I'm a lifelong heavy metal fan born one year after 1977 and I have to say that this list, despite the fact that I own many of these albums, was truly educational. Mr. Popoff is the MVP of hard rock and heavy metal journalism, and he is certainly one of my personal heroes. I am consistently wowed by the top shelf level of journalism that this site exhibits. I celebrate the fact that as musicians and fans, we have an outlet such as this that we've needed for so long of a time. \m/
Balzteg: Ummm...don't forget 'Undisputed Attitude'. The whole album is cover tunes, except Gemini was the only original. It's still one of my favourite Slayer releases
That's why I said "Studio" album. I generally don't consider cover albums as Studio albums. But I love that album. A lot of my friends didn't like it because they weren't punk fans, and I am a huge punk fan.
1. Rush - A Farewell to Kings 2. Judas Priest - Sin After Sin 3. AC/DC - Let There Be Rock 4. Blue Oyster Cult - Spectres 5. Scorpions - Taken By Force
I can't believe how modern Priest sounded in 1977, That stuff holds up no problem. I'd say that VH debut was right around the corner and about to blow every ones mind with Eruption. I still can't get over how far ahead Priest was compared to other bands.
C J proto-thrash as in it had an influence on thrash. I understand its not thrash but it definitely inspired bands who ended up actually playing thrash.
Popoff is an example to us all, metalheads, standing for a form of Art he truly believes in, and showing it to the rest of the mainstream perception, as the only genre in popular music that perpetuates the classical erudition of European Music, having absorbed a slight Blues influence as the main contribute from Black Music to Heavy Metal. It's not that we don't also enjoy our Gothic or DarkFolk side follies, or some Industrial and Prog diversions on the side - metalheads have a solid wide view of Music and are often articulate to the point of leaving no room for argument to their detractors. Martin is at the top of that pyramid, relaxed yet alert and focused. A 1/4 of an hour lesson on how the forebears of Metal used to sound.
Not bad choices, but as Popoff said, Taken by Force - Scorpions and Bad Reputation - Thin Lizzy could've replaced the other two albums. I would go even further and replace the Motorhead debut (which was more in line with what he did in Hawkwind) and the Rush album as well. AC/DC's Let There Be Rock was a phenomenal choice as it is their heaviest album and the title song is the closest thing AC/DC got to prog, or quasi-prog how I like to name it. The first time in their career when they went for a more complex song structure. Personally, I would've added Riot's debut album, Rock City, as it is similar with what Judas Priest were releasing during that period, a hybrid between early heavy metal, hard rock and early speed metal. My top list would look like this: 1. Judas Priest - Sin After Sin 2. Scorpions - Taken By Force 3. AC/DC - Let There Be Rock 4. Riot - Rock City 5. Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation
Kalimdor199 Thank you for mentioning Thin Lizzy and Riot. Thin Lizzy released many great albums but the average Joe only really knows one or two songs off their Jailbreak album and the rest of their catalog is lost. Riot having a long career that is still going and have a plathora of great albums. Rock City really was a fantastic first album.
Personal top-5 for 1977, in no order: 1. Thin Lizzy- Bad Reputation 2. Judas Priest- Sin After Sin 3. UFO- Lights Out 4. Riot- Rock City 5. Rush- A Farewell To Kings Honorable Mentions: AC/DC- Let There Be Rock, Motorhead- s/t, Heart- Little Queen (if nothing else than for "Barracuda"), Queen- News Of The World. In other words, Popoff, the voters, and I have similar tastes.
YEAH! This vid just made my day, I totally agree with the numbers. I've read your Priest book, and it is very well written, deeply informative. Hope to see more of these "pick a year" típe of videos! Really great idea, and even better implementation!
My List: RUSH - A Farewell To Kings THIN LIZZY - Bad Reputation MOTÖRHEAD - Motördead AC/DC - Let There Be Rock JUDAS PRIEST - Sin After Sin Also great: THOR - Keep The Dogs Away SCORPIONS - Taken By Force RIOT - Rock City TED NUGENT - Cat Scratch Fever
I absolutely agree with your assessment of the self-titled Motorhead record, but I am also happy to see it included here. Motorhead is important for living in that liminal space between punk and metal - the one (or one of few) band(s) the punk kids and the metal kids could agree on. Who knows? Without Motorhead, we might not have had thrash.
