If you have additional info about any of the listed bands - or one that should be listed but is not - please don't hesitate to mail me!
Curly brackets, "{" and "}", mean that the enclosed band or artist is itself an entry in the list.
-A-
Accept:
Udo Dirkschneider (vo), Wolf Hoffman (gu), Jörg Fisher (gu), Peter Baltes (ba), Stefan Kaufmann (dr) (1980)
Accept made their debut in 1979 with a self titled album. They soon
made a name in their home country, Germany, and it was not long
before they were also quite popular in the rest of Europe. In 1982
they had really found their style with their potent and aggressive
fourth album, Restless and Wild featuring hard-hitting gems such as
Fast as a Shark and the title track.It is because of the title song from the following album Balls to the Wall, however, that Accept will always have a special place in the hearts of all true rockers, be they Accept fans or not. Balls to the Wall is doubtlessly one of the most well known Heavy Metal songs of all times.
In 1985 Accept released Metal Heart, which may have been a commercial success, but it was at the same time a step towards a more compromising and less aggressive style. Apparently Udo didn't like this new direction, and he went on to start his own band, {Udo}.
Meanwhile, Accept went on with a new singer, Rob Armitage from {Baby Tuckoo}. He too was soon replaced (by David Reese) but, alas, the glory days for Accept were over and in 1989 they split up. (In 1992 Accept were reunited with Udo once again holding the mike, but that's beyond the scope of this site...)
The image shows the cover of Balls to the Wall (© Portrait).
Udo Online - Udo's official site.
Burning (136 K) from the album Breaker
(© Bocu Music LTD)
AC/DC:
Bon Scott (vo), Angus Young (gu), Malcolm Young (gu), Cliff Williams (ba),
Phillip Rudd (dr) (1980)AC/DC were founded as early as 1973 in Australia, and it is really not fair to call them a Heavy Metal band since they are actually more of a traditional boogie band. Nevertheless, AC/DC had many a fan among true Heavy Metal fans in the eighties.
The eighties could really have started better for AC/DC, since the lead singer Bon Scott died in february 1980 after a period of hevay drinking. AC/DC soon got to their feet, however, and the first album with the new singer Brian Johnson, Back in Black, is generally considered one of their very best.
As mentioned AC/DC were not really a Heavy Metal band, but stuck to their original hard-hitting boogie sound, despite member changes, throughout the eighties. Even so, their energy and attitude, especially on stage, were second to none. Whereas the singer was the natural focus of attention for most bands, the true artist in AC/DC was the guitarist Angus Young. Always appearing in a school uniform, Angus was able to bounce around on the stage through the duration of an entire concert, apparently equipped with the stamina of a marathon runner.
The picture shows the AC/DC logo.
The official AC/DC site.Thunderstruck - a movie about the love of AC/DC.
Aerosmith:
Steven Tyler (vo), Joe Perry (gu), Brad Whitford (gu), Tom Hamilton (ba), Joey Kramer (dr) (1984)
Aerosmith is by no means a typical '80s Heavy Metal band. On the contrary, the band released a greatest hits album in 1980, and it seemed like their career was over with various problems involving drugs and general disagreement casting a dark shadow over the band. Aerosmith litterary got their act together, however, and in 1984 the original setting got back together to record Done With Mirrors, which was a fair success. Despite this, the band didn't really get in the limelight until 1986, when the rap group Run DMC revived their old 1975 hit Walk This Way.
Fueled by this success, Aerosmith became more and more popular in their own right throughout the eighties, the albums Permanent Vacation (1987) and Pump (1989) selling extremely well. Aerosmith played an American style, polished kind of Heavy Metal, mixing faster songs with quite a lot of ballads. This gained them a "mainstream" popularity which culminated in 1990, when their total record sales reached 25 million and they were selected as "best Heavy Metal band" by the Rolling Stone Magazine.
The Official Aerosmith Home Page.Alcatrazz:
Graham Bonnet (vo), Yngwie Malmsteen (gu), Gary Shea (ba), Jimmy Waldo (ke), Jan Uvena (dr) (1983)
Formed by Graham Bonnet after he was more or less gracefully thrown out of {Rainbow} (and having joined {MSG} for a very brief session), Alcatrazz may never have recorded any platinum selling albums. But boy, oh boy did they know how to pick their guitarists! in particular Graham's first guitarist, {Yngwie Malmsteen}, instantly attracted a lot of attention, seeing as he is generally considered to be one of the most skilled guitarists of all times.
Yngwie only played on No Parole From Rock n' Roll and the following live album Live Sentence, both from 1984, though. After that he was replaced by another guitar hero, {Steve Vai}. Alas, Alcatrazz may have been a magnet for great guitarists, but keeping them was apparently harder as Steve Vai too left after only one studio album; Disurbing the Peace. On the last album of the decade, the more anonymous Danny Johnson played the guitar.
Bonnet Rocks - Official Graham Bonnet site.Alkatrazz:
Craig Stevens (vo), Bob Jenner (gu), Gary Bevan (ba), Nick Parson (dr) (1981)
British melodic Hard Rock band who are mostly known for... well not being {Alcatrazz} with a "c", I guess. Okay, that wasn't very nice, but I really don't know anything about them, except that they released two albums in the early eighties, Young Blood in 1981 and Radio 5 in 1982.
Angel Witch:
Kevin Heybourne (vo, gu), Kevin Riddles (ba), Dave Hogg (dr) (1980)
At the dawn of the eighties, brittish band Angel Witch were one of the pioneers in the NWOBHM movement with their heavy and yet at times speedy blend of Metal. Specifically, most later Doom Metal bands got a lot of their inspiration from Angel Witch. Angel Witch played numerous gigs with bands like {Saxon} and {Iron Maiden}, and the debut album, Angel Witch, was released in 1980. Angel Witch is often considered a classic in it genre, but although the record was well received not least in the USA, singer/guitarist Kevin Heybourne had a hard time keeping his band together. It started with drummer Dave Hogg's falling ill and being replaced by Dave Dufort from {E.F. Band} and eventually the band all but disappeared from the music scene for a couple of years only to return in 1985 to record two new albums in quick succession, Screamin' and Bleadin' and Frontal Assault. Alas, these new records didn't cause much stir, and Angel Witch disbanded once again. Just before the end of the decade, Kevin Heybourne made one last, futile attempt at keeping Angel Witch alive, this time backed up by second guitarist Grant Dennison, bassist Peter Gordelier and drummer Spencer Holman.
Annihilator:
Randy Rampage (vo), Jeff Waters (gu), Anthony Greenham (gu), Wayne Darley (ba), Ray Hartman (dr) (1989)
Annihilator was founded in Vancouver, Canada, by guitarist Jeff Waters. Indeed, Annihilator was more or less Jeff Waters' solo projects, the other members pretty much coming and going. Even though Annihilator only released one album in the eighties, Alice In Hell, released in 1989, the band was founded as early as 1984 and certainly deserve a place in this list thanks to the impact they had on the Thrash Metal genre. Taking a rather "serious" approach to Thrash, Alice In Hell was very well received by Metal Heads and critics alike, and is widely regarded as a milestone in the history of Thrash Metal.
The Official Annihilator web site.
