The Misfits are a band that I was always weary of checking out because their fans were on some bullshit when I was a kid. Now that I'm older and removed from it, I really love the simple brilliance of Danzig and co's brand of fast, catchy punk rock. Check out what's sure to be one of the most hummable records on this list!
I was excited to get into this record after really liking Priest's last record, British Steel. Screaming For Vengeance takes a bit more of a polished, hard rocking approach than the previous record and kinda left me wanting more. Check out my review.
This week we're tackling what I believe to be one of the quinessential NWOBHM records -- Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden. The band reaches a different level on this one in terms of technical and songwriting complexity, laying the groundwork for some of the greatest metal bands to come.
1882 was a pivotal year for underground music, and to kick it off we have one of the most important punk records in history - Hear Nothing by Discharge. This album perfects a simple but effective formula that would go on to be monumentally influential across heavy music.
This week's album is a huge stepping stone that bridges the gap between the NWOBHM and extreme metal -- Welcome to Hell by Venom. This record takes everything Motorhead was doing and ratchets it up in terms of sheer unapproachability. The results are quite fun.
Motorhead's No Sleep Till Hammersmith has the unique distinction of being (to my knowledge) the only live record on this list. That makes it kind of hard to talk about in one sense, but also brings up some unique points to touch on. It helps that this record is the band's highest charting material and is considered by critics to be one of the best live records of all time. Check it out!
The NWOBHM bands are starting to pick up the pace in 81. Killers by Iron Maiden sheds a lot of the classic hard rock stuffiness and meandering that bogged down their first record and goes straight for the throat with speed and heavy production. I think I'm finally starting to come around on some of this stuff.
This week's album is one of the most influential records of the 80's across genres. It had an immediate impact on the hardcore scene, but also brought some ideas into the fold that were so ahead of their time, it would take bands five or six years to catch up. That record is Damaged, by Black Flag. Enjoy!
This week's episode dives into an extremely influential and important record from Motorhead -- Ace of Spades. Unlike some of their British metal contemporaries, Motorhead weren't afraid to get down and dirty with the mix, nor were they afraid of playing at a breakneck speed.
Today we're reviewing one of the most important and so far, to my taste, best NWOBHM albums, British Steel by Judas Priest. This delivers on the promise a lot of its contemporaries showed in 1980 by being straightfoward and having thoughtful production. Check it out!
Joy Division's Closer is a cold, distant album that has been influential and critically acclaimed since its release. When metal music was too afraid to let their guitar tones get out of hand, albums like this were pushing sonic boundaries while proving to be relevant and impactful.
This week's episode is the 1980 self-titled debut by Iron Maiden. I was expecting something a bit different - this has way more classic rock influence than I thought. Still. you can see the early developments that would lead to extreme metal in the works here.
Today we're doing another NWOBHM banger that influenced the shape of metal: Lightning to the Nations by Diamond Head. This wasn't on the original Terrorizer list, but I needed 2 more albums to make it an even 100, so I picked this one after seeing Metallica cover one of the songs live.
Check it out!
Number 3 on the list is a personal favourite of mine as well as a bonafide punk classic, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by the Dead Kennedys. This record bridges the gap from punk of the 70s to hardcore of the 80s with excellent lyricism and incredible songwriting.
Check it out!
This week I'm reviewing a New Wave of British Heavy Metal deep-cut, Angel Witch by Angel Witch. There's a lot of bluesy rockin' here but also a fair bit of complex weirdness that foretells some of the technical intensity of extreme metal.
I'd never heard this one before, but now the chorus to the title track is permanently stuck in my head.
The first record of the new season is AC/DC's Back in Black. An absolute classic that has inspired legions of budding rockstars across the world. This album is extremely important for me personally, so I had a blast reviewing it. I know you think it's corny, but give it another shot!
Welcome to the second season of Death Metal Discharge! I decided to count down Terrorizer's top 100 most important albums of the 80's for this season. I chose to do the 80's list for two reasons, 1) the eighties are a foundational period in extreme music and 2) the list has so much cool shit on it. I couldn't turn down the chance to review some of these records.
So strap in! This is gonna be a long exercise but I'm hoping it's worthwhile. Let's trace the evolution of extreme music through its first and arguably most important decade.
This week we have another long-form episode. I'm really exicited about this one.
We've all seen the impact classic death metal had on hardcore over the last few years. Something that's happening in a bit more subtle of a fashion is the influence of deathcore on hardcore. Many new kids have gotten into hardcore from deathcore and heavier metallic stuff over the past 10 years, but it's treated as some sort of unspoken secret.
That seems to be changing as bands like Sunami and the Daze records scene openly embrace deathcore's influence on their sound. With that in mind, I'm joined by Revolver Magazine editor one-time deathcore head Eli Enis to talk about 15 of deathcore's most essential records and how they may have shaped or be shaping hardcore.
Check it out!
The death metal discharge experiment has come to an end.
So, what did I think about the list? What are my top 10 albums> What would I give to kids hardcore kids as a "starter pack" for getting into death metal?
My friend Odai joins me to discuss all those questions, as well as his personal journey with the genre of death metal.
Check it out!
Number one on the list is finally here! It should come as no surprise to anyone following along that Terrorizer's best death metal album of all time is Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel. This record is on another level of intensity. It came out early enough in the game to set the stage for everything that came after it, and somehow, nothing has captured this record's intense hunger since it dropped.
