Judas Priest - “Sad Wings of Destiny” (1976)

“Sad Wings of Destiny” is a landmark metal album for a myriad of reasons, not the least being that the cover art by Patrick Woodroffe introduced us to the prong-like “Judas Priest Cross” that was adopted by the band as a symbolic representation, much like Iron Maiden’s mascot “Eddie” or the use of the pentagram for bands like Venom and a fledgling Motley Crue. But SWOD also saw Priest taking a mega-leap in their songwriting, from the pedestrian latent-hippie semi-psychedelic hard rock of their debut, “Rocka Rolla”, to an emphatically heavy metal aural landscape of dueling lead guitars and guitar harmonies over which vocalist, Rob Halford, soars, distancing himself from any other singer of the era. Song titles foreshadow the obsessions of countless metal bands to come: “Tyrant”; “Genocide; “The Ripper” and “Epitaph” signify an allegiance with the dark side and forever changed the landscape of metal imagery. But the highlight of the album belongs to the incredible, “Victim of Changes”, still a staple of the band’s live set, as I was honored to personally behold when they co-headlined 2005’s Ozzfest with fellow Birminghammer’s, Black Sabbath.

Motörhead - “Ace of Spades” (1980)

Lemmy & Co.’s fourth studio album cemented them as legends of hard rock and set the standard for every self-respecting Metalhead to come. Faster, louder and dirtier than anything previously unleashed upon the public, Motörhead hit their stride on “Ace of Spades” with Lemmy’s lyrics exhorting the joys of every vice he can possibly…eh…enjoy. Underage girls, shooting your enemy in the back, forbidden lizard-love and tubes of superglue all get the thumbs-ups from Mr. Kilmister and crew. “Fast” Eddie Clarke and “Philthy” Phil (Animal) Taylor provide a frantic backdrop of amplified aggression over Lemmy’s overdriven bass as they take Chuck Berry to the extreme. The title song says it all: “You know I’m going to lose/and gambling’s for fools/but that’s the way I like it, baby/I don’t wanna live forever”.

Iron Maiden - “Killers” (1981)

Tha amazing thing about Iron Maiden’s second album, “Killers”, is not just that it’s good, it’s that it’s so damn good. Then again, maybe it isn’t all that surprising. After all, Black Sabbath’s second album, “Paranoid” is still believed by most to be the band’s pinnacle. Many believe Metallica never topped their sophomore effort, “Ride the Lightning”. And of course Slayer’s “Hell Awaits” is no slouch of an album. Still, “Killers” sounds remarkably like a band that’s been around the block a few times, when in reality, they had really only been around the English pub circuit. There remains a great divide to this day between the legions of fans who proclaim vocalist, Bruce Dickenson, who joined the band after this album, the second-coming - perhaps inferior only to the previously-mentioned Halford and legendary mystic-dwarf, Ronnie James Dio. But there is another die-hard contingent who actually prefer the more street-level vocals of original singer Paul Di’Anno. A playful punk, Di’Anno would have been out of place on later Maiden albums, which explored such topics as Egyptian mythology, 17th century romantic poetry and paens to lonely marathon runners. At the time of “Killers”, Maiden was still firmly ensconced in a horror-movie world of Rue Morgues, subway killers and as the title of one track suggests, the “Twilight Zone”, and Di’Anno’s vocals suit these subjects well. “Killers” also marks the debut of long-running second lead guitarist, Adrian Smith and the interplay between Smith and co-lead guitarist, Dave Murray, took Priest’s Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing guitar innovation up a notch. Of course, bassist and main songwriter, Steve Harris, established himself as a genius with this album. Up the Irons!

Van Halen - “Van Halen” (1978)

Everything changed in 1978. Suddenly, Ted Nugent no longer cut it for aspiring hard rock guitarists. Ace Frehley was still a beloved figure but he wasn’t exactly blazing new trails. Lest you think that all the formative metal was coming out of jolly old England, consider that America’s sunny west coast was offering up a homemade (and incredibly potent) brew of their own, that featured guitar pyrotechnics the likes of which no one had ever experienced before. Eddie Van Halen’s hands seemed possessed and his solos sent chills down the spine. And who was this amusing, acrobatic ego-maniac that was shouting at us that he’d like to be our “Ice Cream Man”, or declaring himself an “Atomic Punk”, whilst simultaneously being able to show us his tender, thoughtful side on tracks like “Little Dreamer”. Of course, he’s right back at it with “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” only to do another 180 and sing about his own lecherous nature from his victim’s point of view on “Jamie’s Cryin”. Hugely influential, Van Halen set the standards for good-timin’ American metal bands to come, like Motley Crue and…um…well, maybe it’s best to stop there. But Eddie’s guitar playing spread like disease until every metal guitarist worth his salt had to know how to do “hammer-ons” or risk being laughed off stage. “If you want it got to PLEAD FOR IT, baby!”