1979 Metal & Hard Rock Albums

Saxon's first album, released by Carrere in May 1979 under a name the band had taken only the year before. It is the record of a group still finding the sound it would define a year later.

Recorded in 1975 and 1976, On Parole should have been Motörhead's first album. The label shelved it, and it did not appear until November 1979, by which time the band were established.

Bomber, released by Bronze in October 1979, was the band's second album of that year and reached No. 12 in the UK. Official videos exist for the title track, "Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Poison".

Motörhead's second album, released by Bronze in March 1979 and a UK No. 24. Lars Ulrich of Metallica has named the double bass drums on its title track as what made him want to play that way.

Highway to Hell turns AC/DC’s stripped-down rock-and-roll language into a statement with global scale.

Accept presents the raw, heated blueprint of the hard-edged heavy metal the band would later refine.

Night in the Ruts puts Aerosmith’s blues-rooted grit, street-level swagger and raw nervous energy in the foreground.

Head Games finds Foreigner preserving its gift for polished melody while pushing further into hard, muscular arena rock.

Evolution keeps Journey’s hard-rock momentum while moving toward larger, more open melodies and choruses.

Dynasty keeps the central pleasures of Kiss intact—big hooks, solid rhythm, memorable guitar figures and a taste for theatrical release—while letting disco…

In Through the Out Door, Led Zeppelin's eighth album, turns from guitar-led hard rock to a broader palette of keyboards and deep grooves.

Down to Earth channels Rainbow’s sharp hard-rock attack and dramatic instincts into songs that arrive more directly and immediately.

Narita joins direct riffs, sharp twin guitars and Guy Speranza’s high, urgent voice in an early Riot statement.

Street Machine finds Sammy Hagar with guitar in hand, joining direct rock-and-roll drive to his high, open vocal power.

Lovedrive brings Scorpions’ cutting riffs, wistful melodic sense and dramatic vocal character into an especially focused hard-rock statement.

Black Rose: A Rock Legend joins Thin Lizzy’s hard-rock power, Irish feeling and narrative gift with unusual naturalness.

Hydra shows Toto using exceptional instrumental command not as an end in itself, but as a way to create distinct colors and stories from song to song.

Van Halen II keeps the explosive charge of the debut while placing more open melodies, lighter hooks and a buoyant party spirit at the center.

Lovehunter, WHITESNAKE's second album, centers on the blues, David Coverdale's soulful voice and the twin guitars of Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden.