Heavy Metal 1980s Albums - Page 3

Saxon's seventh album, released in September 1985. It is their first for EMI and the last with the founding bassist Steve Dawson.

The follow-up to Danger Zone, recorded with Accept guitarist Herman Frank in the line-up.

Hell Awaits keeps Slayer’s speed while moving toward more complex, uneasy song structures.

The second album, released in 1985.

Trouble's second album, out in 1985 and pushed further towards slowness and weight than the debut. It is still named among the classics of doom metal.

Come Out and Play places brighter choruses and theatrical humor over Twisted Sister’s rough metal frame.

A studio album released by Music for Nations in 1985 as MFN 50, and the first the band made without founder Robb Weir. Victor issued the Japanese edition on 21 January 1986 as VDP-1066.

Misdemeanor, released by Chrysalis in November 1985, brought UFO back with a new line-up around Phil Mogg, Atomik Tommy M and Paul Gray.

The Last Command keeps W.A.S.P.’s provocative momentum while bringing larger melody and drama into the songs.

Down for the Count keeps Y&T’s blues-rooted hard-rock feel while bringing in brighter melodies and keyboard color.

Marching Out connects Yngwie Malmsteen’s classical-harmony sense and rapid phrases to a more aggressive heavy-metal attack.

Fistful of Metal is Anthrax’s raw debut, linking the steel of the NWOBHM with hardcore-bred speed.

Dio's second album, recorded at Caribou Ranch in Colorado and released on 2 July 1984, was the band's first record certified platinum in the US.

Tooth and Nail brings Dokken’s catchy vocal melodies and virtuosic guitar into a single, natural hard-rock statement.

Night on Bröcken is Fates Warning’s debut, built on traditional metal after Iron Maiden but already adding darker storytelling and a more complex atmosphere.

Powerslave is one of the records where Iron Maiden most naturally joins fast metal, dramatic development and historical subject matter.

Defenders of the Faith packs the core vocabulary of heavy metal into an exceptionally focused record.

Disillusion is the fourth Loudness album, released on 21 January 1984. It was recorded, mixed and mastered in London in 1983, with Julian Mendelsohn — an engineer whose previous credits included Yes and Elton John — at the desk.

Mercyful Fate's second album, recorded at Easy Sound Recording in Copenhagen in May 1984 and released by Roadrunner Records on 7 September that year.

Metal Church is a debut that joins the weight of traditional metal to the aggression of thrash.

Ride the Lightning takes the raw speed of Metallica’s debut as a starting point and rapidly expands its structure, melody and emotional range.

The first full album after signing to CBS, opening on a passage from Carmina Burana.

The Warning is Queensrÿche’s debut, adding complex arrangement and a fantasy-lit atmosphere to the force of traditional heavy metal.

The double live album that closed the Neat years, its sleeve boasting that the record carries no overdubs.

Saint Vitus's debut, cut live in the studio over two nights in 1982 at Total Access in Redondo Beach, California, and held back nearly two years by a lawsuit before SST released it in 1984.

Savatage's 1984 EP on Par Records: six songs from the same Morrisound session as Sirens, and their last release before moving to Atlantic.

Saxon's sixth album, released on 30 January 1984 and reaching eighteen in Britain. Recorded at Sound City in California, it steps away from the sound they had made their own.

Love at First Sting joins the aggression Scorpions had refined for years to melody in its brightest form.

SINNER's first album for Noise Records, and the start of the run that placed the band in the first wave of German metal.

The band's 1984 debut.

Trouble's debut, recorded at Track Record Studios in Los Angeles in February 1984 and released by Metal Blade that March. It was originally titled simply Trouble.

Stay Hungry brings together Twisted Sister’s streetwise energy, theatrical flair and choruses made for everyone to sing.

1984 keeps Eddie Van Halen’s guitar revolution intact while bringing keyboards to the front and widening the band’s reach.

W.A.S.P. turns Blackie Lawless’s rough vocal attack and thick riffs into a debut that makes the band’s extreme stage image work as music, too.

In Rock We Trust naturally joins Y&T’s bluesy guitar instinct to the larger choruses of 1980s hard rock.

Rising Force turns Yngwie Malmsteen’s devotion to baroque music and overwhelming guitar technique into heavy-metal momentum.

Balls to the Wall layers thick guitar riffs, Udo Dirkschneider’s rough voice and marching rhythm into a forceful Accept statement.

Born Again sets Tony Iommi’s sinking, heavy riffs against Ian Gillan’s rough, high vocal attack.

Dio's debut album, recorded at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles and released on 25 May 1983, was later certified double platinum in the US.

Breaking the Chains establishes Dokken’s basic shape through Don Dokken’s soaring voice and George Lynch’s cutting guitar.

Piece of Mind joins racing riffs, carefully built rhythm and Bruce Dickinson’s powerful vocal into a confident Iron Maiden statement.

The Law of Devil's Land is the third Loudness album, released by Nippon Columbia on 21 January 1983 and later distributed in Europe by Roadrunner Records. That July the band played its first shows on the US west coast and in Europe.

Kill ’Em All throws together speed-metal momentum, punk urgency and riff instincts shaped by the NWOBHM.

Built to Destroy centers on Michael Schenker’s flowing guitar phrases, joining lyrical color to straight-ahead hard rock.

Another Perfect Day, released in 1983, is the only Motörhead album played by Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy. Official videos exist for "I Got Mine", "Shine" and "One Track Mind".

Bark at the Moon by OZZY OSBOURNE: track list, Spotify player, music videos and English liner notes on METAL BOOST.

Bent Out of Shape brings Joe Lynn Turner’s open vocal and Ritchie Blackmore’s sharp guitar into more polished songwriting.

The third album, co-produced by Michael Wagener and Accept's Udo Dirkschneider, and home to the song "Athletic Rock".

Born in America centers on hard guitar riffs, direct rhythm and Rhett Forrester’s forceful vocal, delivering heavy metal with plainspoken conviction.

Savatage's debut, released on Florida's Par Records in April 1983, just after the band changed its name from Avatar; recorded at Morrisound in Tampa.

Saxon's fifth album, from March 1983. It is the first with Nigel Glockler on drums and their best-selling record, over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

The second album, released by Scratch Records in the period before the band moved to Noise.