I think that we can all agree what an excellent year for metal was 1973. This was the year that veterans pivoted their styles, up and comers found their niche, and a bombastic British foursome added a theatrical flair to the genre that changed the world forever. In other news, the Sears Tower becomes the tallest building in the world, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns, and the US withdraws from the Vietnam War. Gas only cost 40 cents a gallon. If you were lucky enough to get your hands on your folks’ Monte Carlo for a cruise, here’s what was most likely coming out of your speakers…
10. Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom
Sweet Freedom was Uriah Heep’s sixth studio album in three years. In between nonstop touring all around the globe, Heep managed to make yet another classic album that combined prog, hard rock, and metal. Furthermore, they cracked the American market yet again with another hit single, “Stealin'”. It has since gone on to become their biggest hit next to “Easy Livin'”.
While most know this album for its lighthearted singalong single, there’s so much more to Sweet Freedom than “Stealin'”. “Dreamer” pushes AM pop to its heaviest boundaries, the title track showcases harmonies that rival Three Dog Night, and the closing “Pilgrim” remains one of the most intense songs in the Heep catalog. If this writeup isn’t enough to persuade you Sweet Freedom is a 70s metal classic, it also happened to be the album that made Darkthrone’s Fenriz fall in love with metal…at the age of 3. Talk about kvlt!
9. Buffalo – Volcanic Rock
If Flower Travellin’ Band was the Sabbath of the Rising Sun, Buffalo was the Sabbath from Down Under. After finding their footing on their 1972 debut, Dead Forever…, Buffalo shed any and all prog leanings for their follow up, Volcanic Rock. “Sunrise (Come My Way)” showcases the hard rock hooks that would become so pivotal to the NWOBHM. The 9 minute “Freedom” sweats like an extended Grand Funk Railroad jam. And the closing “Shylock” delivers some raw, primitive Sabbathian doom. If you’re a fan of the heavy 70s and HAVEN’T listened to Volcanic Rock, do yourself a favor and turn this it up until your skull is rattling.
8. Budgie – Never Turn Your Back on a Friend
After experimenting with folk and blues on 1972’s Squawk, Budgie’s third album, Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, saw them go full speed ahead. From the very opening notes of the proto-thrasher “Breadfan”, this is a band who was out for blood. Their ever cheeky marriage of humor and heaviness reigns on “You’re the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk”, while “In the Grip of a Tyrefitter’s Hand” recalls the doom of their debut, and “Parents” closes things in grandiose fashion. Many consider this Budgie’s finest hour and rightfully so. Never Turn Your Back on a Friend combines all the elements that made Budgie great into one 40 minute collection of metal that’s as energetic as it is introspective.
7. Nazareth – Razamanaz
After four years and two albums bouncing between folk, blues, and boogie rock, Nazareth finally found their mojo as the hardest of all hard rock bands. I can’t help but think the addition of Deep Purple’s Roger Glover behind the mixing board helped bring on this shift. Whatever the cause, the end result is genius. Manny Charlton’s riffs tow the line between metal and hard rock, while Dan McCafferty’s scorching hot vocals sound closer to Udo Dirkschneider than Robert Plant. The album was so successful, they reconvened in the studio with Glover that same year to record the almost equally strong Loud ‘n’ Proud. However, it’s Razamanaz that keeps us up on our feet dance, dance, dancing all these years later.
6. Queen – Queen
If you’re wondering why Queen is appearing on a metal list, get out your notebook and listen up. It’s time for a history lesson. Before becoming the flagship pop rock band of the last 50 years, Queen was a metal band. Their 1973 self titled debut combined the heaviness of Black Sabbath with the musical explorations of The Beatles. Add to that their own signature brand of whimsical majesty and you’ve got a template which would influence everyone from Priest and Maiden to Metallica and Savatage.
Queen made metal melodramatic. Freddie Mercury could have the voice of an angel one second and the voice of a devil the next. Brian May’s riffs showcased the darkness of Iommi with the virtuosity of Blackmore, all while remaining distinctly his own. And John Deacon and Roger Taylor cemented their status as one of the tightest rhythm units around. Tracks such as the confrontational “Liar”, the doomy “Son & Daughter”, and the galloping romp of “Keep Yourself Alive”, are mandatory for any true headbanger’s playlist.
5. Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy
Led Zeppelin must’ve gotten tired of their signature sound fast. After one last hurrah in Led Zeppelin IV, the band decided, “Let’s make an album where no two songs sound the same.” And they did just that. If you thought Led Zeppelin III was out there, wait until you hear Houses of the Holy. That is assuming you haven’t heard this masterpiece at least once in your lifetime. Houses of the Holy sees Plant, Page, Jones, and Bonham explore literally everything. There’s funk (“The Crunge”), prog (“No Quarter”), symphonic rock (“The Rain Song”), folksy hard rock (“Over the Hills and Far Away”, “The Song Remains the Same”), straight up hard rock (“Dancing Days”, “The Ocean”), and…reggae (“D’yer Mak’er”)? I’m still not sure what a good idea that last one was.
4. Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies
Alice Cooper’s reign as King of America continued well into 1973 with the release of Billion Dollar Babies. While the music has a Hollywood sheen that could only be the result of diamonds and cocaine, the lyrical content of Billion Dollar Babies continued the dark themes explored on 1971’s Love It to Death and Killer. 1972’s School’s Out was more mischievous, or as lighthearted as an Alice Cooper album could get at the time.
The controversy surrounding Billion Dollar Babies only fueled its success. It immediately went platinum and spawned not one, not two, but three Top 40 singles: “Hello Hooray”, “Elected”, and “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, which remains a staple of the Coop’s repertoire to this day. Alice Cooper’s final album, Muscle of Love, was released later that year, but lacks the demented charm and magic of Billion Dollar Babies.
3. Blue Öyster Cult – Tyranny and Mutation
Tyranny and Mutation: The name alone screams “heavy metal”. So do the contents which lie within. Blue Öyster Cult’s observations on drugs, fantasy, and the occult reach a level of heaviness that almost makes their debut sound timid in comparison…almost. Everything about Tyranny and Mutation is a step up from the debut. In just one short year, BÖC matured as musicians, songwriters, and messengers of the apocalypse. From the opening amphetamine fueled frenzy of “The Red & the Black”, to the closing erotic mystique of “Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)”, Tyranny and Mutation is “thinking man’s metal” at its peak.
2. Montrose – Montrose
Montrose: The unsung pioneers of American metal. While Sir Lord Baltimore, Bang, and BÖC tread the dark, murky waters of Sabbath’s swamp, Montrose played an upbeat, carefree brand of metal. Their self titled debut is one of the most NWOBHM sounding pre-NWOBHM albums, and set the stage for US metal trailblazers like Y&T, Riot, and another Ted Templeman produced four piece from California named after their guitarist. Any guesses on who that could be?
After countless years as one of the most in demand session guitarists around, Ronnie Montrose was finally able to make his own musical statement. And boy did we hear him loud and clear. Montrose is chock full of big melodies and even bigger riffs. The icing on the cake is a young singer named Sammy Hagar, belting his heart out, unknowingly delivering the finest performance of what would become a nearly 50 year career. Cuts like “Rock Candy”, “Rock the Nation”, and “Bad Motor Scooter” are as party-ready today as they were in ’73.
- Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
For the third year in a row, Black Sabbath takes “album of the year” honors, though with an album that sounds nothing like its predecessors. The Sabs’ love for The Beatles is more evident than ever on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Sabbath became less focused on being the doomiest band in the world and more focused on crafting lengthy, evocative suites. The end result is an album that’s not just musically heavy, but emotionally heavy as well.
The lyrical themes of depression and mental illness were nothing new for Geezer Butler. However, there’s a naked honesty to these topics on SBS that just wasn’t present on past releases. The lyrics to the title track, “Killing Yourself to Live”, and “Looking for Today” are enough to move even the most hardened man to tears. Another reoccurring theme on SBS is the concept of creation/evolution through God. These ideas are explored on “A National Acrobat” and my all time favorite Sabbath song, “Spiral Architect”. The latter can best be described as Sabbath’s answer to The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life”.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is, without a doubt, my favorite Black Sabbath album. It’s pure heavy metal therapy. Forget wasting hundreds of dollars on a shrink and side effect inducing pharmaceuticals. Spend a day with SBS and your mind and spirit will be rejuvenated. After all, that’s the effect art should have on man.
Honorable Mentions
- Aerosmith – Aerosmith
- Deep Purple – Who Do We Think We Are
- Mahogany Rush – Maxoom
- Nazareth – Loud ‘n’ Proud
- Thin Lizzy – Vagabonds of the Western World