This is a collection of my writeups on classic, formative heavy metal albums and the albums that led to heavy metal. It is limited to one album per year and one album per band. The project stretches from 1969 to 1985.
Black Sabbath - s/t
Genre: Bluesrock / Proto-Metal
Label: Sanctuary Records
Year: 1969
While Black Sabbaths debut is often called the first heavy metal album and while it is certainly undeniable that without Black Sabbath, heavy metal would not have become a thing, I would personally not consider Sabbaths s/t album a metal record. The fact that Tony Iommi had lost his fingers and the resulting, power chord heavy playstyle certainly informed heavy metal, but most of the record still very much falls into the framework set up by bands like Cream or the Yardbirds. In fact, the song 'N.I.B.' is maybe a little more than just an homage to Creams 'Sunshine of Your Love' - admitted by Tony Iommi.
Approaching this album on its own terms, however, you could hardly come to the conclusion that it is a bad album by any means. Half of the album is comprised of eternal classics after all, while the rest of the album is pretty underrated. 'Evil woman' and 'Warning' are two underrated cuts. Especially the latter one showcases the more jam-oriented side of the band, which was likely a bigger focus when they were still 'The Polka Tulk Blues band'. Even Ozzy´s voice, which is a sore point for many more modern metal listeners, I do not perceive as an issue. Sure, Ozzy is not a great singer - bad on a technical level, even - but he brings an honest sense of desperation to the songs that need it. I don´t think that the self-titled opening track would have worked as it does without Ozzy. The track 'Black Sabbath' is pure doom, pure tritone - and that a song like it could exist in 1970 is sometimes hard to believe to this day.
Rating: high 8/10.
Deep Purple - Deep Purple In Rock
Genre: Hard Rock / Proto Metal
Label: Parlophone Records / Warner Music / Purpletuity Limited
Year: 1970
Going through the early history of Metal, it is common to find albums that barely qualify. Delieberately only choosing an album a year can be hard, as some years are thicker with releases that fit the bill than others. Going into 'In Rock', I fully expected it to be more of a Hard Rock album than straight up metal. But having heard it so close to the Black Sabbath Debut (which definetely isn´t quite a metal record yet), I must say that Deep Purple do much more that is in line with the modern interpretation of traditional Metal than Sabbath or many other 70s Metal Groups.
Apparently, being heavy was a very deliberate choice for 'In Rock'. An apocryphal story is often told that Ritchie Blackmore had heard Led Zeppelin and decided that Deep Purple had to be heavier and in rock is the result of that. The organ plays a surprisingly vital part in making the album appear heavy - contrast will help to make the heavy parts stand out, and the organ presents a softer, less concrete presence. The opening squeals and guitar feedback of 'Speed King' give way to gentle, almost churchlike organ and when the guitars come back in, it feels even heavier than before. The whole album plays with these contrasts masterfully and even the excursions into progressive rock and even funk at some parts of the album only make those heavy parts pop more. I was frankly surprised at how much I enjoyed the album as a whole as there are no weak tracks and because it works perfectly as an album.
Rating: high 8/10.
Sir Lord Baltimore - Sir Lord Baltimore
Genre: Hard Rock / Stoner Rock / Heavy Metal
Label: Mercury Records
Year: 1971
Since it has been decided that, for this project, I would go through a list of albums with one album per year and no doubles for the bands involved, I had to make some tough decisions. In constructing the list with my collaborators, we decided that 'Deep Purple in Rock' would be more
important than Sir Lord Baltimore´s 'Kingdom Come', electing to listen to their seldomly talked about sophomore self-titled outing, instead. Not that Sir Lord Baltimore are very well known to begin with. Listening to 'Sir Lord Baltimore' sadly showed pretty clearly why the album and the band never really took off.
I don´t like the term selling out most of the time, as I simply can not know what the bands intentions were when making this album. However I can say that this self-titled album is very much of its time and much more so than their debut, 'Kingdom Come'. 'Kingdom Come' is often talked about as a precursor to stoner rock, but 'Sir Lord Baltimore' doesn´t show off the fuzzed out riff-worship that they´re known for. Instead, the album opens with a progressive rock suite which neither justifies its length nor being a suite to begin with. The issue is that a lot of what 'Sir Lord Baltimore' do on their self-titled does not justify their existence. Instead, they deliver an album of b-grade versions of better material that many other bands would do throughout the 70s. Sometimes a band is, sadly, forgotten for a reason.
Rating: 5/10.
Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards
Genre: Hard Rock / Progressive Rock / Heavy Metal
Label: Bronze / Island / Mercury
Year: 1972
Sometimes I miss the easier days, when bands played with each other instead of just all being locked in into a single riff. There are lots of these examples in the early days of Heavy Metal, as Folk, Progressive Rock and Hard Rock were all still very much part of the same spectrum. Compared to Sir Lord Baltimore, Uriah Heep are thankfully much more song-oriented, though, even if they don´t quite approach the overdriven aggression of a band like Deep Purple.
