In this episode, Chuck and Nuno are talking about 1984. Not the dystopian novel by George Orwell, but the Metal Storm listing of top metal albums for 1984. We worked our way from the bottom to the top provide our commentary and metal memories along the way . 1984 - Metal Roundup * #20: Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead * A long-time favorite of Chuck and a new edition for Nuno. A great heavy album which leans into doom territory. * Kick ass cover art by Michael Whelan which is from the Michael Moorcock fantasy book Bane Of The Black Sword which is near and dear to Chuck’s heart (Check out Battalion playing Bane Of The Black Sword) * #19: Queensrÿche - The Warning * The last album before the band turns up the progressive jams and storytelling such as 1986’s Rage for Order and the highly acclaimed Operation: Mindcrime. * We share some laughs about the video “Take Hold of the Flame” which is pretty cheesy, but we love it.. * #17: Q5 - Steel the Light * Neither of us had a clue about this band. Evidently, Floyd Rose was in the band. * We gave it a quick listen. Nuno compares them to bands like Quartz, Sword, Y&T, and Praying Mantis—groups that often fell into that hazy middle ground between heavy metal and hard rock. * #17: Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers * A damn fine rock album by Deep Purple featuring Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, and Ian Gillan. * It features some of their biggest hits, including “Knocking at Your Back Door” and “Perfect Strangers,” alongside underrated tracks like “Under the Gun,” “Mean Streak,” and “Wasted Sunsets”. * We get off track chatting about the album Burn and the killer drumming of Ian Paice. * #16: Van Halen - 1984 * Both of us dig the album, beside the lame ass tune: “Jump”. “Panama,” and “Hot for Teacher,” are great hard rockers. The album also features fantastic deep cuts like “Top Jimmy,” “Drop Dead Legs,” and “I’ll Wait”. * Nuno shares some trivia: The closing track, “House of Pain,” was actually reworked from early demos produced by Gene Simmons when the band first signed to Warner Brothers. * Nuno (a fountain of trivia) also shared that many songs on their later reunion album, A Different Kind of Truth, were also built from older, unreleased demo riffs that David Lee Roth wrote new lyrics for. * #15: Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction * Both of us never got into this band, so there you go. * #14: Manowar - Hail to England * This is Nuno’s favorite Manowar album. * Standout tracks for Nuno include “Blood of my Enemies,” “Each Dawn I Die,” “Black Arrows,” and “Bridge of Death”. * Chuck is not really into Manowar, but to each their own. * #13: Trouble - Psalm 9 * This band rules and this album is quintessential doom metal putting them alongside bands like Saint Vitus and Witchfinder General. * #12: Omen - Battle Cry * Sure they sound a bit like Maiden, but still a damn fine album. Although Nuno digs The Curse a bit more. * #11: Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force * An album we both agree changed the face of metal guitar playing. * Chuck shares the time he saw Yngwie live around 1984 or 1985 in a room packed exclusively with “guitar nerds”. It was a sweaty sausage fest. * #10: Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry * The album that put Twisted Sister on the map with “I Wanna Rock” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It,”. Great tunes, but don’t forget “Horror-Teria,” “Burn in Hell,” and “The Beast”. * #9: Scorpions - Love at First Sting * A decent album, but it’s not Blackout. * The album has some massive hits like “Still Loving You” and “Rock You Like A Hurricane,” alongside tracks like “Bad Boys Running Wild,” “I’m Leaving You,” and “Big City Nights”, but it’s still not Blackout * #8: Warlord - And The Cannons of Destruction Have Begun * Neither of us were really familiar with this band. We’ve put it on our “Listen To Later” list. * #7: W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P. * You either dig this band or you don’t. Chuck isn’t a fan, but Nuno can get behind a few tunes. * #6: Dio - The Last in Line * Dio with Vivian Campbell kicks ass. “We Rock”, “Egypt”, and “I Speed at Night” kick ass. Although this album doesn’t quite have the punch of Holy Diver. * #5: Metal Church - Metal Church * Metal Church! What more do you need! A classic line-up and still a killer album. * #4: Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith * It’s Priest, but sort of lacks consistency and punch. The song lyrics are a hoot. Check out Rob Halford’s autobiography Confess for the inside scoop. * #3: Mercyful Fate - Don’t Break the Oath * We both agree this album is fine, but doesn’t hold a candle to King Diamond’s Abigail * #2: Iron Maiden - Powerslave * We both agree this is Bruce-era of Maiden at their best. * #1: Metallica - Ride the Lightning * A tough call for both of us on whether this or Master of Puppets is the very best Metallica album. There is no doubt that you can listen to this album anytime and get whiplash. Get full access to Fans With Bands at fanswithbands.substack.com/subscribe
