Top 10: Boogie Metal Songs

For all the subgenres, scenes, and hybrids that have spawned over the course of metal’s 50+ year history, I’m absolutely shocked that boogie metal hasn’t established itself as a proper style of metal. Now there are probably some of you who are rolling your eyes at the prospect of a “new” metal subgenre, and even more of you who are wondering, “Joe, what the hell is boogie metal?” Allow me to elaborate. Boogie metal can best be described as traditional metal that takes stylistic cues from boogie rock, characterized by shuffling drums, grooving riffs, and a straight forward rock n’ roll attitude. In other words, it’s metal you can dance to.

Some of these songs will come from classic metal bands whose boogieing ways were embedded in their DNA. Others will come from boogie rock staples who pushed the envelope of heaviness, creating something fresh and far removed from the genre’s blues based roots. Regardless, what all of these songs have in common is that they rock and they rock hard. So lace up your dancing shoes and warm up your neck. We’re about to boogie!

10. Foghat – “Drive Me Home”

Of all the boogie rock bands who found their way onto major labels and national tours in the 70s, none made a bigger impact commercially than Foghat. Formed by former Savoy Brown members Roger Earl (drums) and “Lonesome” Dave Peverett (vocals, guitars), the band soon found themselves as an arena headliner after the runaway success of their fifth album, Fool for the City (1975). Classic singles like “Slow Ride” and the title track still receive regular airplay on classic rock radio today, but it’s the raucous “Drive Me Home” that makes our list. Underneath the honky tonk piano is the type of headbanger-friendly riffs and reckless abandon that would become characteristic of the NWOBHM a few short years later. It suits them right. After all, Foghat were English…wait, you knew that, right? Don’t worry. My mind was as blown as yours when I found out too.

9. Vardis – “The Lion’s Share”

No band on this list better embodies the boogie metal ethos than Vardis. The band initially formed in 1973 under the moniker Quo Vardis, named after boogie rock/metal godfathers, Status Quo. Upon shortening their name to Vardis in the late 70s, the band found themselves in the thick of a new scene, one which would come to be known as the NWOBHM. Headbangers and heshers from all over England were loony for Vardis’s brand of hopped up, high speed, boogie metal mayhem. They quickly became one of the hottest live draws of the era, boasting energy of such epic proportion that it couldn’t be contained to the studio: It had to be captured live! The result was 100 M.P.H. (1980), which even made the promise, “Guaranteed no overdubs.” While every song on here is a stone cold classic, it’s “The Lion’s Share” with its earworm riffs and blistering solos that make this list at #9.

8. UFO – “Boogie”

As legend famously has it, UFO did not start as the English metal/hard rock juggernaut they’d come to be known for, but rather a space/psych rock band, and an uneven one at that. There’s moments on UFO’s first two albums I appreciate, but none that come close to the brilliance of the Schenker era onwards. That being said, the aptly titled “Boogie” off their debut album, UFO 1 (1970), is one of the highlights of these early years. Unlike the ambitiousness of other songs on this outing, “Boogie” is a straightforward heavy boogie rocker, one that quickly became an staple of UFO’s live sets. On “Boogie”, one can get a taste of the energy and firepower that was to come on classics like “Too Hot to Handle” and “Shoot Shoot”, sans the blatant boogie-isms of course.

7. Tygers of Pan Tang – “Don’t Touch Me There”

The Tygers of Pan Tang of Wild Cat (1980) was a far cry from the Tygers of Pan Tang on Spellbound (1981). For one, this ’80 incarnation of the band lacked key members John Deverill (vocals) and John Sykes (guitar). In their place stood original singer Jess Cox and sole guitarist/founder Robb Weir, who absolutely tore it up on this release. While Wild Cat is a NWOBHM classic through and through, it’s not without its 70s boogie moments, none boogieing harder than “Don’t Touch Me There”. Granted, this classic cut has more in line with the NWOBHM, with its aggressive guitar tone and rough around the edges vocals, but take a listen to that shuffling beat and rowdy lead riff. I think I died and went to boogie metal heaven!

