The Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums of All Time
Reviewed. Rated. Ranked.
150 - 101
150. MC5 - High Time (1971)
Mark: The beating heart of Motown’s rock scene, MC5’s star burned spectacularly bright and spectacularly short. In this, their final album, they pick up where they left off: songs bursting with polarising social commentary. But boy, this rocked!
Richard: A huge melting pot of styles and so much thrown in to every track, but superbly arranged so it doesn't feel clogged-up. A must-listen because you don't know where it's going to go next. High Time has it all.
Steve: The journey from a nun "who don't give a damn about revolution" to a crescendo of out-of-tune horns is fun and frantic, in the capable hands of Rob Tyner, whose voice of protest is as relevant now as half a century back.
Top Rated Tracks: Gotta Keep Movin’, Sister Anne, Over and Over
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.20417
149. Doro - Force Majeure (1989)
Mark: With the rights to the Warlock name tied up in litigation, the Queen of Metal strikes out under own moniker and proves, one crushing riff or soulful ballad at a time, why the Warlock brand was always immaterial to her upward trajectory.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Save My Soul, World Gone Wild, Beyond the Trees
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.25000
148. Judas Priest - Stained Class (1978)
Mark: A couple of years short of the sound-defining British Steel, there’s much to admire on an album that came to wider public attention for all the wrong reasons - but only if you can endure Halford’s shriller-than-usual vocal histrionics.
Richard: Priest start to redefine metal and lay the foundations for NWOBM. Better By You drew the undeserved attention but classics like Exciter and Beyond The Realms of Death best sum up Priest’s shift to another gear.
Steve: An album forever unfairly tainted because of a court case which should never have happened, a sour footnote to a piece of work which continued Priest's progression. The first speed metal album? Discuss.
Top Rated Tracks: Beyond the Realms of Death, Exciter, Heroes End
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.27037
147. Bloodrock - Bloodrock (1970)
Mark: A small gem from the year when heavy rock was born. In the early 90s this would doubtless have been labelled ‘stoner rock’, but it’s much, much, much more interesting than that as it juggles heavy grooves with myriad jazz and funk styles
Richard: Such variety in this debut in a time when bands had real creative freedom and used it! Some very enjoyable tracks with real groove and great musicianship. Really worth a listen.
Steve: Long before the days of chillaxing, these Texan redneck rockers took us into another timezone completely with this most hypnotic of offerings. A fusion of good things; to be enjoyed with a spliff.
Top Rated Tracks: Timepiece, Gotta Find a Way, Fatback
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.27037
146. Europe - Wings Of Tomorrow (1984)
Mark: In 1986 The Final Countdown would catapult Europe to superstardom and about as far from this as it’s possible to get. In truth, this is fairly ordinary mid-80s metal fare; but it’ll blow your mind if the cheesefest that followed is all you know.
Richard: The album that got them noticed before they became massive. A few glimpses of quality, but many very average moments too.
Steve: Stormwind, Lyin' Eyes and the title track are heavyweight highlights from a band making their name with a fascinating palate of Euro rock which in no way hints at what was about to come.
Top Rated Tracks: Scream of Anger, Treated Bad Again, Wings of Tomorrow
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.27667
145. Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick At Budokan (1978)
Mark: The live album that finally brought Cheap Trick commercial success is a riotous romp through their superior brand of melodic pop metal, all against the backdrop of several thousand Japanese girls going absolutely batshit. Fabulous stuff.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Need Your Love, Surrender, I Want You to Want Me
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.29000
144. Dio - Holy Diver (1983)
Mark: The signature tracks of Holy Diver and Rainbow in the Dark aside, rose-hued nostalgia has managed to successfully obscure an uncomfortable truth: quite simply, this is not as good as many of us once thought it was.
Richard: I still think this still cuts the mustard and was a great ‘solo’ debut from the little wizard. And make sure you heed RJD's advice and Don't Talk to Strangers!
Steve: Dio disciples were in heaven when he unveiled his first solo slab of vinyl and are still lauding it. Its downfall is that it will always be compared to what he did in previous lives - and to that end it remains a modest affair.
Top Rated Tracks: Rainbow in the Dark, Holy Diver, Stand Up and Shout
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.29259
143. AC/DC - Flick Of The Switch (1983)
Mark: Much maligned at the time of its release, but an album that deserves greater acclaim in retrospect than it has received. Fans are split, and it certainly doesn’t scale the heights of the band’s previous catalogue. But there are some stellar moments.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Bedlam in Belgium, Nervous Shakedown, This House is on Fire
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.29333
142. Living Colour - Time’s Up (1990)
Mark: Fusing jazz, funk, hard rock and reggae, Time’s Up is an album full of invention, social observation, sublime musicianship and a moment-in-time snapshot of a socially-enlightened sub-genre about to stage a palace coup and claim glam rock’s throne.
Richard: No compromise on the second outing from Living Colour. A huge mixture of jazz, funk, reggae and soul glued together by some crunching hard rock, challenging themes, clever lyrics and brilliant musicianship.
Steve: An eclectic fusion of the good, the bad and the downright inexplicable; they can rock, but probably not enough for my liking and there's only so much clever-bollox music any man can endure.
Top Rated Tracks: Type, Someone Like You, The Solace of You
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.29722
141. KISS - Crazy Nights (1987)
Mark: Destroyer it ain’t, but say what you like about KISS, their unerring ability to change their colour to suit their surroundings is supremely effective. This time Simmons, Stanley & co. reinvent themselves as artisans of super-catchy pop metal.
Richard: A few classic KISS moments on this album although one senses that the drive for commercial success was being prioritised over creating quality music.
Steve: Blessed with more cheese than a French menu and just as whiffy. Crazy Crazy Nights and Bruce Kulick's axe-work would take any sad soul to a happy place; the rest reeks of a band standing still creatively.
Top Rated Tracks: I’ll Fight Hell to Hold You, Crazy Crazy Nights, Good Girl Gone Bad
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.32121
140. Baby Tuckoo - Force Majeure (1986)
Mark: An accomplished set of up-tempo British melodic hard rock tunes from a band that deserved more than they ultimately got. Hampered on release perhaps by a slightly outdated NWOBHM sound, the blurring of time has been very kind to it.
Richard: A really pleasant surprise and lots to like on here. A nice blend of some great melodies and real power.
Steve: Blessed with a singer in Rob Armitage whose rock vox got him on Accept's radar, our friends from the north dish up a seriously hooky dollop of post-new wave rock. A hidden gem.
Top Rated Tracks: Rock (Rock), Over You, Falling Star
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.32333
139. Angel Witch - Angel Witch (1980)
Mark: Generally solid song-writing and a compelling brand identity are let down by poor commercial decision-making, lousy production and poor vocals. Essential listening for NWOBHM context-setting, but they deserved much more.
Richard: They deserved to be bigger. Not your usual NWOBHM album, displaying some real variety, great arrangements and real atmosphere.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Angel Witch, Sorceress, Angel of Death
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.33000
138. Foreigner - Foreigner (1977)
Mark: An ultra-safe and horribly insipid release that’s high on saccharine and low on ambition, despite the unquestionable talent in the band. Saved by two monster songs that pretty much sealed its commercial success.
Richard: A great debut and calling card from a band who sounded like they'd been together for years. Tracks like Feels Like the First Time and Cold As Ice are timeless.
Steve: A band forever associated with I Want To Know What Love Is. Thankfully, that isn't on here, nor anything like it, and Foreigner are better for that.
Top Rated Tracks: Feels Like The First Time, Starrider, Woman Oh Woman
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.33000
137. Girlschool - Demolition (1980)
Mark: Full of post-Punk attitude, delivered with a knowing smile and a beer in hand, this remains a timeless classic that epitomises the best of NWOBHM
Richard: This should have been bigger. Great attitude and music throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering Demolition in its entirety.
