Judas Priest vs Iron Maiden

[Deano]

Fine, then that debate is sooooooo 1985.

Now we're talking.....

 

[Forostar]

Hey, both Powerslave and Ride the Lightning were released that year. I say amen.

And "Defenders of the Faith", which contains the best A-side in the history of hardrock.

...and Rush's "Grace Under Pressure" (for me their best studio-album since Moving Pictures -1981-)

edit: come to think of it, 1984 was the best year in hardrock ever. Also:

Dio - The Last in Line
Queensryche - The Warning

 

[Anonymous]

edit: come to think of it, 1984 was the best year in hardrock ever.

Ya know, 1984 was a great year. After all, I was born then. But I'd only rate it as a good year for hard rock. If we're talking 80's, I'd say the following ones rocked hard:

1980
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell
AC/DC - Back In Black
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
Judas Priest - British Steel
Motörhead - Ace Of Spades
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz
Angel Witch - Angel Witch
Saxon - Strong Arm Of The Law
Diamond Head - Lightning To The Nations
Def Leppard - On Through The Night

And that's just scratching the surface for this year. After all, it was the year the NWOBHM explosion was on its height, and it had many more great albums by mostly forgotten bands.

1983
Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind
Dio - Holy Diver
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon
Manowar - Into Glory Ride
Def Leppard - Pyromania
Mötley Crüe - Shout At The Devil
Slayer - Show No Mercy

Again, there are some very obscure releases for this year. Also, the US Thrash Metal scene was evolving with some important bands releasing their first demos.

1986
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
Fates Warning - Awaken The Guardian
Flotsam And Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying
Kreator - Pleasure To Kill
Queensryche - Rage For Order
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Voivod - RRRÖÖÖAAARRR
Black Sabbath - Seventh Star
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
Helloween - Walls Of Jericho
Virgin Steele - Noble Savage

Thrash Metal was at its peak and easily counterbalanced the more poppy approach some of the more established Heavy Metal bands went.

1988
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Megadeth - So Far... So Good... So What!
Manowar - Kings Of Metal
Danzig - Danzig
Voivod - Dimension Hatröss
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Blind Guardian - Battalions Of Fear
King Diamond - "Them"
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys (Part II)
Bolt Thrower - In Battle There Is No Law

This one may not have as many great releases as the other years I mentioned, however it has some of the best. A year that has both Seventh Son and Mindcrime released deserves being called the best year in rock. 

 

[Albie]

Fine, then that debate is sooooooo 1985.

But Hell Awaits was released that year!

On topic. I have to admit to not been totally overawed by the Priest and I do find Maiden so superior. I do have a few Priest CD's, but the consistency is just not there.

 

[Anonymous]

On topic. I have to admit to not been totally overawed by the Priest and I do find Maiden so superior. I do have a few Priest CD's, but the consistency is just not there.

Ditto on that. Priest have released some absolutely brilliant albums, but Maiden have been much more consistent in their career, in my opinion.

 

[Forostar]

Gold & Platinum in the States: Priest and Maiden compared on 2 May 2008.

albums:

Priest:
-Multi-platinum: 1
Screaming For Vengeance (2x)
-Platinum: 4
Defenders Of The Faith
Turbo
British Steel
Unleashed In The East
-Gold: 7
Ram It Down
Point Of Entry
Hell Bent For Leather (= Killing Machine)
Sin After Sin
Stained Class
Painkiller
Priest...Live!

Maiden:
-Multi-platinum: 0
-Platinum: 5
The Number Of The Beast
Piece Of Mind
Live After Death
Powerslave
Somewhere In Time
-Gold: 3
Killers
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
No Prayer For The Dying

videos (longform):

Priest:
-Multi-platinum: 0
-Platinum: 1
Electric Eye
-Gold: 3
Fuel For Life
Judas Priest Live
Rising In The East

Maiden:
-Multi-platinum: 1
Visions Of The Beast (2x)
-Platinum: 4 (*the DVD version is seen as a seperate release)
Live After Death
Rock In Rio
The Early Days
Iron Maiden: Live After Death*
-Gold: 3
12 Wasted Years
Behind The Iron Curtain
Maiden England

 

[Dr Cox]

A year that has both Seventh Son and Mindcrime released deserves being called the best year in rock.

Two of my all time favourite albums released in the one year, 1988 was indeed an outstanding year for metal releases alright. In fact the whole period from 1980 - 1988 had some immense metal releases, some of the lists posted previously will attest to this.

On topic. I have to admit to not been totally overawed by the Priest and I do find Maiden so superior. I do have a few Priest CD's, but the consistency is just not there.

Would be in full agreement with this point too. I'd be more inclined to listen to Maiden on an album by album basis whereas with Priest, although stuff like Painkiller, Sad Wings of Destiny and British Steel are great albums, it's usually Metal Works '73 - '93 that gets the most regular spins on my stereo.