One of their best albums, I think. I love that last song "Dear Lord". It's one of those songs you can hear Phil's voice almost breaking as if he wants to cry. Phil Lynott was such a great singer. And songwriter. And bass player.
Cygnus X1 is the heaviest darkest song on this list. Not to mention every album that came before it. Rush invented progressive metal you guys are just too stupid and close minded to realize it.
I too was very surprised not to see Draw The Line and Cat Scratch on the list. In 1977 Ted and Aerosmith were amongst the biggest metal/hard rock bands on the planet (along with Kiss), filling stadiums. Agree with you that their non-inclusion is probably related to some of the voters being younger than us old folks who used the terms heavy metal and hard interchangeably at the time.
chris tighe Agree, I saw Ted back around that time, and he was loud and heavy as hell. He ended up going a little weird, but then he was something to see
M - Nugent's last three albums (Craveman, Love Grenade and Shut Up & Jam) are all great albums that you should check out if you like prime era Nuge. Especially Craveman.
I was once in my local Veteran's Affairs clinic, and I was listen on my phone without headphones to the Taken by Force album. A guy goes past me and ask me if it's Metallica, and I say: "no it's Scorpions". He was surprised, cause it didn't sound to him anything like 80's Scorpions, neither to me. So it is fair to classify 70's Scorpions as heavy metal.
BDaMonkey I was just listening to music when all of a sudden there was a long pause between songs. I checked to see if music was still playing and then Rob's scream came through my headphones followed by that killer riff. Phenomenal, completely blind sided me.
Glad Sex Pistols "never mind the bollocks" got a mention as , for me, this album was by far the most important album of that era !! The revolution that Punk was changed my life !!
I just listened to Dissident Aggressor tonight. I love Sin After Sin with Sinner, Let Us Pray and Raw Deal as well. When I saw this video for 1977 was up, I thought that Sin After Sin had to be on it, and when it made number 1 I shouted “Yes!” Nice section chosen for Cygnus X-1. One of my favourite Rush songs because it is like proto-prog metal.
Martin, I read your book Riff Kills Man! ( I bought it in Trail and your autograph is in it) you introduced me to 70's Judas Priest and I'll thank you forever!!
AFTK got me into Rush, glad to see it here, well deserved, Lemmy came from my favorite Band Hawkwind, which was responsible for the Pistols being, ironic really. So from the creativity of Hawkwind came lots of Bands, Sin after Sin my fav Priest album.
Ah what was that album with the cellos and marching band, from back then, that essentially played death metal but without vocals or obviously without the proper instruments? The Grim Ones or something? They basically invented the blast beat and the cellos were playing Scream Bloody Gore-type riffs. My grandfather had it and it was worth a fortune because of the occult-themed titles and nude women on the cover, which of course was banned back in 52.
Coming back to this video about a year later, I think some albums worthy of mention are Triumph’s “Rock & Roll Machine”, Moxy’s “Ridin’ High”, Riot’s “Rock City”, and Bowwow’s “Signal Fire”. You could mention The Runaways’ “Queens of Noise” and Thor’s “Keep the Dogs Away” possibly too.
so glad to see sin after sin on top such a heavy crushing album a real piece of art, and one of the greatest album openers of all time! SINNER!!! this album will always be relevant and brilliant awesome list banger! thanks for the entertainment!!!
no Not heavy metal even for 1977. there not even on Metal mayhem or the head bangers ball back in the day. there more like Foreigner and Boston there more hard rock.
It's THEY'RE, not there and yes, I know that Queen was a hard rock band, but so were every other band on this list with exception to Judas Priest. Kiss was not heavy metal. Rush was not heavy metal. UFO was not heavy metal and neither were The Scorpions, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, or The Sex Pistols. In 1977, there were only 2 heavy metal bands making music (Black Sabbath and Judas Priest). MAYBE, you can throw Motorhead into the mix, but not yet in 1977. Yes, Iron Maiden were performing live, as were Saxon, but neither were studio bands. 1979 is when a lot of heavy metal bands would start to break loose (Accept, Motorhead, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and a shit ton more..mostly NWOBHM bands).
