Top Ten - 1985

Of the 54 albums I rated in 1985, only about 1/3 were by popular bands. This is reflected in the top ten as well, as only Saxon, Mötley Crüe, and Megadeth are the big names there. Not surprisingly, the lack of top talent meant lower ratings, with most bands scoring below 80. 1985 may just be the weakest year in rock and roll.



Top Ten - 1985
89.56 -- Fates Warning - The Spectre Within
87.89 -- Aria - Megalomania
86.42 -- Saxon - Innocence is No Excuse
86.20 -- Manilla Road - Open the Gates
85.90 -- Mötley Crüe - Theatre of Pain
84.93 -- Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone - Fighting Back
84.91 -- Blackmayne - Blackmayne
84.39 -- Overkill - Feel the Fire
84.05 -- Anthem - Anthem
83.91 -- Megadeth - Killing is My Business...and Business is Good!

Other 1985 releases:
83.11 -- Savatage - Power of the Night
82.03 -- Attacker - Battle at Helm's Deep
81.91 -- Ratt - Invasion of Your Privacy
81.86 -- Piledriver - Metal Inquisition
80.79 -- Dio - Sacred Heart
80.69 -- Aerosmith - Done with Mirrors
80.64 -- Rough Cutt - Rough Cutt
80.63 -- Nasty Savage - Nasty Savage
79.89 -- Avenger - Prayers of Steel
77.93 -- Exodus - Bonded by Blood
77.12 -- W.A.S.P. - The Last Command
76.49 -- 220 Volt - Mind Over Muscle
76.05 -- Blitzkrieg - A Time of Changes
75.99 -- Rottweiller - Screams of the Innocent
75.47 -- Ostrogoth - Too Hot
74.42 -- Kix - Midnight Dynamite
74.10 -- Armored Saint - Delirious Nomad
73.12 -- Nightmare - Power of the Universe
73.06 -- Stevie Ray Vaughan - Soul to Soul
72.01 -- Helloïse - Cosmogony
71.62 -- ZZ Top - Afterburner
70.90 -- Dokken - Under Lock and Key
70.77 -- Hawkwind - The Chronicle of the Black Sword
70.43 -- Y&T - Down for the Count
70.38 -- Malice - In the Beginning...
69.82 -- Thor - Only the Strong
69.66 -- Twisted Sister - Come Out and Play
69.51 -- Kiss - Asylum
68.69 -- Running Wild - Branded and Exiled
68.68 -- Bon Jovi - 7800° Fahrenheit
68.42 -- Bow Wow - Cyclone
68.12 -- Krokus - Change of Address
67.79 -- Triumph - The Sport of Kings
66.07 -- AC/DC - Fly On the Wall
65.93 -- Grim Reaper - Fear No Evil
64.30 -- Gravestone - Back to Attack
62.54 -- UFO - Misdemeanor
62.01 -- Rush - Power Windows
61.60 -- Vandenberg - Alibi
61.25 -- Uriah Heep - Equator
59.10 -- Alcatrazz - Disturbing the Peace
58.33 -- Icon - Night of the Crime
58.12 -- Demon - British Standard Approved
52.71 -- Demon - Heart of Our Time

Top Ten - 1991

Looking at the 41 albums in this list, you'll see over 3/4 are metal or metal-related (including an all-metal Top Ten). Not a whole lot going on classic rock-wise. Also, if you look closely, you'll find one of the few Grunge albums (Nirvana's Nevermind) that will appear in this blog.



Top Ten - 1991:
91.18 -- Armored Saint - Symbol of Salvation
90.26 -- Metal Church - The Human Factor
88.40 -- Running Wild - Blazon Stone
88.28 -- Aria - Blood for Blood
87.94 -- Warrior Soul - Drugs, God and the New Republic
85.78 -- Galactic Cowboys - Galactic Cowboys
84.40 -- Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears
84.39 -- Bride - Kinetic Faith
83.12 -- Gamma Ray - Sigh No More
82.79 -- Venom - Temples of Ice

Other 1991 releases:
82.37 -- Alice Cooper - Hey Stoopid
82.28 -- Metallica - Metallica
81.61 -- Saxon - Solid Ball of Rock
81.46 -- Iced Earth - Iced Earth
81.44 -- Motörhead - 1916
81.20 -- Krokus - Stampede
79.18 -- Great White - Hooked
78.76 -- Savatage - "Streets" - A Rock Opera
78.61 -- Cirith Ungol - Paradise Lost
78.43 -- Badlands - Voodoo Highway
77.47 -- Skid Row - Slave to the Grind
77.42 -- Helloween - Pink Bubbles Go Ape
77.06 -- Demon - Hold On to the Dream
76.46 -- Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
75.60 -- Crimson Glory - Strange and Beautiful
73.87 -- Pink Cream 69 - One Size Fits All
72.65 -- Kik Tracee - No Rules
72.53 -- Blues Traveler - Travelers and Thieves
72.31 -- Guns 'n' Roses - Use Your Illusion II
71.53 -- Guns 'n' Roses - Use Your Illusion I
71.45 -- Reverend - Play God
71.29 -- Anvil - Worth the Weight
70.87 -- Nirvana - Nevermind
69.22 -- Queen - Innuendo
68.90 -- Uriah Heep - Different World
68.71 -- Fates Warning - Parallels
67.64 -- Praying Mantis - Predator in Disguise
65.99 -- Axel Rudi Pell - Nasty Reputation
65.07 -- Jethro Tull - Catfish Rising
63.68 -- Golden Earring - Bloody Buccaneers
61.33 -- Stevie Ray Vaughan - The Sky is Crying

Time and A Word...

