records worthy of listening to goes. Death, the band that pretty much started the whole sub-genre, are the last to be really good at it, so at least that was a fitting touch. 

Otherwise there not really overly much of interest during this year in my opinion. I really do like the massively overlooked bands like Face Down, Hate Squad and Grip Inc. - all of who played groove/post-thrash metal. The Gathering's "Mandylion" was also a rather simplistic but just wonderful and beautiful album that expanded the goth scene.

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I hope you enjoyed my lists and thoughts about the years. Check out my new list that covers the years 2003-2015, if you did enjoy this one. Peace!  

Metal fans: why are they all douchebags?

For many years I have wondered why metalheads are like they are. I mean, has it ever occurred to anyone else that most metal fans seem to be impossible do deal with in one way or another? It certainly has to me. While I personally don't think there is anything better than metal music, I certainly cannot fucking stand its fans.

I'm 25 years old and I have been a fan of metal music since I was a small kid (metalhead parents ftw), but you know, I've really been it since I was 12 - that's when I really got an interest in music and a the most notable step out of childhood and into teenage angst. Ever since then, for 13 years, I have met countless metalheads through my different schools, friend circles, concerts, and most notably through my old band. Among all those countless metal fans I ever met throughout the years, I can probably count on just one hand how many I could stand being around for more than a minute or two. Don't fucking ask me why that is.

I'm going to make sort of a list of which types of metalheads that I found the most annoying throughout the years so far, just to clarity which type they are and what the fuck the problem is with them.

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1. Emos

Remember these kids? I certainly do, unfortunately. What is fortunate about them though is that they're mostly gone these days! Being 15 in 2005, I was in the middle of the fucking trend when basically everyone was supposed to be a fucking depressed wreck. Since when was it ever "cool" to feel sad and ill. I mean, just that is enough to prove how fucking stupid that movement was.

I lived in a medium size Swedish city at the time where the emo(tional) scene was really blooming. Walking in my school corridors and around town, there were always a lot of emos to be spotted. They even had this fucking kiosk boutique which they always hanged outside. It was fucking annoying seeing their black fringes everywhere, but what was the most annoying thing about them was how fucking poser they were.

Now, I am a person who look at depression seriously, viewing it as an illness which can most certainly be devastating for the subject. It's not a thing to joke around about or to use as a (posed) lifestyle choice. Yet, most of these fucking kids were cutting their arms and shit. I remember briefly befriending a few of the local emos, all of which were rather middle class or upper middle class kids without any troubles whatsoever. They even admitted to me that the arm cutting was just for show - a pose.

I was so fucking angry and disgusted by these morons. I came from a really rough fucking background with alcoholic and abusive parents, no money, often no food, and so on, but I never sat down, whining and cutting my wrists like a wimp. Yet these kids, who had all I had not, were posing as "depressed and suicidal" teens. Kiss my ass. I'm so fucking glad this trend mostly died out. Now we can (easier) tend to the real depressed people who needs the help and attention.

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2. Posers

Maybe a rather obvious choice, but who doesn't hate pose(u)rs, right? At least I do. Now, let's just be clear on this matter: a poser according to me (and this article) is not a glam fan. Sure, a glam fan can and probably will pose before a camera more than a thrash fan would. However, that is not how I view this shit, like "a glam poser in the eyes of a thrasher". No, thinking like that is also posing in a way. Real posing to me is a person who pose as a metal fan, but does not really listen to or like the music in reality.

Throughout the years I've met a through people like this. It's like, "wow dude, you're a metalhead, right? Right?!". I'm just thinking that if they were real metal fans, they would most certainly know it by my hair, band shirts, battle jacket, leather jacket, and other clothing choices. It's just so fucking obvious some people pretend to like the same music as you, and I just wonder why, what's the point of it?

I'm not the kinda guy who cared whether or not you're a metalhead just like me. Most of my friends are not. It's just so fucking unnecessary to pretend that you like or are something you're not, just to impress (or whatever) on someone else.

I knew a guy some years ago who completely lacked any kind of self-respect, as well as respect for others.
 This guy was what you call a "real attention whore". He would say, do or pretend being anything just to be accepted by other people (often full friend circles of different stereotypes). If he got into these circles, then he would slowly start putting people "in their places", often pretending being waaay smarter than he actually was. In fact, he was not very educated in the matters he pretended being educated in at all. He could also not take it when you put him in his right place, that is telling him his pretentious act is wrong and correct his claims.