Right, I wrote under 1980 one that those songs didn't register as metal - this doesn't even sound like music to me. This is exactly the kind of stuff some sadist terrorists would use to torture me into insanity. The Priest is probably the most frustrating cause I like their classic work from Screaming for Vengence and on. Thank you for your educating work, guys, and keep them coming: it's absolutely fascinating to see how music I know and love evolved from THIS in less than one decade!
BOC-Spectres, JP-Sin After Sin, ACDC-Let There Be Rock, Ted Nugent-Cat Scratch Fever, Tie for #5 are Rainbow-Long Live Rock And Roll. Scorpions-Taken By Force. Honorable mention, Riot-Rock City.
Very well read! Martin, your continued expertise on these subjects is greatly appreciated. Great job guys, love your opinions as they are always well thought out and researched.
With all due respect Martin, I'd consider KISS' Love Gun to be fairly heavy, although not all the way through. But tunes like Love Gun, I Stole Your Love and Almost Human are pretty heavy duty to me. And I definitely agree that Scorpions' Taken By Force should have been included in the list. "Sails of Charon is kick-ass!!!
Good Stuuf! I graduated High School in 1978 and yea, your right, The term "Metal" wasn't being used yet and Black Sabbath, that literally changed my life was really the only True Metal of the time. Lots of cool hard Rock that I was into but, it was cool that you mentioned The Sex Pistols and with that being said. The Dead Boys - Young, Loud, and Snotty that came out in 1977 was IMO more Hard Rock/Metal Then a couple of the mentioned bands. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Loud_and_Snotty. Funny though...I bought every album you Mentioned and stumbled on AC/DC while looking through the PUNK section of the record store and thats when I bought the masterpiece, " Let There Be Rock". Really enjoy your channel. Thank you!
Robert either your wrong or nobody explained to you heavy metal. if you think heavy metal came out in 1980 your wrong heavy metal was invented in 1970.
Um, I don't think I said that Metal came out in 1980 and I don't need anyone to explain it to me. I was there.I don't claim to know everything. I do however learn a lot from this show and this show has turned me on to a lot of bands so I'm very grateful for that and this show. Currently playing the hell out of the new "Witchery" CD. Born in 1960. I didn't hear the term "Heavy Metal" until I believe 1980 because we went to a Drive in movie and it was playing. I got into Black Sabbath in 1974 when I was at a friends smoking Mexican and some Dude came over and put "master Of Reality" in the 8 track player and it blew my mind. Life changing event for sure and the only people that listened to them, In my area anyway, were us Stoners. Master of Reality remains my favorite Sabbath Album. up until 1976-77, I listened to the hardest stuff I could, Sabbath, UFO, Thin Lizzy ,Nazareth, You get the picture no internet, radio pretty much sucked., A lot was word of mouth or buying albums because of the band name and cool album cover. I would get burned sometimes when it turned out to suck. but that is how I bought the 1st Iron Maiden Album, Motorhead "No sleep till Hammersmith" and Judas Priest "Unleashed in the East" so you would get lucky too. Actually, When the NWOBHM came, that was a life changing event as well. 1977 was when Old school PUNK happened to us, We saw The Sex Pistols on the News and shit our Pants. There was a Magazine called PUNK and thats how I found out about The Stooges, Dead Boys, Ramones, Damned, and the rest of the good PUNK. The few friends I have that were there and are still alive joke and say that after PUNK dried up it was Motorhead to the rescue lol. Anyway, I don't want to come across as a know it all. just have my opinions like all Metalheads. I am one of the Older Dudes I know that love Extreme Metal, Mainly Death Metal.
well look at what you wrote in your first post under the video the year you graduated high school. you might have heard the term heavy metal in 1980 but heavy metal was invented in 1970. I would imagiane radio was very cool back then.
