To Cry You A Song - Animals

I was originally going to do this with song titles, and actually found many animals mentioned (including some odd ones like a sealion, dolphin, monkey, and bee). But then I looked at band names and was surprised at how many were named after animals. I figured I could put together a better list of songs when choosing from an artist's entire catalogue, and in fact, it turned out better than I expected. This particular list includes 15 very good to excellent songs, with 10 being Desert Island songs (marked with an *).

You may notice some notable names are missing from this compilation. Obviously, The Beatles fit the category, but because this turned into a more hard rock/heavy metal compilation, I decided to leave them off. Also, there's no Whitesnake, because technically the name's not about an animal. The same is true for W.A.S.P. Also missing are bands with intentionally misspelled names, such as Ratt and Jackyl, and bands with an adjective or qualifier before the name, such as Iron Butterfly, Fuzzy Duck, White Lion, etc.

Animal Tracks: (wow, another unintentional bad pun)

1. Budgie - Zoom Club (9:56)*

2. Buffalo - Intro: Pound Of Flesh / Shylock (10:33)*

3. Bull Angus - Run Don't Stop (4:27)*

4. Buzzard - Save Me (3:51)*

5. Chinchilla - Father Forgive Me (5:10)

6. Great White - Desert Moon (4:32)*

7. Jaguar - Eighties (3:49)*

8. The Lizards - Hungry World (4:41)

9. Praying Mantis - Panic in the Streets (3:43)

10. Raven - Ballad of Marshall Stack (5:38)*

11. Scorpions - Lovedrive (4:52)*

12. Viper - Knights of Destruction (3:13)

13. Wild Turkey - Butterfly (4:55)

14. Wolf - Genocide (3:41)*

15. Zebra - Arabian Nights (5:19)*

Disc length - 78:20

Albums:

Budgie - In for the Kill (1974)

Buffalo - Volcanic Rock (1973)

Bull Angus - Bull Angus (1971)

Buzzard - Gambler (1984)

Chinchilla - The Last Millenium (2002)

Great White - Hooked (1991)

Jaguar - Run Ragged (2003)

The Lizards - The Lizards Rule (2003)

Praying Mantis - Time Tells No Lies (1981)

Raven - All for One (1983)

Scorpions - Lovedrive (1979)

Viper - Soldiers of Sunrise (1987)

Wild Turkey - Battle Hymn (1971)

Wolf - Black Wings (2002)

Zebra - Zebra IV (2003)

Top Ten (+15) - Albums by Swedish Bands

I rated 104 albums by 39 Swedish bands, but six bands (Hammerfall, Krokus, Morgana Lefay, Nostradameus, Tad Morose and Yngwie Malmsteen) are responsible for half of the releases. As always, there are a few items of interest here. Although newer music dominates the list (16 of the 25 albums were released in 2000 or later), Krokus placed four albums in the top 25. No other band has more than two. And Sweden's (arguably) most popular musical export, Yngwie Malmsteen, has only one album in my top 25, but that may change after I rate the rest of his discography.



Top 25 Albums:

90.12 -- Krokus - Headhunter (1983)
90.18 -- Wolf - Black Wings (2002)
90.00 -- Trettioåriga Kriget - Trettioåriga Kriget (1974)
89.36 -- Grand Magus - Iron Will (2008)
89.28 -- Silver Mountain - Shakin' Brains (1983)
88.96 -- Lefay - Symphony Of the Damned (1999)
88.56 -- Tad Morose - Modus Vivendi (2004)
88.14 -- Wolf - The Black Flame (2006)
87.36 -- Overdrive - Let the Metal Do the Talking (2008)
87.35 -- Lion’s Share - Dark Hours (2009)
86.47 -- Silver Mountain - Breakin' Chains (2001)
86.39 -- Tad Morose - Undead (2000)
86.39 -- Hammerfall - Glory to the Brave (1997)
86.04 -- Krokus - Metal Rendez-vous (1980)
85.97 -- Morgana Lefay - Sanctified (1995)
85.65 -- Persuader - The Hunter (2000)
85.28 -- Hammerfall - No Sacrifice, No Victory (2009)
85.22 -- Dogface - In Control (2002)
85.07 -- Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force (1984)
85.04 -- Lost Horizon - A Flame from the Ground Beneath (2003)
84.96 -- Krokus - Hellraiser (2006)
84.65 -- Dream Evil - Dragon Slayer (2002)
84.52 -- Krokus - Heart Attack (1987)
84.47 -- Persuader - Evolution Purgatory (2004)
84.29 -- Nostradameus - The Third Prophecy (2003)

