I have decided to continue the top 10 lists, sort of as a side project. Hopefully, I will find other things to write. Really, the blog from now on will be postings and ramblings of what I find interesting, be it music, sports, current events, the planned murder of Bill Bellicheck, etc.
Anyway, back to 1992. As I stated in an early blog, these were not good times for metal, especially if you don't really like thrash. In any case, I narrowed down 1992 to about 15 albums I really liked. Most of these are good albums, but nothing I would consider great or special. Competent is a good word.
10. Rage - Trapped!
Rage is one of those compromise bands. So, if you have 4 metal heads in a car for three hours, and one of them is an Iron Maiden fan, and another listens to Opeth, a third likes Motley Crue, and the last prefers Xasthur, you can still put on a Rage CD, and no one can legitimately complain.
9. Axel Rudi Pell - Eternal Prisoner
Axel Rudi Pell has had this solo band of his since 1989, and while I have not heard his more recent releases, Eternal Prisoner is traditional metal fare for the age. Slick guitar and clean production are the draws here, as the vocals and lyrics are perfunctory at best. All things considered, this is a good album.
8. Immortal - Sons of Northern Darkness
I really am not a Black Metal fan, but there is something special about this album, the debut from Norway's Immortal. Immortal would produce better albums than this one, but this one is the beginning, and in a weak year, deserves a spot in the top 10.
7. Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond
Perhaps Blind Guardian's best album, Somewhere Far Beyond is what Power Metal should be. It is fast, melodic, and flawless executed. Certainly, the slow parts here ooze with cheese, and stories of elves and fairies are never my favorite. That said, this is still a real good album, and worth your time to give it a chance.
6. Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer
I still say this record is a disappointment. Far below Heaven and Hell and The Mob Rules, Dehumanizer is a competent Black Sabbath album, comparable to all of the albums of the Tony Martin era. Still, it is one of the top albums in a dismal year for metal.
5. W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol
One of the rare concept albums that actually works, Crimson Idol is W.A.S.P.'s finest hour. Lawless' vocals are great, and as far as traditional metal is concerned, the band really finds their sound. Gone are the pseudo glam elements from early in their career, and what remains is pure metal. Good stuff.
4. Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark
While still one of the worst Iron Maiden records ever made, it was a vast improvement from the dismal No Prayer for the Dying. Perhaps a tad experimental, and while most of it falls flat, I give Maiden some credit for trying. By now it was obvious Dickinson was mailing it in. Still the title track is one of the greatest Maiden songs ever done, and really does redeem the album.
3. Alice in Chains - Dirt
Not at all metal, but still a damn good album, Dirt is probably the single best album to come out of the short-lived (thankfully) grunge movement.
2. Running Wild - Pile of Skulls
The highpoint of Running Wild's career is Pile of Skulls. It is a great album through and through, from the playing to the production, song writing and execution. Perhaps it is neither brilliant nor ground breaking, but flawless nevertheless.
1. Dream Theater - Images & Words
The best album of the 1990's, by far, bar none. It is so far ahead of anything else that came out in 1992, or really the entire decade for that matter. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. It is so hard to sum it up in one paragraph, but really what it always comes down to is, the songs are all great. The album is progressive, yet focused. The playing is brilliant, yet not at all self-indulgent. It is the perfect album, and sadly the only such album Dream Theater would ever record.
6 comments:
T-bone, I think you hit the nail right on the head with this list. There wasn't a lot of good albums that year, but I agree with you about Images and Words. Some of the other bands here I don't care much for, but I still like the Dream Theater album. Pile of Skulls is cool too.
Another album I considered was Motorhead's March or Die, but the Cat Scratch Fever cover, the queer duet with Ozzy, and the lame version of Hellraiser were all too much for me to bear, and I could not force myself to include it on this list. By far the WORST album in Motorhead's history.
March or die was a struggler and a big letdown after 1916 was so good.
I think there were less metal releases in 1992 just because grunge forced so many bands out. Other bands that I thought released good albums in 1992 were Testament, Obituary, Tora Tora, Kiss, Thought Industry, Star Star, Deicide, Pantera, Manowar and Trouble. I like Running Wild, but most of what they did seemed to always generally be the same as the album before it. I liked Soundgarden a lot more than Alice in cahins.
Mark - I had heard the Thought Industry album once or twice, but now I cannot find it. I would like to give it another listen now that my taste has changed a bit.
As far as Tora Tora, Wild America never did it for me like Surprise Attack did.
T-bone-Try ebay for Thought Industry. I got mine there from Metal Blade brand new for just a few dollars. It's a real quirky album. Kind of reminds me of Voivod, Death Angel and Mordred mixed together. I also forgot to mention Exodus-Force of habit. Maybe their most underrated album. Terrible cover and lack of label support sunk it though.
I remember listening to Dehumanizer at the height of my Sabbath period and really digging the music but not really feeling Dio's vocals. I've always been a fairwheater Sabbath fan though so my opinion on them should never be taken very seriously.
I couldn't get enough of Dirt when it came out. Alice in Chains was a tremendous live act that I had the pleasure of seeing 3 times at various points in their career.
The most notable 92 release for me was Faith No More's Angel Dust. It is still one of my favorites.
Post a Comment