Bottom line of all this is: the particular guy I knew for a while, while not the only poser I've met, was the worst example I've ever met. I honestly think he adapted to around 10 different stereotypes, posing as a fan of each one. In a year, he could go between being a hip-hop fan to being a metalhead to being a rich boy-poser to different political sympathizers, and so on. At the end of the day, the guy always loses his friends over and over. No wonder.

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3. Elitists

The last, worst, and definitely most annoying category of douchebag metal fans I know. I also call them "conservative cunts in metal", because that's exactly what they are. Now, let's clear about this once and for all - by conservative in this sense, I don't mean metal fans with any political affiliation, but with solid conservative opinions of the music. Let me give you an example: people who only listen to "trve metal", or "trve kvlt" and all that shit, and think everything else is "false" or "poseur". Now you think "black metal fans", I suppose, but that's not really the right group of metal fans to target in this matter.

As a fan of pretty much all styles of metal besides nu metal, I have seen the ignorance among fans of all styles. People in metal tend to be fucking closed-minded most of the time. Either they just listen to like thrash or death metal, possibly both sometimes, and dis everything else apart from like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. An example could be: "Lamb of God is fucking gay", and vice versa. I think you get the drift. I've seen this shit over and over. I mean, I can understand if a metalhead has time enough to spend to hate on Justin Bieber or whatever, but why hate metal within metal?

To me, metal music of all kinds except for nu metal are just to similar to hate on one specific sub genre. I mean, it all comes from the same original stew of likes such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, just that they developed over time and came with new generations. For instance, fans of 80's metal has always had a lot of hate to spread on New Wave of American Heavy Metal (2000's metal) bands, and them back on fans of the old origin styles. I just don't fucking get it. How can one like, let's say Pantera, but not like a band like Chimaira then? This fucking posing within metal is ridiculous.

Most of the metal fans I ever met were of this kind. Elitist fucking douchebags. We would discuss bands like Slayer and Danzig and have a great time, then all of a sudden I maybe ask if they like Faith No More and they lose their fucking minds. I mean, it's unbelievable how some people's attitude takes a turn because you mention liking a band that is not "80's, trve, good", or whatever. After that, you are fucking marked by them as an unworthy metal fan, and they (perhaps unintentionally) start treating you, as a friend, thereafter as well.

So many people that, in the end, never could accept or let go of the fact that I liked other metal than just thrash or whatever. It became impossible to hang around basically all of them because they, after like a year, still would fucking nag like a bitch about it. I have never been able to take any of that fucking shit, so in the end they all could just piss off. It just so fucking stupid that metal fans should argue about this stuff like it's a kid's sandbox or something. Just because I don't personally like nu metal, I don't go around bashing all the fans of it. I respect peoples' tastes and opinions.

Just fucking listen to the music and have a good time, hopefully together!

Into The Pentagram: In the studio once again

What's up everyone? Just wanted to let you all know that D and I are once again in the studio recording our upcoming demo. It will be entitled "Nyctophilia" and will include five tracks as well as a guest appearance. Just like with our previous demos, this one will be made in 100 cassette copies only. If there is a demand, then maybe we will release it/them digitally, but as for now, that is not the plan. We'd like to pay tribute to old school tape trading, and digital simply isn't a very cool but rather boring format.

Nyctophilia will be released on October 15. If there is an interest, then be free to send my a message. I cannot guarantee that any copies will be left, however.

September 2015: The new LAST.FM sucks!

Hello everyone.

I don't know how many of you use Last.fm or have used it in the past, but I've been a member since late 2007. I have a lot of scrobbles (played tracks) on there. I dropped out of school at 16 and was sittin' around at home for a few years and didn't really have anything better to do, than to listen to my music. I found out about Last.fm in late 2007 and I liked the idea of it being like a social media network for music.

The years passed by and I've been an almost daily user since my registration. The site has done a few minor facelifts over the years, which the site benefited from more rather than was hurt by. However, as some of you might now, Last.fm has done a total remake of their whole website, and let me tell you, it is not for the better!