Top Ten - 2002

2002 was a solid year in rock and metal. Of the 58 albums I rated, most were good to excellent, while some of the stragglers at least had a few songs that were worth checking out. The lone exception here is Def Leppard, whose album X was pretty weak overall.



2002 Top Ten:

90.49 -- W.A.S.P. - Dying for the World
90.29 -- Seven Witches - Xiled to Infinity and One
90.18 -- Wolf - Black Wings
89.46 -- Messiah's Kiss - Prayer for the Dying
88.89 -- UFO - Sharks
87.95 -- Arjen Anthony Lucassen - Space Metal
87.14 -- Iron Savior - Condition Red
86.77 -- Bow Wow - What's Going On
86.02 -- Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera
85.97 -- Nightwish - Century Child

Other 2002 releases:
85.87 -- Rage - Unity
85.63 -- Tierra Santa - Sangre de Reyes
85.35 -- Thy Majestie - Hastings 1066
85.22 -- Dogface - In Control
84.99 -- Running Wild - The Brotherhood
84.65 -- Dream Evil - Dragon Slayer
84.57 -- Riot - Through the Storm
84.21 -- Ted Nugent - Craveman
83.82 -- Mob Rules - Hollowed Be Thy Name
83.29 -- Cornerstone - Human Stain
83.13 -- Symphony X - The Odyssey
82.49 -- Primal Fear - Black Sun
82.35 -- Dark Moor - The Gates of Oblivion
82.24 -- Blitzkrieg - Absolute Power
82.24 -- Avantasia - The Metal Opera, Pt. 2
82.17 -- Rhapsody - Power of the Dragon Flame
82.11 -- Anthem - Overload
82.02 -- Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
82.01 -- Tierra Santa - Tierras de Leyenda
81.88 -- Firewind - Between Heaven and Hell
81.48 -- Tank - Still at War
81.27 -- Pagan's Mind - Celestial Entrance
80.81 -- Dio - Killing the Dragon
80.75 -- Warlord - Rising Out of the Ashes
80.30 -- Anvil - Still Going Strong
80.24 -- Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken
80.21 -- Red Wine - El Fin de Los Tiempos
79.83 -- Mountain - Mystic Fire
79.41 -- Manowar - Warriors of the World
79.01 -- Axel Rudi Pell - Shadow Zone
78.94 -- Hammerfall - Crimson Thunder
78.86 -- Vanderhoof - A Blur in Time
78.71 -- Tad Morose - Matters of the Dark
77.66 -- Arachnes - Apocalypse
77.29 -- Chinchilla - The Last Millenium
76.92 -- Pretty Maids - Planet Panic
76.61 -- Motörhead - Hammered
76.49 -- Threshold - Critical Mass
73.81 -- Annihilator - Waking the Fury
73.78 -- Warmen - Beyond Abilities
72.02 -- Tornado - Triumph of the King
70.10 -- Dokken - Long Way Home
67.04 -- Angel Dust - Of Human Bondage
65.95 -- Axenstar - Perpetual Twilight
65.94 -- Ark - Burn the Sun
64.94 -- Manilla Road - Spiral Castle
57.82 -- Wizards - The Kingdom
49.79 -- Def Leppard - X