Top 10: Metal Albums of 1979

“Where were you in ’79?” The dam known as the “NWOBHM” was beginning to burst. Bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Praying Mantis, Girlschool, Angel Witch, and more released demos and 7 inches that set the stage for the NWOBHM explosion of the following year. Meanwhile, lineup changes saw dramatic shifts in sound for some of metal’s most beloved bands. It’s also perhaps the last year the terms “hard rock” and “heavy metal” can be used interchangeably. The line between the two would be drawn in the sand come 1980, but more on that in a future edition. Until then, enjoy our Top 10 Metal Albums of 1979.

10. Riot – Narita

Disco sucked. There’s many reasons why. One of the biggest is that record executives were in such a cocaine fueled haze, they failed to realize the groundbreaking impact of Riot. In fact, they were so oblivious to this New York quintet’s innovation, their second album, Narita, was initially only released in Japan. Riot’s management had to fight to get it released stateside, where it did little to nothing commercially. It’s a crying shame really. From potential FM rock radio staples (“Waiting for the Taking”, “Do It Up”) to all out metal hymns (“49er”, “Road Racin'”), Narita had all the potential to steal the hearts of America’s hard rocking youth.

9. Rainbow – Down to Earth

I could only imagine the confused expression upon many a young headbanger’s face as they dropped the needle on Rainbow’s fourth album, Down to Earth. “It says Rainbow on the cover…but it sounds nothing like them.” Yes, Down to Earth was the album on which Ritchie Blackmore made it perfectly clear that Rainbow was not a band. They were his solo project. This “new and improved” Rainbow featured a brand new lineup that included keyboard wizard Don Airey, clean cut frontman Graham Bonnet, and handling the low end, none other than Blackmore’s past Purple bandmate, Roger Glover. Only trusty drummer Cozy Powell remained alongside Blackmore from the Dio days.

With the exception of the epic tracks “Eyes of the World” and “Lost in Hollywood”, Down to Earth is full departure from Rainbow’s past days of proto-power metal and fantastical imagery. Instead, we’re given hook laden, radio ready hard rock (“Since You Been Gone”, “All Night Long”, “No Time to Lose”). By his own admission, Blackmore had taken note of Foreigner’s overnight success. The next 3 Rainbow albums would further expand upon the Mick Jones/Lou Gramm formula, though not with the same memorability as Down to Earth. If only Bonnet had stuck around for another album.

8. Triumph – Just a Game

Triumph had all the cards stacked against them. They were a Canadian power trio playing progressive hard rock. Sound familiar? Add to that their whimsical lyrics and the eardrum shattering vocals of Rik Emmett. Coincidence? It was easy for critics to disparage them as “the poor man’s Rush”, especially considering those same critics didn’t like Rush to begin with! But Triumph didn’t back down. They proved “third time’s the charm” with Just a Game. In a time when the music industry avoided true rock bands like the plague, Triumph did the unthinkable. They scored an FM AND AM radio hit on the same album! Now the FM feat wasn’t too hard. After all, it was on this “dark side of the dial” where hard rock and heavy metal lived exclusively since their inception. But an AM hit? Impossible…or so they said. “Hold On” cracked the Top 40 at #38. It paved the way for Triumph’s future of platinum albums and sold out arenas come the following decade. Meanwhile, “Lay It on the Line” seems to get played at least once daily on every classic rock radio station across the country. I’ll take it over the endless cavalcade of Eagles and Fleetwood Mac!

7. KISS – Dynasty

Remember a couple entries earlier when I said disco sucked? Scratch that. Most disco sucked. Wait, is this album even disco? No…it’s KISSco! I better copyright that before Chaim Witz, I mean, Gene Simmons, beats me to it. All kidding aside, by 1979, cracks were starting to show in the KISS kamp. Despite being pictured on the album cover, Peter Criss was nowhere to be heard on Dynasty. That is with the exception of “Dirty Livin'”. Instead, drums were handled by session player Anton Fig. Meanwhile, Simmons was too busy pursuing pop diva Cher, only playing bass on half the album and singing on two songs: the rhythm heavy rocker “Charisma” and quirky power pop tune “X-Ray Eyes”.

So what does that leave us with? Well, at its core, Dynasty is a mish mash of songs expanding upon the success of the Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley solo albums. Frehley provides two originals, “Hard Times” and “Save Your Love”, and a memorable cover of The Rolling Stones’ “2000 Man”. Stanley on the other hand does what he does best and that’s write pop songs. Only this time around, the songs have a glittery disco afterglow. “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” would go on to be the biggest KISS song worldwide, while “Sure Know Something” and “Magic Touch” are two of my personal favorite KISS songs ever. As uneven as it sounds, Dynasty works because it’s KISS…or half of KISS with sporadic appearances from the other half. You be the judge.

6. Motörhead – Bomber

“Because we shoot to kill and you know we always will.” Had truer words ever been sung? I think not. In their never ending quest to kill every lawn in the world, and hot off the heels of one of the most important metal albums ever (more on that in a bit), Motörhead decided that one album for 1979 was not enough! No, what the record buying public needed was a twin assault from Lemmy, Fast Eddie, and Philthy. And boy did they got it. The amazing thing about Bomber is not one song sounds like a “leftover” from the Overkill sessions. Never ones to phone it in, Motörhead struck deadly with such classics as “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, “Stone Dead Forever”, and “All the Aces”. The speed metal train was rolling and Motörhead were the conductors. It would take another year or two for others to hop along.

5. Motörhead – Overkill

If we were rating all these albums off historical significance alone, there’s no doubt Overkill would be #1. Its filth and aggression is jarring by today’s standards, let alone 1979’s. From beginning to end, Overkill sounds less like an album and more like a competition to see which instrument can split through a stereo first. Philthy Animal wasn’t the first metal drummer to utilize double bass drumming. However, the template set on the album’s title track was the foundation for all forms of extreme metal drumming to come. It’s essentially ground zero for d-beat, speed metal, and thrash metal. Also, keep in mind that when Ian Paice or Les Binks were playing double bass, they didn’t have an entire band trying to outdo them in terms of intensity. Philthy did. From Lemmy’s buzzsaw bass, to Fast Eddie’s ferocious guitar, to the witty and sometimes sleazy lyrics (“Damage Case” anyone?), Overkill is as perfect of a metal album you’ll ever hear.

4. Thin Lizzy – Black Rose: A Rock Legend

Between guitarist Brian Robertson’s departure and Phil Lynott’s increasing drug habit, things were starting to look as bad for Thin Lizzy as they were for KISS. But being the “Warriors” they were, Thin Lizzy soldiered on with the addition of new/old guitarist Gary Moore. Despite two earlier brief stints with the band, Black Rose: A Rock Legend is the only Lizzy album to feature Moore’s talents from beginning to end. He has songwriting credits on three tracks: “Toughest Street in Town”, “Sarah”, and the epic title track, “Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend”. The guitar duo of Moore and longtime axe slinger Scott Gorham is so damn electrifying. It practically has Thin Lizzy diehards asking, “Brian, who?” As strong as the musicianship on these songs are, the songs themselves are even stronger. From the lyrics to the structures and everything in between, Lynott could do no wrong. It’s no wonder many consider this to be Lizzy’s finest hour.

3. Van Halen – Van Halen II

Van Halen II: Or as I like to call it, Tours with Black Sabbath Once. Though not nearly as doom and gloom in nature as Fair Warning would be, VHII shows some serious shades of darkness throughout. The opening rendition of “You’re No Good” is as ominous as it is anthemic. “D.O.A.” is pure party doom; a glimpse into what could’ve been if Iommi was raised in Pasadena instead of Birmingham. And then there’s the spazzed out distant cousin of “Atomic Punk”, “Light Up the Sky”. All of these metallic moments aside, VHII does a solid job continuing the party started on the debut. “Beautiful Girls”, “Dance the Night Away”, and “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” are mandatory for anybody’s “Summer Fun in the Sun” playlist. You’d have to be devoid of soul to not smile while listening to this record…or a hipster.

2. AC/DC – Highway to Hell

The Young brothers may not have invented the power chord, but they sure as hell perfected it on AC/DC’s magnum opus, Highway to Hell. There is not a single riff, lyric, or groove on this album that won’t move you. Unlike past AC/DC releases which had more in common with the Australian pub rock scene, Highway to Hell boasts a pseudo-metallic atmosphere throughout. I’m sure Angus Young would disagree, but the songs speak for themselves. The fire that was Bon Scott was burning brighter than ever, spitting pure venom on tracks like “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” and “Night Prowler”. It’s nothing short of tragic that less than a year later, that fire would be put out for good. With all due respect to Brian Johnson, AC/DC would never reach these creative heights again. The Razors Edge comes close, but even that was a product of its time. Highway to Hell has an authenticity that can’t be faked. As the old saying goes, “often imitated, never duplicated”.

Scorpions – Lovedrive

Metal historians are quick to give Van Halen full credit for pioneering the glam metal boom that would come in the 80s. From the looks to the hooks, VH really drew the blueprint that Mötley Crüe would build upon. But VH alone didn’t foreshadow what was to come. Just as Judas Priest’s 70s albums presaged the arrival of the NWOBHM and Mercyful Fate, Scorpions’ sixth album, Lovedrive, presaged many of glam metal’s biggest bands. Could you imagine acts like Ratt, Poison, and even Bon Jovi without this album? I sure couldn’t.

One would be quick to label all of the bands I just listed “false metal” or “posers”. In other words, glorified boy bands co-opting the metal aesthetic to strike big. And while that may be partially true, the same mindset would have to be applied to Scorpions as well. Lovedrive was a blatant attempt to break the veteran German band into the American market once and for all. If that makes it a “sellout album”, it’s the greatest sellout album of all time. Gone are the glorious Hendrix inspired solos of Uli Jon Roth. Instead, we’re given streamlined melodic metal riffs, courtesy of Rudolf Schenker’s little brother, Michael.

I’ve noticed that the 8 songs on Lovedrive can be put into pairs. There’s two pop metal tracks (“Loving You Sunday Morning”, “Lovedrive”), two pure metal tracks (“Another Piece of Meat”, “Can’t Get Enough”), two ballads (“Holiday”, “Always Somwhere”), and for good measure, two oddballs (“Coast to Coast”, “Is There Anybody There?”). Put them all together and you’ve got the greatest metal album of 1979. Don’t believe me? Read the hype sticker!