I don't know if I am alone in thinking this on the Internet, I know my friends think the same as me, but social media sites like Facebook has really played out its games these days. I mean, sure, people still have Facebook accounts, but none are really active on there anymore. Why? Because it's sterile, it's old, it's boring, it's out. Times pass by, and change with it. We've had different social media sites throughout the last 15 years. In Sweden we had all kinds of shit where old dudes hit on teenage girls, then we got MySpace which totally died out, then we got Facebook, which also is dead these days.

Last.fm's new website design feels very uninspired. It has taken a lot of influence from Facebook and the Windows 8 system, and that is just a bad idea. I mean, everybody know the demise of Facebook is at large. It has been a dying social media platform for a few years now. As I said before, people I know still have accounts, but none are active anymore - it's dead, pointless. This fact seems to have passed by the Last.fm staff completely.

This modern and minimalistic style present on the newer Windows systems, and ever-present on Facebook, are already dated as it hits the consumers. It looks cheap, boring and childish. I mean, it's not like Apple which always have had a classy minimalism to their design. This is the children's daycare colorful-styled shit they design everything in.

 If we put aside the new website design, Facebook and all that shit for now, and instead focus on the actual website content, well then I've got more complaints. First off, the whole personal touch to the personal profile pages are completely gone. What made Last.fm so good and fun to be a part of was the HTML-customization everybody could have. Now everybody's personal profiles all look the same (and sterile). They totally terminated all point in even being able to visit each others profiles, apart from the scrobbles.

If we can't have a nice profile page, and meet other people who put forth their own styles and favorite bands, well then it takes away all the fun of even trying to start a conversation. The scrobbles are no fun to have either, as you don't have a nice profile to go with it.

On top of it all, they have also destroyed the search engine and band profiles, as well. I mean, just everything about the new Last.fm is destroyed or gone. There no longer any need of having it, it's not pleasant or practical to use it for finding new people or music.

Last.fm made a very poor choice by redesigning their website to this. I have not seen one single user who's happy about the new design. The opposite, in fact. Users rage on them and are all saying "R.I.P." and they they're leaving if the new design sticks around. I cannot say that I personally don't agree with them all.

R.I.P. Last.fm (...?)

My Favorite OZZY OSBOURNE Albums From 1 to 10

Yo everybody, 'zup? It's been a while, since last year actually oh HA HA... I suck at this.

... Anyway, I'm in quite some Ozzy period right now. Ozzy Osbourne is the Godfather of heavy metal. Everybody knows that for a fact. What people don't know is that he's kind of my Godfather as well. See, it was Ozzy who got me into metal. It was back in 2002 when I heard a couple of tracks that I really fell in love with his music. The two songs in particular that caught my attention was "Bark at the Moon" and "Hellraiser" (especially). Believe it or not, but "Crazy Train" was a song I actually was never too fond of. I always thought of it as highly overrated, you know? I never liked the poppy gallop-y verse riff. It's grown on me over the 13 years that I've listened to Ozzy, but I still roll my eyes a little bit every time I hear its verse. The chorus is cool, though!

I'm not gonna count compilations, singles, EPs, live albums or the cover album "Under Cover" on this list. Official studio albums only. Anyway, let's list this (good) shite!


10. Down To Earth (2001)

On tenth and last place is this sucker. This is very much not the Ozzman's (or Zakk Wylde's, for that matter) best effort to date. Actually, I think this is the opposite. It's by no means a bad album, but it's just somewhat dull and weak compared to Ozzy's other albums. Especially the older ones. What really makes this album one of his weaker is the repetitive and occasionally uninspired-like material, accompanied with a very muddy, stiff and boring production. It just sounds lifeless and none of the band members really get to shine here. There are, however, a few cool tunes here like "Gets Me Through", "No Easy Way Out", "That I Never Had" and "Alive". Of course "Dreamer" is quite nice, too. I don't listen to it very often, though. I also dig the B-side "Black Skies" from this album. That one should've replaced any of the unmentioned tracks, because the remaining album sounds very much like filler material.

