Top Ten - 1986

I rated 51 albums from 1986, which saw releases from Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, W.A.S.P., AC/DC, and many other top acts. It's unfortunate that these bands overshadowed some other great, but less well-known, albums released that year. That only Iron Maiden made the top ten (and Metallica came in at number 11), should give you an idea of the quality of some of these other releases.



Top Ten - 1986
88.47 -- Sword - Metalized
87.64 -- The Rods - Heavier than Thou
87.46 -- Helloween - Walls of Judas
87.29 -- Cinderella - Night Songs
86.48 -- Elixir - The Son of Odin
86.41 -- Desolation Angels - Desolation Angels
86.17 -- Vanadium - Born to Fight
84.58 -- Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory
84.30 -- Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
84.05 -- Anthem - Tightrope

Other 1987 releases:
83.34 -- Metallica - Master of Puppets
82.24 -- Queensrÿche - Rage for Order
81.94 -- Manilla Road - The Deluge
81.74 -- Hexx - Under the Spell
81.55 -- Obsession - Scarred for Life
80.62 -- Waysted - Save Your Prayers
80.04 -- Great White - Shot In the Dark
79.87 -- Black Sabbath - Seventh Star
79.71 -- Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
77.88 -- Ted Nugent - Little Miss Dangerous
77.78 -- AC/DC - Who Made Who
77.59 -- Samurai - Weapon Master
77.39 -- Accept - Russian Roulette
77.25 -- Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian
77.10 -- Omen - The Curse
76.55 -- Savatage - Fight for the Rock
75.87 -- Blue Öyster Cult - Club Ninja
75.35 -- Tension - Breaking Point
74.51 -- Megadeth - Peace Sells...but Who's Buying?
73.78 -- W.A.S.P. - Inside the Electric Circus
73.72 -- Saxon - Rock the Nations
73.38 -- Steeler - Strike Back
73.35 -- Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
73.14 -- Cirith Ungol - One Foot in Hell
70.98 -- Aria - Whom Are You With
70.97 -- Angel Dust - Into the Dark Past
70.69 -- Alice Cooper - Constrictor
70.51 -- Motörhead - Orgasmatron
68.65 -- Van Halen - 5150
68.63 -- Ratt - Dancing Undercover
67.57 -- Queen - A Kind of Magic
66.74 -- Bow Wow - III
66.18 -- Judas Priest - Turbo
64.85 -- Zebra - 3.V
62.66 -- Gravestone - Creating A Monster
62.23 -- Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In
61.68 -- Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Criminal Tango
60.20 -- Rage - Reign of Fear
55.98 -- Box of Frogs - Strange Land
47.33 -- Forgotten Child - Forgotten Child
34.68 -- Piledriver - Stay Ugly

To Cry You A Song - NWOBHM

Here's another recurring post that I'll probably drag out longer than necessary. The idea here is my recommendation for a single CD (up to 80 minutes) containing top-rated songs based on a specific genre, year, band, country of origin, theme, etc.

I've listed the artists, songs and song times first, along with the length of the CD. Below the CD track list, I've listed the artists, albums, and years of release in case you actually want to create this CD yourself. I'll follow this same format (but with a lot less introductory crap) on subsequent posts.

My first post (as if you couldn't tell by the title) is a CD featuring New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands. You've probably noticed that some famous bands are missing from this compilation. I did this intentionally so that some lesser known songs could get some attention. (And besides, I'll probably post about Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard at some point anyway; it's easy enough to create a single disc of top-rated songs by each of these bands.)

By the way, there's no real insight to the track order; I just listed the songs in order of release date. Also, I tried to stay in the early 80s, but a few songs released after this time period were much to good to ignore.

NWOBHM Tracks:
1. Angel Witch - Angel Witch (3:25)
2. Fist - You'll Never Get Me Up (In One of Those) (2:49)
3. Samson - Vice Versa (4:44)
4. Warrior - Let Battle Commence (5:01)
5. White Spirit - Midnight Chaser (5:17)
6. Diamond Head - Am I Evil? (7:42)
7. Gaskin - End of the World (3:38)
8. More - I Have No Answers (5:44)
9. Vardis - Blue Rock (I Miss You) (4:30)
10. Demon - Don't Break the Circle (4:43)
11. Raven - Ballad of Marshall Stack (5:38)
12. Savage - Let It Loose (3:17)
13. Witchfinder General - Quietus Reprise (6:29)
14. Grim Reaper - See You in Hell (4:24)
15. Blitzkrieg - Night Howl (3:30)
16. Elixir - Born Loser (4:55)
17. Jaguar - Eighties (3:49)
Disc length - 79:35

Albums:
Angel Witch - Angel Witch (1980)
Fist - Turn the Hell On (1980)
Samson - Head On (1980)
Warrior - Let Battle Commence (1980)
White Spirit - White Spirit (1980)
Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations (1981)
Gaskin - End of the World (1981)
More - Warhead (1981)
Vardis - The World's Insane (1981)
Demon - The Unexpected Guest (1982)
Raven - All for One (1983)
Savage - Loose 'n' Lethal (1983)
Witchfinder General - Friends of Hell (1983)
Grim Reaper - See You In Hell (1984)
Blitzkrieg - Ten (1996)
Elixir - The Idol (2003)
Jaguar - Run Ragged (2003)

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)