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Showing posts with label The Metal (Heavy Rock) Time Line. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Metal (Heavy Rock) Time Line. Show all posts

1986: When you talk about great years in metal and heavy rock history 1986 is about as good as it gets with two of the greatest albums in music history (let alone metal) being released. Metallica released the contemporary consensus choice for the greatest metal album of all time in Master Of Puppets and Slayer gave the world the bloodiest and most brutal beat down it could ever have hoped for with Reign In Blood. Of course I promised that I wouldn't retread ground I've already trod so those two classics while deserving of mention won't be entering my metal time line (if you want to read my thoughts on those album's look at their entry in the Greatest Album's of the Eighties list).


So behind two genre defining releases it seemed that everything else in 1986 was doomed to be completely overshadowed. Well oddly enough Kerrang magazine overlooked both Master Of Puppets and Reign In Blood in favour of the then overrated and now underrated Eat 'Em And Smile by David Lee Roth. Elsewhere the biggest commercial release in hard rock came from Bon Jovi with their career high point (I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms) Slippery When Wet. Yet my choice for the 1986 entry comes from another legend of the bay area thrash scene, after all 1986 was year of Thrash, the year that Hair Metal was forced to play second fiddle to something harder and more brutal.

Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? - Megadeth
(Combat 1986, Dave Mustaine)

You almost feel bad for Megadeth and Dave Mustaine, sure they've had success, but they've deserved so much more. Mustaine is a riff machine, an iconic front man and a hell of a song writer but he blew his chance with Metallica after the lightening bolt opening statement Kill 'Em All, and in the year when his own project Megadeth truly hit form with Peace Sells...But Who's Buying not only did Metallica return with arguably the greatest heavy metal album of all time but fellow Thrashers Slayer leap frogged them in the pecking order with Reign In Blood. You have to wonder where Megadeth would rank in the metal pantheon had this album been released just a year earlier or even a year later, in hindsight 1987 could have been the year of Anthrax and Megadeth following the year of Slayer and Metallica, but this was not to be.

While Peace Sells... may be the weakest of the classic Thrash albums it can't help but feel like the most urgent. While Reign In Blood beat the shit out of you and Master Of Puppets made your jaw drop, Peace Sells... got you all riled up. It feels like a punk classic, full of rage and political disgust. The tone is set by the album title and the iconic art work which sees the United Nations building destroyed by a nuclear holocaust. The album features similar themes of destruction with hell absorbing the earth, while this may all seem occult, it's all framed around ideas of political frustration and a sense of disgust for the way human beings were treating one another. When set against the back ground of the Greed Is Good culture of the UK, the Reganomics of the US and the wider context of the Cold War; Peace Sells... feels even more vital and actually feels like a historical artefact. Musically Megadeth are on fire with some seriously frantic fretwork that can't help but wow on the relentless "Good Morning/Black Friday" and album closer "My Last Words". Peace Sells... only real weakness is it's lack of clear hooks, while Mustaine raves like the hellish offspring of Axl Rose and James Hetfield (ironically two acts he inspired) he can't seem manage to write the kind of big choruses synonymous with those two hard rock legends. Which is a shame as when Mustaine does stumble across a half way decent hook the results are nothing short of genius, as seen on "Wake The Dead" and of course "Peace Sells". However this is a minor quibble on one of the defining thrash albums, and after all who needs catchy hooks when you've got this many face melting solos. By the time your done with Peace Sells... your fingers will be begging for mercy after fifty five minutes of non-stop air guitar action.

The Metal Timeline:

1970: Paranoid - Black Sabbath
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1972: Machine Head - Deep Purple
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1982: The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
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1986: Peace Sells...But Who's Buying - Megadeth
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1998: System Of A Down - System Of A Down
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2004: Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge - My Chemical Romance
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1970: Ah the earliest beginnings. The first entry chronologically in the Timeline. While there was some heavy music being made in the sixties by pioneers like Led Zeppelin, make no mistake, it was the 1970s when Heavy Metal truly came into existence with three landmark releases from three undeniably legendary acts.


