The list at Spin.com only goes from 40 to 25 right now, but the latest print issue has all of them to look at. I will list the top ten here and comment on them, but I also have something to say about some of their other selections.
First off, what the fuck is Poison's album, 'Look What The Cat Dragged In' doing on this list at all, let alone at number 20? Twenty! Poison was to heavy metal what Calista Flockhart is to Weight Watchers for crissakes. I really don't have anything against Poison, and I enjoy some of their music as well. They also did not take themselves seriously, never bemoaning that people didn't understand their 'art.' However, they were not a heavy metal band, and their albums do not belong on such a list.
Spin also has Blue Cheer's 'Vincebus Eruptum' on the list as though they wanted to have one album that came out in the 60's to grace the top 40. A couple of other laughers were Ratt's 'Out Of The Cellar' and Tenacious D. Sheesh.
On to the top 10:
10. Judas Priest - British Steel --- Good choice. 'Breaking The Law' and 'Living After Midnight' are two quintessential songs of the heavy metal genre.
9. Tool - 'Aenima' --- Another questionable choice. Tool is a decent band, but their sound is far different from what most music fans call heavy metal. System of A Down's amazing album 'Toxicity' made the list at number 38. These two could have been switched quite easily.
8. KISS - 'Alive II' --- Again, how did Spin arrive at the conclusion that KISS is a heavy metal band? KISS was a decent band, but they were totally commercial, relying more on image than their music. It's not that I don't like KISS, but they were included on this list and in the top 10, while Queensryche and 'Operation: Mindcrime,' one of the best heavy metal albums ever, didn't even make the cut.
Article comments
1 - Kenan Hebert
"Led Zeppelin, undoubtedly the best rock band of all time..."
That's a pretty hefty statement there. I wanna see some proof, even if only in the form of excessively purple prose. You can even reference Tolkien if you think it will help your argument, but a sentence this grandiose needs some defending, I think.
2 - Dean Bartkiw
[[[[["Led Zeppelin, undoubtedly the best rock band of all time..."]]]]]
>>>>
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Who else might qualify? Maybe the Rolling Stones or possibly the Beatles? Neither fit into the genre quite as well. Led Zeppelin it is - and 4 should probably have been the number one album, not that it's their best work. However, it did set the standard for all that followed.
3 - Eric Olsen
The real problem is defining Metal, which has certain connotations they have ignored. This is perhaps a Hard Rock list.
4 - Jim S
1) Guns 'n Posers at #1?? what a joke. see my post on my blog about that, I'm not going to rant about it.
2) Zeppelin is often credited as the "creators of metal" but they are a Hard Rock band at best
3) Sabbath's first six albums should be the top 6 on that list. As far as metal bands and sales are concerned, who has sold more records for longer than Sabbath?
4) Alive II? give me a break. If you needed the token Kiss (of thier collective ass...) It would have to be either Alive! or the album Kiss.
This is a "commercial" or high-selling best-of list (in which case, the arguement that Poison's Look What the Cat Dragged In doesn't belong is totally invalidated. That's the one that set the standard for '80s hairband/glam rock to follow...)and can't even be defined as best. Best would imply that they are the definitave works of the genre in terms of sales, musical content and longetivity.
Although it is hard to define heavy metal, and it's very, very subjective to say this is the best or that is the best. Everyone has an opinion, although mine is usually the right one. :-)
Like Eric said, the problem is defining Metal. While 80's hair-bands are marginally considered heavy metal, not too many people who dig metal consider them metal.
5 - Jim S
Ooops.... forgot the link to my rant about this.
Go Here
6 - Jay Caruso
It's not really a commercial list or best selling either as Slayer's 'Reign in Blood' made the list as did Iron Maiden's 'Number of The Beast' which certainly were not commercially successful.
As for Poison, they set no standards. It was Bon Jovi with 'Slippery When Wet' and Motley Crue with 'Theatre of Pain' that defined the 80's pop/metal phenomenom. They were selling out stadiums while Poison was still opening for David Lee Roth.
The list is very subjective and when Spin does these lists, they are often deluged with letters and emails complaing about what's on the list as well as what isn't on the list.
Growing up in that era, I can assure everybody that Bon Jovi, Poison, Def Leppard, Whitesnake etc. were not considered heavy metal. The heavy metal bands were Iron Maiden, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Fates Warning, Anthrax - I liked both, but there were groups who thought the pop/metal bands were phony and just looking to get themselves played on the radio and the others thought Maiden et al were for druggies. Then there were the bands that were just out there - Slayer, Voivod, Celtic Frost, etc -- they were usually listened to by people you wouldn't want around your pets.
With regard to Led Zeppelin, I would agree that they aren't really a 'heavy metal' band, but they did open the doors. All you have to do is listen to 'Communication Breakdown' off Led Zeppelin I and you can immediately see that not only were these guys way ahead of their time, but visionaries as well. 'Proving' they were the greatest rock band of all time cannot really be done, because it is my opinion. But I will just let the music speak for itself. That sounds cliche, but what more is there to say?
7 - Chris Puzak
First, I have to take issue with the assertion that Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast and Slayer's Reign in Blood were not commercially successful. Slayer got a gold album for Reign in Blood and Iron Maiden got a platinum one for Number of the Beast. And that's just for America. Iron Maiden at least has sold tens of millions of albums worldwide.
Anyway, it looks like the writers of Spin went down to Walmart, wrote down the names of every vaguely metal-related item in stock, picked 40 at random, and declared that was their list. There are two joke bands on the list (Spinal Tap and tenacious D) as well as albums that clearly aren't what most people would consider "great" heavy metal albums (Kid Rock?). And some of these choices are just ludicrous; how can Deep Purple's Machine Head be ranked so low in the list, and yet Posion is number 20? What the hell is Queens of the Stone Age's Rated R doing on the list? And of all the Sepultura albums to choose from, why pick a turgid bore like Roots?
There are a ton of enormously influential underground bands left off the list (Motorhead, Venom, Death, Celtic Frost, Mayhem, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, etc.), and a lot of the bands that did make the list don't deserve to be on there. What a waste of time this was. Congratulations on a job horribly done, Spin.
8 - Jay Caruso
Chris, just for clarification, when I say commercially successful, I am not talking merely about record sales. Commercial success (to me) denotes more such as radio airplay, promotion, etc. In the 80's, there were classic rock stations and Top 40 stations, neither of which were going to play Maiden or Slayer. Nowadays, there are a host of hard rock stations willing to spin those CD's.
I am fully aware of Maiden's ability to sell records as well as sell out concerts. Living in New Jersey I was often able to see the same band 4 times in a matter of 5-6 days. This was when bands played a number of dates in the area. We'd see a band at The Meadowlands, then Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum and finally, if we wanted to make the drive, The Philadelphia Spectrum.
The last time I saw Iron Maiden was during their tour for 'Somewhere In Time' and they just kicked ass.
It's good to see other people talk about Celtic Frost. When I mention that band to people, I get a "Huh?" look and then explain. I got to see them at the Lamour in Brooklyn back in 87 or 88.
9 - slipgun
what zacrazy, ac/dc playedthe same riffs over and over again. thats what america has done. onetrailblazer and everybody follows to capitalize .even the originators fall in a rut. thanx but i think british nwobhm bands and other european acts need recognition.
10 - Dick
You people need to stop listening to this devil music that will send you to hell and find christ - beg him to forgive you. Stryper is the only band that should be on the list
11 - riotXxX2004
can anybody tell me full list of 40 greatest metal albums of all time by Spin Magazine ? Sites from launch.yahoo.com/spin doesn't exist anymore. please. i wanna know.