09. Scream (2010)

Well, it wasn't too long ago since this came out. Or, yeah, it's almost five years so I guess it's quite some time, but I remember it like a month ago. Zakk Wylde had been let-go of and replacing him was the supposed power metal guru Gus G. (I never heard any of his other work). Ozzy wanted to change his sound away from Zakk's own band Black Label Society, and I can respect that. However, fans all over the world were quite disappointed with the result of this album - there's pretty much no musical difference to this album or any of the more recent Ozzy albums with Zakk (or BLS). This sounds like it's written by/with Zakk, and played by him as well apart from the many missing squeals. However, that was not the only disappointment with this album - the fans also thought it was pretty bad. I for one actually kinda like(d) this album a lot. It's certainly not bad, but once again not nearly Ozzy's best album. It's got a flow going, no fillers, no particular killers either, but a fine line of average to good quality tunes (for Ozzy's standard) throughout. One still standing disappointed for me, however, is Gus G. - I expected more from him after all the fuzz and Ozzy's wishes to change the sound. He's the most boring and characterless of Ozzy's guitarists to appear on an Ozzy album. Ozzy should've gotten Jake E. Lee back, or just as well kept Zakkie.

08. Black Rain (2007)

And here it is: the most perfect example of how unnecessary the trade from Zakk to Gus G. actually was. This album and Scream pretty much sound like brothers to me, musically. I guess I would say that this is somewhat darker and more swinging due to Zakk's squeals and overall more aggressive guitar playing. I think these songs are also slightly better then those on Scream, but to be quite honest: it was hard chosing which one of them to get this spot - they're pretty much at the exact same rate. What this album has most in its favor is its B-sides. The B-sides from this album are the best, in my opinion, from any Ozzy album. The song "Nightmare" is simply amazing and should've been on the regular version, no doubt. I don't know why it isn't, but it's one of my absolute favorite modern-era Ozzy tracks. This album has got some neat rockers overall, and the "fillers" are actually quite overlooked tunes by fans if you ask me. This is a good album. Ozzy looks awful on the album cover, though, but I like the title and concept of it.

07. Ozzmosis (1995)

I know what y'all probably thinking right now. Something like, "yeah, of course...", and yeah, maybe you're right. I'm the typical Ozzy fan, favoring all of his old albums before his newer stuff. I let the music speak for itself there. This album, however, is a real fan-base splitter. Some people tend to really (almost hate this and) place it last of all Ozzy albums, while some enjoy it a whole lot more, maybe even holding it rather close to their hearts. I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't think Ozzy has succeeded this album with any of his albums since Ozzmosis, but it's his worst up album until that point. It's also been a grower on me, for sure. What's perhaps hard about embracing this album, today, is it's very dated 90's feel and sound. Apparently this was a record company-controlled album in many ways where they wanted Ozzy to sound like Soundgarden at the time, while Ozzy had started off with this album as more of a "continuation" of No More Tears. That was a bad but ultimately interesting idea by the RC, I think. This is unarguably Ozzy's most experimental work and it's kind of interesting in that way, but it falls a bit short on delivering the real goods. My faves are "Thunder Underground", "See You On The Other Side" and "Tomorrow".

06. Bark At The Moon (1983)

This is perhaps Ozzy's most overrated albums ever. I will leave that up to debate with the next album on this list, but they together are his most overrated albums, no doubt. Anyway, this album is still a classic and important piece of 80's heavy ... metal, and a bunch of other stuff. Yes, that is the problem here - this album hasn't really got a red thread holding the material together. This album is not really experimental in that sense, but it's "all over" the place. I mean, we have some true heavy metal thunderstrucks like the classic title track and "Rock 'n' Roll Rebel", while we've got some weird attempts at keyboard-oriented gothic 80's metal in the otherwise cool and overlooked track "Waiting For Darkness". "Slow Down" is somewhere towards an AOR sound with it's silly-sounding chorus and, well... I don't know. It's all over the place. It goes into ballad territory as well, of course, with the excellent "You're No Different" and the instead awful grandma-loves-this-tune "So Tired". It's not a bad album, just not very solid either. There is one great thing about this album, though - the then-new guitarist Jake E. Lee, whose work with Ozzy I really like. Underrated and overlooked guy that not too many people, sadly, seem to remember or talk about.