However it's worth pointing out there was more to 1970 than just Zeppelin and Sabbath, the birth of a new decade also saw the birth of three of heavy music's great superstars Aerosmith, Judas Priest and Queen. While those bands were just forming, over in America they were proving that metal wasn't purely a British phenomena as Guess Who released their well remembered American Woman LP and Alice Cooper continued to find himself on Easy Action. Yet despite these notable releases this year belonged to three albums; Led Zeppelin's III, Black Sabbath's self titled debut and of course the album I have chosen to represent 1970 in the time line:

Paranoid - Black Sabbath
(Vertigo 1970, Rodger Bain)

While there is certainly some debate as to whether Paranoid or Black Sabbath's self titled debut album was the true landmark in metal history, there is no doubting that when it comes to heavy metal and changing the shape of music history Black Sabbath and Paranoid are as big and important as it gets. Coming just seven months after their game changing debut Paranoid truly turned the world on it's head. Not just because it was bigger, better and more focused than their iconic debut but because Paranoid was a commercial triumph. This was the moment when the dark gloomy bleak and terrifying world of metal music invaded the mainstream. Sure Zeppelin were heavy, but they were dark, they weren't oppressive, they didn't feel like an other worldly cult; whereas Black Sabbath of course did. "Paranoid" the albums lead staggeringly reached number four in the UK singles chart (forty years on and metallers can only dream of that sort of achievement) and even more miraculously they just about made the US single chart with absolutely no exposure and no radio play. This was unthinkable, it was nearly inexplicable, but it happened, finally metal had arrived.

To think of Paranoid as just a commercial statement of intent sells this album tragically short, it was so much more than that. It was a hit laden monster; on top of "Paranoid", Sabbath gave us a riff second only to "Smoke On The Water" in it's recognizability in the form of the monstrous "Iron Man", and of course then their was "War Pigs". A track so OTT, and so preposterous it should never have worked, it's guitar work is rudimentary, it's theatrics are ludicrious and Ozzy's lyrics are frankly ridiculous, but no one cared because it rocked hard, it sounded gorgeous and it was just too much fun. Sometimes the best way to tackle a board theme is with bludgeoning simplicity and that's what "War Pigs" achieved. Aside from the obvious hits Paranoid was an album that sounded delicious, "Planet Caravan" was the perfect cultish groove-athon to tee up the imposing "Iron Man". "Electric Funeral" simply sounded monstrous, with it's apocalyptic riffing and Ozzy playing the role of the demented preacher warning us all of the world's impending doom. "Hand Of Doom" took the quiet-loud blues rawk dynamic and stretched it the nth while combining it with a creepy down tuned bassline that set the template for forty years of metal expansion. The whole experience is wrapped up perfectly by "Faires Wear Boots" a six minute odyssey that sums up everything that made Sabbath special, it was big, it was overblown, it was ludicrous; but it was loud, groovy and satisfying as hell. It's all these crazy elements and all these obvious weaknesses that should create an unlistenable mess but instead came together to make one of the most thrilling and satisfying albums of all time. Is it the greatest metal album of all time? Who knows, but it'd damn good, and hellishly loud and sometimes that's all you need.

The Metal Time Line:

1970. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
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1972. Machine Head - Deep Purple
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1982. The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
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1998. System Of A Down - System Of A Down
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2004. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge - My Chemical Romance
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2004: By the mid 2000s Metal and heavier music in general was still trying to find itself. Nu-Metal had come and was nearly gone, but the question of what was to come next still loomed large, and the answers were hardly forth coming. The next wave of metal was either too hard, too genre specific or too damn retrospective to launch a new metal revolution. In fact it seemed that the next big things in metal were coming from less traditional sources.


2004 saw Slipknot cast of their Nu-Metal past with the ambitious statement of intent Vol III: The Subliminal Verse, Mastodon set their stall out with the brutal and brilliant Leviathon (two albums I've discussed previously). Elsewhere Dave Grohl reaffirmed his hard rock credentials with Probot and Velvet Revolver did there best to destroy the legacy of Guns and Roses with the turgid and the criminally overrated (at the time) Contraband. However when it came to heavier music the real noise was being made by the post-hardcore acts with Lostprophets achieving commercial dominance with Start Something, and this years entry spear heading the genre which would dominate the headlines and magazine front pages for the next three years.

So you guessed it right? Well if you didn't there's a fair chance you won't be happy:

Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge - My Chemical Romance
(Reprise 2004, Howard Benson)

I'm sure a vast majority of over grown teenagers are outraged by my selection of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge but if you really can't see past genres you need to grow up and open your mind. That said Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge is one of the weakest albums on the countdown, and not one of my favourites, I prefer the sublimely ridiculous Black Parade with it's OTT theatrics and sheer ballsiness. Yet when telling the story of the 21st century heavy rock scene it's impossible to ignore this album, as it encapsulated emo's moment in the sun. This was the moment when the emotional charged post-hardcore sound struck a chord with a million agnsty teens. The scene leaders would soon evolve and expand their sound, but this was as relevant as pure screaming hardcore music would ever get. In 2004 you either loved MCR and emo or you hated it, and lets not pretend, whatever side of the fence you were on (and I was a hater back then) it was a hell of a lot of fun. It sparked endless debates, it drove people wild, and it galvanised a generations of fans who had very little to be passionate about. Metal in the 21st Century has sorely lacked heroes and in MCR and Gerard Way hard rock was given the biggest Hero and biggest Villain it could have possibly hoped for.

