On to number seven of my top ten countdown of the top ten hard rock/metal albums of 1985. This spot goes to a band who didn't get the respect they deserve possibly because they were caught between genres. They were an LA band who had a glam look that probably scared away some real metal fans, but they were heavy enough that they probably scared off some glam fans. Number seven goes to.....
Lizzy Borden - Love you to pieces
It was a busy year for these guys as they released this album plus the double live Metal murderess road show. From the opening of Council for the cauldron, the album tears into some solid metal riffs with Lizzy's somewhat odd vocals wailing along. Their 1984 ep Give 'em the axe showed their potential, but it was on this album that their style became more defined. They also seem very comfortable with this style which is something I can't say about some of their later efforts. Tracks like Save me and American Metal show their more mainstream style, but they really shine on tracks like Warfare, Red Rum and Flesheater. The album finishes with the excellent Rod of iron which was also on Give 'em the axe. This was an album that I liked a lot back that and it still sounds as good to me today.
Number six is coming up on Monday. The hint is that this band had five members when they released their 1984 debut, but they were down to four members when they released their sophomore effort in 1985.
So far, the list is fascinating. It really shows that by 1985 metal had branched out and there was a lot more on the table than Maiden, Priest and Sabbath.
ReplyDeleteI think this was the year that saw the indie metal labels really step up and put out a lot. I think a lot of the major labels were signing bands with the hopes of them being the next Van Halen or Motley Crue or even worse was then they signed bands like Savatage and Raven and then sucked the life energy out of them. At the same time labels like Metal Blade, Combat and Megaforce saw what was going on in the club scenes and they signed these bands and largely let the bands play what they wanted.
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