San Francisco's Exodus 1st album and also a major influence on many trash metal-bands to come, this album was one of the first to set the standards for much of the aggressive music in the 80's and contionue to do so. Kirk Hammett of Metallica played in Exodus before this album was released. The albums is full of heavy riffing, screaming vocals, aggressitivity and good songs but the problem here is the production that does not make fearness to the songs. The re-recorded album from 2008, re-named "Let There Be Blood" is a much much better album and a must-have thrash album full of killer songs, buy it!

This is the only album that features Paul Baloff on vocals. He later sang in Hirax and Heathen. When Exodus re-united in 1997 he was offered to join the band again but in 2002 he suffered a stroke wich left him in a coma and led to his death the same year. 

1)Bonded by blood (7,0)

2)Exodus (5,0)

3)And then there was none (7,5)

4)A lesson in violence (7,5)

5)Metal command (6,5)

6)Piranha (6,0)

7)No love (6,0)

8)Deliver us to evil (6,5)

9)Strike of the beast (5,0)

Score: 6,33

Paul Baloff-vocals (1960-2002)

Gary Holt-guitars (b.1964)

Rick Hunolt-guitars (b.1963)

Rob McKillop-bass

Tom Hunting-drums (b.1965)

After leaving Scorpions in which he played on the 1979 album "Lovedrive", Michael Schenker, of earlier UFO-fame, formed his own band and named it after himself. He left Scorpions after a tour to promote the album due to alcohol-related problems. He could not perform well on stage anymore. After this he actually auditioned for both The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith since their guitarrists had left their bands.

In MSG he continued more in the UFO-vein rather than Scorpions, laying some heavy trademark riffing to the very strong songs and adding Gary Barden's needle-sharp whiskey-vocals which suits the music perfectly. Gary Barden was discovered by Michael Schenker himself and was asked to sing on MSG's debutalbum.

I reall like this album since it has some superb songs, riffing out of this world and I really like the vocals and the mix of heaviness and melody. An album that is a must have for any hard rock-fan worth it's name!

1)Armed and ready (8,0) Full frontal riff-attack!

2)Cry for the nations (8,5)

3)Victim of illusion (7,5) Typical heavy and powerful Schenker-riffing but a little strange song.

4)Bijou pleasurette (8,0) Very nice melodic acoustic and electric guitarplaying in medieval style but only 2 minutes long.

5)Feels like a good thing (7,5) Heavy riffing and melodic refrain.

6)Into the arena (7,5) A good instrumental.

7)Looking out from nowhere (9,0) Superb song with a blistering guitarsolo!

8)Tales of mystery (8,0) Very melodic and good acoustic/electric ballad.

9)Lost horizons (6,5) First okey but then it gets too messy.

Score: 7,83

Gary Barden-vocals (b.1955)

Michael Schenker-guitars (b.1955)

Mo Foster-bass

Simon Phillips-drums (b.1957)

Don Airey-keyboards (b.1948)

The cover promises evil and heavy music, and indeed that is what you find on this classic album from 1988. Labeld as "doom" metal and even the godfathers of doom, this album sounds like it's recorded a few years earlier because it's amateurish production and sound, but in this case I would say that that makes the music more interesting. I also like Wino's limited voice. This is metal for metal-lovers but I understand that it did not break any charts because it needs better songs to be a really good album.

1)The creep (6,5) Way too short song since it has a good riff and drive and could've been developed more.

2)Dragon time (8,0) A 7-minute heavy and slow doom-laden tune with a cool guitarbreak.

3)Shooting gallery (6,0) Very much Candlemass on this one. Very very slow and a little too boring and too long.

4)Bitter truth (8,0) Nice acoustic intro to a great super-heavy midtempo tune.

5)The troll (5,5) Doom! But nothings happens...

6)Looking glass (6,5)

Score: 6,75

Scott "Wino" Weinrich-vocals and guitars on 2,4 and 6 (b.1960)

Dave Chandler-guitars

Mart Adams-bass

Armando Acosta-drums (1952-2010)

This band of the NWOBHM-era was founded in 1974. This is their 1st album and it's hard to understand that they, in 6 years of playing together, couldn't make a better album than this. On the cover it looks like this is some kind of satanic heavy metal-band, but the music can actually only be described as hardrock with poor singing and some okey songs but very amateurish.

1)Ready to roll (7,0) An okey hardrocksong with a nice riff, rhythm and chorus.

2)The divine victim (4,5) Very strange dark and blurry production on this song that's not very good. Very amateurish.

3)Leaving Nadir (7,0) A long intro leading to a perfect slow riff and nice melody.

4)Gettin' heavy (2,0) Terrible! How can this have made it to an album? Super-amateurish.

5)Give 'em hell (7,5) A good hardrocker!

6)Into the ages of the ages (6,5) 9 minutes long and suddenly very progressive.