Musically Three Cheers For Revenge was an absolute riot, a non stop assualt of screaming, thrashing and menical laughter. The album was deeply flawed, it was so painfully one dimensional it hurt, but back then MCR weren't worried about that they just wanted to rock as hard as they could, as loud as they could, and as fast as they could, with as much emotion as they could possibly muster. While Three Cheers... desperately needed to change gears, and show off the dramatic flair and theatrical frivolity that made The Black Parade so indispensable, it more than got the job done. "Give Them Hell, Kid" and "Thank You For The Venom" were unstoppable hardcore riots, "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison" showed MCR's potential with it's over the top story telling and it's unabashed pomposity, and of course"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" was the anthem that the scene needed and the world demanded. Whether you ridiculed it or scream it at the top of your lungs, you couldn't avoid it. With "Helena" MCR showed they had true stadium potential and while "Ghost Of You" highlighted their weakness and core sloppiness. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge could be loved and hated in equal measure, but more importantly it was visceral and thrilling when the rest of the hard rock world was anything but.

The Metal Time Line (so far):

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1972: Machine Head - Deep Purple
???
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1982: The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
???
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1998: System Of A Down - System Of A Down
???
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2004: Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge - My Chemical Romance
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1972: The early seventies were a great time for metal, hell it's when the whole genre truly came into existence and all those trademarks that would make heavy metal music so beloved were first conceived. 70 and 71 were mind blowing years for Metal fans but 1972 was just as thrilling. The releases might not be quite so famous but they were equally important and influencial.


Most importantly 1972 saw the arrival of the third album of what is regarded by metal and heavy rock history as the holy trinity. With that statement I've given the game away, but I want to spread the love around. 1972 saw the debut of Blue Oyster Cult with their self titled debut, upping the technical anti and giving the world an enduring anthem in "Cities A Flame With Rock And Roll". Sabbath returned with Vol. IV and brought one hell of a ballad with them in the form of "Changes". Alice Cooper continued to invent all the hallmarks of the Shock Rock genre with the iconic School's Out, while Hawkwind and Thin Lizzy offered up a pair of passable offerings.

But all of this great rock music played second fiddle to one album:

Machine Head - Deep Purple
(EMI 1972, Deep Purple)

Among die hards debate still rages as to which is the greatest of Deep Purple's classic albums but for the casual fan and the metal genre at large there is no doubt. Machine Head is an album that changed music. Listening to it now it's impossible not to hear it's influence not only on Maiden and the bands of the eighties but on today's big riffing hard rockers. Ian Gillan's vocals are just as iconic, if not quite as distinct, as Ozzy and Plant before him. The riffage on this album is just off the scales, and the use of keys and organ to complement the guitar, while dated, helps Deep Purple sound utterly distinct even after years of cheap knock offs. Across this album there are riffs that crunch, that soar, that chug and that drive like a mother fucker. Oh and there's some song called "Smoke On The Water", if you've learnt to play guitar, you've played that riff, but behind the legendary riff, lies a stellar vocal performance and a hook laden chorus that I fear too few of today's aspiring metallers have actually heard.

Now when you think duel guitar solo's there's a fair chance you think Maiden but the true originators were Deep Purple. When it comes to metal classics, one track is shamefully under represented and that is the sheer mind blowing genius of "Highway Star". It almost astounds me that this track was made in 1972 it still sounds so fresh. The guitars are more visceral than they have any right to be (this is pre punk remember, not quite pre Iggy though), the track chugs and it nearly develops into a Maiden-eske gallop, Ian Gillan is exploding with energy, and the solos are just gorgeous. Across the rest of the album we get the big ballsy crunching blues riffs cranked up to the max and combined with some classic metal vocals that almost verge on the operatic. Listening to Machine Head now you can feel and hear the inspiration for a million different sub genres and deviations. It may not be metal's greatest listen but it's the type of album that make you want to pick up a guitar and start laying down some thick grooves. Perhaps more than Sabbath and Zeppelin, Deep Purple sound like an all star music collective. You can hear the blues, the classic rock and roll, the surf-arama, a touch of rock-a-billy and some big pop hooks that The Beatles would have been proud of, and most remarkably of all you can hear it on a single track like the wonderfully epic "Pictures Of Home", my person favourite Deep Purple track. So next time someone's raving about Ozzy & Iomni or Page & Plant make sure they don't forget Gillan & Blackmore.