Steve: It’s hard not to like a bunch of metal rookies enjoying themselves with a playlist of such thundering simplicity. It’s not big, it’s not clever, but it’s bloody enjoyable.
Top Rated Tracks: Nothing to Lose, Demolition, Race With the Devil
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.33666
136. Hanoi Rocks - Two Steps From The Move (1984)
Mark: Were the Rocks too late for the Ramones-esque punk sensibilities that infuse most of these songs? Or too early for the glam scene that might have made them superstars? A riot of out-and-out fun, daubed with mascara and eyeliner.
Richard: An album that should have been bigger. Lots of influences here - glam rock, punk, a bit of prog and even a sprinkle of Chas n Dave. Who knows how Michael Monroe picked up that Nigel Tufnell accent.
Steve: Hanoi Rocks did decent production after a quartet of previous tin-can efforts but the spirit of this glam-punk-rock quintet from Finland wasn’t lost. So much fun, so many good tunes, so many regrets that the end was nigh.
Top Rated Tracks: Underwater World, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Cutting Corners
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.34000
135. Marseille - Touch The Night (1984)
Mark: Released during NWOBHM’s second invasion, Marseille’s third and final album is part misfire and part metal-armoured AOR heaven. Hard to find other than on YouTube, it’s well worth the effort even if 30% of the album falls short.
Richard: Some nice touches and a good mix of AOR and Hard Rock. But lightweight production and a few poor tracks (including an awful title track) meant that this would never be the vehicle to help Marseille break into the big time.
Steve: Any early punkiness is well and truly parked as these earnest Scousers try to bridge the gap from NWOBHM to MTV. A "closet classic" according to Kerrang! on its release; it isn't but it is very listenable.
Top Rated Tracks: Gatecrashin’, Walking on a High Wire, Crazy
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.34034
134. W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children (1989)
Mark: The enfants terrible of heavy metal grow up, musically. Fuelled by Blackie Lawless’s evisceration of the global social and political landscape, some humongous riffs & melodies, and Chris Holmes’s screaming guitar, W.A.S.P. finally come of age.
Richard: Probably their best effort with some really good tracks. Much better songwriting, arrangement and production and proof that Lawless is an accomplished musician. You can tell there was more time and care taken here.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: The Heretic (The Lost Child), The Headless Children, Mean Man
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.35333
133. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine (1993)
Mark: An angry man ranting to music by some extraordinarily good musicians - a fascinating hybrid that will be as essential to some as it is irrelevant to others.
Richard: A wildcard debut from me that brought a few challenges. Stonking riffs and rhythms from Commerford, Wilk and Morello. The energy in this album is immense and it would still be fresh (and as angry) if released today.
Steve: Incessant anarchy is easy to dismiss at my time of life, but that would be to downplay some clever musicianship and a handful of high-class anthems. Eight tracks would have been enough, however, and I’d have said the same in ’92 as well.
Top Rated Tracks: Killing in the Name, Bullet in the Head, Bombtrack, Take the Power Back
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.37666
132. Jethro Tull - Aqualung (1971)
Mark: Often seen as the definitive Tull album, Aqualung is full of inventive storytelling, rolling melodies and, lyrically, social commentary that is in some cases as relevant now as it was then.
Richard: Definitely an album that, given your full attention, will reward you. Wonderful storytelling, good songwriting and great arrangements. Mother Goose is the standout track and although Anderson is sometimes a little over-dramatic, that's what you get with Tull.
Steve: Standing on one leg and playing the flute should earn Ian Anderson a place in the nuthouse rather than a hall of fame, yet only the certified insane would doubt Aqualung’s majesty.
Top Rated Tracks: Mother Goose, Locomotive Breath, Aqualung
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.37778
131. Phantom Blue - Built To Perform (1993)
Mark: A gem of an album comprising endless nut-crunching riffs, earwormy hooklines and, in the late Michelle Meldrum, a lead guitarist gifted enough to give the very best of them a run for their money.
