Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog

If you are a veteran Metalhead, these ten (or more) Metal albums that I consider underrated may not surprise you. Heck, you may already have owned them for several years or even decades. In the Metal event you are a new recruit to the dynamic world of Heavy Metal, welcome aboard and go out and BUY THESE METAL ALBUMS for they will serve you right! Oh, what do I mean by underrated? Well, for starters, these are Classic/Vintage Metal albums that do not seem to get enough attention these days – as I surf around the world wide web, these are the albums that tend to go unnoticed for some oddball reason or another. It is my goal to surround the readers of Metal Odyssey with the knowledge necessary, to make prudent Metal album buying decisions too. These ten Metal albums, in my Metal opinion, have most definitively stood the test of Metal time. Enjoy and absorb this list, please note that these Metal albums are not in any specific order. (These Metal albums are my own personal choices for most underrated, I am sure many knowledgeable Metalheads out there will have differing opinions).

MERCYFUL FATE – “MELISSA” – King Diamond, plus, absolutely NO radio friendly tunes found here. This band laid down a whole bunch of Black Metal groundwork for others to learn from.

TWISTED SISTER – “YOU CAN’T STOP ROCK ‘N’ ROLL” – Just before Dee Snider & the boys became really famous. I find this album to be just as inspiring today as it was in 1983. My favorite Twisted Sister album.

BLACK SABBATH – “BORN AGAIN” – Ian Gillian on vocals, ’nuff said. O.K., this is one tough album or CD to find. “Trashed” is very heavy stuff, a very fast Black Sabbath tune. This version of Black Sabbath is incredibly good. Bev Bevan of Electric Light Orchestra fame actually was the drummer on the “Born Again” Tour during 1984/85. That is correct. You did read this right. Now that is cool, having an ELO and Black Sabbath connection. 

MOTORHEAD – “ANOTHER PERFECT DAY” –  Of all the Motorhead albums, this one deserves more respect. The tune “One Track Mind” is reason alone to own this vintage Motorhead release, plus the album cover artwork and liner notes are extremely diabolical and cool. 

GRIM REAPER – “See You In Hell” – The album title says it all… the title track “See You In Hell” is for me, a Heavy Metal anthem that brings back memories to my Metal heart. This was one heavy duty band for me… worth every Metal second of listening enjoyment. Overall, great band, great album, I wish they could have done twenty albums.

EXODUS – “FABULOUS DISASTER” – Gary Holt is such an important guitar player in Thrash Metal history. Exodus is always grouped in with the Thrash Metal originators. In my Metal opinion, each original Bay Area Thrash Band is just as important as the next… I am giving Exodus their just due here and “Fabulous Disaster” is just that, fabulous Thrash Metal.

VINNIE MOORE – “MINDS EYE” – Hey, this guy can play guitar. Heavy Metal guitar too. An all Metal instrumental album could never hurt no one, especially a Metalhead. Listening to Vinnie Moore in college helped me get unreal grades in fine arts, I am not kidding. I drew some of my best stuff listening to Vinnie Moore – thanks Vinnie.

MANOWAR – “HAIL TO ENGLAND” – Very loud and Old School Metal. This album has all the Metal attitude and heavy music you could ever ask for, plus, as a bonus, these guys are quality Metal musicians too! There are those times, when I need a cool Power Metal band that is Old School, that I can sing along to. They very well might be… “The Kings of Metal” as they advertise… heck, I would never think of telling them they are not.

OVER KILL – Every album they have ever made. Yeah, this sounds crazy, yet these guys are that great at playing Thrash Metal. Over Kill always seems to have been the hardest working Thrash band on the planet, with no star status or star treatment from the wide world of professionally paid critics. Different lineups throughout the years has not affected my loyalty… as long as there is Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth and D.D. Verni leading this potent Thrash attack, I am Metal happy.

W.A.S.P. – “K.F.D.” – This is one heavy, monster of a W.A.S.P. album. Extremely heavy W.A.S.P. – Blackie Lawless was not fooling around with this album… I listen to “K.F.D.” when I have both good and bad days, the end affect is still just like opening up a can of Metal whoop ass and getting straightened out – Blackie Lawless style. Thanks Blackie Lawless.

KROKUS – “HEADHUNTER” – O.K., sure, there is some commercial appeal here with the tune “Screaming In The Night”, yet it is a far cry from any of the heavy ballads that blitzed us all in the 1980’s. Factor in the raging track “Headhunter” and the Metal grooviness of “Stayed Awake All Night” and you have served up yourself some decent party tunes.

This entry was posted on May 28, 2009 at 12:10 am and is filed under 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's metal music, 1980's thrash metal, 1990's heavy metal music, Album Review, Black Metal, Black Sabbath, classic metal, cool album covers, essential heavy metal albums, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal music, Heavy Metal Reviews, horror metal, king diamond, Metal, metal music, Metal Reviews, Motorhead, Music, old school heavy metal, Over Kill, Power Metal, speed metal, Thrash Metal, thrash metal album review, thrash metal music, thrash metal music reviews, tony iommi heavy metal guitarist, vintage heavy metal albums with tags 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's metal music, Album Review, Black Metal, Black Sabbath, black sabbath heavy metal band, classic metal albums, dee snider, essential heavy metal albums, exodus, exodus fabulous disaster album, exodus thrash metal band, gary holt guitarist, grim reaper, grim reaper heavy metal band, heavy metal album review, heavy metal music, king diamond, krokus, krokus headhunter album, krokus heavy metal band, manowar, manowar hail to england album, manowar heavy metal band, manowar metal band, mercyful fate black metal band, mercyful fate melissa album, metal music, Motorhead, motorhead another perfect day album, motorhead heavy metal band, Music, over kill albums, over kill heavy metal band, over kill thrash metal band, overkill albums, overkill heavy metal band, Power Metal, twisted sister, twisted sister you cant stop rock n roll album, underrated heavy metal albums, vinnie moore guitarist, vinnie moore minds eye album, W.A.S.P., w.a.s.p. heavy metal band, w.a.s.p. k.f.d. album. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.