Alison Hell (48 K)
from the album Alice In Hell (© Roadrunner)
Anthrax:
Joey Belladonna (vo), Scott Ian (gu), Dan Spitz (gu), Frank Bello (ba), Charlie Benante (dr) (1984)
Anthrax first saw the light of day in New York in 1981, and before 1984, the band (named after a cattle disease) had two more members, Neal Turbin (vo) and Dan Lilker (gu). Theese two left the band shortly after the release of the debut album Fistful of Metal, however. The real breakthrough for the band came in 1987 with the release of their fourth album, Among the Living. This album sold gold and is considered a classic in it's genre by many.
A genre, by the way, which Anthrax played an important role in creating; together with bands like {Metallica} and {Megadeth}, Anthrax were leading the way for thrash metal in the mid eighties. Anthrax took the development of their music one step further, however, by mixing in large portions of rap and hardcore. The lyrics also differed from the stereotypical Heavy Metal texts, ranging from plain humorous to socially engaged.
On the side, Scott Ian, Dan Spitz and Charlie Benante also appeared in {SOD}.
Anthrax N.F.W.S. - the official Anthrax web site.
Caught in a Mosh (109 K)
from the album Among the Living (© Black Lion Music/Anthrax Music)
Anvil:
Steve "Lips" Kudlow (vo, gu), Dave Allison (gu), Ian Dickson (ba), Robb Reiner (dr) (1981)
Hard hitting Canadian metal band. Anvil jumped on the Heavy Metal bandwagon of the early eighties and released their debut album, Hard 'n' Heavy, in 1981. This was in fact the same album that they had released once before when the band was still called Lips. It wasn't until their second album Metal on Metal, however, that they really found their powerful and aggressive style, the pompous title track perhaps marking the height of their career. This album was followed by Forged in Fire in 1983 which was not quite as fast and furious as the previous recording, and in 1984 they were unfortunate enough to be dropped by their record company.
It was to take three whole years before they finally managed to release Strength of Steel, their next studio album; this time on a new label. Unfortunately, much of the "strength of steel" that the band's musical anvil was once made of seemed to be gone, as they never quite managed to reach the heights of their earlier successes with this or the following album. And in 1989, following a live album, Past and Present, that was admittedly a fine legacy of their 1980's, Anvil lost their record contract as well as their guitarist.
An Anvil home page.Armoured Saint:
John Bush (vo), Phil Sandoval (gu), David Pritchard (gu), Joey Vera (ba), Gonzo (dr) (1983)
Metal band from Los Angeles, California. Releasing their full length debut
March of the Saint in 1984, the music of Armoured Saint could be described
as a mixture of English NWOBHM and the more melodic American contemporary metal.
This proved to be a winning concept as Armoured Saint were quite instantly successful
and toured with (among others) {Metallica}, for whom John Bush was actually offered
to sing. Despite their success, Armoured Saint only released two more studio albums in
the eighties; Delirious Nomad in 1985 and Raising Fear (see image) in 1987.
John Bush later joined {Anthrax}.
The official Armoured Saint web site.
Raising Fear (153 K) from the album of the same name (© Chrysalis Records)
Autograph:
Steve Plunkett (vo/gu), Steve Lynch (gu), Randy Rand (ba), Keni Richards (dr), Steven Isham (ke) (1984)
Autograph formed in Los Angeles in the early eighties. Playing easily accessible Heavy Metal/Hard Rock mixed with a fair amount of pop and spiced with catchy riffs and choruses, following the same tradition as {Dokken} and {Europe}, they quickly became popular. Their debut album Sign In Please from 1984 was quite predictably pretty successful, not least thanks to the hit single Turn Up The Radio. Unfortunately, Autograph was unable to repeat the success of their debut album on their second effort, That's The Stuff, which was released the following year. This album was generally regarded inferior by both fans and critics. In 1987 they released their third album, Loud and Clear, and even if this was supposedly much better than That's The Stuff, it was too late. Their former fans had moved on to other acts, and Autograph disbanded.
Avenger:
Ian Swift (vo), Lee Cheetam (gu), Mick Moore (ba), Gary Young (dr) (1984)
The English Speed Metal band Avenger was formed in Newcastle in the early eighties. The debut album, Bloodsports, was released in 1984 and was generally fairly well received. Although not being a total fiasco, the second album Killer Elite, which was released the following year, did not earn the band the amount of attention they may have hoped, and so Avenger disbanded. During it's short lifetime, the band had time for surprisingly many member changes.
-B-
Babylon AD:
Derek Davis (vo), Ron Freschi (gu), Danny De La Rosa (gu), Robb Reid (ba), Jamey Pacheco (dr) (1985)
Signed out of a Los Angeles talent showcase by record mogul Clive Davis, Babylon AD was the first Hard Rock/Metal band ever signed by Arista Records. The band was a Pop Metal/Hard Rock band formed in Oakland, California in 1985. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1989 and reached the Billboard Top 100 charts due to the success of the band’s single Bang Go The Bells. [Interestingly, this was around the time when many other similar bands released their last album - ed.] They released their second album, Nothing’s Sacred, in 1992 and enjoyed moderate success with the power-ballad So Savage the Heart. The band spent the greater part of the 1990s in anonymity before resurfacing in 1999 with a new record, American Blitzkrieg, on Apocalypse Records.
Special thanks to Brent Bouldin for writing this bio!
The official Babylon AD web site.Baby Tuckoo:
Rob Armitage (vo), Neil Saxton (gu), Andy Barrott (gu, ke), Paul Smith (ba), Tony Sugden (dr) (1984)
British Heavy Metal band that appeared during the NWOBHM (see the Thesaurus). The music of Baby Tuckoo was quite typical for the bands of the NWOBHM, even if they were definately on the melodical side of the scale; music-wise, they had more in common with {Rainbow} than with {Accept}, if you get my drift. It may seem strange, then, that Rob Armitage actually joined Accept for a short period of time in 1988.
Baby Tuckoo released two full length albums as far as I've been able to find out; First Born in 1984 and Force Majeure two years later. None of them were too successful, and the band never managed to make that much of a name for themselves or achieve the kind of popularity that other NWOBHM bands enjoyed.
Bathory:
Quorthon (vo, gu), Kothaar (ba), Vvornth (dr) (1984)
The Swedish band Bathory (they got the name Bathory from an "authentic" sixteenth century vampire, Countess Elizabeth Bathory. "Countess Bathory" is also the name of a {Venom} song from 1982) hit the world in 1984 with the release of their self-titled debut album. This album was (at that time) quite possibly the most brutal album ever released in the Heavy Metal genre, and Bathory took Black Metal one step further than earlier bands like {Venom} had dared to do. Expecially on the firs talbum, Bathory seemed to be heavily influenced by the aforementioned Venom, and it's surprising then that Quorthon claimed to never have heard them before. In 1985 Bathory released their second album, The Return, and this time they had taken their brutal and filthy sound one step further, leaving most other Death Metal bands far behind, wondering what hit them.
Playing faster not really being an alternative, their third
(Under the Sign of the Black Mark, 1987) and fourth
(Blood Fire Death, 1988, their last album of the '80s) efforts saw the band
developing a more personal style with more room for moods and melodies. Calling them
"melodic", however, would be the exaggeration of the century; they were still extremely
heavy, featuring guitars distorted to the border of being plain noise and Quorthons
unmistakeable dark, demon-like voice. By this time, Bathory had turned from a more
traditional Black Metal band into a more nuanced band, heavily influenced by
Viking lore and Nordic imagery.It is almost impossible to describe the music of Bathory, partly because they evolved quite a lot from their first album to the end of the eighties and partly because their unlikely sound was so unlike anything else. First of all the sound quality of the recordings, at least on the first albums, was (apparently deliberately) absolute crap. Secondly, the guitars were so distorted you almost wondered if there was something wrong with your speakers, and finally Quorthons singing sounded like the voice of Satan himself.
