Wow was 1989 really twenty years ago? I guess it was. Here is my list for what it's worth.
10-Faster Pussycat-Wake me when it's over
Not as fun as their debut, but a fine album for sure.
9-Faith No More-The real thing
A fresh approach that was much needed and appreciated.
8-Bang Tango-Psycho Cafe
Great debut with some much needed fire added to their hard rock sound.
7-Annihilator-Alice in hell
Jeff Waters going crazy on his band's debut.
6-Sepultura-Beneath the remains
The previous album turned some heads, but this one put them on the map.
5-Death-Spiritual Healing
This band finally came into their own and began to carve their niche as the best death metal band of all time.
4-Exodus-Fabulous Disaster
The Steve Souza era finally began to gel.
3-King Diamond-Conspiracy
The story is a bunch of crap, but the music and vocals and fantastic.
2-Overkill-Years of decay
I loved their debut, "Taking over" was alright but noisy and "Under the influence" was weak. By their forth release they were finally back on track.
1-WASP-The Headless Children
These guys were good before, but they came out on fire for this one. Just a huge monster that stands up well even today.
Golden Turd of 1989-Alice Cooper-Trash
Not his first bad album and maybe even not the worst of his career. However he had done "Constrictor" which was decent and the very good "Raise your fist and yell", but then followed them up with this clunker. This was Alice trying to do a sappy hair metal album and it resulted in a limp noodle.
On a related note in upcoming weeks I will be re-evaluating my top ten lists for 1980-1984. Back when I started this blog I did those lists in very quick fashion. Then with 1985 I began doing more involved lists. So I will look at the lists from 1980-84 and post again. Maybe there will be some changes due to my tastes or albums I have gone back and heard. We will see.
Wow, it doesn't seem like some of those came out that late. I love everything about the Headless Children album except for the production. It was sure WASP's swan song. Beneath the Remains is one of the greatest thrash albums ever. Alice In Hell...ufff. That album still burns like a buzz saw blade. I was supposed to see Death on that tour and their van broke down. So we only got to see Dark Angel and I got to sing half of one of the songs since the new singer didn't know all the lyrics yet. For as much as I loved King Diamond, I still cannot listen to that album. Sleepless Nights is about the only redeeming quality for me. I dig that Exodus album too. Overkill was done for me when rat Skates left. Never got into Bang Tango or FNM. It wasn't until about 2000 that I finally gave Faster Pussycat (and other sleaze bands) a proper listen. They were better than most and this album was prety decent. Most of that hair band/sleaze/glam shit sucked.
ReplyDeleteRat Skates was the best drummer to play in Overkill, but they did plenty of good albums after he was gone.
ReplyDeletethat was quite a list... I played The Real Thing obsessively that year in 1989, particularly on the way to college... My list would have to include Voivod's Nothingface, though
ReplyDeleteThe 2 post-Rat era records had a few gems on them but after Gustafson made his exit, so did I.
ReplyDeleteIt took two guys to replace Gustafson and with good reason, but they still knocked some fine albums after that.
ReplyDeleteif anything, Overkill has been ol' reliable over the years... Years of Decay and Horrorscope may their last outstanding albums but they have stayed entertaining at the minimum since...can't say I can find a true stinker in their catalog...some sluggish here and there but always with something to offer
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