Dairenn
Recording Artist
So, my wife grew up listening to east-coast hip-hop, and I grew up listening to stations like KMET, KLOS and 105.5 KNAC here in L.A.; suffice it to say, we've been schooling each other on the respective musical styles and their accompanying stories. It all got me to think about what songs I would put on a super sampler CD or dual-CD set, mixed full of music that more or less defined heavy metal as we remembered it in the 80s... Before the cookie monster, drop tuned, 7th string, wall of guitar, clickity-clackity drums, tinny digital pro-tools, auto-tuned era that pretty much ruined rock for me after 1992... Mid-tempo, heavy grooves that are strong on melody with plenty of guitar wizardry and operatic vocals. Not all of these tracks exactly fit that description, but I feel that each one of this hits their mark. This is what I came up with:
I intentionally avoided most of the songs that get (or got) played to death on radio/satellite radio... For example, I know someone will try to tell me that a Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen song is probably blasphemy, heh. For a band like that, it's hard to pick JUST one song... (I could have easily taken a cross section of Unchained, Amsterdam and Little Guitars and been just as happy.) I wanted one song for one band, and one that I think would surprise even those that consider themselves fans of the genre.
What do you guys think of this list? What would be on yours? Are there any songs from this list that you disagree with? What would you add or change?
- XYZ - Inside Out
- YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN - Rising Force (the song)
- Y&T - Mean Streak
- WHITESNAKE - Children of the Night
- WINGER - Seventeen
- WHITE LION - Wait
- WARRANT - Uncle Tom's Cabin
- VAN HALEN - Man on a Mission
- TRIUMPH - Never Surrender
- TESLA - Modern Day Cowboy
- STYX - Love is the Ritual
- STEVE VAI - Erotic Nightmares
- SKID ROW - Youth Gone Wild
- SLAUGHTER - Desperately
- SCORPIONS - I'm Leavin' You
- QUEENSRYCHE - Empire
- QUIET RIOT - Metal Health
- MOTLEY CRUE - Dr. Feelgood
- MR. BIG - Green Tinted Sixties Mind
- METALLICA - Sad But True
- RATT - Lay it Down
- OZZY OSBORNE - The Ultimate Sin
- LOUDNESS - Crazy Nights
- LIVING COLOUR - Cult of Personality
- LITA FORD - Gotta Let Go
- KROKUS - Eat The Rich
- KISS - I Wanna Hear It Loud
- KINGDOM COME - Get It On
- JUDAS PRIEST - The Sentinel
- JOE SATRIANI - Summer Song
- IRON MADDEN - Two Minutes to Midnight
- GREAT WHITE - Lady Red Light
- EXTREME - Kid Ego
- ELECTRIC BOYS - All Lips and Hips
- EUROPE - More Than Meets the Eye
- DIO - Last in Line
- DOKKEN - In My Dreams
- DEF LEPPARD - Photograph
- DAVID LEE ROTH - Yankee Rose
- CINDERELLA - Save Me
- BULLET BOYS - Smooth Up In Ya
- BLUE MURDER - Blue Murder
I intentionally avoided most of the songs that get (or got) played to death on radio/satellite radio... For example, I know someone will try to tell me that a Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen song is probably blasphemy, heh. For a band like that, it's hard to pick JUST one song... (I could have easily taken a cross section of Unchained, Amsterdam and Little Guitars and been just as happy.) I wanted one song for one band, and one that I think would surprise even those that consider themselves fans of the genre.
What do you guys think of this list? What would be on yours? Are there any songs from this list that you disagree with? What would you add or change?