The Yearly Metal Project (With a Twist - See inside): 1982

Argus by Wishbone Ash is one of my favorite albums of all time. Just brilliant from beginning to end. Soft, melodic prog. Great guitar solos and bass playing. 'The King Will Come' is my favorite track. 'Leaf and Stream' is one of the first tracks I go to when I want relaxing music.
 
Something else I would want to recommend. 1972 was also the year that witnessed the brief appearance of British teen sensation Jerusalem, who released what was to sadly be their only album (under the management of Ian Gillan, I believe). Heavier, rawer and darker than most of the albums above, their self-titled debut is really worth a listen, and a testimony to unfulfilled potential. Oh, and one more thing: The band was originally going to be called Iron Maiden.

Have a listen here.
 
From 72 I need to mention Captain Beyond and their self titled album. They were formed by singer Rod Evans (after he left Deep Purple) and ex-Iron Butterfly members. The production isn't that heavy but the playing is excellent and spiced up with some more mellow psych moments.
 
Listened to Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper last night.

Vol 4: Largely agree with Foro, this is probably the most varied Ozzy era album and shows a band that, while comfortable in their sound, is still open to experimentation. And that really stayed with them most of their career, except on 13 really. I actually hadn't listened to this album since the Black Sabbath survivor and forgot how good this album is. One problem I tend to have with Sabbath albums is sometimes the songs start to blend together (Master of Reality is one I have difficulties with for this reason) but really every song on Vol 4 is a different flavor while still having that Sabbath edge and sounding like a unified album. So much great riffing on here too, this is where Iommi really solidified himself as the Riff Master.

School's Out: I actually enjoyed this one! Not something I'd come back to, but there were a lot of interesting songs. Not as heavy as Killer, but had a really experimental feel to it. I also loved the last track, which was this orchestral instrumental that recapped a bunch of melodies from the other songs. Cool stuff.

Had no idea Argus was so revered. Now I'm very curious. I've liked the Wishbone Ash I've heard so far, so I'll give it a shot.

Added Captain Beyond and Jerusalem to the list.
 
There are some surprisingly heavy moments on this Elf album. Dio still has a harshness to his vocals and is definitely trying to go for something more than just straight boogie. Check out this song:
Heavy guitars, drums, and vocals! I could totally see this being a Rainbow song.
 
Mosh said:
There are some surprisingly heavy moments on this Elf album. Dio still has a harshness to his vocals and is definitely trying to go for something more than just straight boogie. Check out this song:
Heavy guitars, drums, and vocals! I could totally see this being a Rainbow song.
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God, there's a lot in common with early Queen.
Good song.
 
I definitely recommend the album. I don't think I had heard it since around the time Dio died, so I was really surprised by how riff driven it was. Not essential, but really interesting if you're a fan of Dio.

Also really interesting was Captain Beyond. Very proggy stuff with lots of odd time signatures and typical prog pomp. Also had its share of heavy moments and some twin guitar melodies here and there.
 
Mosh said:
I definitely recommend the album. I don't think I had heard it since around the time Dio died, so I was really surprised by how riff driven it was. Not essential, but really interesting if you're a fan of Dio.
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This is the first time I've ever heard it. I have a feeling it won't be the last. Great stuff.
 
Interesting where this discussion takes us.
No way in hell is Argus a metal album, but the influence on bands like Maiden and Lizzy is undeniable.
King is a very nice song.

Demons and Wizards is very consistent and a bit heavier.
You can see it paving the way for bands like Styx and Grand Prix.

That stream kinda petered out as the move to two-guitar bands squeezed the keyboards out of the metal scene.
 
eddie666 said:
Brainstorm from Hawkwind's Doremi (great title) is a wonderful display of their balance between structure and improvisation. Rock and roll, I suppose.
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A bit better than their previous albums, but still not my cup of tea. I understand that the next album is a fan favorite, so I look forward to that.

I did like the song with Lemmy on vocals toward the end of the album though!
 
Pand said:
Something else I would want to recommend. 1972 was also the year that witnessed the brief appearance of British teen sensation Jerusalem, who released what was to sadly be their only album (under the management of Ian Gillan, I believe). Heavier, rawer and darker than most of the albums above, their self-titled debut is really worth a listen, and a testimony to unfulfilled potential. Oh, and one more thing: The band was originally going to be called Iron Maiden.

Have a listen here.
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I'm digging this one. There are lots of Maiden-esque tempo changes and very active bass playing.
 
Since no one else has talked about it, the most important album of the year - indeed along with Zep IV and the first two Sabbath albums the most important album so far - is Made in Japan.

