Top 10: Metal Albums of 1988

Despite being the second to last year of the decade, 1988 kept the heavy metal craze going stronger than ever, both in the mainstream and underground. Veterans continued to churn out top quality material, some thrash bands had now ascended to arena headliner status, and a punk rock icon embraced metal with open arms. Meanwhile, the pioneers of extreme metal continued to pave the way for the explosion that would arrive a year later, but more on that in a future Top 10. Until then, here’s our Top 10 Metal Albums of 1988.

10. Vio-Lence – Eternal Nightmare

By 1988, thrash metal was riding high on a wave of commercial success and new blood. Testament, Death Angel, and Suicidal Tendencies were among the few getting love on both MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball and the denim jackets of thrashers nationwide. Yet none of those bands could touch the sheer insanity heard on Vio-Lence’s debut album, Eternal Nightmare. The best way I can describe it is if five lunatics escaped the asylum and broke into a studio. This would be the end result. The riffs of Phil Demmel and Robb Flynn are vicious and (no pun intended) violent as all hell (i.e. the title track, “Serial Killer”, “Kill on Command”), but they’re played with such a derangement that I can’t help but feel uneasy. Add to that breakneck rhythms and the frantic vocal delivery of Sean Killian and you’ve got an album that lives up to its name from beginning to end.

9. Ozzy Osbourne – No Rest for the Wicked

The melodic metal glitz of The Ultimate Sin (1986) suited the era it arrived in, but a lot had changed in the two short years since it dropped. Ozzy Osbourne was faced with a few decisions: A. Go head first down the pop metal rabbit hole (i.e. Scorpions’ Savage Amusement), B. Awkwardly navigate between the trends of the time and your past (i.e. Judas Priest’s Ram It Down), or C. Go back to your roots and give the fans what they know and love. For his fifth studio album, No Rest for the Wicked, Ozzy went with plan C. Sure there’s tinges of hard rock hedonism throughout (“Crazy Babies”, “Breaking All the Rules”), but this was by and large Ozzy’s heaviest effort since 1983’s Bark at the Moon. Cuts like the cynical “Miracle Man” (an attack on infamous televangelist Jimmy Swaggart) and the vicious “Bloodbath in Paradise” (a metallic assault chronicling the Manson murders) showcased the evil side of the Madman, which was only intensified by the addition of (at that time) fresh faced axeslinger, Zakk Wylde.

8. Bathory – Blood Fire Death

After three landmark albums that set the template for all black metal to follow, Quorthon decided to switch it up for Bathory’s fourth album, Blood Fire Death. The end result was an album that hasn’t been touched since. Blood Fire Death elevated black metal to a high art form. It maintained the savagery and evil of its predecessors, but incorporated epic arrangements, vast atmosphere, and apocalyptic lyrics akin to the gods of yore: Manilla Road, Wishbone Ash, the progressive side of Led Zeppelin (i.e. “No Quarter”, “Achilles Last Stand”). Mind you, none of those bands would’ve ever expected their creations to be taken to such dark extremes. Although a black metal album at heart, Blood Fire Death also contains elements of viking metal (i.e. “A Fine Day to Die”, the title track), which would further be explored on subsequent Bathory releases.

7. Death – Leprosy

Just a year over taking the underground by storm with their debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, Death was back with their second onslaught, Leprosy. In comparison to SBG, it’s a far more refined release. However, damn near any metal album comes off as “refined” next to SBG. Furthermore, don’t let that term undermine the twisted, unrelenting metal on display here. If Leprosy showcases anything, it’s Chuck Schuldiner’s growth as a musician and songwriter in such a short period of time. It also presents Death as resembling something a little closer to a band, with the addition of drummer Bill Andrews and auxiliary guitarist Rick Rozz producing a much fuller, cohesive sound. Granted, Rozz was a founding member of Death who returned for this release, but I digress. He and Schuldiner absolutely go off on tracks such as “Born Dead”, “Choke On It”, and the pummeling “Pull the Plug”.

6. King Diamond – “Them”

Having spent the first half of the early 80s as the frontman for devil metal mercenaries Mercyful Fate, King Diamond was now forging a career of his own and doing quite an excellent job at it. With the release of 1987’s Abigail, King embarked on his largest tour to date, making him a household name among headbangers. Now being mentioned alongside the likes of Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne, King knew he had to strike while the iron was hot. That strike arrived in the form of “Them”. Although “Them” continues the same neoclassical, borderline gothic musical trajectory of past albums, the similarities end there, thanks to the introduction of a brand new story. “Them” tells the tale of young King and his sister, Missy. One day, while minding their own business, their grandma returns home from an asylum. King greets his grandma with joy (“Welcome Home”) asking her how she feels, but she only mentions “Them”: a group of wicked spirits who keep her company. She introduces King to “Them” and things go horribly, horribly wrong…but this album is anything but wrong. It’s so right!