There were quite a lot of rumours surrounding Bathory, some of them at least partially true, probably stemming from the fact that they preferred to stay away from public appearances.
Rumours included:
- That Bathory's first record appearance (on the compilation Scandinavian Metal Attack) was a pure coincidence after another band had dropped out.
- That Quorthon's father was the owner of Black Mark records, which may of course have aided in getting a record deal.
- That Quorthon was in fact the sole memeber of Bathory and played all the instruments himself. This was as least true insomuch that he wrote all songs and replaced the other musicians very often.
- That well-known video producer Jonas Åkerlund (who has worked with {Metallica}, Madonna, The Cardigans, The Prodigy etc.) once was the drummer in Bathory. This would pretty much rule out the rumour above...
- That Bathory had made a vow never to perform live.
- That Quorthon was working on a full length video that would feature the music of Bathory.
- That Quorthon came up with his unique singing style one day while rehearsing, when the mike suddenly broke and he discovered that singing through a guitar mike connected to a dist box didn't sound half bad...
Twilight - The Unofficial Bathory Page (has not been updated for quite some
time...)
Enter the Eternal Fire (142 K)
from the album Under the Sign of the Black Mark (© Black Mark Production)
Beau Nasty:
Mark Anthony Fretz (vo), Brian Young (gu), George Bernhardt (gu), Doug Baker (ba), Mike Terrana (dr) (1989)
Beau Nasty started out as a run-of-the-mill Melodic Sleaze Metal band in Los Angeles in 1988. Although there was certainly no lack of talent in the band (Mike Terrana, for instance, later went on to join {Yngwie Malmsteen} and {Rage}), Beau Nasty never really took off. Thus, they only released one album, Dirty but Well Dressed, in 1989, before disbanding.
Mike Terrana's site.Jason Becker:
See {Cacophony}.
Betsy:
See {Bitch}.
Bitch:
Betsy Weiss (vo), David Carruth (gu), Mark Anthony Webb (ba), Robby Settles (dr)(1982)
Bitch. A very striking name. It would be a quite inappropriate choice of name for a sweet-as-sugar soul duo or a country ballad girl band. And I'm pretty sure neither Sade nor Celine Dion even for a second considered using "Bitch" as their stage name. It could possibly work for a female "gangsta" rapper, though. And it was a very apt name in this case too. Fronted by lead singer Betsy Weiss (aka Betsy Bitch), Bitch started out in Los Angeles in 1981. They quickly made a name for themselves, not so much thanks to their music (although there was nothing wrong with their rather traditional Heavy Metal) but more so thanks to their fixation with S&M and bondage, apparent both in their lyrics and in their physical appearance. Their image may not have been 100% serious, but it certainly helped them get the attention of the legendary record label Metal Blade, which distributed their debut mini album Damnation Alley in 1982. In fact, the very first of the classic "Metal Massacre" compilations from Metal Blade featured a Bitch track, Live for the Whip. Incidentally, Bitch also got attention from several christian and feminine activists, but for entirelly different reasons...
After releasing a split 7" single, I'm in Love, with fellow also-fronted-by-a-female-metal-band (sorry, I failed to come up with something more witty) rockers {Hellion}, Bitch released their full length debut in 1983. The title? Why, Be My Slave of course. Around the same time, bassist Mark Webb was replaced by Ron Cordy, who came straight from another L.A. band, Overkill (not to be confused with the more well-known New York based thrash act {Overkill}). It took four long years before the follow-up, The Bitch is Back, was released, and although Bitch continued to be a much talked about act, record sales were not great. The title track on The Bitch is Back, by the way, was a cover of the seventies Elton John song. Apparently in an attempt to attract a wider audience, Bitch changed their name to "Betsy" and released an album, also named Betsy, in 1988. The music was now more polished and radio oriented and the S&M image was all but erased. Unfortunately(?), this plan backfired and in 1989 when Betsy and company released their last album before disbanding, A Rose By Any Other Name, the name of the band was once again "Bitch" and the music was as heavy as ever before.
The Blackhearts:
See {Joan Jett}.
Black 'n' Blue:
Jaime St. James (vo), Tommy Thayer (gu), Jeff Warner (gu), Patrick Young (ba), Peter Holmes (dr) (1984)
Black 'n' Blue formed in Portland, Oregon, in the USA in 1981. The following year, they moved to Los Angeles, like so many other contemporary up-and-coming metal acts. Black 'n' Blue stood out from the crowd, however, by being considerably heavier than most other (at least American) Metal bands at the time. Their first demo became well spread, and in wasn't long before their track Chains Around Heaven was featured on the famous Metal Blade compilation album Metal Massacre. One person who apparently saw the greatness of Black 'n' Blue was Don Dokken (front man in {Dokken}), who helped produce their first record, a self-financed EP.
The full length debut Black 'n' Blue was recorded in Germany and was released in 1984. Featuring two songs from the aforementioned EP, it sold reasonably well and saw the band touring and opening for acts such as {Dio}, {Aerosmith} and {Whitesnake}. In an attempt to strike while the iron was hot, Black 'n' Blue were rushed back into the studio to record their second album Without Love. This time seeking the services of Canadian producer Bruce Fairbairn (who was later made famous for his work with {Bon Jovi}), Without Love, which was released in 1985, was significantly more "well polished" than the debut and inevitably sparked accusations of "selling out". Perhaps in an attempt to get back to their roots, Black 'n' Blue enrolled none other than Gene Simmons of {Kiss} to produce their third album, Nasty Nasty (released in 1986). And, with the exception of the ballad I'll Be There For You (which was the only track that was not produced by Gene Simmons...) this album was in fact a lot heavier than it's predecessor. None the less, for some reason neither Nasty Nasty nor the follow up In Heat, which was released in 1988, managed to attract the attention of the record buyers, and Black 'n' Blue duly folded in 1989.
Jamie St. James' Official Web Site.Black Sabbath:
Ronnie James Dio (vo), Tony Iommi (gu), Geezer Butler (ba), Bill Ward (dr), Geoff Nicholls (ke) (1980)
Black Sabbath is considered The Heavy Metal band by many people, and are indeed often given credit as the band who invented the entire genre as we know it. Inventors of Heavy Metal or not, they are almost certainly the rock band to have had the most member changes throughout the years. Apart from Ronnie James {Dio}, vocalists also include {Ozzy Osbourne}, Ian {Gillan} and Glenn Hughes. I could easily fill my designated server space with info about Black Sabbath alone, but since there are an abundance of other home pages exclusively dedicated to the band that do a much better job, I will only provide a brief overview of the Black Sabbath of the eighties:
Come 1980, Black Sabbath had already seen ten years of record making and the
release of nine albums including classics like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and
Sabotage. By this time, however, singer Ozzy Osbourne had left the band
after a period of heavy drug abuse and some disputes with Tony Iommi and Geezer
Butler. He was replaced by Ronnie James Dio (formerly Elf and {Rainbow}), who by
many fans was considered a distincly inferior replacement. This was perhaps a bit
unfair, though, as Dio managed to carry on the torch quite well, and
heaven and Hell, released in 1980 and Mob Rules, released in 1981
were certainly no bad albums. Unfortunately Ronnie James Dio succeded no better
than Ozzy Osbourne in cooperating with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, and less
than two years later he too left Black Sabbath to form his own band, Dio.To the surprise of many, he was replace by Ian Gillan, formerly lead singer of arch rivals {Deep Purple}. After the release of Born Again in 1983, by many considered one of their weakest albums, Ward left the group for good, after having been replaced in periods by Vinni Appice (who had left the group together with Dio) due to drinking problems. This marked the beginning of a period during which the band was in practice dissolved. In 1986, The Seventh Star was released, but this was more or less a solo album by Tony Iommi, featuring Glenn Hughes behing the mike. In 1987 Iommi had managed to put together what appeared to be a more permanent band, with Tony Martin on vocals and Cozy Powell from Rainbow on drums, and Black Sabbath released The Eternal Idol. Two years later Headless Cross (with guest appearance by Brian May from Queen on "When Death Calls") marked the end of this turbulent decade in the history of Black Sabbath.