Richard: A wonderful discovery. Meldrum is the Goddess of Guitar. Gigi Hangach is my new favourite female singer. Fantastic hard and melodic rock. It's a shame - they deserved to be massive. And they deserve their music to be on Spotify, Apple, Amazon etc - please sort it out!
Steve: Wow. In a world full of predictability it’s nice to be surprised. How these girls didn’t make it big is a real mystery given the stunning wall of sound they create with this, their second album.
Top Rated Tracks: Time to Run, Better Off Dead, Nothing Good
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.38056
130. Hawkwind - Hall Of The Mountain Grill (1974)
Mark: The godfathers of Space Rock return with another slice of heavy groove in which mad moments comfortingly abound. But you’ll lose your mind - and your resistance - to cuts like The Psychedelic Warlords and You’d Better Believe It.
Richard: A very varied and well constructed album with really broad soundscapes. One to immerse yourself in and get lost.
Steve: Stoner pioneers teaching the newbies a thing or two about dreams, drugs and downright weird. Quite literally a trip down memory lane.
Top Rated Tracks: The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear in Smoke), You’d Better Believe It, D-Rider
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.38148
129. Angel - Angel (1975)
Mark: Early American prog rock featuring the keyboard artistry of a young Greg Guiffra. Angel deliver a suite of well-crafted pomp rock that refuses to be overshadowed by the flared white catsuits that defined the band’s stage wear.
Richard: A real discovery. A brilliant 70s blend of melody, power and complexity. A must-listen.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Long Time, Tower, Sunday Morning
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.38571
128. White Sister - White Sister (1984)
Mark: A debut album that packs a much beefier punch than its keyboard heavy, guitarless and lightweight (though still enjoyable) follow-up. Huge melodies, chuggy riffs and two singers who know how to bring a tune over the line. Just fab.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Love Don’t Make It Right, Whips, Don’t Say That You’re Mine
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.39667
127. Metal Church - The Dark (1986)
Mark: The first side of Metal Church’s sophomore release is probably as near perfect a suite of power metal as you’re likely to hear anywhere. Thereafter, and Burial at Sea apart, it falls off a cliff. Worth owning for the first 4 cuts alone.
Richard: Side two. is well below par, but Side one is one of the best sides of proper Metal you will hear anywhere, which means this must be one to have in your collection.
Steve: Would have had the mother and father of all EPs if they'd stopped at track four and regardless of what follows (which is hot and cold) that opening quartet guarantees this celebrated status.
Top Rated Tracks: Watch the Children Pray, Start the Fire, Method to Your Madness
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.39667
126. Quartz - Quartz (1977)
Mark: A big fat slice of great British heavy rock that owes much to early Sabbath but manages to fuse hefty rifferama with some killer melodies. No great wonder that by ‘79 keyboard player Geoff Nicholls found himself in the Sabbath line-up.
Richard: A must-listen album not only for great tracks like Mainline Rider, but also to guess which bits Tony Iommi stole for Black Sabbath.
Steve: The greatest NWOBHM album you've never heard of (as one reviewer extolled) it certainly ain't, but it's an interesting listen nonetheless.
Top Rated Tracks: Mainline Riders, Sugar Rain, Pleasure Seekers
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.40000
125. Overkill - The Years of Decay (1989)
Mark: Like the bastard offspring of a Big Four orgy narrated by Metal Church's David Wayne, this is a big, big slice of chunky themes, chainsaw riffs and assured musicianship
Richard: Thoroughly enjoyed discovering this. Just lay back and allow yourself to be pummeled to death. The title track is brilliant and Skullkrusher? Well … you can guess what that does to the listener.
Steve: Overkill were thrashing on the East Coast before thrash was invented and while the aural headlock remains brutally intense, prepare for plenty of assured and welcome invention.
Top Rated Tracks: The Years of Decay, Playing With Spiders/Skullkrusher, Time to Kill
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.41481
124. Uriah Heep - Firefly (1977)
Mark: Whilst fans mourned the departure of David Byron, the arrival of John Lawton undeniably adds a new dimension to the band’s musical range. A couple of monumental moments reinvigorate Heep’s signature sound.
