How is everybody doing? I have been a way for while reading history (finished A History of France by John Julius Norwich), watching a ton of pro wrestling (almost done with All Japan Pro Wrestling 1995-1996) and finally listening to a ton of heavy metal. I need to do all this so I can build up some content for you good people!
I created a spreadsheet of every heavy metal album I wanted to listen to during the Pandemic, some I have heard a million times and some I have never even heard of the band until I did research for this project. The year 1988 seems like the best launching point because it was a lighter year for Heavy Metal even the genre was in the midst of its golden age.
The year 1987 was a massive year commercially for heavy metal and two mega-albums loomed large in 1988 those being Def Leppard's immaculately produced, pop metal masterpiece "Hysteria" and the out of nowhere grimy sleazy "Appetite for Destruction" by Guns N Roses. Both albums were so big they went #1 again in 1988. The glam metal scene was divided in half. Half of the bands looked to chase commercial glory by emulating the pop sensibilities of Def Leppard and Bon Jovi. The other half stayed closer to the genre's sleazy underground roots laid down by Motley Crue and Guns N Roses.
1988 being an even numbered year means we could expect albums from big time metal acts as Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Cinderella and Poison. The last three had their breakout year in 1986. There was a lot of pressure on these bands to follow up on their platinum success. While Van Halen, Roth, Priest and Ozzy by 1988 had become Dinosaurs of the scene, titanic and gigantic. The question in 1988 was could they keep up the young guns. Lastly, there is Metallica and the Bay Area Thrash scene. The year 1988 saw three out of the Big Four release albums along with Testament and Death Angel this was a busy year for the Thrash scene. More and more of the thrash scene was going in a more technical and progressive direction to prove their chops as they sought critical applause in lieu of teen aggression.
The last question is would there be a breakout band? 1983 saw Motley Crue & Def Leppard, 1984 saw Ratt & Twisted Sister, 1986 saw Bon Jovi & Posion and 1987 saw Guns N Roses & Whitesnake. Did 1988 have any band take the world by storm? The short answer is no. I think that's one of the reasons why 1988 is so interesting along with the fact that's there is no obvious answer what the best album of the year is. There is no clear front-runner, though I would hazard to guess that Metallica's ...And Justice For All would be the consensus pick with Queenrysche's Operation Mindcrime having an outside shot. In a race that is wide open, lets see who The MartMan picks!
I listened to 31 albums at least twice for this project. The first table captures a list of albums released in 1988 that I wanted to listen to but have not had a chance yet. The second table captures the 21 albums I listened to that did not make my Top 10.
I Did Not Get A Chance To Listen To These Albums
|
Band
|
Album
|
Comment
|
|
AC/DC
|
Blow Up Your Video
|
Listened to the two singles off the album usual Chuck Berry inspired
fare. Doesn’t seem consequential.
|
|
Cheap Trick
|
Lap of Luxury
|
This album fared well commercially and is considered kind of a comeback
album, but lots of outside songwriters makes this feel like less than a Cheap
Trick album. I will eventually listen.
|
|
Death
|
Leprosy
|
I really wanted to listen this, but I don’t think I am fully ready to
appreciate Death. I have listened to a couple of their albums. I need more
time.
|
|
Europe
|
Out of this World
|
Imagine thinking “Superstitious” is a better song than “The Final
Countdown” that’s what one reviewer said. I listened to the five singles.
