Me vs Loudwire: the top 3 metal songs from each year of the 70s.

    

    This is gonna be interesting.  I might not be able to do a top 3 songs for each year, and some of my picks will definitely raise an eyebrow or two.  I thought I might have to tap out at 1 or 2, but turns out I was able to come up with three (four if I'm being honest about my past few lists like this) solid choices that shaped heavy metal as it would become in the 80s and beyond.  Mind you some of these artists are very much borderline metal/not metal at all, but if you were a teenager in the 70s, said artists were part of the metal mixtape as Black Sabbath was.  So let's going holy diving.....

1970:

3. Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath

"wHy iSn'T ThIs nUmBeR oNe? It iNvEnTeD mEtAl," I am so fuckin sick of hearing this. Black Sabbath did NOT invent heavy metal.  At least not by themselves.  They were just the first band to claim ownership for it, defeatedly might I add.  Now this song did centralize metal, absolutely.  Gave it a reference point (which to be fair, it serves as much more than Whole Lotta Love or Foxy Lady).  But it didn't invent anything.  Matter of fact, it's not even the scariest song released in 1970.....

2. Deep Purple- Child In Time

...this is.  This song alone allows Deep Purple to be part of the metal conversation.  It has a riff, it has some absolutely nightmarish vocals, demented time changes, and an ending that if you're on the wrong drugs will probably kill you.  "Child In Time" is metal and so is Deep Purple In Rock.  Deal with it.

1. Black Sabbath- Iron Man

    You know what, sometimes you just need to go with the stupid explanation. It's about a metal person, its arguably the most metal riff in existence, and it's about the world being destroyed. It's a metal arrangement.  Iron, metal, Iron, metal. ITS THE BEST METAL SONG OF THE YEAR DAMMIT!

Honorary mention: Led Zeppelin- Immigrant Song

Even the most Muslim fundamentalist of "keep Zeppelin out of metal" gatekeepers can't front on this song.  And it doesn't even have a guitar solo either (though they added one live, as they should have).  It was as close to a meme as one could get.

1971:

3. Budgie- Homicidal Suicidal

You could throw a dart and more or less use that to decide which song from the underrated Budgie could go on this list.  But I'm picking this one because Soundgarden liked it enough to cover it.

2. Deep Purple- Fireball

I think it's safe to say that just about every mini-list in this article will have a song that can claim to be "an innovator of thrash."  And well, this is the first one to do so, and with double bass might I add.  Though 99% of the time Paice is a single kick man, matter of fact they would only tack a second kick when it was time to play this song, then take it off again.  The things we did before double-kick pedals.

1. Black Sabbath- Into the Void

"Children of the Grave" is my all time favorite Black Sabbath song, but even I can't deny how much exponentially heavier and more influential "Into The Void" is.  It's not even up for debate.  This is still arguably the heaviest song of all time!

Honorary mention: Alice Cooper- Halo Of Flies

Alice is rightfully known for smash hits like I'm Eighteen and "Under My Wheels" (another track from this album that is very much top 10 worthy), but I'm picking this sumbitch because don't let it be said that Alice couldn't construct a diabolical heavy epic of their own.

1972:

3. Status Quo- Big Fat Mama

Here's a band and a song you'll never see discussed in 70s metal discussions.  Though to be fair, this British hard-boogie institution was never strictly what one would call a metal band (and lord knows lead vocalist Francis Rossi would scramble to tell you that).  If you were to count the truly heavy "metal" songs they had, you'd only need one hand and have a finger or two left over.  But this Piledriver classic is definitely one of em.

2. Black Sabbath- Snowblind

Pablo Escobar's national anthem (and Tony Montana's).

1. Deep Purple- Space Truckin

"Smoke On The Water" was a great song, and I will never, ever be the guy that shits on it or that riff, that is our riff you Slipknot blastbeat retards!  But if I'm being honest, "Space Truckin" is the heaviest song on the iconic Machine Head album.  Given bonus points for the fact that that is in fact an ORGAN riff.  Organ backed with bass in unison, but still, bass and organ being heavy together is quite the accomplishment.

Honorary mention: School's Out

I will never be the guy that shits on School's Out as not metal either.  Well, the song, not the album.  The album....well, there's a reason Killer or Billion Dollar Babies come up in conversation before School's Out does as a great metal album.

1973:

3. Queen- Son & Daughter

Was Queen ever a metal band?  The answer is "maybe on their three albums."  This is easily their heaviest song and would very comfortably fit on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath or Never Turn Your Back on a Friend.  Speaking of which.....

2. Budgie- In The Grip of A Tyrefitter's Hand

Never Turn Your Back on a Friend is not only Budgie's most overrated album, it's the most overrated hard rock/metal album of the 70s. "But it has Breadfan! Metallica covered Breadfan METALLICAAAAA" Ok, fine, but what else is there that's actually amazing?  Really only two other songs.  This is one of them (and yes, "Parents" is the other, calm down nursing homes).  Takes Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" behind the shed in terms of 70s swing, and that final riffset, holy fuck I don't think any band's song has a better, heavier fadeout, and I usually think fadeout's are cancer.