Richard: Thought-provoking and soulful - and John Lawton's voice is immediately apparent. Some really strong songs including The Hanging Tree and Been Away Too Long.
Steve: The usual carte blanche for Box and the boys to do what they want and they oblige nicely. John Lawton never sounded better and take a bow Trevor Bolder on bass, underpinning it all with real class.
Top Rated Tracks: Rolling On, Been Away Too Long, The Hanging Tree
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.42083
123. Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)
Mark: Ignore the hype: all three Leppard albums that preceded this overblown and overrated excurison into musical onanism are vastly superior in every way. If you like pop metal of the largely vacuous variety, then this will be right up your strada.
Richard: Commercially huge, but a mixed bag when critically analysed. The production may have seemed modern when the album was released, but now it sounds lifeless and over-layered. That said, the title track, Run Riot and Animal are still epic.
Steve: Seemed to take a lifetime to craft, seems to take as long to listen to, though there is no need to go past the title track. Overthought, overlong and overproduced - but with enough highlights to overcome those negatives.
Top Rated Tracks: Animal, Run Riot, Hysteria
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.43889
122. Deep Purple - Fireball (1971)
Mark: One of the fans’ holy trinity of MkII releases, the missteps testify to the creative friction already at play. Yet the likes of Demon’s Eye and the title track evidence the genius it often created.
Richard: The usual eclectic mix and brilliant musicianship from the Mark 2 line-up, including the invention of proper speed metal with the title track.
Steve: A chart-topping mixed bag from Purple, who never particularly rated an album that might have lacked freshness but was never dull.
Top Rated Tracks: Fireball, Demon’s Eye, Nobody Came
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.45238
121. Testament - The Ritual (1992)
Mark: Solid and dependable with a signature riff that is modified and adapted throughout. It's an album you'll love if you get off on relentless chugging riffs and have low expectations when it comes to deviating from the predictable.
Richard: Why did this album pass me by? A great choice by Mark. Some great grooving, chugging riffs - especially on So Many Lies, which is my highlight on this album. And great ‘lighter’ moments too in Return to Serenity.
Steve: Testament erred from thrash towards straight-down-the-line metal with this release, an album which finds so much pleasure in one riff that it insists on wheeling it out over and over again.
Top Rated Tracks: Return to Serenity, Signs of Chaos/Electric Crown, So Many Lies
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.45300
120. Rock Goddess - Rock Goddess (1983)
Mark: A record full of crunching riffs, hooklines that are so infectious they should come with their own vaccine, and an attitude to match from a hard-working band that delivers the goods both in the studio and on the road.
Richard: A brilliant debut from the then-teenage Wandsworth girls. Vic Maile captured their energy and attitude brilliantly. The songwriting and standard of playing is great. There is quality throughout but Heartache and Start Running are the standout songs.
Steve: Still teens when they recorded this, the Turner sisters display maturity beyond their years and a penchant for rocking that would've made them stand out in an age when girls wanted to be Irene Cara, Tiffany or Cyndi Lauper. But rock chicks just wanna have fun as well and Rock Goddess sure did here.
Top Rated Tracks: Start Running, Heartache, Back to You
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.45758
119. Hardline - Double Eclipse (1992)
Mark: A Neil Schon side project that turns out to be an epic slice of classic hard rock boasting a couple of rifftastic anthems you’d happily die for. Released 5 years earlier, it would have been colossal.
Richard: A good-old proper hard rock romp. Neal Schon let loose his inner guitar god to great effect with superb support from the Gioeli brothers. This album is riff heaven.
Steve: Nelson wannabes Johnny and Joey Gioeli thankfully chose a different path, collected Neal Schon en route, and between them decided we weren't done with the 80s quite yet. And thank the Lord they did.
Top Rated Tracks: Dr Love, Rhythm From a Red Car, Everything
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.45758
118. Queen - News Of The World (1977)
Mark: The album that gave us We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions backs a blistering first half with a flipside that, the sublime It’s Late aside, struggles to impress. That said, Queen on an average day still trumps most bands’ good days.