Very derivative pop metal with that Hysteria sheen. Doesn’t seem necessary.
|
|
Lita Ford
|
Lita
|
Never cared for Lita Ford except in The Runaways. I should give this
another chance.
|
|
Living Color
|
Vivid
|
I am guilty of only knowing “Cult of Personality” and really need to
give this a spin.
|
|
Sabbat
|
A History of Time To Come
|
I found out about this album recently reading a Kerrang! Article on
the best Thrash albums of all time. Never heard of the band will give this a
chance.
|
|
Suicidal Tenedencies
|
How Can I Laugh Today?
|
Probably my biggest gap in my classic metal knowledge is having not
listened to a Suicidal Tendencies Song. I need to rectify that.
|
|
Vinnie Vincent Invasion
|
All Systems Go
|
I listened to Vinnie Vincent Invasion’s debut album (1986) and it is
a lot of shredding at the expense of catchy songs and craftsmanship. It is
like Eddie Van Halen forgot the objective was to write a great song and just
wanted to show off. I listened to the two singles off this album, Vinnie has
tempered his style, but now he lost what made him unique and these mid-tempo rockers
don’t stand out at all. The grass is always greener on the other side.
|
|
Voivod
|
Dimension Hatross
|
I have listened to some Voivod need to give this a full listen.
|
|
Vio-Lence
|
Eternal Nightmare
|
See Sabbat.
|
Albums That Missed The Cut
|
Band
|
Album
|
Rating
|
Comment
|
|
Bon Jovi
|
New Jersey
|
B+
|
The last cut, this would have been #11. Big rock album of 1988 commercially.
Bad Medicine evoke the arena metal of Slipper When Wet. The choruses are huge
throughout this album. Differing musical directions start to pull this band
apart. Jon Bon wants to do Springsteen Pontifications while Sambora wants to
rock out with his cock out. The most brutal of these Blood On Blood. 99 In
The Shade is Bon Jovi doing their Van Hagar impression and they offer more
country/western flare. Born To Be My Baby is pure fun.
|
|
Britny Fox
|
Britny Fox
|
C+
|
Cinderella they are not. Perhaps the worst power ballad of all time,
Save The Weak, though Quiet Riot might have something to say about that. On
flip side, Girlschool might be the best music video of all time. Overall, the
singles are good, but the deep cuts are par for the course for glam metal. Quiet
Riot is their closest cousin, noisy riffs, not a shred album. Too much
cheeze, not enough sleeze.
|
|
BulletBoys
|
BulletBoys
|
C+
|
Van Halen Wannabes, but at least they are Roth Era Wannabes. Problem
is Van Halen was amazing because all parts of the machine are genius. Marq
Torqien wanted so badly to be Diamond Dave he shove everyone to side and forgot
that everything makes Van Halen great not just Roth’s charisma. There is some
Aerosmith in there too with a little more blues than Van Halen. Overall good
energy and the front half is more interesting than the back half.
|
|
David Lee Roth
|
Skyscraper
|
C-
|
Oh boy. Seeing DLR in live a month before Lockdown was such a treat.
The dude had something to prove and rocked so hard. This album I don’t know.
The production is terrible. The year 1988 was filled with some really bad
production. Everything sounds really processed, restrained and almost tin-ny.
I want to blame Steve Vai but I cant be sure, but I can be sure that he was
closer to Vinnie Vincent than Eddie here. All shred, but no songwriting. Just
ask Coverdale, no one tanks a band quite like Steve Vai at the helm. It is a bizarre album. “Just Like Paradise”
saves it from being an outright flop. I have a question for Roth & Vai, “Where
are the hooks?”
|
|
Death Angel
|
Frolic Through the Park
|
B
|
Progressive, technical Anthrax is how I would describe this. Very solid
thrash, some cool hooks like their use of bass. Leader singer is a man of
quality.
|
|
Guns 'N' Roses
|
GNR Lies
|
B-
|
EP, front half is faux-live songs. Reckless Life whets your Appetite,
if you know what I mean. The second half is acoustic, Patience is Axl at his
most vulnerable genius, A+, brutha. One In A Million is Axl at his absolute
worst, may be the worst most offensive song ever put out by a mainstream
band. It was the Best of Axl, it was the worst of Axl.
|
|
Fates Warning
|
No Exit
|
B+
|
Surprisingly awesome! This album came out of nowhere for me as I
never heard of this band. If Iron Maiden and Metallica had a baby it would be
Fates Warning. It is Progressives but it still Thashes hard. Check out
Anarchy Divine.