The eighties were definately not as glorious and successful for Black Sabbath as the seventies had been. The band seemed to be constantly plagued by member changes and drug related problems, and their previous position as the heaviest band around was threatened by the virtual flood of new bands and the rise of genres like thrash metal. It is ironic, then, that without Black Sabbath, there may very well not have been any "thrash metal". As earlier mentioned, Black Sabbath are largely to thank for the existence of the entire Heavy Metal genre, and their dark and extremely heavy drum and bass sound accompanied by Tony Iommi's ingenious metal riffs have been more or less successfully copied by countless bands, not least in the aforementioned thrash metal genre.
The image shows Tony Iommi on the cover of the Seventh Star album. (© Warner Bros. Records Inc.)
The Official Black Sabbath Web Site.Black Sabbath Online.
And there are plenty more where those came from...
Blind Guardian:
Hansi Kürsch (vo, ba), André Olbrich (gu), Marcus Siepen (gu),
Thomas Stauch (dr) (1988)Blind Guardian was a German band that combined fast and aggressive Heavy Metal verging on Thrash Metal with catchy and melodic choruses, following in the same tradition as {Helloween} but perhaps a bit more epic and grandious. The artwork on the album covers and the lyrics were heavily inspired by fantasy litterature and role playing games, which is reflected in song titles like Trial by the Archon Wizard's Crown, By the Gates of Moria and Valhalla.
Blind Guardian released two albums in the eighties: Battalions of Fear in 1988 and Follow the Blind the following year. The fist one was actually a re-release of a demo that was first released two years earlier while the band was still called Lucifer's Heritage. On Follow the Blind Kai Hansen from Helloween appeared guest musician, playing guitar on two tracks (Hall of the King and Valhalla) and doing a bit of singing on one track (Valhalla).
Blind Guardian Official Home Page.
Valhalla from the album Follow the Blind
Blue Murder:John Sykes (gu, vo), Tony Franklin (ba, vo), Carmine Appice (dr, vo) (1989)
In 1989 the talented drummer and songwriter Carmine Appice left {King Kobra} to team up with the equally productive guitarist John Sykes (ex {Whitesnake} and {Thin Lizzy}). Together with Tony Franklin and a number of guest vocalists and keyboardists etc. they recorded the album Blue Murder (see image), which was released the same year. Blue Murder followed in the footsteps of Whitesnake and King Kobra, at least in that it clocked in somewhere in between Heavy Metal and Hard Rock and was melodious but still rather heavy. In short, it managed to live up pretty well to the expectations that this kind of supergroup inevitably raises.
The Official John Sykes Web Site.The Other John Sykes Web Site - well, that's what it is, and that's what it's called.
Carmine Appice's Home Page.
Bodine:
Jay Van Feggelen (vo), Rheno Xeros (gu), Armand Van Der Hoff (ba) Gerard Haitsma (dr) (1981)
Founded in Holland in 1978, Bodine were the true Pioneers of Dutch Metal (I may get in trouble here, but was there any competition?) Their debut album Bodine was released in 1981, and featured a rather bluesy and not terribly heavy sound. That was about to change, however, as lead singer Van Feggelen left the band to be replaced by Axel Joseph Langemejir. Anthony Lucassen also auditioned hoping to become Bodine's new singer, but he ended up being hired as their second guitarist! Now being a quintet, Bodine entered the studio to record their second album, Bold as Brass. This album, released in 1982, was a lot more hard hitting and heavy than their first effort, and is often quoted as their best piece of work. It didn't quite see the band break through properly, however.
Basist Armand Van Der Hoff now left the band too, and for their 1983 album, Three Times Running, guitarists Xeros and Lucassen where left having to do the bass parts as well. For their live performances, Bodine used bassist "Jeronimo". Sounding a lot more polished and commercial than Bold as Brass, Three Times Running marked yet another change of directions for the band. And this time it seemed like things were about to take off commercially as well, with the album being released worldwide. Unfortunately the Bodine saga came to an abrupt end as the band suddenly broke up in 1984. I have to admit I haven't listened to Bodine much myself, and as it were, Bodine became little more than "yet another eighties Metal act", but who knows what could have been had they stayed together a little longer. They sure seemed to have a good thing going.
Bolt Thrower:
Karl Willets (vo), Gavin Ward (gu), Barry Thomson (gu), Jo Bench (ba), Andy Whale (dr) (1988)
british Heavy Metal band, formed in Birmingham in 1987. They released their first album, In Battle There is No Law, in 1988 and their second attempt, Realm of Chaos, appeared the following year. Bolt Thrower became known for their uncompromisingly heavy and grinding guitar sound, placing them among the heavier bands even within the Heavy Metal genre.
As the titles of the albums suggest, the favourite subject in their lyrics is warfare. Far from glorifying war, however, Bolt Thrower tend to display a very pessimistic view of the consequences of war and where it is taking mankind.
The official Bolt Thrower site.Bonfire:
Claus Lessmann (vo), Horst Maier-Thorn (gu), Hans Ziller (gu), Joerg Deisinger (ba), Dominic Huelshorst (dr) (1986)
German Heavy Metal act, founded in the seventies under the name Cacumen. They released a few albums under this name, but in 1986 they released their first album, Don't Touch that Light, under the name Bonfire. The second Bonfire album, Fireworks, was released in 1987 and their decade was rounded off with the release of Point Blank in 1989. Musically, Bonfire played fairly powerful but yet melodic Heavy Metal with strong choruses, topped off with the odd ballad. This was a recipe which proved successful for many bands in the later half of the eighties, and Bonfire was no exception, even if the band was never as popular as {Poison} or {Bon Jovi}.
Over the years, Bonfire saw many member changes. For example, drummer Ken Mary, who has also worked with {Alice Cooper} and {David T. Chastain} among others, joined the band in 1987 along with keyboardist Martin Ernst. Whether it was the addition of a keyboardist or simply good songwriting in anthems like Champion, the 1987 album Fireworks was extremely successful in their home country as well as attracting some international recognition. They managed to keep the momentum up on Point Blank, which made it up some European charts.
