October 2003:
Metal memories for the year of our Metal
Gods, XXXX
Recently I saw part of a VH1 bio on the year 1987. A lot of it was
about how popular metal/hard rock was at the time with bands like
Poison, G-n-R, Whitesnake, Motley Crue, etc. It got me thinking about a
possible FHH along the same lines. We could pick a a year (or better yet
a bunch of years) and post our memories of what was big or important to
us back then in metal from OUR perspective. This would not be a research
topic to go and lookup what was happening back whenever, but a personal
recollection of times gone past and writing about our own experiences
with metal from days gone by. Of course, each of us could write a book
on this type of thing, but we kept it short and highlighted some of the
important happenings.
Enjoy,
EvilG
"Metal memories for the year of our Metal Gods,
1998" - By JP
I've been a fan of metal since the mid 70's and a dedicated of metal
since the early 80's so as an older fan this months topic was very hard
indeed. I have a 20+ range of years to choose from and countless
memories from across those years; first concerts, first records, first
autographs all that stuff.
When I first heard about this topic my automatic reaction was,
'Dude!! Late 80's'!! I have much nostalgia for 1983-1990… the teen
years the heady thrill of being there in the giant wave that swept the
world, (although as partying dudes we didn't know at the time or even
really care, we just wanted to have a good time) seeing and hearing all
the now legendary bands in their infancy.
1990-1995 were great university years with countless concerts and
some close friendships that last to this day and the intensity of
support for the underground and flying the flag and waving the torch of
true metal while legions of posers leapt on the Grunge and Alternative
bandwagons.
But the more I thought about it the more I felt I have come to
identify with metal from 1995 and on. The late 90's stand out for so
many reasons personally and professionally but it really was 1998 that
came to crystallize my involvement with metal on more than the level of
just a fan.
I had been wanting to write a book about metal for at least ten
years. I still have some sheets of yellowed old foolscap paper with my
crude ideas, titles, chapters and headings and so on. As I aged and
gained experience, time and money and increasingly disenchanted with the
9-5, suit & tie, lifestyle I was inevitably thrust into after
graduating, this idea burned inside me like a glowing ember.
February 1998, a vicious cold snap and I was stuck in dead-end, no
fun job pushing mail for a big company. I was newly married, I had lots
of $$ to spend on CD's which was nice, but the words of Blackie Lawless
and W.A.S.P. burned in my brain…"I Wanna Be Somebody." My
wife saw my restless discontent and strongly encouraged me to take all
this useless metal knowledge, experience and trivia and do something
with it. Many of us realize that it is important to do something you
really enjoy in life but as we all know execution is harder than the
fantasy.
That winter I decided I was NOT going to be in a rut that I was
headed for and the book was resurrected and very quickly evolved into a
board game. I started a small company and creating this monster became
my consuming passion. A change in seasons and jobs found me in a
fulfilling job and the game became closer to reality. A new computer (my
first) aids me in my quest for music as E-bay and mail-order becomes an
all-consuming passion. I spend thousands on tracking down those rarities
I had missed the first time around as a poor student in the mid 90's. My
collection swells as I embrace the CD age, only ten years after everyone
else! I write and spill out all the crazy lists and facts, trivia and
ideas in my head into some semblance of a coherent format for migh tone
day become the book. By winter the prototype of the game is done. Even
if I never got past that stage I was proud that I actually did it.
Fall approaches and a stroke of luck and fate finds me acting as
co-host to Megawatt Mayhem, now North America's longest running Metal
radio show. My voice to the world to share my treasures with fans across
the city and eventually via the miracle of the internet, across the
world. The popular and stable show provides increased exposure to the
industry teaches me an enormous amount in a very short period of time,
mountains of new releases to explore and the sheer delight of
introducing fans to bands they never previously had a chance to hear on
the radio.
A few other things stick in my mind…Brave Words Magazine goes
glossy and full colour and becomes my exclusive printed source of
incoming metal news. I start regular correspondence with a number of
authors around the world made so much easier by the internet and e-mail.
Martin Popoff (Collectors Guide To Heavy Metal), Denis Gulbey (Sentinel
Steel) and a small handful of others encourage me directly and
indirectly through their intelligent and professional approach to the
idea of a possible career in metal.
Musically, 1998 was a huge year for metal…well…EVERY year is a
huge year for metal for me…but there were a few highlights.