Reason 1: Ritchie Blackmore set the template for the metal guitar god with his playing and his stage presence
Reason 2: Ian Gillan's shriek became the most imitated metal vocal style for, well, forever.
Reason 3: every kid in the world could air guitar Smoke On the Water and a generation of guitarists started trying to match the catchiness of that riff.
 
I did forget to mention the Deep Purple albums. Both of them are incredible. I definitely agree that Made in Japan, among with Machine Head, are easily the most important albums of 1972 for Metal. This is the year where Blackmore really cements himself as a guitar hero IMO. So many great solos and riffs on this, starting with Highway Star. You can also see how their live intensity would go on to influence the Metal bands. While you don't hear extended jams in Metal, the pure energy of these songs on stage really brought them to another level. Listening to Machine Head and Made In Japan back to back really shows this.

I also have to recommend the first Scorpions album. I had always ignored their early stuff because I figured it would be mostly made up of failed experimental stuff before they figured out their arena rock ready sound. I was so wrong. Right from the beginning you hear their knack for solid songwriting and their sense of melody. Also one of two Scorpions albums with Michael Schenker on guitar.
 
The speed and energy of Purple here was unprecedented.
Been a long time sense I listened to Lonesome Crow.
Time to fix that.
 
Lonesome Crow has me extremely excited to dig into the other pre-Lovedrive Scorps albums.

The Thin Lizzy album here is largely forgettable, they are clearly still finding their sound. However, Buffalo Gal shows hints at the melodic side of Lizzy we'd get to know later:

 
I'm listening to Argus now. I've been hyped, don't let me down Maidenfans.
 
The opening chords in Warrior by Wishbone Ash sound very familiar...



0:30
 
1973
Aerosmith - Aerosmith
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies/Muscle of Love
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Blue Oyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation
Budgie - Never Turn Your Back On a Friend
Deep Purple - Who Do We Think We Are
Genesis - Selling England By the Pound
King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire
Montrose - Montrose
Queen - Queen
Thin Lizzy - Vagabonds of the Western World
Uriah Heep - Sweet Freedom

1973 is an interesting year. We've got some bands with their very first albums, some bands with albums that would be the last before a hiatus, lineup change, or change in sound altogether, and we also have a couple bands who have reemerged with a brand new sound.

First we have the debuts. Some big first albums here. Aerosmith, Queen, and Montrose would go on to become big influences on the Rock and Metal scenes. The Queen album in particular is very heavy, there's definitely a Metal influence in there. Montrose marks the recorded debut of Sammy Hagar, who would go on to bigger things later, but definitely had the edge and grit of a Metal singer. Aerosmith, on the other hand, definitely isn't Metal but they did pave the way for the more Blues based American bands, particularly in Glam Metal.

In the next category we have Alice Cooper and Deep Purple. Muscle of Love and Who Do We Think We Are would go on to be the last albums of the bands' original and classic lineups respectively. Both are sort of viewed as weak points in their careers, although Woman From Tokyo is a popular tune. And on the Alice Cooper front, they also released the future classic Billion Dollar Babies earlier this year.

Finally, we've got some comeback albums and overhauls of previous sounds. Led Zeppelin is the big one here, who released what is easily their most diverse album. The blues based hard rock really takes a back seat here in favor of folk, reggae, and even Indian music. It's even less of a Metal album than IV, but I think a lot of Metal groups today who embrace diverse influences likely got that from Zeppelin. We also have King Crimson with a brand new lineup and a totally different sound with their landmark Larks' Tongues in Aspic. This string of albums by Crimson contains easily their heaviest material, where in some ways they invented the progressive metal genre. I have a hard time listening to King Crimson and not thinking that they're pretty much directly responsible for bands like Tool, Meshuggah, and even the heavier side of Dream Theater.

As for everything else, the big eyebrow raiser is probably going to be Mahavishnu Orchestra. I included their album because it's probably the closest Jazz ever got to Metal. This album was seriously heavy stuff and Mahavishnu often toured with Hard Rock bands rather than Jazz groups. McLaughlin has a guitar style that's aggressive, frantic, and he seriously shreds. Dare I say he almost reminds me of Janick Gers? There's also one more Genesis album, mostly included for Dancing With the Moonlit Knight and it's Maiden-esque gallop. The rest of the bands included are pretty much continuing what they've been doing.

Also noteworthy is that this is the year Halford joins Judas Priest. They're coming soon!
 
Around this time Mahavishnu Orchestra were huge. Stadium size. Bigger than the Eagles (who opened for them).
Good pick. Also: I've read that this album features the first use of double bass drumming in the rock genre. Other people probably have done it earlier, but I doubt if that was so audible as on Birds of Fire (title track).

This is a wonderful album, on which I greatly appreciate the calmer work as well. Their best, I'd say.

Edit: I'll focus more on 1973 later.
 
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