The Official Bonfire Site.Bon Jovi:
Jon Bon Jovi (vo), Richie Sambora (gu), Alec John Such (ba), Tico Torres (dr), David Rushbaum (ke) (1983)
American Hard Rock band formed in New Jersey in 1983 by Jon Bon Jovi (who was really named John Bongiovi) after he had been involved in several different bands for many years. In 1984 Bon Jovi released their self entitled debut album, which got a very positive reception, at least among critics. Their second attempt, 7800 Fahrenheit from 1985, was not as well received, and the band consequently(?) changed their sound to be more pop-oriented on their third album, Slippery When Wet. Apparently the new sound did the trick, because this album became a massive success and made the band popular far outside the traditional Heavy Metal audience. With their fourth album New Jersey, released in 1988, Bon Jovi changed direction again, apparently in an attempt to appear more "serious" and less of a lightweight band. This album leaned more towards traditional American rock as played by the likes of Bruce Springsteen than Heavy Metal or pop music.
Even though Bon Jovi displayed all the visual trade marks of a Heavy Metal band, such as long hair and leather pants, you could argue that their music really didn't qualify as Heavy Metal. Even on their first two albums, they certainly never came close to the steam roller-heavy sound of, say, {Black Sabbath}. On the other hand, they were perhaps the biggest Hard Rock band to come out of the USA, and did a good job at bringing that kind of music to the masses.
The official Bon Jovi Home Page.There are lots and lots of other Bon Jovi resources to be found on the net.
Britny Fox:
"Dizzy" Dean Davidson(vo), Michael Kelly Smith (gu), Billy Childs (ba), Tony "Stix" Destra (dr) (1985)
Britny Fox was founded 1985 in Philadelphia, USA, by singer "Dizzy" Dean Davidson. He recruited bassist Billy Childs and drummer Tony "Stix" Destra and also managed to persuade guitarist Michael Kelly Smith to leave {Cinderella} and join Britny Fox. Suitably, considering their Glam Metal sound, Britny Fox soon moved to Los Angeles where the average hair was bigger than anywhere else in the world at the time. Drummer Tony Destra was tragically killed in a car accident and was replaced by Johnny Dee, previously in {Waysted}. Apparently Cinderella were not too grumpy about losing their bassist Billy, as they supposedly helped Britny Fox land a record deal with major label Columbia.
Cram-full of sticky riffs, the self-titled debut album was released in 1988 and was an instant success (it sold close to one million copies), not least thanks to the lead single Long Way to Love. One year later, Britny Fox' second album, Boys in Heat was released. Boys in Heat was more polished and less "sleazy" than Britny Fox. It didn't attract nowhere near as much attention as it's predecessor, however, and whether it was because of this or not, Dean Davidsson decided to leave the band. "Dizzy" was replaced by Tommy Paris, and this new setting released Britny Fox' third album, Bite Down Hard in 1991. By this time, however, the decline of Heavy Metal in general and perhaps Glam Metal in particular had been going on for quite a while and was taking it's toll of Metal bands at an increasing pace, and Britny Fox too soon met their destiny.
The official Britny Fox site.Bulletboys:
Marq Torien (vo), Mick Sweda (gu), Lonnie Vincent (ba), Jimmy D'Anda (dr) (1988)
When the Bulletboys got together in the late eighties, they where something of a Los Angeles Metal supergroup. Marq Torien, Mick Sweda and Lonnie Vincent all had a past in {King Kobra}, and Marq Torien was a guitarist(!) in {Ratt} for a short while. With this background, it was probably not too difficult for the boys to land a record deal for their debut album, Bulletboys, which was released in 1988.
Staying true to the Heavy Metal/Hard Rock/Sleaze sound that dominated the USA in general and LA in particular and featuring a charismatic lead singer and lightweight lyrics that were sure to not change anyone´s life, the album was an instant success, at least in the USA (it eventually reached one million sold copies). Extensive touring ensued, and Bulletboys opened for such prominent acts as {Cinderella} and {Bon Jovi}. It was to take until 1991 before the follow-up album (Freakshow) was released, but needless to say, by that time the market for the kind of music played by Bulletboys had more or less vanished.
The official Bulletboys site.-C-
Cacophony:
Marty Friedman (gu), Jason Becker (gu), Peter Marrino (vo), Jimmy O'Shea (ba), Atma Anur (dr) (1987)
Although appearing as a group on the record covers, Cacophony was without doubt primarily a playground for the extremely technically skilled guitarists and founders Marty Friedman and Jason Becker. Cacophony was founded in the USA in 1986 (at which time Jason Becker was only 16!), and the debut album was released in 1987 and was aptly titled Speed Metal Symphony. And this is what Cacophony was all about; (neo-)classically influenced guitar-virtuosity Heavy Metal. Although Speed Metal Symphony was reasonably well recieved and sold as well as you could expect from such an "uncommercial" release, Cacophony only released one more album before disbanding; Go Off!, which hit the shelves in in 1989. On the latter album, drummer Atma Anur had been replaced by Kenny Stavropoulos.
Between the two Cacophony albums, both Marty Friedman and Jason Becker found the time to release solo albums. Marty Friedman's album was called Dragon's Kiss while Jason Becker's solo effort was called Perpetual Burn and they were both released in 1988. Apparently, they were not tired of each other, however, as they both appeared as guest musicians on each others solo albums. Furthermore, they co-wrote two songs each on each others album. Having left Cacophony, Marty Friedman went on to join {Megadeth} and Jason Becker (who was sadly diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease) among other things replaced {Steve Vai} in David Lee Roth's band (previously in {Van Halen}).
The Marty Zone - A Marty Friedman site with quite a lot of Cacophony info.Savas' Jason Becker Page - That's right, this one's about Jason.
Candlemass:
Messiah Marcolin (vo), Mats Björkman (gu), Lars Johansson (gu), Leif Edling (ba), Jan Lindh (dr) (1987)
Candlemass was founded in Sweden in 1985 by Leif Edling, who was also the songwriter of the band. Candlemass saw numerous gruop members come and go during the recording of their debut album, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, which was released in 1986. When things settled down, however, the band consisted of the members mentioned above, and Candlemass soon became known as one of the most important acts in the Doom Metal genre.
The music of Candlemass was slow and extremely heavy, primarily inspired by bands like {Black Sabbath}, and Messiah's epic, almost opera-like voice gave them an unmistakeable sound. The lyrics reflected the dark and mysterious qualities of the music, often containing religious and fantasy imagery. Candlemass released three more albums during the eighties: Nightfall (1987), Ancient Dreams (1988) and Tales of Creation (1989).
The Official Candlemass site.
Celtic Frost:
Tom G Warrior (vo, gu), Martin Eric Ain (ba), Reed St Mark (dr) (1984)
Swiss group that hit the world in 1984 with their debut album Morbid Tales. Tom G Warrior and Martin Eric Ain was before this in a band called Hellhammer. Celtic Frost was basically a Thrash Metal band, but they apparently felt that this genre was too narrow, and they soon began experimenting and mixing their music with other influences. The epithome of this mixture of influences came in 1987 with the release of their fourth album, Into the Pandemonium, which is by some considered a landmark within Hevy Metal. This album really stretched the genre to it's borders, on one album mixing songs ranging from hip hop to classical music.
Unfortunately they were, in the eyes of critics and (most) fans alike, unable to follow this work up with their next album, Cold Lake, which was released in 1988. This was a much more conventional Heavy Metal album, and, alas, the eighties of Celtic Frost ended in disorder and numerous member changes.
The Official Celtic Frost site.