Richard: Always a joy to listen to and such a variety of styles from calypso to jazz to hard rock, and everything in between. Lovey natural production and Mercury's voice never sounded better.
Steve: Typically eclectic mix from Freddie and the boys with a pair of bona fide charts smashes introducing the usual cocktail of hits and misses.
Top Rated Tracks: We Are the Champions, It’s Late, All Dead, All Dead
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.47273
117. Gillan - Future Shock (1981)
Mark: Post-Purple and pre-Sabbath, Ian Gillan's creativity finds itself unchained. Lyrically and musically spanning the void between humour and ethereal & dark beauty, Future Shock is inconsistent, yet delightful.
Richard: Varied in both style and quality, Gillan explores a load of different roads (and even the odd rue). Good in parts but not so much in others. Nevertheless, worth a good listen or three end-to-end to discover Gillan's eclectic styles and massive sense of humour.
Steve: An album that is fun to listen to and sounds like it was just as much fun to make. Ebbs and flows between dollops of full-on heavy metal to more thoughtful, even tender moments, judged immaculately by one of rock's truly great vocalists.
Top Rated Tracks: For Your Dreams, If I Sing Softly, No Laughing in Heaven
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.47333
116. Blackfoot - Strikes (1979)
Mark: Skynyrd might have been the gate-opening pioneers, but with Strikes Blackfoot took the heart of Southern blues rock and forged it into something magical. The album Skynyrd never managed to make.
Richard: Driving at night with the top down blues rock. A really atmospheric album with some lovely songs that grow on you with every single listen. Highway Song and Left Turn on a Red Light are the standout tracks.
Steve: When you itch for southern blues and you instinctively reach Skynyrd? Give this a spin and indulge instead in a melange of country, blues and rock 'n roll that steams along with a purpose and heart LS never quite achieved.
Top Rated Tracks: Highway Song, Train Train, Left Turn on a Red Light
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.47778
115. Accept - Balls To The Wall (1983)
Mark: Nothing disappoints on Accept's signature album other than the fact it blows its wad right off the bat with the title track and has nothing left that comes close to matching it. A slightly meandering final quarter makes for a sloppy finish.
Richard: The title track is still immense after all these years and still the standout track by a good margin. The rest of the album is packed with fabulous riffs.
Steve: For so long labelled (unfairly) as Germany’s other metal band, Udo and pals were at their absolute finest on Balls, an album that will always be defined by the title track but is so, so much more.
Top Rated Tracks: Balls to the Wall, Losing More Than You Ever Had, Fight It Back
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.48667
114. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
Mark: A year after 7800° Fahrenheit fell on the sword of critical indifference, Jovi returned with the record that lit hair metal’s blue touchpaper. Age has been unkind to it, but it’s still good fun.
Richard: Songs so overplayed that many of us are fed up to the back teeth with them, but there are killer tracks on this album. All that said, side 2 has some howlers that unfortunately point to what the band would become.
Steve: Award-winning stadium rock on a level we'd never seen before from a band who had the world in their hands. However, side one's karaoke killers cannot mask a couple of moments of lame dross on side two.
Top Rated Tracks: Wanted Dead or Alive, You Give Love a Bad Name, Living on a Prayer
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.48667
113. Accept - Russian Roulette (1986)
Mark: A return to Balls To The Wall form after the supposed commercial-step-too-far of the previous year’s Metal Heart. This is stuffed with vintage prime rib metal that’s arguably more consistent than 1983’s fan favourite.
Richard: Classic Accept and an album that many might not know but which deserves a damn good listen. Doesn't quite hit the highs of Balls To The Wall, but is much more consistent, and doesn't have the lows either.
Steve: There's no smoke and mirrors here, just Udo being Udo and that adds up to a Teutonic metal gem, full of honest-to-goodness blood, sweat and riffs.