Well, more like 30 words. Or 30 bands, to be specific. As an addendum (of sorts) to the previous post, I thought I'd have a little fun and get these great bands out there once again. The bands are listed horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, and are forwards and backwards. Check out the list below the letters for the band names hidden within.

Q D F B J I K A S A R U M N M O X Y A F
X G A S K I N O D M V J I O V E W U G J
T S H B U F F A L O Z Z A T T A C K E R
R S F A Q C E W F R F Y I G S R V G T K
E A G H W D I J V E H J O B I X H J I N
T N R S J U O N D Y W W M F R C V L O I
T E L I X I R Z A U Y E Y D L T L P U O
I G H V A H F K E R K I E E O E R G A B
O O Y E D S A L B X G F N D R D I B P U
A Q V V N I K D O B L U A S D U T L W L
R U I E F U A C I D M Z J G B H M O C L
I F R D R Z I R W Q S Z D U A G R O I A
G D U A S L T V C I D Y N I L D S D Z N
A V S B J P O B U F E D A O T R X Y U G
K S D U I O T R R U R U H J I A S M G U
R Z B G K L T E D S K C T H M Z C A B S
I D S T R A Y D S E I K U S O Z O R R W
G S E I B A B R A W F D R Q R U T Y A U
E E S D Y I R G G H K L T D E B G H S D
T F K W A H R E T N I W A G H S U G N A

Acid, Angus, Aria, Attacker, Bloody Mary, Bodkin, Buffalo, Bull Angus, Buzzard, Elixir, Fuse, Fuzzy Duck, Gaskin, Granicus, Killer, More, Moxy, Murasaki, Overlorde, Sir Lord Baltimore, Stray, Sword, Toad, Totty, Trettioåriga Kriget, Truth and Janey, Virus, War Babies, Weed, Winterhawk

Top Ten (and others) - Obscure Bands

Some of you may know these bands, but I'm guessing that most people haven't heard of them or at least aren't very familiar with them. It's an interesting mix that includes bands from all over the world, including four U.S. bands in the top ten. The top ten list includes three albums from this decade that definitely deserve your notice, while the notable releases are predominantly from the 1970s and 80s.

If you'd like more information on any of these bands, post a comment below or in the chat box on the right and I'll get back to you.

Obscure Top Ten (actually 11, because of a tie):

91.52 -- Murasaki - Impact (1976)

91.16 -- Buffalo - Volcanic Rock (1973)

91.04 -- October 31 - Meet Thy Maker (1999)

90.97 -- Aria - Armageddon (2006)

90.82 -- Elixir - The Idol (2003)

90.27 -- More - Blood & Thunder (1982)

90.23 -- Overlorde - Return of the Snow Giant (2004)

90.18 -- Saviour Machine - Saviour Machine I (1993)

90.13 -- Toad - Toad (1972)

90.00 -- Attacker - Second Coming (1988)

90.00 -- Trettioåriga Kriget - Trettioåriga Kriget (1974)

Other obscure releases:

89.81 -- Acid - Maniac (1983)

89.72 -- Sortilège - Métamorphose (1984)

89.60 -- Killer - Wall of Sound (1981)

89.60 -- Buzzard - Gambler (1984)

89.57 -- Bull Angus - Bull Angus (1971)

89.35 -- Virus - Thoughts (1971)

89.32 -- Moxy - Moxy (1975)

89.29 -- Fuse - Fuse (1970)

89.28 -- Silver Mountain - Shakin' Brains (1983)

89.21 -- Billy Lee Janey - Soul Driver (2008)

88.82 -- Angus - Warrior of the World (1987)

88.74 -- Apocalypse - Apocalypse (1988)

88.67 -- Brocas Helm - Into Battle (1984)

88.62 -- Gamma - Gamma 1 (1979)

88.47 -- Sword - Metalized (1986)

88.46 -- More - Warhead (1981)

88.44 -- Winterhawk - Revival (1982)

88.37 -- Gaskin - End of the World (1981)

88.28 -- Twenty Sixty Six and Then - Reflections On the Future (1972)

88.23 -- Lucifer's Friend - Lucifer's Friend (1970)

88.21 -- Totty - Totty (1977)

88.16 -- Fuzzy Duck - Fuzzy Duck (1971)

88.06 -- Bodkin - Bodkin (1972)

87.82 -- Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come (1970)

87.56 -- Virus - Revelation (1971)

87.41 -- Stray - Stray (1970)

87.38 -- Weed - Weed (1971)

87.04 -- War Babies - War Babies (1992)

86.31 -- Truth and Janey - No Rest for the Wicked (1976)

82.74 -- Granicus - Granicus (1973)