The Top 20 Metal Albums of 1984
01. Iron Maiden (UK) - Powerslave
02. Mercyful Fate (Denmark) - Don't Break the Oath
03. Metallica (USA) - Ride the Lightning
04. Destruction (Germany) - Sentence of Death
05. Jag Panzer (USA) - Ample Destruction
06. Bathory (Sweden) - Bathory
07. Judas Priest (UK) - Defenders of the Faith
08. Piledriver (Canada) - Metal Inquisition
09. Manowar (USA) - Sign of the Hammer
10. Exciter (Canada) - Violence & Force
11. Witch Cross (Denmark) - Fit for Fight
12. Running Wild (Germany) - Gates to Purgatory
13. Twisted Sister (USA) - Stay Hungry
14. Grave Digger (Germany) - Heavy Metal Breakdown
15. Omen (USA) - Battle Cry
16. Fates Warning (USA) - Night on Bröcken
17. Samain (Germany) - Vibrations of Doom
18. Voivod (Canada) - War and Pain
19. Helstar (USA) - Burning Star
20. Manilla Road (USA) - Open the Gates
I personally might give the edge to Somewhere in Time in terms of what I'd consider the best of Maiden, but Powerslave is itself perfect and deserves the #1 slot here, with Mercyful Fate's flawless sophomore straight on its heels. Heavy/speed metal rules the day, with a few choices leaning towards the more hard rock or mainstream metal audience, like Twisted Sister and Manowar. Bathory arrives and things start to look a lot more evil for the future. Some of my favorite bands in history show up for the first time: Canadian sci-fi thrashers Voivod at their crudest, Teutonic masters Destruction and pirates Running Wild. Avenger would later become Rage, an amazing band throughout the later 80s. Note that the British dominance has passed, with only 10% of the list representing two of the three BIGGEST English metal bands. This is also the first year I had to struggle a little with choices, records from Trouble, RATT, W.A.S.P. and others were also worthy and some used to be on the previous version.
UPDATED FOR 2020
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