Thursday, April 9, 2020

Autothrall's Best Hard Rock & Metal Albums of 1979

The Top Hard Rock & Metal Albums of 1979

01. Motörhead (UK) - Overkill
02. Blue Öyster Cult (USA) - Mirrors
03. Rainbow (UK) - Down to Earth
04. AC/DC (Australia) - Highway to Hell
05. Nazareth (UK) - No Mean City
06. Motörhead (UK) - Bomber
07. April Wine (Canada) - Harder...Faster
08. Accept (Germany) - Accept
09. Gillan (UK) - Mr. Universe
10. Riot (USA) - Narita
11. Thin Lizzy (Ireland) - Black Rose: A Rock Legend
12. Saxon (UK) - Saxon
13. Van Halen (USA) - Van Halen II
14. Blackfoot (USA) - Strikes
15. Marseille (UK) - Marseille
16. Legend (USA) - Fröm the Fjörds
17. Samson (UK) - Survivors
18. Trust (France) - Trust
19. Scorpions (Germany) - Lovedrive
20. Nokemono (Japan) - The Black World

I was about five years old this year, so my access to heavy metal music was limited,  and I had little context for even classifying it as 'heavy metal'. Still, bands like Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Nazareth, Blue Öyster Cult, Van Halen, KISS, and even Motörhead came into my life pretty early thanks to cousins and quarter-an-LP yard and church sales. This list features a nice cross-section of early NWOBHM, hard rock, and heavier Southern rock from the time, even though quite a few of these bands were ones I'd get into much later. Overkill should be like a Leather Bible for any and all heavy metal fans, so it takes the year with ease, but almost everything here is fun or formidable. I didn't include Priest's Hell Bent for Leather since it was really just a re-release of Killing Machine for North America with a track change.

UPDATED FOR 2020

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Spring Break 2020


Spring Break arrives at just the right moment this year. With the kids and wife at home during the self-quarantine that so many Americans are placed in, it's become more challenging to get time to concentrate on writing much of anything. I wish you all well out there, and thank you as always for stopping by to read the reviews. I do plan on updating my own yearly favorite lists, starting at 1980 and going forward; will probably continue that throughout April, and be back for new reviews come May.

Stay safe,
autothrall