The Metal Time Line (so far):

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1972: Machine Head - Deep Purple
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1982: The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
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1998: System Of A Down - System Of A Down
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1982: The eighties would be a make or break decade for metal as a genre. Free from the dominance of original pioneers: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, the genre had managed to survive the summer of punk thanks to likes of Judas Priest but as another new decade dawned it was time for Metal to evolve or fade away.


1982 saw the emergence of one of the most important movements in heavy rock history, the New Wave In British Metal. While the resurgence had started in the late seventies with key releases from Motorhead and Iron Maiden, 1982 was the year the scene truly exploded and found the album that a new legion of fans could triumphantly cling to as a work just as important (if not quite as good) as IV or Paranoid. I'm sure 99% of you have already figured out which LP I'm about to review (and no it's not Borrowed Time by Diamond Head) but it's still interesting to look back and see how the music media consider of the time viewed the band.

Interestingly the album that I'm about to review came seventh in Kerrang's album of the year losing out to Tom Petty, Rush, Kiss, Robert Plant, Van Halen and ultimately Blackout by the Scorpions. If that's not the definition of musical conservatism I don't know what is. But at least Kerrang recognised the album's quality, Rolling Stone the US stalwart of the old school panned the album, flat out calling it bad music.

So I'm sure you've all guessed it, one of the most obviously inclusion imaginable:

The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
(EMI 1982, Matt Birch)

So yes one of the most predictable entries has been revealed, but honestly was there any alternate? Can this album really be denied? Looking back I feel quite ashamed that it didn't make my top fifty albums of the eighties, but then had I done the top 100 I'd have likely listed the three Maiden classics back to back. Anyway, it seems hard to imagine now, but back in 1982 this album was the subject of derision not adulation. The US straight out rejected the album, feeling it was satanic and cultish, which of course was about the best publicity any metal band could ever hope for. The Number Of The Beast was also an incredibly important album for Maiden themselves, not only because it's arguably their best, but because it saw a major shift in the bands direction. Most notably the arrival of Bruce Dickenson one of the greatest front men of all time, with an incredible range and a near unparalleled flair for the dramatic. More importantly it marked a fundamental shift in Maiden's song writing. The British New Wave core sound saw metal bands swap the early blues influence of Zeppelin for the punk influences that came to prominence in the late 70s. 1982 saw Maiden change tack, they kept the relentless punk spirit in their guitar work but opened their song writing up to sprawling operatic epics more suited to Dickenson's range, and it was this philosophical change that would change the face of metal forever. Prog and Opera were in, and they'd stay in till this very day.

It's not surprising that the albums two weakest tracks "Gangland" and "22 Arcadia Avenue" focus on rough and tough tales of street fighting gangs, that just seem at odds with Dickenson's personality. The latter of the two track still manages to thrill despite not quite feeling right. The rest of the album is the work of genius. With galloping guitars, and widescreen epics with tempo and mood changes galore. Dickenson retells the sci fi epics like "the Prisoner" or delves into psychological torment with the the legendary "Hallowed Be Thy Name". After "Invaders" sets the pace the album never lets up, only getting steadily more epic with the great wall of china style riffage of "Children Of The Dammed", the blood and guts gallop through the US's genocidal history that is "Run To The Hills" and of course the albums title track which contains, in my opinion, the greatest blood curdling cry in metal history. However if there is any one track that sums up why Maiden are so revered and most importantly so much fun, it's "Hallowed Be Thy Name" it has everything that makes Madien great and it just feels just as essential on the fiftieth listen as it did on the first. Number Of The Beast is beyond influential, everyone from Metallica to Dream Theatre have at some point been touched by this album, music wouldn't be the same without it.

The Metal Time Line:

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1982: The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
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1998: System Of A Down - System Of A Down
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1998: It was a funny year for metal, after the earlier years of the decade had seen land mark releases from the now legendary Grunge artists: Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Followed by the emergence of Tool and a band called Rage Against The Machine were just starting to edge their way towards world domination. But when 1998 came around, it felt like the calm before the storm. Nu-Metal was lurking just around the corner ready to propel metal onto Radio One once more, but in 1998 quite frankly not much was happening.


