Heavy Metal & Hard Rock thread

[kpic]

Reading the 'Old People thread' and the posts by Stryker & Dark Horse got me thinking that we need an official Heavy Metal thread (we can also add in 'Hard Rock' in here as there may be some crossing-over) - Depending on your age, I suppose some Punk cross-over would apply and though it's not really my thing, the Metal variations like Death\Black Metal and Glam if you like...

My introduction to Heavy Metal was through my older sister who took me to my first concert at some point around 1976 (Alice Cooper), I have no memory of the actual music other than being on peoples shoulders so I could watch (I would have been about 8) but I definitely remember the 'show'!

I got more into the music by 1982\1983 when I discovered Manowar, Judas Priest & Iron Maiden, thinking back I suppose that year (1982-1983) was a huge push for Metal with pivotal albums (yes I had the albums) by those bands, throw in Venom that had some wild Punk-Metal cross-over thing happening called 'Black Metal' and some 'new' sound from a band called Metallica.

Thanks to my sister and her friends I had a wide exposure to concert going, later on I had friends more around my age and more importantly driving age so we were able to hit numerous concerts.

I suppose it was helpful that we were in the central NJ area with so many venues around us...

We had NYC for a long haul if needed; L'Amour, Ritz\Studio54 & MSG (I went to CBGB but not for a concert), but Philly & NJ was our main-stay.

In Philly you had the Spectrum for the big shows, the Tower Theater for the mid-range shows\bands and then clubs like The Empire, Theater of the Living Arts (TLA) on South Street (still open!) and some others that I can't recall.

In NJ it was all clubs; the Satellite club was near us so that was our regular spot, City Gardens was in Trenton so not too far away, it was mostly a Punk club but had Metal there at times as well and though at that time there was a clear spilt from Punk to Metal music I had friends in both camps so I didn't care who I went with and who we saw (though oddly the only real Punk band I can recall seeing live was the Cro-Mags) I can't remember any of the others. The thing about City Gardens is that it was smack deep in an African-American neighborhood, the Metal crowd was a bit more subdued but when going with the Punk crowd, they were definitely more confrontational and I can remember several big fights in the parking lot with the locals, after it was over everyone would just go back to what they were doing and we'd head into the club! Oh yeah there was a club in Asbury Park as well but I can't remember what it was called.

Thinking back when I thought about writing this I went through my head thinking about the shows I've seen and yeah, it's a lot but here are some of my favorite memories;

These would be in no particular order but I suppose these first three are my favorite bands given I've seen them most often;

#1 is Manowar - I saw them for the Fighting the World tour, twice for the Kings of Metal tour and twice for the Triumph of Steel tour, but my best memory is during the KOM tour and in Philly (I think it was the Empire club), me and my friends got there early and on the billboard was 'Man-O-War', we saw a guy outside and told him about how it should just be one word and he thanks us and tells us the band is inside rehearsing why don't you just go in early and hang a bit - didn't have to tell us again - we head in and sure enough they are up on stage rehearsing and just some people milling around, afterwards it was very casual and so we went up and talked to Scott & Ross, they were way cool! Joey and Eric were doing their own thing so I never got to meet them but I was a member of their fan-club and on night Joey and Eric called me out of the blue just to say 'hey' and we talked for about 15 minutes, I told them about that story, they thought it was funny but they said they were more interested if I had any pictures of my girlfriend naked that I could mail them. So that connection there will always keep them #1 to me - As far as them being the 'loudest band in the world', yeah they definitely were in my book, I mean we're talking about 2-3 days after the concerts of just hearing a low hum. Now days when my wife when she tells me that my hearing is going bad, I just remind her how many Metal shows I've been to and five of those were Manowar, so yeah, of course it's bad!

#2 is Iron Maiden - Hearing Number of the Beast & Piece of Mind albums back to back (1982\1983), I mean they were just on another level! I saw them first for Piece of Mind tour, then again for Powerslave (this tour became the Live After Death album), Somewhere in Time, No Prayer for Dying and then there were a few co-headlining tours. These were all at the Spectum as expected for a band of their stature except for the last time I saw them in 2005 (maybe 2006?) was in Camden NJ at the Camden Waterfront.

#3 is Judas Priest - British Steel\POE was ok to me (I didn't like any of their earlier rock stuff) but Screaming for Vengeance was like a hit to the head! I wasn't able to see them on that tour but I did see them for Defenders of the Faith, Turbo (and yes I absolutely loved this album I don't care what anyone said at the time), Ram it Down & Painkiller twice + a later tour they were co-headlining with Alice Cooper. As with Maiden these were all at the Spectrum\NYC (MSG) as expected of a band their stature.

The rest of the bands I've seen & enjoyed (there are some I like and I am probably forgetting a lot I saw and not mentioning as I wasn't really there to see them but they were 'there')

Helloween, Armored Saint, Megadeth, Doro, WASP, Metal Church, King Diamond, The Mentors (uh, absolutely hilarious and totally offensive!), oh yeah GWAR too, though I remember more of the show than of the music

Motorhead - Oddly I likely have seen them a lot as they opened for a lot of the bands I listed.

Metallica - I saw them open - yes open - for Raven on the "Kill Em' All for One" tour in 1983 (I was there to see Raven LOL!) but yeah Metallica were noticeably on another level. Never saw them live again (though I did end up seeing Raven again as an opener at a later concert!), I liked RTL and MOP a lot but the next one (And Justice??) I thought lost a lot of the sound I liked on the earlier stuff.