Top Rated Tracks: Russian Roulette, Stand Tight, Monsterman
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.49000
112. White Spirit - White Spirit (1980)
Mark: Lazily tagged as a NWOBHM act, the one-and-done band that introduced current Maiden guitarist Janick Gers was more progressive than most early 80s metal bands. A few missteps, but the ambition and potential is there for all to see.
Richard: A lesser known but very good slab of 80s NWOBHM. Definitely worth discovering and Midnight Chaser is a belter.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Midnight Chaser, Red Skies, High Upon High
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.49048
111. Motörhead - Ace Of Spades (1980)
Mark: The album that turned Motörhead into a global commercial powerhouse isn't their best, and one or two tracks display echoes of better material on earlier albums; nevertheless, it was the battering ram that bullied Motörhead into the mainstream.
Richard: Even today, an absolute monster of an album. Just put it on, turn it up and allow yourself to be bludgeoned. There’s plenty of swagger and some fantastic grooves here.The Chase Is Better Than the Catch is Motörhead's finest 4 minutes.
Steve: The godfathers of thrash, or a rock ‘n’ roll band? Depends who you listen to – and that’s presuming you can still hear at all after this fun-packed aural assault, which unleashes gems far beyond the title track.
Top Rated Tracks: The Chase Is Better Than The Catch, (We Are The) Roadcrew, Ace of Spades
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.49722
110. Flotsam And Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver (1986)
Mark: An absolutely solid and musically accomplished - if somewhat gauche - debut from a band that have been largely underrated outside their own sphere of support. Over-exuberant giddiness causes the occasional misstep, but enough good stuff here to forgive that.
Richard: Very clear why this is seen as an absolute pioneer for Thrash. Relentlessly fast and immense riffing. And the quality of Jason Newsted's bass playing shines through. Hammerhead and the title track are the highlights for me.
Steve: F&J will always be remembered as the band who gave Metallica Jason Newsted but they were so, so much more. This debut is dazzlingly fast, wonderfully atmospheric, naively simple and the trash-can production only adds to the joy of it all.
Top Rated Tracks: Hammerhead, Doomsday for the Deceiver, She Took an Axe
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.5000
109. Queensrÿche - Rage For Order (1986)
Mark: The sophomore effort from Seattle’s high concept kings lays down a clear marker for what would follow over the next four years (and arguably longer). Complex compositions and an effortless feel for melody and power.
Richard: The album that laid the foundations for their future sound and success and showed fantastic creativity. Great musicianship, power, melody and balance.
Steve: Very glossy slab of arthouse metal from a band who loved to show off and did it very well. A gateway to bigger and better things to come.
Top Rated Tracks: Walk in the Shadows, I Dream in Infrared, Gonna Get Close to You
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.5000
108. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (1975)
Mark: There's no doubting the creative and technical excellence of Led Zeppelin - this offers the best of it for all to hear. But there’s also a good deal of padding. As a single album, this would rival or surpass the towering majesty of IV. As a double, a flabby second half lays bare its shortcomings.
Richard: Recycling older material that didn't make it onto previous albums was a weird decision. There are still some incredible songs on here - Kashmir,Trampled Underfoot - but quite why the pick of the bunch - Houses of the Holy - wasn’t on the album that bears its name is baffling.
Steve: Can you use the phrase ‘mish-mash’ for a Zeppelin album? Well yes, and you certainly can for this opus, a piece of work which has been held up by many as a disc from the gods yet contains mortal flaws and, to paraphrase the band themselves, doesn’t half ramble on.
Top Rated Tracks: Houses of the Holy, Kashmir, Trampled Underfoot
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.50000
107. The Almighty - Soul Destruction (1991)
Mark: Ricky Warwick and co return from 1989’s debut outing Blood, Fire & Love with an equally belligerent but less accomplished release. Too long, and afflicted by schizophrenia, some exquisite moments manage to raise it above the average.
Richard: Explosive power and great grooves. But classics like Free ‘N’ Easy and Bandaged Knees are watered down by too many average tracks in an album which is far too long.