When it came to the end of year lists three albums dominated the countdowns. Marilyn Manson refocused himself with the Bowie tribute Mechanical Animals and garnered much of the public attention, Max Cavelera rose from the ashes of Sepultura to create Soulfly's self titled debut, and believe it or not the concensus choice for album of the year all the way from the softer mags to "the defender of faith" Metal Hammer was Monster Magnet's Powertrip.Obviously hindsight is twenty-twenty but the years truly ground breaking album was tragically over looked. Kerrang magazine respectably named this break out LP as the third best of the year, while Metal Hammer overlooked this LP all together, despite finding space for Metallica's cover collection Garage Inc.

So have you guessed it yet? 1998's entrant in the metal time line is:


System Of A Down - System Of A Down
(American Recordings 1998, Rick Rubin)

So while music writers may have preoccupied themselves with retrospection and the heavy rock establishment waves and waves of young metal fans were being blown away by System Of A Down and their self titled debut. What makes System Of A Down a triumph is a central paradox at the album's core. When you listen to this record it feels like a big label debut, full of bluster and bombast. It has the sharp sense of purpose associated with Rick Rubin's production wizardry, yet at the time it feels totally chaotic, even schzofrenic. The result was a heavy weight debut that felt both major league in scope and independent in spirit. Much of the credit for System Of A Down's success lies with the band themselves; while the individual elements of the music may not be new, System managed to arrive fully formed with a signature sound that was so defiantly distinct.

All the trademarks were in place, the mad cap sychofrenia of Serj's vocals, the amusing interplay with Darol, the two note riffs and of course those pummelling bombastic guitar beat downs. Perhaps the biggest factor in this album success was their Armenian heritage, System sounded different and out there without actually being out there. With their references to war, genocide and the authoritarianism of Eastern Europe, they sounded like a band with genuine passion and something to say, even when they had nothing more than a juvenile joke on their minds. Of course System's greatest assets, and what ultimately makes their debut and instant classic is the sheer enjoyment it brings you. This is a fun album, and I mean it's really fun, it makes you want to mosh along to their pummelling grooves and even in it's bleakest moments it makes you smile. Of course it helps that it's stacked from first track to last with hits, fan favourites and live anthems. Whether it be live set staple "Suite-Pee", the frantic fury of "War?" (which would become a sprawling live epic), the monster riffage of "Know", or of course the utter all round genius of stand out single "Sugar", this self titled debut was destined to thrust SOAD to the front of the metal scene. All the elements that would make System one of metals elite were present in their rawest form, they would be smoothed over, expanded and turned into a world conquering formula on 2001's Toxicity, but you can never quite match the visceral thrill of hearing the young hungry System for the first time.

The Time Line:

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1998: System of A Down - System Of A Down
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Hello there everyone. I've rather neglected the blogosphere lately, as I've been having to pound out a couple of articles a week on 411mania.com, but I did promise more content and here it comes.


I've decided to focus my blog more around lists, features and singles reviews, due to my commitments elsewhere. Now fear not before the month is out I shall post my Joanna Newsom review, and I will conclude my top 1,000 singles of the 2000s countdown. But because that list is so time consuming, I don't want it to get in the way of some serious work I have coming up.

So with all that in mind, I launch:

Daveportivo's Metal Timeline:

In this new feature I'll be creating a time line of metal from 1970-2010. Where after a brief introduction I pick one album as a representative of that year in Metal History. I will of course add to this list once it's finished, perhaps adding multiple albums to list.

Now the point of this time line is to give a flavour of the development of metal and look at some of the landmark releases. Now as I'm sure you know, Heavy Rock isn't my genre of choice so this is as much an education for me as it is for you, and there are a couple of albums that I've genuinely never heard before. I intend to give my genuine appraisal of the piece, as a piece of music, rather than as a revered historical landmark.

Furthermore this list will be constituted of albums that I haven't already talked about on this blog at length. So no: Master Of Puppets, Ride The Lightening, And Justice For All, Kill 'Em All, Vulgar Display Of Power, Reign In Blood, Chaos A.D., Nevermind, In Utero, Back In Black, Van Halen II, and some other notable albums will be left off. (If you'd like to hear about these albums just look back through my listings)

One final note the time line will play out, out of order. So enjoy guessing what will come where and filling in the gaps. So LETS GO!

These are the rules, I will now start the article, in a different post.

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About this blog


This is your one stop shop of pop culture reviews I most specialize in Music, Politics & Film. I occasionally delve into TV reviews. I've got a Politics MA and a War Studies BA, I'm taking a year out before starting a Phd so when it comes to History and Politics I'm pretty well versed but I tend to keep this blog fun rather than serious.

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