United Kingdom Metal & Hard Rock Albums of the 1980s

Headless Cross builds on Tony Iommi’s heavy riffs, joining gothic atmosphere to dramatic melodic writing.

Tough It Out is built around FM’s detailed harmonies and Steve Overland’s soaring voice.

Blue Murder puts John Sykes forward not only as a guitarist but as a frontman shaping his own sound.

Save Yourself is a useful way to hear MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP from a different angle within the 1989 catalogue.

Misspent Youth brings Shy’s strong guitar riffs and rich choruses together with a distinctly British melodic feeling.

Sonic Temple expands the Cult’s dark sense of style into larger, more direct hard rock.

Slip of the Tongue centers David Coverdale’s forceful vocal delivery inside a hard, glossy guitar-driven sound.

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son keeps Iron Maiden’s traditional charge while adding keyboard color and a connected narrative.

Ram It Down puts Judas Priest’s heavy riffing, rapid drumming and Rob Halford’s high voice back at the front.

No Rest for the Wicked sets Ozzy Osbourne’s uneasy, unmistakable voice against Zakk Wylde’s thick riffs and rough guitar attack.

The seventh album, self-produced for Combat Records in America and the first with ex-Pentagram drummer Joe Hasselvander.

The Eternal Idol places Tony Iommi’s heavy guitar at the center while Tony Martin’s soaring voice adds a new dramatic range.

The House of Blue Light puts Ritchie Blackmore’s hard-edged guitar and Jon Lord’s Hammond organ back in direct conversation.

Hysteria layers guitars, lead vocals and choruses until each song carries an enormous hook.

Perfect Timing is a useful way to hear MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP from a different angle within the 1987 catalogue.

The last Raven record for Atlantic, and the last with Rob "Wacko" Hunter on drums. Twelve tracks.

Excess All Areas wraps Shy’s strong vocal ability and melodic sense in bright keyboards and polished guitar sound.

Electric strips away much of the Cult’s earlier ornate atmosphere and places thick riffs and dry beats at the front.

The last studio album of the band's first run, issued by Zebra Records in 1987 as ZEB 10.

Whitesnake surrounds David Coverdale’s bluesy, powerful voice with huge guitar riffs and layered choruses.

Seventh Star keeps Tony Iommi’s heavy guitar at its core while Glenn Hughes’s soulful, soaring voice gives the music a new outline.

Indiscreet combines FM’s smooth AOR melodic sense with the drive of hard rock at an impressively finished level.

Somewhere in Time keeps Iron Maiden’s fast riffs and narrative drive while adding new color through synthesized guitar texture.

Turbo keeps Judas Priest’s twin-guitar sharpness while bringing in brighter guitar-synth texture and larger hooks.

The Ultimate Sin joins Jake E. Lee’s cutting guitar work to Ozzy Osbourne’s uneasy, melancholy vocal character inside a wide 1980s production.

The second Atlantic album, cut at Bearsville with Eddie Kramer producing — and the Raven record John Gallagher is hardest on.

Astra centers John Wetton’s soaring voice and Geoff Downes’s layered keyboards as Asia moves toward a harder, more edged sound.

The Atlantic debut, made after the move to New York, and home to the MTV single "On And On".

Brave the Storm builds polished hard rock around Tony Mills’s soaring high voice and Steve Harris’s melodic guitar.

Love by THE CULT: track list, Spotify player, music videos and English liner notes on METAL BOOST.

A studio album released by Music for Nations in 1985 as MFN 50, and by Roadrunner in Europe. This is the record most often misattributed.

Perfect Strangers reunites Deep Purple’s Mk II lineup and brings the members’ individual strengths back into one powerful sound.

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.

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

Dreamtime gathers post-punk tension, gothic shadow and psychedelic lift into the Cult’s distinctive debut.

Slide It In keeps Whitesnake’s blues-rock pull at its center while giving the band a heavier guitar frame and clearer hard-rock hooks.