1. Black Sabbath- Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath

But of course.  In case you're wondering who that poor fellow being tortured is, his name is Subtlety.  A damn shame we never got Ozzy attempting those "WHERE CAN YOU RUN TO" verses live.  Makes you wonder how they got it out of him in the studio.  

Honorary mention: No More Mr. Nice Guy

I mean if I include "Homicidal Suicidal" because Soundgarden covered it, I pretty much have to include this because Megadeth covered it.

1974:

3. Deep Purple- Mistreated

As great and seminal as a riff as "Smoke On the Water" is, it could not get away with being on repeat in a ten hour loop video.  This riff could.  Best thing David Coverdale ever sang.

2. Rush- Working Man

Arguably their heaviest song, this sleeper hit about people who should be living better lyrically and musically fits right in with what Sabbath was doing.  And I'll bet a good chunk of money Tony Iommi wishes he wrote that riff.

1. Queen- Stone Cold Crazy

Can't argue with this one.  When people have the conversation of metal/rock songs that innovated thrash, this is usually one of the first ones.  To the point where Metallica was willed into covering it (they didn't want to record anymore covers at the time but Elektra made them for a 40th anniversary comp).

Honorary mention: KISS- Black Diamond

Whilst I feel odd (and slightly guilty) of not including anything from Budgie's best album from this year, the fact is no song on their quite does what this does. Written two years before Black Sabbath's "Dirty Women," "Black Diamond" is a bleak portrayal of prostitutes dying on the streets, trapped with no way out. Including a disturbing chord modulation that closes out not just the song, but their debut album.  Isn't this supposed to be the silly harmless band about Rockn & Rollin all night and shouting out loud?

1975:

3. Budgie- Napoleon Bonapart One & Two

Couldn't really decide between this one and "I Can't See My Feelings."  Both are heavy as hell, one is funky and was covered by Iron Maiden.  Then I remember that cover kinda sucks, and the other one has a higher iTunes play count.  So I went with that one.

2. Aerosmith- Sweet Emotion

Aerosmith a metal band?  Well, they certainly had no issue hopping on the hair metal trend to revive their career in the mid-80s.  Whether they wanted to or not, this smooth and funky yet heavier that a ten truck served as much of a gateway to metal for guys and gals alike.  Plus I'm gonna make the case for KISS being gateway but not Aerosmith?  That's just dishonest.

1. Black Sabbath- Symptom of The Universe

Honorary Mention: KISS- Rock & Roll All Nite (live)

Like "Smoke On The Water" a couple years before, us metalheads need to do a better job of claiming songs under our banner.  Especially since this would probably become the most popular song of such up to that point!  And yes the live version from Alive!, because here at Kaikasparek.blogspot.com we don't take rushed first drafts without guitar solos.

1976:

3. Rainbow- A Light In The Black

I'm about to commit super heresy as well as the rage-bait crime and not include "Stargazer" here.  Not because I have a spicy take and think it's bad.  Far from it, it is as S-tier of a heavy metal song as one could possibly have.  But I'm going to give this song the nod instead as it's yet another of the architects of speed/thrash metal was double bass drumming.  Cozy fuckin Powell man....

2. Rush- 2112

Besides the aforementioned "Working Man," this is most metal thing Rush ever made.  Hell, I'd argue this song alone is more metal than the entirety of Sad Wings of Destiny. So called prog metal; this is where it begins.

1. Judas Priest- Victim of Changes

There's plenty of reasons to not put the studio version here, hell this isn't even my personal favorite Sad Wings of Destiny track studio or live, but they are all made null and void by the sheer fact that it's Victim of fucking Changes.  Harmonized guitars, and Rob Halford's vocals, we had screamers in metal before this, but none like THAT.  We all know this and know why it's great.  If you haven't heard it yet, stop what you're doing cos it's about to ruin the image and the style that you're used to. Everything, EVERYTHING that came after it bears its influence

Honorary mention: Kiss- Calling Dr. Love

Love em or hate em, Kiss was the gateway metal band after 1975.  and I know I'm supposed to pick something from Destroyer, but this song, with its metal as fuck riff, was not only a hit single, it went to #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Yes, that Billboard Hot 100.  Fun fact:  Another song to peak at that number, Enter Sandman.  Yes, that Enter Sandman.

1977:

3. Scorpions- Sails of Charon

Universally agreed amongst metal with taste:  This is Scorpions best song #1, Rock You Like A Hurricane #2 (well ok, maybe I think that).  This song is so good I refused to buy the so-called "legendary Tokyo Tales" because it's not on there!  That's as stupid as the Rainbow live album not having "Stargazer."

2. Kiss- Shock Me

Yes I'm including this lead-vocal debut from Ace Frehley (R.I.P. you magnificent bastard) with that metal as hell riff and even more metal shredding.  Ace Frehley was a golden god in the 70s and anything he did influenced people on a mass scale (gateways blah blah).  I think Kiss fans with two brain-cells to rub together (and there's more AND less of them then you think, if that's even possible) are coming to the conclusion and discovering Love Gun was not the masterpiece grand finale to the classic era we all thought it was, but there was no denying this was one of it's better moments.

