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Queensryche - 'Operation Mindcrime'

True Belief's favorite albums of 1988 10. Riot: Thundersteel The previous two releases sucked quite frankly, but a brand new lineup pushed this into a more European speed metal sound and that's a good thing. New vocalist Tony Moore's vocals are a standout as is the unapologetic speed metal approach. Starts off with the powerhouse coupling of "Thundersteel" and "Fight or Fall" and seldom relents. The galop of "Flight of the Warrior" (later covered very well by Hammerfall) and the Accept-like riffage of "On Wings of the Eagle" other standouts. I recall being blown away with the speed and intensity of the thing at the time. Thank god they ditched that absurd half man-half seal mascot thing. Today they exist as Riot V and are absolutely worthy of your attention. 9. Death: Leprosy Picks itself this one, its just a matter of where in the 10 it sits. I wasn't a huge DM fan back then but taste's change so it sits up quite high at #9 for me. Bludgeoning production, deliciously thick riffs..."Leprosy", "Forgotten Past", "Left to Die", "Pull the Plug", "Open Casket", "Born Dead"...Rick Rozz's powerhouse riffing sitting perfectly alongside Chuck's shredding and a more mature songwriting approach (especially lyrically). A death metal masterpiece that showcased Death's growing musical sensibilities. 8. Running Wild: Port Royal My first Running Wild album and damn if I didn't love it to death. I wasn't really taken by the whole Pirate thing but the songwriting was just irresistible. Probably the greatest power metal band of all time with an 8-album run of perfection from the preceding year's Under Jolly Roger to 1998's "The Rivalry". Rolf's vocals were a bit of a weak link back then but he had such an ear for melody and an incredible ability to pull riffs out of the air. 8 minute epic closer "Calico Jack" is brilliant. Shit the bed unfortunately and are pretty much a solo act nowadays. They've never recovered from the Angelo Sasso scandal hah ha! 7. Iron Maiden: Seventh Son Its funny how you evaluate things differently in the fullness of time. If I'd compiled this list 10-15 years ago there's no way this would have featured in my favorite 50 let alone favorite 10. In fact after I bought the lead single "Can I Play with Madness" I half considered not grabbing the album proper when it landed. To me the changes evident on the (admittingly incredible) "Somewhere in Time" were further solidified here and at the time my friends and I were really worried. Nowadays in the context of their whole career I can look back and enjoy it for what it was - not fear it for what I thought was a sign of the band shitting the bed for good. There's some filler and the cover sucks but this is really good music. 6. Ozzy: No Rest for the Wicked Damn this is underrated. Ozzy's first with Zakk Wylde and there's a massive change in sound from the lightweight, thin and squeaky clean "Ultimate Sin". Much heavier with a real focus on thick riffs and groove, I would concede the production is little muddy but that doesn't matter because there are some absolutely smoking tracks on this. "Miracle Man", "Bloodbath in Paradise", "Demon Alcohol", "Tattooed Dancer" and the amazing "Breaking all the Rules" which rolls along on such a simple yet brilliant riff and a massive bottom end. Truth be told I enjoy this album more than "No More Tears'. 5. Coroner: Punishment for Decadence Bit of a transition album this one imo, Coroner branching out a little in terms of the incorporation of more technical and experimental moments which would culminate in sheer brilliance on the follow-up to this. However theres no doubting the brains and technical proficiency here. Quite chaotic yet totally coherent all at the same time. "Absored" is a fantastic opener showcasing all the timing changes, progressiveness and Celtic Frost inspired thrash we'd expect (and get) throughout. Coroner were so underrated; nowadays their name seems to get dropped by people courting respect in the metal world but I'm glad I was there from (almost) the start. Tommy Vetterli take a bow. You are a monster. {Note: Full disclosure, I did wear my "Punishment.." shirt to the Dee Snider concert last week and I got plenty of respect, people getting out of my way as I headed to the bar...nodding as I walked by.} 4. King Diamond: Them As a kid growing up the whole Mercyful Fate/King Diamond thing was just so damn confusing. Being down in Australia I think the MF hiatus after 1984 didn't really reach me. I got lost in what the hell was going on. I probably overlooked KD releases (hard to believe you'd overlook Abigail!), thinking it was a 'temporary' thing - hard to explain. Fatal Portrait sounded 'ok' but it wasn't anywhere near the magnificence of "Don't Break the Oath", "Melissa" or the s/t EP. Anyway, "Them" changed things for me and while its not my favorite King Diamond album, its impeccably constructed and performed. My musical pallet was opening up around this time too and I started to warm to King's theatrics. Musicianship on this album is flawless. Andy La Rocque, Pete Blakk and Hal Patino deserve all the credit and respect they get. Mikkey Dee's final album with KD. 3. Sabbat: History of a Time to Come I want everyone to take note: "History..." is one of the most blistering, complex and musically brilliant thrash albums of all time. Andy Sneap (yes....THAT Andy Sneap) producing an absolute factory of riffs; Martin Walkyier's raspy almost Jeff Walker-like vocals and a subtle yet noticeable pagan influence standing this so far apart from the standard commercial US thrash sound. After a brief intro..."A Cautionary Tale" blasts out of the speakers and make no mistake this is serious business. Cracking song, cracking album. Handle with care - absolutely razor sharp. Thrash metal royalty. Could easily have landed this at #2. 2. Metallica: And Justice for All (except Jason) When I think of this album I think of us going to the record store upon release and one of my friends picking up the double-gatefold version and walking out with a copy under his jacket. We then got (ran to) the bus and went home drooling over the thing..wondering what the hell was inside. These were the days when record stores kept the wax inside the cover so you could pick it up and walk out with it. Things changed pretty quickly. Flaws aside, this is James' best vocal performance by a mile; the guitar tone is godly and similar to old mate Requiem, at the time I thought it was a bit 'dry' sounding but didn't notice all the fuss about the missing bass. "Dyers Eve" is a bona fide classic, although I'm a bit tired of it given its 30 years old "One" still contains moments of face melting goodness and the brooding "Harvester of Sorrow" is criminally overlooked. Not really sure where the band had to go after this.... 1. Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime Hands down the single greatest collection of 'songs' complied to form a single album that I own. Yes it was all bound in a brilliant storyline and yes it was woven together by some wonderfully emotive and thoughtful instrumental interludes (for example hear how 'Waiting for 22' bleeds into 'My Empty Room' which explodes into the single most monumental album closer of all time "Eyes of a Stranger"). And yes Geoff Tate & Chris DeGarmo can never be replaced (unlike drummer Scott Rockenfield, new singer Todd La Torre laying down all drum tracks for the upcoming album.)….. Album highlights are too many to mention but I will anyway "Revolution Calling", "Operation Mindcrime with the brilliant telephone conversation intro...the melodic, gothic master play of "The Mission"... Pamela Moore's appearance as "Sister Mary". The commercial 1-2 of "I Don't Believe in Love" and "Breaking the Silence"....the speedy Helloween-inspired "The Needle Never Lies". I remember buying this form a little store called "Metal for Melbourne" here in (funnily enough) Melbourne while my dad was holding a talk at the National Gallery of Victoria over the river. Funny how you recall these little moments. No band has ever been able to perfectly weave the phrase 'raison d'etre' into a song like Geoff Tate. Buy this album folks.

Cradle Of Filth - Cruelty And The Beast

D.R.I. "Full Speed Ahead"

Carpathian Forest “Through Chasm, Caves And Titan Woods”

This had nothing to do with your Coroner shirt. You receive respect and tribute wherever you go. Nice list by the way and it reminds me I have some listening to do.

Rotting Christ - The Heretics

Aleister Crowely - ‘Liber al vel Legis’ Aleister Crowley - ‘The Book of the Goetia’ Thy Light - ‘Suici.De.Pression’ Korpiklaani ticket Eluveitie ticket

Svartidaudi - Revelations Of The Red Sword Ossuarium - Living Tomb Altarage - The Approaching Rooooaaaargh Perverticon - Wounds Of Divinity ...not doing it for me Cradle Of Filth - Dusk... And Her Embrace

This only reminds me of that old problem with Judas Priest and album covers. Scream for Vengeance is easily one of the best metal album covers ever ... whereas this sucks six different kinds of ass. Musically, it isn't all there either. They are definitely "at work" and doing a decent enough job as such ... meaning that it may not be a great Priest album, but it's still way above the "lesser" bands. I'm gonna give that song, on its own merits, a 7/10. Okay ... now for something completely different:

Jungle Rot - What Horror Awaits Jungle Rot - Terror Regime

New Krypts artwork is pretty sweet:

Yesterday’s car album playlist: Rancid “Out come the wolves” Obituary “Cause Of Death” Motorhead “Overkill” Danzig s/t