Hammerfall's Glory To The Brave (although released in June 1997) is
still is taking the world by storm. They release a second single in late
1997 and by early 1998 have become a 'gateway' band that truly
spearheads my favorite type of metal back into the global limelight
driven by massive sales. They follow it up with Legacy of Kings proving
it was no fluke.
The world takes notice as veterans Helloween, Blind Guardian, Virgin
Steele, King Diamond and Kiss step up to the plate releasing monster
albums with younger guns Rhapsody, Stratovarius, Kamelot, Symphony X and
Iced Earth snapping at their heels each with critically acclaimed
albums. Many of these great underground power metal acts who had been
struggling for several years finally start to get some recognition by
the media, (more exposure) the industry (more labels and signings) and
most importantly the fans. It delighted me to read and hear of bands I
had been trying to support for so many years finally making a break
through.
Of course no one can hear it all the music when it comes out so in
1998 I was still catching up on 1997 another great year with releases by
some of my favorites, Overkill, Raven, Malmsteen, W.A.S.P., and many
more. A combination of personal and professional factors, some ground
breaking life-changing decisions and a full-on metal soundtrack made
1998 my year for metal.
Metal memories for the year of our Metal Gods:
- 1983-84
- 1985
- 1986
- 1997
By EvilG
There are hundreds of bands or events I could ramble on about here.
It is very hard to narrow down 20 years of listening to heavy metal in
just a few short paragraphs. Clearly there will be bands, albums, etc.
that I just don't have the time to mention below because this is a not a
history of metal, or a history of what I listened to...these are just
some of the highlights.
1983-84
I know bands like Slayer, Metallica, Exciter, Anvil, etc. emerged or
became somewhat known in 1983. Historical revisionists will point to
those bands and argue that they were the real metal in 1983 while the
other bands (like I'll be mentioning in a minute) were not. The reason
why so few knew of these bands in 1983 was because they were extremely
underground. You basically had to know someone or live in a city where
the band played to know anything about them. As a young teenager in
Canada and before there was the web, it was next to impossible for me to
find underground metal. What I did find in 1983 was Judas Priest, Motley
Crue, Ratt, Ozzy / Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot, Def Leppard, Van Halen,
AC/DC, Kiss, etc.
The first metal tape (this was before CD's of course) I bought was
SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE. I had heard the song "You've Got Another
Thing Comin'" at school on a large ghetto blaster that and older
kid (Mark Penny - I even remember the dude's name) and thought it
sounded like nothing I'd heard before. Not long after I had the tape
ordered from Columbia House and I was a fan.
What
really put things over the top and, in my own mind, made me a metalhead
was when I shortly thereafter got SHOUT AT THE DEVIL by Motley Crue. If
you not there in 83-84 you won't understand the impact that this album
had on a lot of teens. It has been written by many that this album
played a big part in getting heavy metal on the map in North America. As
a teenager it spoke to our aggressions, frustrations with school,
parents, life and empowered us to stand up for something. Nikki's
popular F.T.W. attitude gave rebellion new meaning.
Other memories of these years is getting to know "Celtic
Bob" who was heavily into Motley Crue and Kiss at the time. His
walls were covered in posters inspiring me to wallpaper my own room with
Motley Crue.
It was not uncommon for silly elementary school dances to play Ozzy,
Crue, Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, etc. In fact the fist time I can remember
hearing "Crazy Train" was at a school dance.
Other albums mark this period in my life like Quiet Riot's METAL
HEALTH. This was another album that got a lot of people into heavier
music. I think just about everyone had this record when it came out.
Songs like "Cum on Feel The Noise" and "Metal
Health" were on the radio often. In fact our only (at the time) FM
radio station had a weekly metal hour on Friday nights which played all
kinds of hard rock and metal that I'd never heard before. I wonder if
the tapes from those old shows lie in some basement of their station -
it be cool if they re-aired, in their entirety, some of those old shows!
Sadly the station is now a haven for pop/rap/dance shit. When talking
about 83-84 I also have to mention Ratt's OUT OF THE CELLAR. While not
quite as good as the life altering SHOUT AT THE DEVIL, this album was
still a landmark release by a band that was later shunned by fickle
image-obsessed metalheads. Also, W.A.S.P.'s self titled album got a LOT
of play on my walkman at the time and is to this day one of my favorite
albums.
1985
When
1985 hit, my main memory of that year was the release of THEATRE OF PAIN
by Motley Crue. I remember going to A&A records in the Village Mall
and asking for it. They had completely sold out of the tapes and I had
to buy it on vinyl. I remember opening the album and looking at the
pictures thinking - why in the hell is Vince Neil wearing pink and lace?