Even if a lot on here is more pop-oriented and straightfroward than the masterful proto-metal assault of 'Deep Purple in Rock', I can´t help but be drawn in but the lush and warm production that is in favor of songs that are absolute bangers at best, but are never less than good. 'Easy Livin' is the obvious reason we sometimes consider Uriah metal, with their crazy fuzzed out bass and the proto-metal gallop. But its not like it is the only riff-oriented song on here, as even the more organ-fueled 'Rainbow Demon' clearly centers around the riff. Uriah Heep is much more easy-listening than Deep Purple, but I like that - a good album for the ummer to spin and just vibe with.
Rating: 7/10.
Blue Öyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation
Genre: Hard Rock / PSychedelic Rock
Label: CBS Records
Year: 1973
Blue Öyster Cult, while maybe a little bit of a stretch to actually call Heavy Metal, do have a lot of importance for the actual development of heavy metal in the 70s. For once, Blue Öyster Cult are indisputably the band to first use the Heavy Metal Umlaut, in a rather unpronouncable manner if you speak german, if I might add. On the other hand, there are riffs abound to be found on 'Tyranny and Mutation' and the band was reasonably heavy for their time. Only in hindsight can we clearly say that they were not, in fact, heavy metal.
'Tyranny and Mutation' is rarely considered the bands best album, but I must say that it is both consistently enjoyable and very varied, with the band often being subtly unpredictable. Psychedelic rock sections can be found as well as straight up heavy metal riffs and hard rocking anthems. What makes the band even more unique is their penchant for absurdism and abstractly comedic lyrics - in the case of "Baby Ice Dog" even penned by Patti Smith.
Rating: 6/10.
Scorpions - In Trance
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: RCA Victor
Year: 1974
I was really dreading for the Scorpions to come up. Sure, I can´t deny their importance in the big picture; how they were the first to use the twin leads in a rock/metal context and how certain rock star aesthetics would foreshadow a lot of trends in 80s heavy metal. But as a German, they´re just way too overplayed and I associate them with just the bottom of the barrel of popular Hard Rock. If the most played song of a Hard Rock or Metal band is a ballad, you know there is an issue.
I was positively surprised that 'In Trance' opens with an upbeat rocker. Driven by a semi-gallop and twin guitar heroics, 'Dark Lady' is a seriously great opener that gets my blood pumping and has enough tasteful guitar wankery to please the guitarist in me. Why Scorpions would set me up for a good album only to hit me with almost exclusively ballads from then on is beyond me. I can see how a different kind of metal and/or rock fan might enjoy an album like this; one where rock is about power ballads and faux-emotional vocal delivery and not about instrumental prowess and kinetic energy. But for a band to set me up for the thing I like, only to never give it to me again - that´s unforgiveable.
Rating: 5/10.
Thin Lizzy - Fighting
Genre: Hard Rock / Bluesrock
Label: Vertigo Records
Year: 1975
Another band credited with popularising the Twin Guitar sound, Thin Lizzy are often characterised by their relaxed attitude and bluesy backbone. In a way, they remind me of american Southern Blues bands like the Allman Brothers Band, sans the extended Jams and the country feel, of course. A lot of the material just goes down incredibly smooth and easy and Thin Lizzy is close to something like Hard Rock easy listening.
On the other hand, it is easy to feel the historical importance of an album like 'Fighting'. While it is often ignored in favor of the following album, 'Jailbreak', Fighting is the first album where the dual-guitar approach was really utilised and developed. The opening twin-lead of 'For Those Who Love To Live' is eerily similar to ideas that early Iron Maiden would toy with, even reminding me of songs like 'Prowler', in a way. Of course the material is considerably less aggressive and can not be considered Metal in any way. But if I were to compare it to Scorpions, with their obsession with unengaging ballads, 'Fighting' never loses me and remains an album to relax and chill to throughout its 36 minute runtime.
Rating: 7/10.
Rainbow - Rising
Genre: Hard rock / Proto Metal
Label: Oyster
Year: 1976
Originally meant as a Side Project for Deep Purple´s Ritchie Blackmore, Rainbow has in some circles surpassed Deep Purple in Popularity - especially in Power Metal circles, who praise the early neoclassical energy and the epic, high energy feel of Rainbow. While I often struggle with more modern interpretations of this sound, I vibe enormously with the slightly psychedelic and organic approach that Rainbow brings to the table and how fresh and original it sounds in comparison to modern acts who ape this sound.
This is partly due to the involved, musicians, of course. Blackmore is one of the original Guitar heroes and the way he shreds and leads fluidly through a song is impressive. Rainbow is clearly a band led by a guitarist, first and foremost but the band manages to play with each other in a way that modern acts often don´t. It would be criminal to not mention vocalist Ronnie James Dio, obviously. For a lot of people, this is likely where they encountered him first. Dio is incredibly theatrical, but never does his vocal style turn into a forced affect. Dio sounds like he feels what he sings and that feeling is represented in the vocals in a way that can only be imitated in an inferior way.
Rating: 8/10.
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