|
|
Helloween
|
Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt
2
|
C+
|
It is Helloween so expect quirky and goofy. I prefer Part One. It is the
Fast, Soaring Power Metal they innovated, but they did it better before. “I Want
Out” is the most famous track from this album for a good reason.
|
|
King Diamond
|
Them
|
C+
|
I love King Diamond and I have seen him live, but this concept album
does not do much for me. It is progressive. The music starts and stops and
just loses all momentum. His vocals are really annoying on this album as he
keeps trying to do these weird voices. There are a lot of bizarre unpredictable
moments on the album as if he is trying to do jump scares. They just come out
of nowhere and it is jarring, not interesting.
|
|
Kix
|
Blow My Fuse
|
B
|
Solid rompin, stompin, rock n roll-tinged hair metal. The singles are
the best, “Cold Blood” and “Blow My Fuse”. They are AC/DC with a bigger glammier
choruses. They got that AC/DC rhythm section that keeps you rocking. They got
some nice twists to them that reminds me of Cheap Trick where you didn’t expect
them to go there. “Don’t Close Your Eyes” on Kix.
|
|
Ozzy Osbourne
|
No Rest for the Wicked
|
B
|
The most surprising album for me that I didn’t rate higher. Ozzy does
seem reinvigorated to be with Zakk. “Miracle Man” and “Crazy Babies” are
great Zakk riffs and Ozzy has gone from glam Ozzy back to Prince of Darkness.
Just not enough meat on the bone to warrant a higher rating.
|
|
Ratt
|
Reach for the Sky
|
B-
|
There’s a great Ratt EP in this full album. Take the first four songs
and then swap out the fifth for Chain Reaction and you have an A+ EP. Ratt still had some tricks up their
sleeve with the glam-take on Judas Priest’s twin guitar attack. “Way Cool Jr”
shows some diversity incorporating the blues. “Don’t Bite The Hands That
Feeds” and “Chain Reaction” reminds the world Ratt can still rock just as
hard as anyone they just cant do it for a whole album anymore.
|
|
Robert Plant
|
Now and Zen
|
C+
|
“Tall Cool One” is my favorite Plant solo song, so I was excited to
listen to this album in its entirety but I was disappointed. It was mediocre
elevator music and it did not feel relevant.
|
|
Roxx Gang
|
Things You’ve Never Done
Before
|
B
|
An obscure sleaze band out of Florida. The year 1988 saw a divergence
in the glam metal community. Half went the pop metal route following Def
Leppard and Bon Jovi, the other half stuck with Guns N Roses & Motley
Crue and kept it sleazy. This is damn good sleazy rock n roll, Aerosmith,
AC/DC, Chuck Berry. “Scratch My Back” is so bitchin’ and if the rest of album
was that good, it would have been A+. Because they are from Florida have a
cool, different Southern vibe to them. Check em out!
|
|
Scorpions
|
Savage Amusement
|
B-
|
Scorpions were on the run of a lifetime. Lovedrive, Blackout and Love
At First Sting! All good things must come to an end. Savage Amusement is
still good, but they follow the trend of Def Leppard and Bon Jovi going for
pop sheen instead of guitar pyrotechnics. The Scorps just weren’t built that
way. The first two tracks deceive you into thinking your balls will be rocked
off but the rest of the album leaves you with blue balls.
|
|
Slayer
|
South of Heaven
|
C+
|
I love Slayer, I swear. I love Thrash too. Two thrash albums made my
top ten. I must have listened to this album a dozen times. Besides the title
track and “Mandatory Suicide” I cant tell you what any other track is on this
album or what it sounds like. It is ball-less. Nothing grabs. It is just good
background noise. That being said the song “South of Heaven” might be the
best metal song of 1988 and it is really fucking good.
|
|
Stryper
|
In God We Trust
|
D
|
I love Stryper, I swear. To Hell With The Devil and Against The Law
SMOKE! This album is a victim of shitty late 80s production. Way too many
keyboards. They went from accent pieces providing atmosphere and texture to
being front and center. It is too bright and pop-y. They castrated
themselves. It sounds very artificial. It sounds like shitty Styx instead of
Heavy Metal.
|
|
Testament
|
The New Order
|
B+
|
For an album made on the fly, with less than a year since their
debut, this album is pretty fucking good and almost made my top ten. There is
a fantastic streak from New Order to Into The Pit to Disciples of the Watch.