However, the music was recognizable as the same band - although not as
edgy - and blues had reared it's head big time in the lead playing of
Mick Mars. At the time, it was not a disappointment since I had become a
major Crue head.
To me, this was the first album by a major metal band that had an
OVER THE TOP glam image. Others had done it before of course, but no
others who were as popular and as influential on teenagers as Motley
Crue were at the time. Right after the album came out it seemed as if
every band changed and dressed more like the Crue - Ratt, Kiss, etc.
Even bands who were slightly heavier changed their appearance to look
more "hip". Bands like Priest, and Ozzy looked almost as
glammed up as anyone else.
It was around this time that I also got into another of my, at the
time, favorite bands - Dokken. The playing of George Lynch instantly freaked
me out...as did the latest sensation from Sweden - Yngwie J. Malmsteen.
There were other bands that I loved from the period of 1983-85, but
this is not a recollection of every metal band/album/event from this
period of my life - just the majors.
1986
The
period beginning in 1986 marks a bit of a transition, and it all began
with a new band that came on the scene called Megadeth. I had their
album PEACE SELLS...BUT WHO'S BUYING in my hands immediately after I saw
the video for "Wake Up Dead". When I realized that Dave Mustaine
was previously in Metallica I was interested to hear more from them. A
good friend of mine in high school (Smitty) knew some dude who had
MASTER OF PUPPETS. He borrowed it and we got to listen to it. I remember
hearing the song "Master of Puppets" for the first time and
being completely blown away. It was unlike anything else I'd heard
before from the vocals down to the unique riffing and playing style. I
was sold. Following Metallica and Megadeth quickly came Anthrax, Kreator
(how many times did I watch the video for "Toxic Trace" when
it came out!!), Celtic Frost (same goes for the "Circle of the
Tyrants" video....classic!), Venom, and what became my favorite
band...SLAYER! A whole new world of heaviness was opening to me.
Unlike some, I didn't shun the bands that had brought me to this
point. I still loved the Crue, Ratt, Dokken and newer arrivals on the
metal scene like Poison and then Skid Row. However, the floodgates had
been opened and things kept getting heavier...
1997
After spending much of the 90's getting into death metal (Cannibal
Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Death....), discovering more thrash, and
even getting into bands like White Zombie and Alice In Chains, something
came along which re-awakened my love for what I'd call classic heavy
metal. Oddly enough, the event began with a melodic yet dark album by a
new band (to me) in 1996 called Sentenced. Their album DOWN really
captivated me and I have played that album more times than all other
Sentenced albums combined.
At the time, DOWN was one of the lighter albums I was listening to a
lot. It acted as a stepping stone preparing me for the last album that
I'll reminisce about in this editorial. This album is responsible for
turning me back to classic metal and getting me interested in what is
now called power metal. The album is GLORY TO THE BRAVE and the band is
HammerFall. From the soaring power of the opening track, "The
Dragon Lies Bleeding" I was totally blown away. This album
instantly made HammerFall one of my favorite new bands. In fact, they
are just about my favorite band that formed in the 90's. Some have
called HammerFall the saviours of "true" heavy metal. While
some people don't agree, for me that was exactly the case.
"All for one, our burning hearts will live forever
One for all, together standing strong"
Creation of a Metal Soul!!
By Rick
This From Hells Heart should be one of the easiest and hardest that I
have written. There are so many memorable years in my metal life that it
is hard to pick just a few to relate. Being the oldest of my siblings
and also the oldest of my cousins I was pretty well the first to get
into any music so I really had no one to turn me onto bands and albums.
In 1981 I got into music in a big way at the age of 9 when I discovered
Chris DeBurgh and Rick Springfield. I bought 45 after 45 (for those of
you too young to remember, a 45 was a vinyl single) until I happened to
come across Michael Jackson in 1983. His Thriller album was blasting
through the charts and I was determined to have it. It was also during
this time that a black and white striped band by the name of Quiet Riot
released “Cum on Feel the Noize” as a single. My mother was on her
way to Zellers (department store) so little 11 year old me told her to
pick me up the cassette for Michael Jackson and if that wasn’t there I
would settle for Quiet Riot. Well THRILLER was all sold out and I ended
up with METAL HEALTH by Quiet Riot. The moment I played that cassette I
had an epiphany. I couldn’t believe that music like this existed. It
just lit a fire inside me that I couldn’t explain. Michael Jackson was
soon forgotten and I played that cassette to death.