1. Judas Priest- Let Us Prey/Call For The Priest

I'm sure some are wondering why the Sin After Sin track I'm not picking is "Sinner," "Dissident Aggressor" or "Diamonds & Rust."  But this is another one of those songs that can be filed under the "helped birth speed metal" category. The demented drumming technique of Simon Phillips (yes, THAT Simon Phillips), the speed (which seems somehow a beat quicker than "A Light In The Black" the beginning of KK and Glenn's hot-potato lead duels, and of course Rob, with addition to him proving to the world why HE is the metal vocalist to watch, delivers a story so frantic and chaotic you can barely keep up with it, giving the song an extra edge to match its tempo.

Honorary Mention: Motörhead- Motörhead

All night benders on speed never sounded like so much fun.  Plus the second opening s/t song on something truly groundbreaking!  Plus plus, it has "parallelogram" as a lyric!  No one's done that before or since (at least not in metal).

1978:

3. Rainbow- Gates of Babylon

Some might cry "Kill The King" and "Kill the King" is a stone cold metal classic, but this Long Live Rock & Roll deep cut is another building block in power/prog metal.  And it's my favorite song Ronnie ever sang on, so deal with it.

2. Van Halen- I'm The One

Fuck you, this is metal.  This is 100% Birmingham foundry metal.  This is pretty much death-thrash before death-thrash was a thing by comparison.  Only one song tops it in terms of chaos energy...

1. Judas Priest- Exciter/Beyond the Realms Of Death

    So....how do I explain this last minute two-way tie?  Well let's start with that first one.  Even though I just expurged every reason in the book why the previous #1 invented speed metal, the truth "Let Us Prey" is kind of a deep cut.  Whereas this bad motherfucker comes right out of the gate with a double bass assault.  1 year before (and slightly faster) than Overkill.

    The second one, it occurs to me that I don't put too many ballads on these things.  Not that I don't like metal ballads/slow songs, but the evolution of metal was about discovering new ways in being loud, and ballads you can't really do that.  "Beyond The Realms of Death;" if this isn't the greatest metal ballad of all time, it's top 3.  One of the most heart-wrenching songs about suicide ever made.  Not to mention it contains arguably Rob Halford's greatest vocal, Glenn's greatest guitar solo, and KK's solo all wrapped in one.  It's a damn shame the vocal coaches won't touch this one because, you know, suicide means no cash.  Fuckin Google.

Honorary Mention: Black Sabbath- A Hard Road

Never Say Die, while very much a flawed album, and a sign that it was time for the classic Sabbath lineup to end, is not nearly as bad as the Dio fanboys make it out to be.  There's still at least 3 or 4 classic songs on there.  This is the one that would be highest of tier Tony Iommi riffs (drug pun intended).  Also yes, that's the Triforce in the logo, and I'm willing to bet Miyamoto snatched it for Zelda

Honorary Honorary Mention: Judas Priest- Running Wild

Yes, Rolf Kasparek wanted to name his band after a Judas Priest song, and he chose this one.  Gotta keep up appearances ya know.

1979:

3. Thin Lizzy- S&M

You best believe in the context of the time the metal kids were listening to Thin Lizzy as much as anyone else, and Black Rose: A Rock Legend was their heaviest album up to that point (Thunder & Lightning would top it, but that's a different story). I suppose I could have picked "Toughest Street in Town" or the title track, but I'm picking this one because it's equally funky as much as it is heavy.  Wait, that means it invented nu-metal NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2. Van Halen- D.O.A.

If Priest, Maiden, Sabbath or whoever's name other than Van Halen was attached to this song, you'd all swear it was the heaviest song of the year.  That brick to the fuckin head lyric, those menacing, hungry lyrics.  This is metal.

1. Motorhead- Overkill

Even though Judas Priest were progenitors of speed metal, Motorhead had an attitude that Judas Priest just didn't.  And Motorhead had more of a punk credibility to them so the likes of Metallica were more likely to give Lemmy credit.  This is slightly slower than Exciter, but it's also more controlled and punishing.  I thought about putting Bomber here, but even with its god-tier riff, said riff  is run right into the ground by fading out 90 seconds too late.

Honorary mention: Judas Priest- Genocide (live)

Yeah, yeah I know I'm cheating/repeating with this one, but seriously, this version from Unleashed In The East and the studio version from Sad Wings of Destiny are as two different songs as one could get without actually changing anything (truth be told all Sad Wings of Destiny songs on Unleashed In The East are like this).  But this track is fuckin devastating.  Especially with that final doom/blues riffset with Halford maniacally screaming "ON THE ROCKS" as if he's channelling the cries of the Jews murdered in concentration camps, or the Chinese being raped to death in Nanking, or insert whatever other human atrocity here. 

This turned out pretty good, not too much reaching, and there was a surprising amount of agony over what to leave off (excluding "Achilles Last Stand," "Hell Bent For Leather," "You Won't Change Me" and others was quite the tough decision, let me tell you).

Will I do a sixties list?  

Of fucking course not get a hold of yourself.