6. Girlschool – “Take It All Away”

As you’ve probably come to notice by now, boogie rock left its imprint all over the NWOBHM. It didn’t matter whether you hailed from West Yorkshire like Vardis or Whitley Bay (AKA Tyger Bay) like Tygers of Pan Tang. No one was safe from the frantic four known as Status Quo. The same can be said for Girlschool, who drew heavy influence from the band on their debut album, Demolition (1980). From a structural perspective, “Take It All the Way” lies somewhere between a blues and boogie rock song. It’s a simple 12 bar blues arrangement that’s bolstered by boogie rock energy and the brute force of English metal. No wonder Lemmy took such a shining to these badass dudettes.

5. Raven – “Don’t Need Your Money”

After spending the better part of the 70s gigging all over England, 1980 saw the brothers Gallagher (Mark on guitar and John on bass and vocals) and drummer Rob “Wacko!” Hunter, AKA Raven, hit the studio for the first time. The end result was “Don’t Need Your Money”: A full speed, full tilt boogie metal bonanza that pushed the boundaries of speed and intensity like few others of the time. The cut and its accompanying B-side, “Wiped Out”, were well received by both the fans and burgeoning metal news outlets (i.e. Sounds). By 1981, they’d release their debut full length, Rock Until You Drop, and the rest is history. Raven has been flying high ever since!

4. Status Quo – “Paper Plane”

In the beginning, there was Quo. And in the beginning, Quo did not boogie. The English quartet spent their early years milling about as a psych rock band. Shockingly enough, it was on their debut full length outing that the band scored their biggest stateside hit, “Pictures of Matchstick Man”. However, this was merely the warmup act for a career that would go on to span over 55 years. Come the 70s, Status Quo dominated English charts and radio, causing borderline riots with their high energy live performances. How could one not absolutely lose their shit to a song as blistering as “Paper Plane”? For a band who made their entire career on boogie hymns, it’s “Paper Plane” that encapsulates the spirit of Quo in 3 simple minutes of high octane heavy rock n’ roll.

3. The Godz – “Gotta Keep a Runnin'”

After achieving global domination as drummer for thee American band, Grand Funk Railroad, drummer/vocalist Don Brewer retreated to life behind the scenes as a producer. I’m not entirely sure what he produced besides The Godz’s self titled debut album, but what matters is that he DID produce The Godz’s self titled debut album. One of the finest metal slabs of ’78, The Godz were hellbent for leather, crank, babes, and loud rock n’ roll. Oh, and they sure knew how to boogie. The 7 minute “Gotta Keep a Runnin'” is one of the most braggadocious songs in the history of hard and heavy music (“We’re everything your parents ever warned you about.), and yet it works in all its tough, boogie woogie glory. One listen and you’ll turn into a “rock n’ roll machine”!

2. Motörhead – “No Class”

In the continuous battle between punks and metalheads over which camp claims Motörhead as their own, something tells me if the boogie rockers made this a three-way fight, Lemmy would welcome them with open arms. After all, it’s this style that holds truest to the spirit of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and other 50s rock n’ roll pioneers. Amidst Motörhead’s mission to break the boundaries of speed and sound were boogie-laden cuts like “No Class”. The lead riff boasts eerie similarity to “Tush” from the band’s US contemporaries/friends, ZZ Top. We even asked Billy F. Gibbons about this, to which he was all aware and embracing of the homage. Speaking of ZZ Top, I gotta say, it was a tooth and nail battle for the top between “No Class” and…

1. ZZ Top – “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”

Yes, in this battle of the boogie bangers, it’s that Little Ole Band from Texas who takes the cake. There’s no denying that ZZ Top’s third album, Tres Hombres, is an absolute masterpiece. Nobody in their right mind would dispute this, and if you were to, well, there’s the door mi amigo. Getting back to the point at hand, on an album full of classic tunes, none are more classic than “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”. And it just so happens that “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”, despite its boogie shuffle and southern fried soloing, is one of the heaviest, darkest tunes on the album, and in the Top’s catalog for that matter. It drives just as hard as anything Sabbath or Purple were releasing at the time, without sacrificing that distinct Texan rock n’ roll flavor, making it the greatest boogie metal song of all time. Have mercy!