I Won't Dance (127 K) from the album Into the Pandemonium (© Noise)Chastain:
Leather Leone (vo), David T. Chastain (gu, ke), Mike Skimmerhorn (ba), Fred Coury (dr) (1984)
David T. Chastain had been sending tapes featuring his band {CJSS} to Heavy Metal recording
guru Mike Varney for some time, when Varney decided he liked it enough to give Chastain a
shot. Apparently, it was only Chastain's guitar playing that really caught his attention,
though, and hence he introduced Chastain to female singer Leather Leone from the San
Fransisco band Rude Girl and drummer Fred Coury. Together with bassist Mike Skimmerhorn,
these formed the band Chastain. As a matter of fact, when the band got together to record
Mystery Of Illusion late in 1984, it was the first time the whole band ever met...Shortly after the release of the debut album, Fred Coury left the band to join the newly formed {Cinderella}. Fortunately, Mike Varney came to the rescue again with replacement drummer Ken Mary. This new lineup recorded Ruler Of The Wasteland in 1986. The same setup also recorded Chastain's third - and perhaps most well-known, at least in Europe - album The Seventh Of Never. On the last album of the eighties, Voice Of The Cult, bassist Mike Skimmerhorn had been replaced by David Harbour.
To the critical kind of person, Chastain basically played standard, no-thrills eighties Heavy Metal. And to an extent, that is true. But - because there is a definite but - their music had a rather unique quality thanks to frontman David T Chastain's skilled guitar play - which can best be described as neo-classical and was reminiscent to that of for example {Yngwie Malmsteen} - and Leather Leone's distinct female vocals. In fact, Chastain has been quoted to say Leather Leone is the best singer in the world (but then again, he would have to say that, I guess...)
So, what did David like to do when he wasn't busy playing the guitar in Chastain, then? Paint? Go fishing? Play Quake? No, wait, Quake wasn't invented back then. Space Invaders, Pacman or Donkey Kong, then? None of the above. As a matter of fact, his main interest outside of Chastain seems to have been to... play the guitar! Apart from playing in his other band, {CJSS}, he also recorded some solo albums on his label Leviathan, such as Instrumental Variations, released in 1987. Some people just can't seem to get enough, can they?
The image shows David T Chastain some time around 1987, proving that he could certainly wield a hair dryer as well as a guitar.
The official David T. Chastain site.
Now Or Never (139 K) from David's solo album Instrumental Variations (© Leviathan Records)Cheap Trick:
Robin Zander (vo), Rick Nielsen (gu), Jon Brandt (ba), Bun. E. Carlos (dr) (1980)
American Glam rockers Cheap Trick saw the light of day back in the late sixties, and as the eighties dawned, they already had a long and successful career behind them, and were arguably on their creative peak. As a matter of fact, their eclectic blend of pop, punk, Hark Rock, Heavy Metal and what have you serve as a school book example of the kind of influences that led up to the Heavy Metal wave of the eighties, and they are an obvious influence to many later bands in the same genre. Their first album of the eighties, 1980's All Shook Up, sold reasonably well. And so did their next few records such as the platinum selling One on One, released in 1982. None the less, it was clear that Cheap Trick had entered a downward spiral, at a time when most Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands were experiencing their finest hours. As a matter of fact, rumours during this era spoke of singer Robin Zander joining Metal legends {UFO} for a comeback record, but that never happened. Cheap Trick's luck didn't turn until 1988. For the first time working with proffesional songwriters instead of creating their own stuff, Cheap Trick got a top 20 hit with their album Lap of Luxury, not least thanks to the power ballad The Flame. Unfortunately it turned out to be a short lived return to the limelight as their next album, Busted, did much worse as it was released in 1990.
The official Cheap Trick web site.Cinderella:
Tom Keifer (vo, gu), Jeff La Bar (gu), Eric Brittingham (ba), Fred Coury (dr) (1986)
Cinderella was an American band, formed in Philadelphia by singer Tom Keifer. Cinderella played the Philadelphia/New Jersey clubs for a while before their debuting on vinl in 1986 with the release of Night Songs. Apparent influences included {Aerosmith} and {Bon Jovi}, although Cinderella's music was a bit rougher than both these bands, with a touch of Glam Metal, and if I remember correctly Jon Bon Jovi (who alledgedly discovered the band) made a guest appearance as background singer on two of the songs, Nothin' for Nothin' and In From the Outside. Visually they were distincly 1980-ish: poodle haircuts and leather as far as the eye could see. Cinderella released one more album in the eighties, Long Cold Winter (1988), which was at times a bit softer than the debut.
Prior to releasing their debut album, Cinderella had lost their guitarist Michael Kelly Smith to {Britny Fox}. Nevertheless, it's been reported that the guys in Cinderella actually helped Britny Fox get a record deal.
The official Cinderella web site.
Shake Me (52 K) from the album Night Songs (© Island Def Jam)CJSS:
Russell Jinkings (vo), David T Chastain (gu), Mike Skimmerhorn (ba), Les Sharp (dr) (1986)
In the early eighties, CJSS rose from the ashes of the cover band Spike. David T Chastain, who was apparently the driving force behind CJSS, tried to get Shrapnel Records to sign the band. But Mike Varney, owner of Shrapnel, convinced him to start up a new band, which was then signed. This new band became the more well-known {Chastain}.
For David T Chastain, however, CJSS was still the main priority, while Chastain was more of a studio project. Hence he started his own label, Leviathan, and on this label CJSS released their first album, World Gone Mad, in 1986. The follow-up came the very same year, when Praise The Loud was released. Surprisingly, CJSS disbanded after this flying start. According to David himself, the reason was that singer Russell Jinkings got married and suddenly became very religious, and as a result lost his musical focus. Obviously, CJSS would have had to find a new singer whose last name also began with a "J" in order to continue. Either that or change the name of the band. A singer named "Underwood", for example, would of course be out of the question...
Musically, CJSS was not that different from Chastain. Both bands were heavily influenced by David's songwriting and guitar virtuosity, but Chastain was perhaps a bit more Heavy Metal in nature whereas CJSS was more on the Hard Rock side of things.
The official David T. Chastain site.
Praise the Loud (62 K) from the album of the same name (© Leviathan)Alice Cooper:
Alice Cooper (Vincent Damon Furnier) is another one of those guys who was active well before the eighties (Alice Cooper actually debuted in 1968!) In 1980 he released Flush the Fashion, which was in fact no less than his fourteenth release. It's not unfair to say that the eighties were a less than successful decade for Alice Cooper. Apart from a fair succes with Constrictor in 1986 it wasn't until 1989 and the release of Trash that things were really starting to move again for the now 44 years old Alice. Part of the explanation for this success was that the music had partly changed from provocatice and agressive to more polished and mainstream.
It is not primarily for his music, however, that Alice Cooper will be remembered, but rather for his image and visual appearance, inspired by comic magazines and horror movies, and his spectacular stage shows. No single artist has probably been "killed" more often that Alice Cooper, and definately not in more creative ways. This image fit perfectly in the Heavy Metal culture, and Alice Cooper was a major influence for bands like {Twisted Sister} and {Mötley Crüe}. In the light of this it may seem surprising that Alice has publicly spoken out against Satanism in rock music and that he has given lectures to school kids about the dangers of alcohol.
The official Alice Cooper site.