05. Blizzard Of Ozz (1980)

Maybe this is more likely to be Ozzy's most overrated album, or maybe it isn't at all. I know many people love it and praise it, and so do I in many ways as well, particularly the talent of Randy Rhoads. The reason that this album isn't really my favorite, however, is the musical quality delivered here. What I can never understand with the praising of this album is how people tend to completely forget rather bland tracks like especially "No Bone Movies" and pretty much "Steal Away (The Night)", too. Those two tracks certainly don't help this album become a flawless masterpiece, even less Ozzy's best moment. Apart from that, there isn't much to discuss about this album. It's got Ozzy's most recognized tune "Crazy Train" and the fan favorite "Mr. Crowley", which is my favorite off this album as well. Randy Rhoads guitar work also stands the test of time - I love his playing - his tone, squeals, solos, classical overtones, and riffs. This is a very good album, without a doubt.

04. No More Tears (1991)

Times were a-changin' in the early 90's within the Ozzcamp, but maybe not really that different? This album is one of those critically acclaimed and fan favorited Ozzy albums, and I do see why. It was most likely very fresh in its time and packed with great tunes. It was the second album where Zakk Wylde handled the guitar duties and my guess is that he had more (of southern rock) input this time around. It's a very dynamic record, going from rockers to ballad-esque tracks to real heavy metal. What I really dig about this record is its variety and how it manages to still sound like an 80's Ozzy album, but with that early 90's attitude, feel and touch to it. Think maybe Ozzy's early solo stuff combined with early Alice in Chains and stuff. It was a winning concept nonetheless, as Ozzy was the only one, together with Metallica and (the) Red Hot Chili Peppers, amongst the 80's artists/bands who managed to remain successful and go multi-platinum in the new decade. But at the end of the day, I still miss something in this album. It hasn't got that special mystique that some of Ozzy's older albums have, or material quite up-to-par. Whatever this album has and hasn't got, it still is a quite unique Ozzy album as none of of his other stuff sounds like this one. And what else can I say? No other than Lemmy co-wrote four songs on this album, and like the best ones at that. This is an album that ages very nicely, and some of my absolute fave Ozzy tunes is on here: the title track, "Hellraiser", "Desire" and "Mama, I'm Coming Home". A very balanced, perfect all-around sounding middle-era album that combines the best of two worlds: what Ozzy did in the 80's and what he would later do up till this day.

03. The Ultimate Sin (1986)

One of Ozzy's more complicated albums, The Ultimate Sin has ever since it came out in '86 divided fans opinions all over the place, I believe. There seems to be a constant debate about where this album actually lies quality-wise. I wouldn't go on to call it underrated, overrated or misunderstood really, because most people seem to have given it a listen at some point at least. What I can feel about it, however, is that it's perhaps "wrongly accused". Some people bash this for being a sell-out album by Ozzy, which I can understand in one perspective - as it being a glam metal album released in the heydays of glam metal, but in any other perspectives, I cannot understand it. Ultimately I don't think it is an overly commercial album. I think it's still a bit too heavy compared to Mötley Crüe or Ratt, which were big glam acts at the time, and I still think it has more metal elements than those bands. It also sold "only" two million copies in the US, not really a too large amount compared to other glam metal bands. Some people also tend to think the material on this is simply weak, with no actual hits or memorable tunes present. I oppose them all. I think these songs are all great, even the ones generally considered "filler" (for instance - "Fool Like You", "Never") which are among my very favorites. It also spawns a few fan favorites, besides the obvious hit and classic "Shot In The Dark", which are the great "Secret Loser" and "Killer Of Giants". But what I think I dig the most about this album is the guitar playing by Jake E. Lee. The album cover is also my favorite one among Ozzy's albums.

02. No Rest For The Wicked (1988)

"What album did you say?", yes? This is like a mighty pearl thrown to the swines - a forgotten, totally underrated and overlooked heavy metal album. This truly is the one and only Ozzy album I can truly considered underrated and overlooked. Despite selling two million copies in the US alone, people seem to have genuinely forgot all about this one. Perhaps it's because it totally lacks anything called a "hit single", but perhaps it's just peoples ignorance as well. What this album is probably most (and sadly, only) remembered for is that it was the first album featuring a very young Zakk Wylde, and you can immediately recognize him and his style. This is very much a pure heavy metal album - a very dark and heavy one at that. I mean, in my opinion, this is without a doubt Ozzy's heaviest and darkest album ever. There is an eerie and sinister feeling throughout the album, with Zakk Wylde-ified Black Sabbath-y riffing and pentatonic scales all over. He just plays with an intense hunger and energy, and he sure had got the chops already at that early age. Ozzy's drummer at the time, the late Randy Castillo, also really shines on this one. To me, this album is the best Ozzalbum drum-wise. I really appreciate this album as a whole without really trying to pick any favorites, but I would totally call "Breakin' All The Rules", "Miracle Man", "Bloodbath In Paradise" and the epic ballad-esque track "Fire In The Sky" classics in Ozzy's catalogue. The Japanese bonus track "The Liar" is also when of Ozzy's better (piano) ballads to my ears.