If Quiet Riot opened my mind to heavier music it was Much Music and
the Power Hour that cemented my metal future. In 1984 Canada had its
first Heavy Metal video show on the new music video station. The
inaugural episode introduced me to 3 bands that would turn my heart to a
bleeding blackened mass of twisted metal: Ratt, Motley Crue and Twisted
Sister. Though tame by today’s standards these 3 bands are relatively
lightweight metal, back then they were my metal triumvirate. They opened
up the dark recesses of the metal world to this 12 year old. When the
Vince Neil, with his bleached and scraggily hair, screamed “Shes Got
the Looks That Kill” and had a group of scantily clad women caged like
animals I knew that I wanted to be just like him!! The Power Hour also
introduced me to many other bands that would become the basis of metal
world. Though I have branched out over the years into all kinds of metal
both mainstream and underground, I will never forget these 2 events in
my life. In 1983 Quiet Riot single handedly turned me from the pop path
and brought me to the metal light with their screaming guitars and metal
anthem BANG YOUR HEAD. The POWER HOUR and The Crue, Twisted Sister, Ratt
and other bands like The Scorpions, King Kobra and Dio opened up a whole
new world or music that I never knew existed and cemented my love for
metal which endures to this day.
METAL FOREVER!!!!!!!!
1988: The Year I Became A Man - by Lord of the
Wasteland
1988 was the year I became a man (get your mind out of the gutter…it's
not what you're thinking). Now, I didn't even turn 17 until December of
that year, but in my eyes, I was a "man". By becoming a man, I
mean my musical tastes evolved from that of my youth and parental
influences to the music that would change my life-HEAVY METAL!!
First of all, here's what led up to it…
At home, I was a slave to my parent's ABBA and Neil Diamond records.
Besides these grim musical selections, my tastes were shaped by AM
radio. Music channels were still something I had only heard of and the
term "heavy metal" was not part of my vocabulary yet. Being an
only child, I didn't have an older brother or sister whose Kiss albums
or Judas Priest tapes I could hear. When we finally got the
"deluxe" cable package in 1985, Much Music opened up a whole
new world with the Pepsi Power Hour that aired on Mondays and Thursdays.
The Power Hour, with its intro of "Metal Tim" Henderson
getting chased through the smoke-filled basement of Much Music
headquarters by the metal phantasm, seemed fascinating to me. Every
week, I faithfully tuned in to see such heavyweights as Kiss, Motley
Crue, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Unfortunately, my parents refused to
buy me any of this "crap" music so these 2 hours per week was
all the metal I could get my hands on.
By the time 1987 had come, I had my first job and it was glamorous-I
cleaned my Dad's office once a week for a whopping $100 per month! I
felt like a king with my new found wealth. Finally, I had some money
that I could buy what I wanted with. I remember sneaking in a couple of
metal albums on my parents' record binges at Sears or Woodward's before
this (Quiet Riot's METAL HEALTH, Ozzy Osbourne's THE ULTIMATE SIN and
Motley Crue's THEATRE OF PAIN immediately come to mind), but the first
metal albums that I bought with my OWN money were CRAZY NIGHTS by Kiss
and W.A.S.P.'s ANIMAL (FUCK LIKE A BEAST) 12" at A&A Records.