Most people prefer the Debut, but I disagree I like this album a lot more.
The production is much high quality everything sounds really full and heavy.
This is a bone-crusher of an album!
|
|
Van Halen
|
OU812
|
C
|
Oh how the mighty Van Halen has fallen! My favorite band of all time
proved they could produce a masterpiece without Roth in 1986 with 5150. It is
almost like Eddie said “See I told you so, now I am going to make the album I
want” and what he produced was an ode to the lumbering mid-1970s pomp rock of
Led Zeppeling and Queen similar to what Axl did with Chinese Democracy. Eddie
Van Halen is a genius and I bet to him this is what he thought truly “great”
rock sounded like. There is so much production going on here tons of
synthesizer tracks and sound effects. Lots of atmosphere here too, it is not
a pointed, driving assault. The other weird effect is Sammy Hagar wants to
have a good time and he is singing these party anthem lyrics, but the music
does not match the lyrics. It is very plodding and tepid. It is just not a fun
album. “Where have all the good times gone?”
|
|
Vixen
|
Vixen
|
B
|
I have always known that girls can rock hard and Vixen lends more credence
to that. Jan Kuehnemund is a fantastic guitarist. She can ROAR with the best
of them. I would say she is most similar to either Vivian Campbell of Dio or
Mick Mars of Motley Crue. She is not a shredder but she is not a staccato thrasher
either. There is a muscularity to her sound. Unfortunately the production
sometimes buries this in favor to highlight the fact that Vixen has a female
singer. It is an all girl band but you cant tell that from an instrument
perspective you can only tell that from the singer so since the hook is that
they are all women, the singer gets front place in the mix, which is a bummer
since there are some great tunes here. Check out pro shot footage from a Spring
Break concert, Jan Kuehnemund smokes.
|
|
Winger
|
Winger
|
C+
|
I really like Winger, going so far as to see Kip Winger Unplugged
doing all your Winger favorites in a shitty little bar in Worcester so I was
shocked I didn’t think much of this album. The singles + “Hungry” are killer.
“Madalaine” is my favorite 80s Winger song. The deep cuts just are not very
deep.
|
Top 10 Heavy Metal Albums of 1988
#10. Ram It Down - Judas Priest
Rating: B+
A very underrated album in the massive catalog of Judas Priest. If this was the follow-up to the monstrous Defenders of the Faith then I think this would be much more fondly remembered. Priest's metal credibility took a hit when they went glam in 1986 with "Turbo" with not much to show for it besides "Turbo Lover". "Ram It Down" was supposed to be a return to staccato riffing glory but it took more to earn the fans' trust back and that would be accomplished with the vicious, take no prisoners Painkiller. As a glam metal fan, I have no qualms with Almighty Priest going glam so I have an open mind to this album. I think "Heavy Metal" and "Come And Get It" are brutally underrated songs in the Priest catalog. They rock wicked hard, they have that characteristic skull-cracking pummel to it with Halford singing like a Banshee. Priest was never a shred band, but Tipton/Downing show off their chops in "Heavy Metal". "Blood Red Skies" is epic Priest and "Ram It Down" is one of their best speed metal offerings. The back half is a little bit of a letdown, but nothing to be ashamed of. Balancing speed with Arena metal is what Judas Priest does best and this album is classic Priest, all other critics be damned.
