In honor of season #3, we introduce The Heavy Metal Yearbook: 1980’s Edition pt. 2, wherein Eric, of the Heavy Metal 101 podcast (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/heavymetal101podcast ), explores every nook and cranny of heavy metal history from 1985-89 so that you can just sit back and enjoy the highlights:
What might one actually say about the year of our lord, 1986, in heavy metal music that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? This was one of those truly crazy years when it seems impossible that SO MANY incredible albums could have been released in a single 365 day period. "Reign in Blood", "Master of Puppets", and "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?" all in the same fricking year!? What!!!??? And, aside from that legendary collection of monumental moments in thrash, Kreator's extraordinary "Pleasure to Kill" ALSO came out in ‘86 and is EVERY BIT the equal of those more famous albums. And the same thing could be said for Dark Angel’s “Darkness Descends”! Or for a couple of thrash-adjacent hardcore masterpieces: Bad Brains “I Against I” and Cro-Mags “The Age of Quarrel.” 1986 was a truly golden year in heavy history! One of the very best ever. Maybe THE best?
And as if that weren't enough, two of my own personal very favorite metal albums of all time also came out in 1986: King Diamond's delectably macabre debut, "Fatal Portrait" and David Lee Roth's finest solo statement, "Eat 'Em and Smile". These are two absolutely perfect albums from artists at the top of their game (although King Diamond certainly still had even greater heights yet to scale in the near future…).
1986 also marked the welcome return of Alice Cooper to heavy metal relevance, with the delightful comeback album "Constrictor", and the last, and, in my opinion, best album released during Jake E. Lee's tenure with Ozzy, "The Ultimate Sin".
Additionally,’86 brought us stellar debuts from two of the most important bands from the second wave of glam metal, Poison and Cinderella, as well as two of the finest releases by first wave glam masters: Stryper’s “To Hell With the Devil” and Ratt’s “Dancing Undercover." Ok. Perhaps this music hasn't aged quite as well as the heavier stuff but damn it if I don't still love each of those albums. Sue me!
And, while some might argue against its metal bonafides, Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet", probably the single greatest example of the intersection of hard rock and pop metal outside of Van Halen’s oeuvre, also was released in 1986. And, living at that very same intersection, Europe’s “The Final Countdown” is ALSO up there amongst the very best albums in pop metal history. And it ALSO came out in 1986. Wow! Wow!!!
Before signing off, I do want to note just a couple of lesser-known gems from this year: In the nascent doom metal genre, Candlemass released their seminal masterpiece, “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus”. Meanwhile, wonderful trad metal bands like the great Cirith Ungol (“One Foot in Hell”) and Chastain (“Ruler of the Wasteland”) were also putting out some of their very best work in '86. Also, from this year was one of my favorite prog metal albums of all time, Fates Warning’s “Awaken the Guardian.” So. Many. Great. Albums. I could go on and on, but just one more: The gorgeously autumnal “Samhain III- November-Coming-Fire” by Glenn Danzig’s stellar goth/punk/metal project, Samhain, was most definitely one of the best albums of this unbelievably unbelievable year. If you haven’t heard it, do seek it out!
I’ll be honest: Choosing a "best" metal album from 1986 is a fool's errand. I'm not even going to try. Instead, let's just listen to some SLAYER!!!:
For more fun-filled heavy metal chat, please do check out the Heavy Metal 101 podcast, available everywhere you like to listen!