Today I begin my countdown of the top ten best hardrock/metal albums from 1985. I eventually got numbers 1-8 put in order, but I really agonized over the last two spots. I narrowed it down to three contenders competing for two spots and the band I thought would be at number eight actually ended being the one of those three that did not make the top ten. So I begin flat out by saying Slayer's Hell Awaits did not make my top ten of 1985. It was a tough decision, but I stick by it. Hell Awaits showed a definite progression from Show no mercy. The riffs were tighter and heavier to some extent, but the bottom line is that I just didn't hear enough of a consistent fire behind the songs on Hell Awaits so I had to eliminate it. So then who is number ten? Well, keep in mind I said that 1985 was a year of debuts and a year of underdogs so the number ten spot for 1985 goes to.....
Zoetrope-Amnesty
I know that you are saying that they certainly deserve it. Uh, well actually you are probably saying "Who the hell is that and who do you pronounce the band name?" Fair enough, the band name is pronounced e-trope and they were a band from Chicago who released two albums on Combat in the mid-80's and a third album on Metal Blade in 1993. They described their sound as "Street Metal" and although I am not sure what all that entails and I am not going to argue it either because their music is difficult for me to put one label on it. Amnesty was their debut and it's a bit of mixture of styles at a time when metal sub-genres were not as defined as they are now or even 15 years ago. This album could be seen as combining elements of thrash, speed metal and even a more classic metal style into a fairly seamless blend. The late Barry Stern was that rare breed of metal vocalist who was also the drummer and he performed both with a lot of style and energy. In fact the main reason Zoetrope's debut makes my list is not their originality as much as it is the energy and enthusiasm they put behind every song. I heard that energy when I first played this album years ago and I heard it when I listened to this a few weeks ago. Amnesty has a very direct in your face sound and there are no dull moments, they cut to the chase and still manage have enough of a mixture of sounds so that is why they deserve a spot in my top ten list of 1985.
One down and just nine more to go. Since I am doing these one at a time, I decided at the end of each entry that I will give a hint as to what the next album will be. So the hint for the band getting the number nine spot is that they were a band who did a number of songs about aliens. I am sure that hint is about as clear as mud, but number nine will be revealed tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment