Through the 1980's with Heavy Metal Quiz

Answer: British Steel

The song is "Rapid Fire" and the album was "British Steel" by Judas Priest. This album featured the radio friendly songs "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law". The album was produced by Tom (Colonel) Allom (of Aerosmith, Loverboy, Black Sabbath fame) and reached number 34 on the Billboard charts.

Answer: Diary of a Madman

The song "Over the Mountain" was released in 1981 on the "Diary of a Madman" album by Ozzy Osbourne. This was the second and last studio album to feature the incredible Randy Rhoads on guitar before he was killed in a bizarre airplane accident. The album was produced by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Max Norman, who also worked with Megadeth, Y&T, Jake E. Lee and Savatage.

The album reached number 16 on the Billboard charts.

Answer: The Number of the Beast

The song "Invaders" is from the Iron Maiden classic "The Number of the Beast". This album was the first with Bruce Dickinson as lead vocalist, replacing Paul Di'Anno. This album was produced by Martin Birch, who has worked with nearly everyone in the industry including Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Whitesnake and Ronnie James Dio.

This album enjoyed mainstream success reaching number 33 on the Billboard charts.

Answer: Show No Mercy

The song "Evil Has No Boundaries" is the first on Slayer's debut album "Show No Mercy". Although this is not Slayer's best produced album, it has some really great songs including "The Antichrist" and "Black Magic", both of which are great live standards. The album was self produced.

Answer: Don't Break the Oath

Mercyful Fate released the album "Don't Break the Oath" in 1984 and the first track is "A Dangerous Meeting". I found this album to be one of the best put out by the band, and better than any of the King Diamond solo work. Most people don't know that King Diamond's real name is Kim Bendix Petersen and he was born in Denmark in 1956. Diamond's multi-octave voice is the standard against which all heavy metal screamers are measured.

Answer: Killing is my Business...And Business is Good

The debut album from Megadeth "Killing is my Business...And Business is Good" starts with the instrumental piece "Last Rites" and progresses into "Loved to Deth". For everyone who wants to correct the spelling of "deth", then you may have a case. I have the vinyl album with it spelled "deth" and my CD version has it spelled "death". Go figure the record companies.

The very versatile Karat Faye produced this album. Other bands that Faye worked with include The Circle Jerks, Rod Stewart, Sly and the Family Stone and Luther Vandross.

Answer: Master of Puppets

The 1986 release "Master of Puppets" may quite possible be the finest heavy metal album ever released, and one of Metallica's best. The first song, "Battery", sets the stage for an incredible listening experience (I recommend headphones). The album was produced by Flemming Rasmussen and reached number 29 on the Billboard chart.

This album was the third and final release featuring Cliff Burton on bass. Cliff sadly died in a bus accident in Sweden on 27th September, 1986. Cliff may be gone, but he is certainly not forgotten. RIP, Cliff.

Answer: The Legacy

Testament was one of the great metal bands that never got the hype that they deserved. The debut album "The Legacy" began with the song "Over the Wall" and had slight radio succes with the song "Apocalyptic City". Produced by Alex Perialas (who worked with Anthrax, Overkill and M.O.D.) the album is a must have for all true metal heads out there.

Answer: Operation: Mindcrime

This incredible concept album is Queensryche's finest release. The concept of the album is that a troubled young man, disillusioned with the society in which he lives, gets involved with an organization hell bent on assasinating corrupt political and religious zealots.

The album features incredible lyrics and awesome musicianship. The album has incredible orchestration by Michael Kamen and was produced by Peter Collins (who has worked with Rush, Bon Jovi, Jewel and Alice Cooper). The album made it all the way to number 50 on the Billboard charts.

Answer: The Real Thing

The song "From Out of Nowhere" kicks off this great release from Faith No More. Much of the album was written with Chuck Moseley as the lead vocalist, but he was fired due to erratic behavior. Mike Patton stepped in and did a great job of providing lyrics to the music that the band had already recorded.

This album features the ever popular "Epic" and a great cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs". This album reached number 11 on the Billboard charts.