Year in Metal: 1981

Inspired by this post from Full Metal Attorney, I decided to do something a little different and look at three of my favorite albums from each year I have been alive.

I'm starting with 1981 because that was the year I was born. Metal was not nearly as widespread at the time. Black Sabbath had already come and Ozzy was already out on his own. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was in full force, but there was little development as far as thrash and other genres go. It was mostly traditional-sounding heavy metal.

I had some difficulty coming up with any choices as I only own three albums that were released in 1981, I know it's pathetic. So here we go anyway.

OZZY OSBOURNE: DIARY OF A MADMANThis is actually my favorite Ozzy album. I think it's strong the whole way through. It's also the last album with the great Randy Rhoads on guitar before he died in a plane stunt. Rhoads was an amazing classically-trained guitarist and those influences were always evident in his soloing style. Ozzy's voice is exceptionally strong on this album. The best tracks are "Over the Mountain", "S.A.T.O.", and the title track although I strongly enjoy every song on it, something of a rarity for Ozzy albums.

RIOT: FIRE DOWN UNDEREssentially, Riot was the U.S.'s answer to the NWOBHM. The music sounds very similar to the style of metal released in the U.K. at the time, in particular sounding like Raven, with some Judas Priest elements also present. The music is fairly good early metal and had an influence on the later U.S. power metal scene. All the songs are very catchy and the album sticks with the listener long after it is over.

VENOM: WELCOME TO HELLThe great, if mostly unhinged, Venom had a huge influence on thrash metal early on. Venom was one of the fastest bands on the planet back in 1981. They released their debut album, which consisted of several very fast, but charmingly sloppy songs, in 1981. It was loud, noisy, and fast as hell. Venom was also an early band focused on outwardly evil lyrics, such as "Sons of Satan", "Witching Hour", and "In League with Satan". The band is often cited as a proto-black metal band, and I suppose I can see that. They were certainly influential.

Honorable mentions: Black Sabbath: Mob Rules, Iron Maiden: Killers, Judas Priest: Point of Entry, Motley Crue: Too Fast for Love, Saxon: Denim and Leather

Bands that formed in 1981 include Anthrax, Dark Angel, Metallica, Motley Crue, Pantera, Queensryche, and Slayer.

Initial Impressions: Riot: Fire Down Under

Riot is an early U.S. heavy metal band, rising out of New York in the mid 1970's. This is the band's third album and one that broke to a very wide audience. It was released in 1981, right during the midst of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal explosion that was starting to find its way over to U.S. shores. It was pretty good timing as this album has a lot in common with the NWOBHM. Riot had also found an audience across the sea.

To begin with, there's the crazy ass cover. I have no idea what this creature is. It's some sort of man with a seal's head. And it appeared on the band's first five album covers. After the band nearly broke up after their 1983 album, it did not appear again, at least not that I have seen.

Musically, the band sounds a lot like very early Iron Maiden. The opening riff on the first track "Swords and Tequila" sounds a lot like the opening riff to Maiden's "2 Minutes to Midnight". The rest of the music on the album continues to tread the line between sounding like NWOBHM and American hard rock/metal bands of the day. The riffs have a Judas Priest feel to them and the vocals, while not as overpowering as some of the band's British peers, are well-done. The guitar solos are where things really shine. Guitarist Mark Reale is a very talented player and soloist.

Riot is one of the early American metal bands to truly make a name for themselves. They played a style very similar to bands from England of that time period which helped them to attract an audience. Unfortunately, their career peaked in the early 1980's. While they stayed around, they never matched it.