5. Danzig – Danzig

Despite the advent of crossover thrash, metal and punk were still drastically different worlds as far as fanbases were concerned. And although they should’ve seen it coming with his brooding deathrock project Samhain, the punk community saw Danzig’s self titled debut as a musical Judas kiss. Here was their beloved devil-locked poster boy for all things abrasive and anarchistic going from the simplistic Ramones meets B movie horror punk of Misfits to a hybrid of Sabbath’s primitive doom, The Doors’ L.A. unease, and Zeppelin’s hypersexual grooves. Needless to say, Danzig was an unexpected hit, going on to become a platinum selling album. This was largely thanks to the retro tinged metal of “Twist of Cain”, “Am I Demon”, and the band/man’s biggest hit, “Mother”.

4. Iron Maiden – Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

If Piece of Mind and Powerslave were Iron Maiden dipping their toes into the progressive metal pool, and Somewhere in Time was them planting both feet in, then Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was a head first dive into what would define the band for the rest of their career. Goodbye short, punchy NWOBHM ragers. Hello lengthy compositions with technical musicianship, unexpected time changes, and deeply intellectual lyrics. Seventh Son tells the story of a messiah like being who has the gift of second sight, among other things. In other words, it’s KISS’s Music from “The Elder”, but executed much more proficiently, both from a lyrical and musical point of view. Highlights include the sinister “Moonchild”, the anthemic “The Evil That Men Do”, and 10 minute centerpiece title track.

3. Slayer – South of Heaven

Here’s the hot take of the millennium: South of Heaven is better than Reign in Blood. Matter of fact, South of Heaven is much better than Reign in Blood. I’ll never deny RiB‘s impact on the development of extreme metal, or the fact that it has some serious bangers (“Angel of Death”, “Criminally Insane”, “Altar of Sacrifice / Jesus Saves”). In the same breath, South of Heaven is lightyears ahead in songwriting and musicianship. After three albums and EP that pushed the boundaries of speed and intensity, Slayer proved they could slow it down and still be brutal as ever. Cuts like “Mandatory Suicide”, “Read Between the Lies”, and “Spill the Blood” are as eerie and unsettling as early Black Sabbath, yet without treading into doom territory. South of Heaven is still a thrash metal album (i.e. “Silent Scream”, “Ghosts of War”), but a very nuanced and developed thrash album at that.

2. Riot – Thundersteel

If you were making a “dinosaur metal” playlist in 1988, there’s no doubt that in between the likes of Uriah Heep, Blue Öyster Cult, and UFO, Riot would make the cut. It had been five years since the US metal pioneers had released an album, and roughly seven since they had a chokehold on America’s headbanging youth (see Fire Down Under). So you can only imagine the collective shock when seemingly out of nowhere, guitarist Mark Reale revived the band with a new lineup, album, and sound. Whereas the Riot of past had more in common with the sweaty, hard rocking swagger of KISS, Aerosmith, and Ted Nugent, the Riot that made Thundersteel was influenced by the likes of Jag Panzer, Savatage, Crimson Glory, and other young wielders of the precious steel. It can also be argued that Thundersteel surpassed all those bands, thanks to the high speed blitz of the title track and “On Wings of Eagles”, the virtuosic precision of “Johnny’s Back”, and the progressive fueled passion of “Bloodstreets” and “Buried Alive (Tell Tale Heart)”. All in all, if you were to say Thundersteel is the greatest power metal album of all time, I wouldn’t disagree.

Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime

What makes a masterpiece album? It’s hard to define such requirements, as they’d likely vary from person to person. If you were to ask me this question, one requirement I’d say is the album has to be so memorable that you can hear it just by thinking about it. For example, just by looking at the album cover for Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime, I can hear the sound of footsteps walking through a hall, a faint whistle, and the voice of a nurse over an intercom: “Dr. Davis, telephone please. Dr. Davis, telephone please.” What follows from there is 60 minutes of some of the greatest music ever recorded, metal or otherwise. The same way Slayer revolutionized extreme metal in America, Queensrÿche did the same for traditional metal, culminating in their magnum opus, Operation: Mindcrime.

By now we all know the tale: A heroin junkie named Nikki becomes involved with an underground organization called Operation: Mindcrime. “The Mission” is simple: Kill political and religious figures, get paid in heroin. As the story progress, Nikki’s sanity continues to spiral. He eventually ends up arrested (“Breaking the Silence”) and thrown into an insane asylum (“I Don’t Believe in Love”). By the time the story ends, Nikki can’t even recognize himself anymore (“Eyes of a Stranger”). Yes, Operation: Mindcrime is a musical and lyrical rollercoaster. It’s also hands down the greatest metal album of 1988.

Honorable Mentions