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Bandaged Knees, Crucify, Free ‘N’ Easy
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.50833
106. Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed (1975)
Mark: An album that captures the essence of Barnsley’s finest in full flight. From the breathless Motorcycle Man to yet another defeat for the balcony in the Wheels of Steel call and response, this is Saxon at their best over two nights at Hammersmith.
Richard:
Steve:
Top Rated Tracks: Strong Arm of the Law, (747) Strangers in the Night, Princess of the Night
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.51667
105. Loudness - Lightning Strikes (1986)
Mark: Loudness hit their commercial peak internationally with this power-pop-metal follow up to 85’s Thunder In The East. A treat throughout thanks to the combined swagger of singer Minoru Niihara and god-like guitarist Akira Takasaki.
Richard: Pitch-perfect precision hard rock with great energy and enthusiasm. One of those albums that fills you with energy and makes you smile.
Steve: Flagbearers for Japanese rock for as long as I can remember, churning out big US-friendly numbers that rarely miss the target. Guitarist Akira Takasaki should be in anyone's list of top 20 axe-wielders.
Top Rated Tracks: Dark Desire, Ashes in the Sky, Street Life Dreams
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.52222
104. Rainbow - Down To Earth (1979)
Mark: Rainbow’s fourth album is their first without Ronnie James Dio on the mic. Bonnet is a more than adequate substitute but, Since You’ve Been Gone aside, struggles to lift material that’s broadly inferior to the opening trio of releases.
Richard: A shift by Blackmore to become more commercial, but without losing the essence of Rainbow - much on here to like through tracks like Eyes of the World and Since You Been Gone.
Steve: Never has an album been more accurately titled, with Richie and co shelving Dio's demons and wizards and crashlanding with the help of Graham Bonnet into something ever so mediocre.
Top Rated Tracks: Since You’ve Been Gone, Love’s No Friend, No Time to Lose
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.52917
103. Skid Row - Slave To The Grind (1991)
Mark: Following the acclaimed self-titled debut, Skid Row return with monster riffs, epic hooklines and further proof that they’re the kings of the rock ballad. An album that laid waste to all in its path on its march to the top of the US Billboard 200.
Richard: Briliiant second outing from Bolan and co. Superb balance of power and precision and Bach (mostly) manages to keep things at the limit without going OTT. Monkey Business is immense.
Steve: Took the swagger and the smut from chapter one and added dollops of sophistication and maturity with the sequel. Okay, it ain't genre-defining but when they add beauty to the power - Quicksand Jesus for example - it's hard not to be impressed.
Top Rated Tracks: Quicksand Jesus, In a Darkened Room, Riot Act
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.53056
102. Warlock - True As Steel (1986)
Mark: Doro Pesch and the band hated the label-enforced mix on this, but the tunes reveal a band on an undeniable upward trajectory. A record that put them on an equal footing with their countrymen Accept and the Scorpions.
Richard: A nice varied album by Doro and the boys. Love in the Danger Zone is a classic, allowing the Queen of Metal to showcase all her emotion and range.
Steve: Born in the Fatherland, sadly remixed in LaLaLand and the upshot is that it's far slicker than its predecessors. That said, it's also their best written album to date and Doro, as ever, sounds electric.
Top Rated Tracks: Love in the Danger Zone, Fight For Rock, Mr Gold
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.54848
101. Metallica - Kill ‘Em All (1983)
Mark: The band that ultimately changed the game for everyone arrive with the album that legitimised the thrash genre. A thrilling debut.
Richard: It's clear to see how this album was a game-changer for rock, the thrash metal genre and Metallica. Incredible energy and punch. Hit the Lights, The Four Horsemen, Whiplash and Seek and Destroy set the bar. But Anesthesia should have been strangled before birth.
Steve: Disregard the instrumental folly that is Anesthesia and focus instead on the remainder of an album that set the thrash bar. Many had crashed and banged before Metallica arrived but few did it with this amount of controlled aggression and song-writing nous. And this was just the start.
Top Rated Tracks: Seek and Destroy, Whiplash, The Four Horsemen
Enter Sadmen Rating: 7.56000