#9. Long Cold Winter - Cinderella
Rating: B+
Cinderella is one of those rare glam metal bands that has cache with critics, even though they went full glam in both appearance and style on their 1986 debut, "Night Songs". Their garb seem to be more at home at the Court of the Sun King in Versailles than in Motley Crue's post-apocalyptic Sunset Strip. They sing about that on "Bad Seamtress Blues" ok I am kidding, but that would have been a funny topic. Cinderella went for diversity on their second album incorporating liberal amounts of blues-rock to their heavy metal sound. They sound like the best possible version of Aerosmith. They maintain their edge and heaviness but their rhythm section swings and keeps you moving. "Gypsy Road" is an absolute banger and I remember that being my favorite live song when I saw them in concert like 5 years ago. "Dont Know What You Got Until It's Gone" is their most favorite song. It is a very stereotypical power ballad, but Tom Keifer's trained yet powerful vocals make it special. The production is top-notch, everything sounds loud and full. All the instruments come together to keep you rocking. The drums sound amazing, the bass drum booms and the snare drum snaps like this a Madonna album. Perfection. Overall, there is a bit too much blues for me especially on the title track which is a bit of dirge with lots of bemoaning wailing, but deep cuts like "If You Dont Like It" which is a pure heavy metal high energy more than make for it. It is not Night Songs, but it is a worthy sequel.
#8. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - Iron Maiden
Rating: B+
Iron Maiden goes full Prog on this their fifth album with Bruce Dickinson. It has all the makings of an album I shouldnt like...very proggy and lots of 80s synths, but surprisingly this album still rocks hard and I would say is underrated by Maiden fans. "Can I Play With Madness" is the hit and it is a very fun song, which is something weird to say about Iron Maiden. It is dare I say playful. The chorus is such a great hook and the music has a Medieval/Renaissance Folk Metal vibe I dig. "The Evil Men Do" is one of the best Maiden epics right up there with "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "Powerslave". It is a great subject and it very catchy for an epic. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is mostly fun for Dickinson chanting the title over and over again and never slipping up with all those "S's". "The Clairvoyant" which I first heard at my first Maiden concert in 2014 is a total banger that makes you want to dance and lose your mind during the chorus. Usually when I think "Prog" I think lumbering, plodding, needless twists and turns and no hooks. Maiden did a lot of interesting things within the songs and kept them fun & interesting.
#7. ...And Justice For All - Metallica
Rating: A-
Sometimes, this album is just what the doctor ordered, an absolute aural assault. This is thrash at its more refined and coldest. Every note inflicts maximal damage on the senses. It bludgeons the listener with pulsating riff and after pulsating riff. "Blackended" is a song for environmental justice is a standout with its speed with its amazingly brutal breakdown. "Eye of the Beholder" is hypnotic and the best chorus Metallica ever came up with. "One" is Metallica's first crossover hit and one of their best epics. Its sterility and calculated nature works against it because it is so un-fun and un-entertaining that leaves the listener cold. There is nothing spontaneous or organic about this album. It is the work of perfectionists, who wanted to deliver a technical masterpiece. It is an album that is almost inhuman. It deals with a lot of subjects of humans being stripped of their humanity. It is fitting in a way. I love to listen tot his when I am doing a lot of mathematical analysis. It really fits that logical, analytical cold nature of humanity.
#6. Operation Mindcrime - Queensryche
Rating: A-
I finally listened to the story and its pretty damn good! The year 1988 is when Prog made its comeback with Iron Maiden, Metallica and now Queensryche delivering Prog masterpieces. The difference between these Seattle rockers and the previous bands was their hits are just so much catchier. "Revolution Calling" is one of my favorite songs ever by any band. The tension they build with the rhythm section intro and they blow it off with a Scorpions style guitar shredding is so cool. Geoff Tate has a cool swagger in this song and the chorus is just massive. It is exactly the call to arm they were looking for. "I Dont Believe In Love" and "Eyes of A Stranger" are the other two standouts that do a great job marrying prog metal with catchy Arena metal choruses. Queensryche sometimes gets labelled glam because they are more pop than Thrash and "glam" became a catch all for all heavy metal bands from the 80s that did not rock as hard as Metallica. Queensryche is just a damn great heavy metal band similar to Judas Priest or Iron Maiden.