When my Mom walked into my room and saw the W.A.S.P. cover featuring a
bloody sawblade coming out of a guy's crotch, she went berserk!! She
insisted I take the record back to the store and didn't want that
"garbage" in the house. Fortunately I had already opened the
record so the store wouldn't take it back and I had to keep it, but the
reaction I got from my Mom clued me in right away-this is it!!! From
then on, I was a metal junkie. I let my hair grow a bit longer and did
away with the nerdy "side-part" cut that I had been forced
into since my Dad first took me to the barber. I began buying magazines
like RIP, METAL EDGE, HIT PARADER and CREEM and my room became
wallpapered with posters and clippings of the heavy metal gods. For a
small-town kid, I began amassing a pretty decent collection of metal LPs
ranging from Van Halen to Kiss, Ozzy to Motorhead. Operating on a pretty
slim budget of $100 per month didn't allow for a lot of records, so I
turned to a life of crime and switched over to the more
shoplifter-friendly format, the cassette tape. Though I am not proud of
what I did, it is still part of the story that must be told. How I
managed to avoid getting pinched still amazes me. I had balls of steel
and never hesitated to slip a tape up the sleeve of my beloved jean
jacket and was quite an accomplished thief, too, but fortunately I saw
the light and quit before I got busted. Still, I managed to acquire a
couple hundred tapes in a few months and soon found myself with a
collection that drew breathless gasps from people visiting my metallic
lair. Being as well-versed in the metal arts as I was, the chicks
couldn't stay away either. Soon, I had my first "real"
girlfriend and with her came a whole new world (again, get your mind out
the gutter…it's not what you're thinking)…
The first time I went to her parent's house, I was amazed at what I
saw-a satellite dish. In my naïve young mind, only the wealthy had such
extravagances. This was a black market satellite dish with all the
American channels I had only read about-HBO, ESPN and MTV. In the mid-
to late 80s, heavy metal was a popular style of music that actually got
played during regular rotation but besides that, there was a program on
Saturday nights called "The Headbanger's Ball". This show was
2 hours of metal videos hosted by various musicians and it was the
greatest thing to come along since sliced bread. While Much Music's
Power Hour program had its share of videos, many were repeated often and
their playlist was limited due to a small budget and the dreaded "CanCon"
restrictions. MTV on the other hand was at the top of its game. The
Headbanger's Ball opened my eyes to a whole new era of bands like
Overkill, Testament, Slayer, Poison, Cinderella, Megadeth, Stryper,
Faster Pussycat, Guns 'n Roses, L.A. Guns, Tesla and Dokken. I was
smitten and had to get my hands on EVERYTHING these bands released.
I was also fortunate enough to see my first metal concert on March
9th, 1988. My parents needed their bathroom painted and I wanted to see
Kiss in Calgary. A deal was reached where they would buy tickets for my
girlfriend and I if we painted the bathroom. Once the job was done, we
were rewarded with 2 tickets for Kiss and Anthrax!! Even then, Kiss was
my favorite band and I was beyond excited to see them LIVE!! Kiss was
touring for the CRAZY NIGHTS album and Anthrax was supporting their
masterpiece AMONG THE LIVING, so this was quite a show. I should add
that I still have the ticket stub and face value was $21 each…a far
cry from the $100+ the band is charging now on their current run with
Aerosmith, but that's a topic for another FHH article.
1988 was a great time to come into metal as a whole slew of bands
were either releasing some of their greatest albums or seeing them hit
big: Guns 'n Roses' APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION, Def Leppard's HYSTERIA,
Anthrax' AMONG THE LIVING, Aerosmith's PERMANENT VACATION, Dokken's BACK
FOR THE ATTACK, Great White's ONCE BITTEN…, Motley Crue's GIRLS GIRLS
GIRLS, Whitesnake's self-titled album, Cinderella's LONG COLD WINTER,
Queensryche's OPERATION: MINDCRIME, Bon Jovi's NEW JERSEY, Slayer's
SOUTH OF HEAVEN, Metallica's …AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, Poison's OPEN UP
AND SAY…AHHHH!, Overkill's UNDER THE INFLUENCE, Van Halen's OU812,
Testament's THE NEW ORDER, Death's LEPROSY, Manowar's KINGS OF METAL,
King Diamond's THEM, Dark Angel's LEAVE SCARS, Helloween's KEEPER OF THE
SEVEN KEYS PART I & PART II, Megadeth's SO FAR, SO GOOD…SO WHAT?!,
Ozzy Osbourne's NO REST FOR THE WICKED, Vinnie Vincent Invasion's ALL
SYSTEMS GO, Stryper's IN GOD WE TRUST, Iron Maiden's SEVENTH SON OF A
SEVENTH SON, and debut albums from Sanctuary, Living Color, Winger, L.A.
Guns and Danzig. Classics all, my friend!
As the years have passed, tapes and records have been upgraded to CDs
and at almost 32 years old, I'm still a proud and dedicated metalhead.
True, my hair has gotten shorter, the earrings have come out, and
fitting into the size Large metal t-shirts is now a pipedream, but with
over 2,000 CDs, you'll find everything from Sepultura to Soulfly,
Slipknot to Skid Row, Stryper to Scorpions and everything in between. As
friends hit their 30s and have either veered off into lite-FM garbage or
given up listening to music altogether, I still carry the flag of metal
onward, never forgetting what turned me into a man!!
SEAN COWIE
SEPT. 2003