Slayer - Saw them a few times as opener\mid-cards and though I can't say it's really my taste, I do like a few early songs, I will say the crowd was wild for them and they shred for sure!

Venom - I liked their raw cross-over sound (though probably the least talented group on this list) they were outstanding live though, saw them twice in NYC (the Ritz\Studio 54) and once again later in 1990 in Philly with the revamped band line-up.

Hellion - Regrettably I only saw them once, I suppose as they were more an LA band - but my goodness, not only did I like them musically but Ann Boleyn was a total smoke-show, I'll never forget being right up against the stage looking up at her the whole time as she's singing, that's literally the only thing I remember about that night, I was completely ga-ga over her.

A couple I never saw but really wished I had; Exciter (sad, sad face on this one, though shockingly they still tour occasionally so who knows) & Accept\UDO!

[Buddy Rich]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I don't know that it's as bad as Winger but it's played A LOT more, even still today. And people act like Dr. Feelgood is Crue at their best when I just feel like it's Crue at their WORST.

And yeah, there's some hair metal I still listen to. I love Twisted Sister but again, they were from New York and started in the mid-70's. They also spent a good amount of time in England. They were not at all part of that Sunset Strip thing but just got lumped in, kind of like Ozzy did.

I still like Stryper but honestly, it's because their new stuff over the last 8 years or so is so much better than anything they put out in the 80's. Most of the other bands from that era I can take or leave, unless there is some guitar link - I still listen to Dokken even though it's schlock rock because George Lynch is a ****ing beast.

This is an under-the-radar album full of catchy riffs and great guitar solos, including one of the best, heavier instrumentals ever...



His vocals may be an acquired taste, I dig them..

[alpha_omega]

Wow, some of you guys listen to some hardcore stuff (many of these I don't even know).

How about some BLS for y'all? This is one of my favs.

[alpha_omega]

Originally Posted by AdolfOliverBush

It's bad, but is it "Seventeen" by Winger bad?.....

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I don't know that it's as bad as Winger but it's played A LOT more, even still today......

Not so much "Seventeen" specifically, but I kind of like Winger now (although I didn't back then).
Need a power ballad? They can deliver it.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by alpha_omega

Not so much "Seventeen" specifically, but I kind of like Winger now (although I didn't back then).
Need a power ballad? They can deliver it.

The thing about Winger that differentiates them from many of the other hair band is that, individually, they're actually really talented. Reb Beach is an AMAZING guitarist that just gets overlooked because of the pop shit they released in the late 80's.

[Buddy Rich]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The thing about Winger that differentiates them from many of the other hair band is that, individually, they're actually really talented. Reb Beach is an AMAZING guitarist that just gets overlooked because of the pop shit they released in the late 80's.

Rod Morgenstein's drumming with the Dixie Dregs in the late 70's was awesome.

[htismaqe]

A comparable band might be Europe. Everybody remembers the cheesy keyboards of the Final Countdown but hidden in all of that hair spray and corporatism, John Norum was a legit virtuostic guitarist. Hell, a couple of the original members actually left the band before they hit it big to join Yngwie Malmsteen.

[Buddy Rich]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

A comparable band might be Europe. Everybody remembers the cheesy keyboards of the Final Countdown but hidden in all of that hair spray and corporatism, John Norum was a legit virtuostic guitarist. Hell, a couple of the original members actually left the band before they hit it big to join Yngwie Malmsteen.

One of the better shreds videos

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Buddy Rich

One of the better shreds videos

Exactly.

[AdolfOliverBush]

We've all heard Steel Panther, right?

I'm convinced those guys could've been a top-notch serious band.

[Buddy Rich]

Originally Posted by AdolfOliverBush

We've all heard Steel Panther, right?

I'm convinced those guys could've been a top-notch serious band.

I like them just the way they are.

[AdolfOliverBush]

Originally Posted by Buddy Rich

I like them just the way they are.

Same. The R-rated video for "Glory Hole" kills me.

[alpha_omega]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

...Reb Beach is an AMAZING guitarist that just gets overlooked because of the pop shit they released in the late 80's.

Agreed.

[Buddy Rich]

Originally Posted by AdolfOliverBush

Same. The R-rated video for "Glory Hole" kills me.

It's so, so good.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by alpha_omega

Agreed.

Speaking of Whitesnake...

Reb Beach
Joel Hoekstra
Bernie Marsden
John Sykes
Adrian Vandenberg
Vivian Campbell
Steve Vai
Warren DeMartini
Doug Aldrich

All of those guitarists were in Whitesnake at some point over the life of the band.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Most of the metalheads here know I'm a massive stoner/doom fan.

My absolute favorite bands are Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Dio.

After that, it's stuff like Kyuss/QOTSA, Orange Goblin, Mastodon, The Sword, and High on Fire that gets me going. I love Motorhead. I love Ozzy's solo stuff. I also like a bit of metalcore/deathcore - bands like Phinehas and Impending Doom.

As far as controversial or disputable takes:

Megadeth > Metallica
Sabbath Dio > Sabbath Ozzy

Stoner metal, eh? Me too. NO, not because i'm a stoner....that's just a coincidence.

Some of my favorite Stoner metal tracks & Bands (These kick so much ****ing ass):