Who Made This Album? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dio

Dio was formed in 1982 by Ronnie James Dio, former singer of Black Sabbath. They found huge success with their debut album "Holy Diver" in 1983, and released "The Last in Line" shortly after. While not as famous as its predecessor, it became their highest-charting album both in the UK and in the US, and they both remain the only LPs in their discography to be certified platinum at the time this quiz was written.

Answer: April Wine

April Wine formed in Halifax in 1969. They scored some moderate hits with songs such as "Bad Side of the Moon", "I'm On Fire for you, Baby", "Roller", "Weeping Widow" and their cover of "You Could Have Been a Lady".

After a brief hiatus in 1986, they regrouped in 1992 and continued to record and perform. As of June 2023, their latest studio release is 2006's "Roughly Speaking".

Answer: Riot

Riot formed in the US in 1975 and went through several lineup changes, and a few breakups and reunions. "Fire Down Under", released in 1981, was their biggest selling album.

The band currently performs under the name "Riot V", having released two albums since the name change, as of 2023: "Unleash the Fire" (2014) and "Armor of Light" (2018).

Answer: Queensryche

Queensryche is hailed as one of the most important progressive metal bands, together with Fates Warning and Dream Theater. Their 1988 concept album tells the story of a drug addict that joins a revolutionary group seeking to eliminate global leaders and end corruption in their society. It launched them to stardom and it is considered one of the best metal concept albums of all time.

In 2012, lead singer Geoff Tate was fired from the band after an altercation, and for a few years, with an ongoing legal dispute, put together a new band also going by the name Queensryche. Until 2014, both bands co-existed and even toured together at one point. Eventually, Tate renamed his band as "Operation Mindcrime", releasing three albums and disbanding in 2017.

Answer: Triumph

Triumph was never too popular outside of North America, but some of their LPs were certified gold and platinum in their home country, and they earned many other recognitions - including a street named after them in Mississauga, Ontario!

"Allied Forces" (1981) reached the highest chart positions of all their albums. It contains some of their most famous songs: "Fight the Good Fight" and "Magic Power".

Answer: Judas Priest

Following a new musical direction, with a more commercial and less dark sound, Judas Priest became a prominent act in the early '80s metal scene. "British Steel", released in 1980, features some of the band's best known songs, such as "Breaking the Law" and "Metal Gods" and is revered as one of the best metal albums of all time.

Answer: Rush

After their first experiments with progressive rock on their third album "Caress of Steel" didn't find much success, Rush went through a very difficult period. Disappointing album sales, and cold reception from the crowds and critics, almost get the band dropped from their record label, but they negotiated one more release. Luckily for them, they made it big with "2112", and the band kept on going for many more years.

Answer: Van Halen

"Women and Children First" was the third album by Van Halen, and the first one to contain all original songs. Not one of their most famous records, it contains a few bits of trivia: it contains the only song by the group featuring female vocals ("Could This Be Magic?"), and it's also the first LP in which Eddie Van Halen plays keyboard parts.

Answer: Ten Years After

The band has its roots in the early sixties, going through many different names before settling on Ten Years After, in 1966.

There are a couple different versions to the name's origin: one states that the name change pays homage to Elvis Presley's successful year (1956, with the name change taking place in 1966), while the other cites an ad for a book called "Suez Ten Years After".

(For the record, I actually found no evidence that the album is named after the long time span between the two releases, which was actually 15 years. I intended that to be a hint to the band's name)

Answer: Y & T

The original name was Yesterday and Today, but at some shows by the band, they would hear fans chanting "Y&T" to call them back onstage. They eventually settled for the short name, starting from their third album ("Earthshaker", from 1981).

They never really became a mainstream act, but they had their fair share of success with their mid-'80s releases, including "In Rock We Trust" (1984) and the aforementioned "Open Fire". They also toured and opened for many notables such as Dio, Rush, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, among others.