Poison (53 K) from Trash (© Sony Music)Coroner:
Ron Broder (vo, ba), Tommy Vetterli (gu), Marky Edelmann (dr) (1987)
When Coroner first started out, Tom G Warrior from {Celtic Frost} did the singing. It comes as no surprise, then, that just as Celtic Frost, Coroner too were a Swiss thrash band that developed a very distinct, experimental style of their own. Whereas their debut album R.I.P. from 1987 was rough and extremely fast, their other two albums from the eighties, Punishment For Decadence from 1988 and No More Color from 1989, took the band in slightly other directions.
The Unofficial Coroner Web Site.The Cult:
Ian Astbury (vo), Billy Duffy (gu), Jamie Stewart (ba), Nigel Preston (dr) (1984)
The Cult did not really follow the same pattern as most other English 80's Heavy Metal bands. Instead of starting out as an alternative to Punk and Brittish "new wave" bands, The Cult pretty much came from that musical camp themselves through earlier bands like Southern Death Cult, Studio Sweethearts and Theatre of Hate. Ian and Billy - the driving forces behind The Cult - released their first album as The Cult, Dreamtime, in 1984. It may well be called a Heavy Metal album, but was it was just as much a mixture of psychedelia and "light" goth. And the second album, Love, which was released the following year, was certainly not more Metal-oriented. On the contrary, featuring their most successful single She Sells Sanctuary, it brought The Cult closer to the pop side of things, even if it contained guitar explosions like The Phoenix.
Going back to the studio again, The Cult seemed to follow the same musical tracks for their third studio album. After the album had been recorded at the Manor Studios in England, however, the band apparently felt that it didn't sound the way they wanted, and so they started from scratch and recorded the album all over again, this time cooperating with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The result, Electric, was an album that contrasted sharply from their earlier recordings. Featuring tracks like Lil' Devil and Love Removal Machine it was much rougher and heavier than before and the clean, "no fuzz" production reminded more of {AC/DC} than of previous Cult albums... In 1989, The Cult released their last album of the eighties, Sonic Temple. Produced by Bob Rock, Sonic Temple was every bit as heavy as Electric, but featured a more bombastic "arena" sound where Electric had had more of a garage feel to it.
At the core of The Cult was Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. The other muscicians were replaced rather frequenly, with the exception of bassist Jamie Stewart who actually stayed in the band for several years. During the Sonic Temple tour, for example, Matt Sorum, who later went to {Guns n' Roses}, played the drums.
The official Cult site.The Cult Central - an unofficial the Cult site.
Electric Ocean (171 K) from Electric (© Beggars Banquet)Electric Ocean (184 K) from the Manor Studios recording (© Beggars Banquet)
-D-
DAD:
Jesper Binzer (vo, gu, ba), Jacob Binzer (gu, ke), Stig Pedersen (ba, vo), Peter Lundholm Jensen (dr) (1983)
The Danish band DAD was formed in 1982 under the name Disneyland After Dark. Apparently the Disney corporation were no fans of the band, however, as they eventuelly had to change their name to DAD (hmm, DAD... I wonder what that might stand for...)
They slowly built up a reputation in Scandinavia with their fast and crazy cowboy inspired music, comparable perhaps to American groups like Gun Club, but with a lot more humour. Their first two full length records, Call of the Wild (1986) and DAD Draws a Circle (1987) did fairly well in Scandinavia, especially considering the relatively "weird" qualities of their music, but it wasn't until their third album, No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims from 1989, that they got their breakthrough, most noticeably with the rather excellent single Sleeping My Day Away.
By now the music of DAD had begun to move away from the "cowboy punk" sound of their earlier efforts towards a more traditional Heavy Metal sound. The cowboy influences were still very much present, though, not least in the aforementioned single track.
The official DAD Home Page.
Sleeping My Day Away (102 K)
(© EMI-Medley)
Danger Danger:
Ted Poley (vo), Andy Timmons (gu), Bruno Ravel (ba), Kasey Smith (ke), Steve West (dr) (1989)
Towards the end of the eighties, the popularity of Glam Metal culminated with acts such as {Mötley Crüe} and {Poison} selling out the biggest of arenas. Thus, it was a good time for bassist Bruno Ravel (who had a history as both a classical musician and a short term member of {White Lion}) to start up his New York based Glam Metal act Danger Danger in 1987. Playing the kind of pop-oriented Metal that was typical for the genre, Danger Danger soon landed a record deal and released a self-titled debut album in 1989. The singles Naughty Naughty and (to a lesser extent) Bang Bang became moderate hits, and Danger Danger hit the road as supporting act for many of the biggest names in Heavy Metal.
The debut album eventually sold about 400,000 copies, and Danger Danger continued to release albums once in a while throughout the nineties. Inevitably, however, Danger Danger's popularity soon took a massive dive as the whole Glam Metal bandwagon suddenly lost its momentum.
The Official Danger Danger Web Site.Danzig:
Glenn Danzig (vo), John Christ (gu), Eerie Von (ba), Chuck Biscuits (dr) (1988)
"A thousand angers have kept me alive." Those are the words of Glenn Danzig, singer and frontman in the band named after himself. A few years before forming this band, Danzig had played in the wellknown hardcore band Misfits, and perhaps this helped him getting a contract with Def American, a record label run by the famous producer Rick Rubin, very soon after forming the band. And the debut album Danzig, produced by Rick Rubin himself, actually appeared in 1988, before Danzig had played as much as a single live gig. The song "Mother" from that album was successfully rereleased a few years later. The music of Danzig was dark and heavy. Think {Black Sabbath}, but with a bit more blues.
Glenn excelled in acting out his role as a gloomy, evil Heavy Metal lord. He was certainly a sight for sore eyes with his powerful body all dressed in black and sporting wild grown sideburns of impressive size. Danzig didn't release any more albums in the eighties.
The 7th House - One of many Danzig home pages.Death:
Chuck Shuldiner (vo, gu, ba), John Hand (gu), Chris Reifert (dr) (1987)
Judging from the name, you would guess that the Florida band Death played Death Metal. And you would be right, too. In fact, Chuck Schuldinger is widely recognized as the creator of the whole Death Metal genre. Perhaps the world wasn't ready for such agressive musical outbursts at the time, though, as the first album, Scream Bloody Gore, didn't appear until 1987, four years after the forming of the band. Chuck Schuldinger got a reputation of running the band as a one man show, not beeing very open to cooperation with the other band members. And sure enough, when the second album, Leprosy, was released in 1988, Chuck was the only remaining member from the first album.
Judging from the name, you would also guess that the lyrics of Death would primarily deal with matters concerning death. And you would be right again. The lyrics were filled with the kind of images of death, violence and aggression that has later come to be associated with the entire death metal genre.
Empty Words - the official Death site.Deep Purple:
Ian Gillan (vo), Ritchie Blackmore (gu), Roger Glover (ba), Jon Lord (ke),
Ian Paice (dr) (1984)Just like {Black Sabbath} et al, Deep Purple is one of those bands you just cannot fail to mention when it comes to Heavy Metal. As Deep Purple had their greatest days in the seventies though (they were formed as early as the late sixties in England) and there is loads and loads of info to be found elsewhere on the internet, I will only very briefly brush on the surface of what they were up to in the eighties.