01. Diary Of A Madman (1981)

Maybe this was a bit foreseen and obvious of a choice, but one cannot deny the greatness and epicness of this true masterpiece. This album is totally something purely outstanding that Ozzy had never done before, or would do again. It's just something that was done right at the perfect time. This album has been closest to my heart out of all albums featuring Ozzy (inc. the Sabbath catalogue).
   There is something dark and strange going on behind the musical curtains that you cannot quite see or understand, you can only hear it being present through these tracks. I don't know much about the recording of this album, but I wouldn't be surprised if they recorded parts of it, or at least composed/rehearsed these tracks, in a haunted or possessed place. The album's magnificence is largely because of the guitar work by the late, great Randy Rhoads. I just truly believe Ozzy did find the ultimate musician in him, because his playing rules this album, and you do understand the fuzz and legend about him when you hear this album.
   I don't think you can compare this and Blizzard Of Ozz. It's two similar records but yet so different from each other. That one is really more of a "basic" album made of album tracks and hits, I'd say, while this is very epic and more complex. This is where Randy really pushed his creative boundaries, which is most notable in the amazing title track, which ends this masterpiece just perfectly.
   Believe me, I cannot express in words what this album is for me. It's like a journey you have to join yourself in order to understand, but that is certainly something that can't quite be said about any of the other Ozzy albums. This is one the one, the magnum opus, the flawless masterpiece.

My Top-10 Black Metal Albums Of All Time

It's time for my top-10 list of black metal albums. I just have to confess a few things: it wasn't a long time ago since I really got into black metal. It was like in the summer of 2013 that I really started listening to the genre. I have listened to a few bands, mostly (the true) Mayhem since 2007 and Bathory since 2006. I am also fully aware of the metal elitism in black metal, with people seriously being trve and all that. I'm pretty sure I am not. I am open-minded. I also listen to more modern black metal rather than old, which I suppose is "gay" and all that as well. What I do dig the most with black metal is it's primitive music and lyrical content. As a Luciferian, critic and opposer to religion, I find much relevance in black metal's common lyrical content. Anyway, here is my list:


#10: Ondskapt - Arisen From The Ashes (2010)

Ondskapt is a Swedish black metal band that I guess have some ties with Watain. They record their stuff in the same studio (Necromorbus) and the sound is therefore pretty similar, both musically and sonically. I don't really have much to say about this album to sum it up rightfully, but I have listened to it a lot because I really dig the Necromorbus sound. With that said, this is not to be taken as a Watain clone, they're not. They are a similar band, and a very good band at that.

#9: Immortal - All Shall Fall (2009)

The only Norwegian black metal band that made my list. I don't dislike their black, they're were responsible for pretty much all the classic black metal in the 90's, but I just find myself more rooted in the Swedish, more melodic stuff. But if there is one, apart from Darkthrone, that should've had battled for this list, it's Immortal. What I really like about them is this album. How they after so many years and albums just put out this one, and it's so damn good. I think they're the Norwegian black metal equivalent to the Swedish death metallers Unleased - they just get better as they age. Most of the Norwegian band also lost much of their original black metal sound - Darkthrone is essentially a viking metal band today, Mayhem is too experimental, and Satyricon blows today. Immortal still sounds black metal in my ears, and some damn good black metal at that.

#8: Chaos Invocation - Black Mirror Hours (2013)

This band is quite unknown I think. They're a German band that play a great style of black metal with lots of almost gothic guitar harmonies and stuff. While maybe not anything groundbreaking, this album really is a very solid listen. There's a certain evil within this record, especially in the vocals, that really makes for a hateful atmosphere when you need it. I would probably describe this album as: what the album cover shows you, stylistically, is what you will hear. It's great!