#5. Open Up And Say...Ahh! - Poison
Rating: A-
Pure fun. Some people call this the Van Halen album where they traded in the gutter riffs of "Look What The Cat Dragged In" for the shred style of Eddie. I think pyrotechnics are present on the hit singles "Nothin' But A Good Time" and "Fallen Angel" but there is so much more to this album. Three out of four members of Poison are from rural Pennsylvania and I think the country/western rock n roll roots are more pronounced the album. "Good Love" has a wicked sex appeal to it and the monster power ballad "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is the best country ballad ever. "Bad To Be Good" is Poison at their heaviest but they get there by way of the blues as Bret sneers and snarls his way through it. The glam energy is still there on deep cuts like "Back to the Rocking Horse" and "Tearin Down the Walls". In the former there is a childlike romanticism that is conveyed through the chorus that is very glam and "tearn Down The Walls" the preening and sneering comes back. Perhaps my favorite song on this album of no bad songs is "Love On The Rocks" is their best sleaze song which is seductive in very shape and form and just a rollicking good time. How did I forget "Look But Cant Touch" which is a straight ahead no frill heavy metal jam with Bret's flare for country storytelling. Methinks I should have ranked thsi higher.
#4. So Far, So Good...So What! - Megadeth
Rating: A-
I do not think there's a bigger fan of this album than me. Mustaine has disavowed it and everyone slams it. The story goes Megadeth literally blew all the money for the album as in all the money went to cocaine. The production sounds like nothing else in 1988 because it sounds like it was made in 1983 with a shoestring budget. It is so raw and pure. Thrash had become so technical and proggy and Megadeth just delivered a no frills, straight ahead thrash album. The joke is on everyone because Mustaine was technically the best guitarists of the lot of them. His runs on this album behind a speed metal rhythm bed are jaw dropping. My favorite track has always been "Hook In Mouth" it is a vicious attack on the PMRC and government censorship. I love the part towards the end where he does a spoken word breakdown and then snarls "HOOK IN MOUTH" and then goes right back into that fucking killer groove riff. The beginning combination of "Into Lungs Of Hell"/"Set The World Afire" is what thrash dreams are made of. It simple and brutal. "Mary Jane" and "In my Darkest Hour" are great moody thrash jams that give the album diversity. Overall, this was the best headbanging album of 1988! Also what was up with 1988 and the ellipsis. Metallica, Megadeth and Poison all had it in their album titles!
#3. Tattooed Beat Messiah - Zodiac Mindwarp
Rating: A-
Never heard of Zodiac Mindwarp, well dont worry about it they will give you a "Backseat Education", I hear if you are pretty they will do it for free. I have known of Zodiac Mindwarp since college and they are glam's best kept secret. "I love T.V. and I Love T-Rex" does it get more glam than that? I do not fucking think so! If Megadeth was the best pure thrash album of 1988, this is the best pure glam album of 1988. It is noisy, crunchy, hooky riffs with a movin', groovin' rhythm sections and it has the best big glam choruses of the year. Zodiac Mindwarp is a celestial Sex God cum to Earth to filled every woman with ecstasy. I mean does it get more glam than that! What a gimmick! The album is drenched in sleaze and bodily fluids. It is glorious. "Your lipstick flickers on my lightning rod" - Sleaze poetry *swoon*. "Prime Mover", "Backseat Education" and "Planet Girl" are some of the best glam songs that T-Rex and Sweet never wrote. The only thing holding this back is that power ballad "Kid's Stuff" is pretty bad. Zodiac Mindwarp is just not a gimmick built for conventional power ballads. Some people would compare this to Steel Panther, but Steel Panther is clearly a joke. This is closer to a pro wrestling gimmick, it is clearly fake BUT character believes it is real. Steel Panther wants you to know they are in on joke and they are laughing with you. This album doesnt make you laugh but it makes you smile extra wide.