Having been one of the most popular rock bands in the world, the band split up in the mid seventies, so there was much anticipation when they announced their comeback, featuring the classic "Mark 2" setting (see member list above). In 1984 they released Perfect Strangers, which was well received, even if most die-hard fans predictably argued that it was far from reaching the heights of earlier masterpieces. Deep Purple began touring successfully, just like in olden days. Even though Ritchie Blackmore was apparently extremely hard to cooperate with and had frequent bouts with (primarily) Ian Gillan, the band released another studio album, House of the Blue Light, in 1987 and managed to stay together for the rest of the decade (just...)
The picture shows the aforementioned "Mark 2" setting.
The official Deep Purple Web Site.As I said, there are about a million other places as well...
Perfect Strangers (146 K) from the album of the same name (© EMI Records)
Def Leppard:
Joe Elliott (vo), Pete Willis (gu), Steve Clark (gu), Rick Savage (ba), Rick Allen (dr) (1980)
The English band Def Leppard were fortunate enough to release their debut album, On Through the Night, in 1980, just as the NWOBHM (see thesaurus) was rising, and the band tagged along with the Heavy Metal band wagon that followed. Their real breakthrough came with the release of the immensely popular third album, Pyromania, in 1983. Even though Pete Willis had just been replaced with Phil Collen (ex Girl), the future certainly looked bright for the band. All this changed overnight, however, as Rick Allen was seriously injured in a car crash on new years eve of 1984 and lost his left arm. Apparently more stubborn than most, Rick Allen managed to work his way back again using a special drum set, and in 1987 Def Leppard was back with a new album, Hysteria. This album also proved to be a huge success and a long period of touring on both side of the Atlantic began. Unfortunately the band had their share of alcohol- and drug related problems and when the eighties ended they had still not released another album. (In 1991 Steve Clark died from alcohol abuse.)
The soft, melodic, pop influenced "light Heavy Metal" of Def Leppard rendered massive commercial success, but among true metal heads they were never considered a "real" Heavy Metal band (think "Stewart" from Beavis and Butt-Head.) I'm sure they cried all the way to the bank...
The Official Def Leppard Site.Demon:
Dave Hill (vo), Mal Spooner (gu), Les Hunt (gu), Chris Ellis (ba), John Wright (dr) (1981)Demon emerged in the UK around 1980 and released their debut album Night of the Demon in 1981. They were not really a typical NWOBHM band, however. For starters, they soon started to develop very elaborate and theatrical stage shows, whereas most other British acts went for a much more minimalistic 'less is more' approach. Also, despite their suitably ehr... "demonic" band name, and while the debut album as well as the follow-up The Unexpected Guest from 1982 leaned towards mainstream Heavy Metal/Hard Rock, Demon gradually evolved into more of a progressive - if not downright psychedelic at times - act. Lets just say that by the time British Standard Approved was released in 1984 (preceded by The Plague in 1983), Demon were in fact more reminiscent of bands like Pink Floyd than, say, {Judas Priest} (to whom they had actually been compared only a few short years earlier).
Sadly, only a matter of days after British Standard Approved was released, guitarist Mal Spooner, who had suffered from various lung related problems for several years, passed away due to pneumonea. Demon struggled on without him, releasing albums at a steady pace, but member changes were frequent and Demon never really managed to reach above 'cult band level'.
The image shows the cover of Night of the Demon (© Record Haven).
Site of the Demon.Diamond Head:
Sean Harris (vo), Brian Tatler (gu), Colin Kimberley (ba), Duncan Scott (dr) (1982)
Debuting in 1979, Diamond Head were among the forerunners of the NWOBHM movement. Come the eighties, the lads were already held in high respect due to their high quality early works. Unfortunately, the majority of their many fans saw their first album of the eighties, Borrowed Time from 1982, as a bit of a disappointment, seeing as it largely consisted of old material that their hard core fans already possessed. And matters did not get any better in 1983 when the followup Canterbury was released. By that time, Kimberley had been replaced by Mervyn Goldsworthy and the keyboardist Josh Phillips-Gorse had been added to the lineup. Perhaps it was these changes that led to the more exerimental sound of Canterbury, a sound that did not appeal to most of their fans. In 1985 Diamond Head called it a day and disbanded. Diamond Head's greatest legacy to the future is perhaps the strong influence they undoubtably had on many later bands, not least {Metallica}, who covered many of their songs.
The Official Diamond Head site.Dio:
Ronnie James Dio (vo), Viv Campbell (gu), Jimmy Bain (ba), Vinnie Appice (dr) (1983)
In the seventies, Ronnie James Dio (Ronald Padavona) used to sing in his own band Elf, and after that for Ritchie Blackmore's {Rainbow}. Between 1980 and 1982 he sung in {Black Sabbath}. It is safe to say, then, that he went into his project Dio with lots of experience, and the debut album Holy Diver, which hit the shelves in 1983, was consequently very well received among fans and critics alike. "His project", by the way, is a very fitting description indeed, as Ronnie James Dio, apparently being in his creative mood, not only composed the songs and wrote the lyrics, but also produced and arranged the album and designed the cover.
In 1984 keyboardist Claude Schnell had joined the band, and the equally successful follow up album, The Last in Line, arrived. And it was only another year before the third album, Sacred Heart, was out. Things were now starting to go downhills, however, and the live album Intermission and the studio album Dream Evil, released in 1987, were to be their last albums before the band was finally dissolved following several member changes. (Ronnie James Dio later joined Black Sabbath again.)
The official Ronnie James Dio Home Page.
Dream Evil (59 K) from the album of the same name (© Niji Productions)Disneyland After Dark:
See {DAD}.
Dokken:
Don Dokken (vo, gu), George Lynch (gu), Juan Croucier (ba), Mick Brown (dr) (1983)
Docken was formed in California in the late seventies, but apparently not comfortable with the musical climate of the USA at the time, Don went to Europe and Germany, where he landed the band's first record deal. The result of this record deal was the album Breaking the Chains, released in 1983. One year later the band had returned to America to release Tooth and Nail, at which time Juan Croucier had left the band to join {Ratt}. He was replaced by Jeff Pilson. Theese two albums were followed by several moore, all selling gold or even platinum, and saw them touring around the world. If the musical success was substantial, the personal indifferences within the band were more troublesome, as Dokken split up in 1989 at the height of their career. After this followed numerous side projects and solo albums (and eventually reunion).
The key to the success of Dokken was mixing Heavy metal with pop and soft, pleasing ballads featuring Don's soothing vocals. This enabled them to get the best of two worlds: "Monsters Of Rock" touring with bands like {AC/DC} and {Judas Priest}, and platinum selling radio hits with titles like In My Dreams. As with all bands following this format, they were often scorned by "true" metal heads.
Dokken Central - a Dokken site.Doro:
See {Warlock}.
Dream Death:
Brian Lawrence (vo, gu), Terry Weston (gu), Ted Williams (ba), Mike Smail (dr) (1987)
Dream Death was a Doom band from Pennsylvania, USA, that never found a place among the most popular Doom Metal bands. They were, however, possibly more popular in Europe than in the States. The debut album, Journey Into Mystery, was released in 1987 and featured an interesting mix of Doom, Hardcore, 1970's Hard Rock and Thrash Metal. The sales never really took off, however, and in 1989 Dream Death disbanded, only to reform some time later as Penance. By this time bassist Ted Williams had been replaced by Jeff Cherup, and Penance was slightly heavier and featured a more downright Doom sound.
Thanks to Gabriel of GL Productions for providing much of the info for this bio.
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