#7: Valkyrja - Contamination (2010)

Another Swedish band that records in the infamous Necromorbus studios like so many modern death metal bands. Valkyrja to me seems to be a band that is getting ignored by many people for sounding too much like fellow Swedish black metal masters Watain. I can hear why that is, and at times it's possibly even a little too obvious, but at the same time they're more progressive to my ears. While Watain sounds very much like a 80's black metal band, Valkyrja strike me as more laid to complex rhythms and time-signatures, that kind of stuff. They have lots of cool drumming and riffing going on, and the production is fucking sweet.

#6: Inferno - Omniabsence Filled By His Greatness (2013)

I don't know much about this band or their music, really. This album is not quite the regular black metal album. This one is...experimental, I guess you could say, in some ways. It's got lengthy tunes with lots of black metal-progressive parts and fills. Don't let this scare you away, though. This album has got a very nice melancholic, depressing and evil sound-scape going on throughout. It's not the kind of album that I would put on whenever, but really when I'm in the mood for some really atmospheric stuff. I really like this album a lot.

#5: Raise Hell - Holy Target (1998)

A late 90's band from Sweden that went by pretty unnoticed, I believe? I could imagine why as well. After this album they changed their sound to more of a straight, simple and quite boring thrash sound (Swedes can't do good thrash. Death metal is our excellency!). This album, however, is very much a black metal album very much in the same vein as fellow, by then split-up, Swedes Dissection. Now this can come off as a second-rate "rip-off" of Dissection, and maybe it is, but it still some fucking neat second-rate shit in any case. What I particularly like about this album is its sweet riffs and melancholic melodies. I guess that this album, if you haven't heard it, would sure please fans of Dissection, Unanimated and Watain.

#4: Samael - Ceremony Of Opposites (1994)

This album is the first on any of my lists made so far that really isn't my favorite album by the band, since Samael so drastically changed their musical style after this album, I cannot really choose my favorite album of theirs. That'll have to wait for the industrial metal top-10 list. But still album, Samael's last pure full-length black metal album, is a classic of the genre. I'm not a too big fan of Samael's early doom-y, Celtic Frost influenced black metal albums, but it was with this one that they really got their own thing going. A dark, sinister metal album with quite a unique metal sound, as Samael always have been - a unique band, and Vorph's evil vocals just makes the band perfect. I imagine this album would probably please most of the black metal fans out there. It's a great album!

#3: Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark (1986)

Most likely, without a question, the most trve black metal album on this list. I see most fans of the mighty Bathory either favoring the debut, "Blood, Fire, Death", or the viking metal-era. I for one really favor this album. It's very raw, primitive, dark, brutal and with an amazing set of tunes. It's simply a classic metal album. What's also to keep in mind about this album is when it was released, which was in 1986. That was the year when thrash classics like Slayer's "Reign In Blood" and Kreator's "Pleasure To Kill" came out, and everyone thought it was the most bad-ass, brutal albums ever. They apparently didn't hear this one that year, or had heard any of the older Bathory material for that matter. For the time being released, this album is very much a truly extreme metal album. It would only take a fool to deny that.

#2: Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane (1995)

Sweden's Dissection is one of the most appreciated black metal bands of all time. Maybe that is because they're just as accepted with the (melodic, particularly) death metal fans as well. After releasing their excellent debut "The Somberlain", which honestly could've been their best as well, Dissection released this legendary album. Sounding heavily influenced by my all-time favorite death metal band Dismember, this stuff is bound to catch my attention. The have majestic melodies, sinister riffs, and blasting drums of hell that just perfectly creates this evil, Satanic, melancholic, cold atmosphere that I just love about black metal. Trve perfection.

#1: Watain - Lawless Darkness (2010)

And the King on the hill, the Lords of the lawless darkness - Watain. Not the first black metal band that I discovered, but the one that really got me into it. What I really dig about this album, and the band as a whole, is their creativity and quality music. I truly find very record of theirs to be a masterpiece, and everyone is also different from each other. I also like how they do not only sound raw, brutal and primitive, but with a great sence of melancholic, 80's heavy metal inspired melody. They sound like a mix of first-gen black metal like Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost and particularly Bathory, combined with with the classic 90's stuff like Dissection and Darkthrone. Watain is more than just simple black metal - it's a whole universe of dark entities, black magic, evil and death.