#2. Danzig - Danzig
Rating: A
What the hell can top that? "Father! Do you want to bang heads with me? Mother! Do you want to find Hell with me" Oh Hell Yeah....it is DANZIG! No one sounds like Danzig! The bastard son of Elvis and Black Sabbath. When everyone else wanted to sound like Eddie Van Halen or Judas Priest, Glenn Danzig said "Fuck You! I I want to sound like Black Sabbath". Ozzy once said something to effect he didnt see how Black Sabbath influenced most heavy metal bands and he is right I would argue Priest and Van Halen were more influential. The Black Sabbath sound is so unique and so ungodly heavy and so fucking awesome that I am happy someone took up the mantle and it was Danzig! Danzig's demonic, hellish record is the most metal album of 1988 as he howls about Satan and sex. Every riff is indebted to Tony Iommi's dark roar. The coolest effect is Danzig's Elvis meets Jim Morrison vibe that has such a cool swagger. It is so unique and so cool. I feel because Danzig does not belong to a scene, LA Glam, British Heavy Metal or Bay Area Thrash that the band gets overlooked which is a crying shame because this band is so heavy and so unique. The opening riff to "Twist of Cain" is what heavy metal is made of. Up The Irons! Bang Your Head!
#1. L.A. Guns - L.A. Guns
Rating: A
Danzig was all set to take top honors until I gave this one last listen and Holy Shit! does this album smoke! L.A. Gun are a part of the unholy trinity of L.A.'s Second Wave Sleaze scene along with luminaries, Guns 'n' Roses and Faster Pussycat. The other two released their debut albums the year prior, L.A. Guns was a little late releasing this five days into the new year 1988 and for the next 360 days no band could top it. Talk about blowing your wad early! I was lucky enough to see Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns in 2016 and they were awesome together. It was a sleaze dream come true. My pro wrestling friend, Goodhelmet, knows how much I love the genre and mailed me a signed drum stick of Steve Riley that he caught in a concert back in the 80s! So fucking cool! No one has better posture in the history of metal tan Steve Riley. L.A. Guns founded by Tracii Guns, who originally lent his name to Guns N Roses after a merger between LA Guns and Hollywood Rose but left after squabbles with Axl no surprise there, re-established his band with Phil Lewis as the singer formerly of Girl a British glam rock band that spun off Phil Colleen, Def Lep's lead guitarist. L.A. Guns followed the blueprint of GNR and Pussycat with a scorching hot sleaze record. Sleaze is a sub-genre of glam metal that de-emphasizes the heavy metal and gang chorus aspects of glam metal. It is more of a rock n roll, punk take on the genre but with guitar solos, but not shred-style. The riffs are usually very grimy and nasty. Sleaze bands did usually maintain the traditional glam image of dressing as women during a time when most bands were taking off the make-up. Sleaze bands often use vocals that are more based on a cock-sure attitude and are obsessed with sex, drugs and rock n roll naturally. The ultimate sleaze song is "Sex Action" off this album. It is just perfect in every way. When Lewis exclaims "Boy she's gone sleaze!" it was the moment where the new genre was named. Tracii Guns is the most metal of the sleaze guitarists as a lot of the blistering riffs are heavy and chugging see "One More Reason" and "Nothing To Lose". He also has those rattlesnake like riffs on the speedster "No Mercy" and the driving anthem "Electric Gypsy". Tracii's solos are more explosive than Slash's or the ones form Faster Pussycat Pussycat and owe more to Eddie Van Halen. Phil Lewis's voice is perfect for the sleaze genre. It is very thin. It lends itself well to the three S's: sneering, snarling and screeches. He has an androgynous preen to him that fits the sexuality of the songs so well. There is not a bad song on the album and everything is just full of piss 'n' vinegar. This was a band with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. When it looked like pop metal would reign supreme, L.A. Guns proved the sleazy underground of the Sunset Strip was still fertile and ripe with raw agression.
No comments:
Post a Comment