7)Pay now-love later (5,0)

Score: 5,64

Steve Bridges-vocals

Montalo-guitars

Andro Coulton-bass

Gra Scoresby-drums

Nuclear Assault was formed in 1984 by former Anthrax-bassist Danny Lilker and John Connelly who was involved in an early version of Anthrax. After releasing this album, their debut they toured Europe with Agent Steel and Atomkraft. Also, Lilker and Scott Ian and Charlie Benante from Anthrax released an album under the band name Stormtroopers Of Death (S.O.D.) in 1985. Lilker wanted to play more aggressive music than Anthrax did and this album is very extreme in that sence. At the time they were called a speed-metal band and there sure is a lot of speed in this music! It's fast and furious and melodies is NOT featured in this album. It's just insane sometimes. Too bad the production sucks and the singing (screaming with high notes) could have been better. I don't like this album very much.

1)Live, suffer, die (6,0) This 1 minute of furious, fast and crazy punk-metal sets the standard for this album.

2)Sin (5,5)

3)Cold steel (5,0)

4)Betrayal (5,0)

5)Radiation sickness (6,0)

6)Hang the pope (4,0) Totally insane 48 seconds. A live-favorite!

7)After the holocaust (5,5)

8)Mr.Softee theme (-)

9)Stranded in hell (6,0)

10)Nuclear war (5,5)

11)My america (-)

12)Vengeance (6,0)

12)Brain death (4,5)

Score: 5,36

John Connelly-vocals and guitars (b.1962)

Anthony Bramante-guitars

Danny Lilker-bass (b.1964)

Glen Evans-drums

Love the cover! It really shows that this is a hardrockalbum with guts. And is it? Well, some of the songs are big arena-favorites and I have always liked this album. But if you relly listen to the songs they are very simple and not very variating. Since my musical taste has changed and developed through the years the old hit-Scorpion-albums don't touch me that more like they did in the past. But it's a good and rocking album, no dout!

During the recording of the album Klaus Meine had to undergo surgery on his vocal chords and the some vocals were recorded by Don Dokken. The album reached nr.10 on the Billboard-list.

1)Blackout (8,0) Great start. A live-favorite.

2)Can't live without you (8,0) Good rocker but the refrain gets repeated too much.

3)No one like you (8,5) Superstrong refrain and another good song made for the big arenas.

4)You give me all I need (7,5)

5)Now! (8,0) A crazy oozin' rocker!

6)Dynamite (7,5) Another furious rocker.

7)Arizona (7,0)

8)China white (6,0) Like always, they have a kind of strange song on the album, and this is a slow and heavy version of that. Not the best I've heard.

9)When the smoke is going down (8,5) Wonderful ballad.

Score: 7,67

Klaus Meine-vocals (b.1948)

Rudolf Schenker-guitars (b.1948)

Mattias Jabs-guitars (b.1955)

Francis Buchholz-bass (b.1954)

Herman Rarebell-drums (b.1949)

Absolutely wonderful cover on this melodic debut hardrockalbum from German Pink Cream 69. They were formed in 1987 in Karlsruhe, Germany. They won a newcomers competition arranged by the magazine Metal Hammer in 1988 and got a recordcontract through that. This is a melodic hardrockalbum but there is also a considarable amount of heaviness in the songs with heavy guitars and hardhitting drums. It has been a favouritealbum of mine for many many years but lately I have lost intrest in it even though it is a good and even album without bad songs.

1)Take those tears (7,5) A good and intense start!

2)Sugar for love (7,5) More melody in this one.

3)Rolling down a thunder (7,5) Intense!

4)One step into paradise (7,5)

5)Close your eyes (8,0) A very good powerballad.

6)Welcome the night (7,5)

7)Partymaker (7,5) Doublebassdrum at high speed!

8)Hit the bottom row (8,0) Heavy song with a nice bass/guitarriff.

9)Parasite (7,5)

10)I only wanna be for you (7,5)

Score: 7,60

Andi Deris-vocals (b.1964)

Alfred Koffler-guitars

Dennis Ward-bass

Kosta Zafiriou-drums

Released only a few months after the much better album "Wheels of steel", this albums seems to consist of leftovers from that album even though the three first songs are pretty good. Fortunately there were much better albums to come later. I really like the album-cover!

1)Heavy metal thunder (8,0) Good and furious start with a concrete-crushing metalsong.

2)To hell and back again (7,0) Fast and heavy but it just goes on and on without variation and the refrain gets repeated too much.

3)Strong arm of the law (8,0) A good midtempo hardrocker.

4)Taking your chances (6,0) Another heavy song with no variation or good ideas.

5)20 000 ft (5,0)

6)Hungry years (5,5)

7)Sixth form girls (4,0)

8)Dallas 1 pm (7,0)

Score: 6,31

Biff Byford-vocals (b.1951)

Graham Oliver-guitars (b.1952)

Paul Quinn-guitars (b.1951)

Steve Dawson-bass (b.1951)

Pete Gill-drums (b.1951)