I get what your saying about 1970 but no one knew it. The term Metal wasn't being used and we had no idea of what was coming. Like I mentioned, Sabbath blew my mind but, they weren't even a fraction as popular as they are today. I actually became obsessed with Motorhead back then because after I scored No Sleep, I went out and bought Bomber, Overkill, and their 1st album.Bought Ace of Spades and Iron Fist as soon as they came out. The "Fast and Philthy" era of Motorhead remains my Favorite. Some of my friends thought I was weird with my taste in music but I always sought out the Hard and Radical. As far as the radio goes, we listened to mostly Philly stations but the good stuff was usually on a special show late at nigh. The 1st time I heard Ronnie James Dio's voice was when some Station plaid the whole Rainbow, Rainbow Rising Album. It had just came out. The next day I hitch hiked to the record store. All albums were $4.99
I used to have the same AGONY COLUMN shirt. They were the GREATEST! I remember buying it at Liberty Lunch when they opened for Dead Horse! I'm thinking this was in 1991 or 1992. I probably have seen them at least 20 times. Their live shows were AMAZING. I'm STILL looking for my demo tape that had "Walk the Night" and "4X4". Those versions were INCREDIBLE.
first lp from CHEAP TRICK.......not heavy but rick nielsen's guitar sounded so good in this one ..not to forget the perfect production from Jack Douglas who also produced lennon and rocks from aerosmith ...not bad at all ....amen
pretty awesome list hehe although IDK if its studio albums only it it was Love Gun is fine lol Kiss is my Favorite band so I'll be a little biased hehe but it it's not only studio then I would've gone with Alive 2 for sure
David it's disco but it's a good album. the category a few months ago was the best heavy metal album from 1977. Disco doesn't qualify neither does hard rock. but it's a good album.
I love 70s Metal/Rock...Popoff's right....Metal and hard rock was one and the same back then, These bands didn't even consider themselves Hard Rock or Metal, they thought what they were playing was extremely loud Rock n' Roll music, I love the guitar and drum sounds from this era, crisp and dry and in your face....We owe a lot to these bands!
I know this is off-topic, but I tried to pick a newer video in order to catch your attention. I've been watching some of your top 5's, and it hit me: why don't you have the viewers vote toward the end of the year for their top 5 LIVE bands!!
Sin after sin is phenomenal
I'm a lifelong heavy metal fan born one year after 1977 and I have to say that this list, despite the fact that I own many of these albums, was truly educational. Mr. Popoff is the MVP of hard rock and heavy metal journalism, and he is certainly one of my personal heroes. I am consistently wowed by the top shelf level of journalism that this site exhibits. I celebrate the fact that as musicians and fans, we have an outlet such as this that we've needed for so long of a time. \m/
Chris Hawkins we didn't have an outlet like this in 1977...amen.
Dissident Aggressor is as heavy as any metal song from any era. That isn't romanticizing, that's the truth!
It is the only cover song that Slayer have put on a studio album.
Baltzeg u beat me to it haha. Lol
Derek Riel One of my top Priest songs. Sin after Sin is a killer record.
Balzteg: Ummm...don't forget 'Undisputed Attitude'. The whole album is cover tunes, except Gemini was the only original. It's still one of my favourite Slayer releases
That's why I said "Studio" album. I generally don't consider cover albums as Studio albums. But I love that album. A lot of my friends didn't like it because they weren't punk fans, and I am a huge punk fan.
1. Rush - A Farewell to Kings
2. Judas Priest - Sin After Sin
3. AC/DC - Let There Be Rock
4. Blue Oyster Cult - Spectres
5. Scorpions - Taken By Force
YES!!!! BÖC Got Zero Love on this list!!! Should have Been in there somewhere
Love watching anything with Martin
Snake Charmer yes five out of five skulls
This man Rules!
agreed
Blue Oyster Cult Spectres was a monster back in '77 .... in fact it was GODZILLA.
Not to mention their amazing Golden Age of Leather!
Agree.
Probably my favorite complete album of my favorite band. It's also the quintessential Halloween album in my opinion.
OH NO...THERE GOES TOKYO...NO, NO GODZILLA!!
I can't believe how modern Priest sounded in 1977, That stuff holds up no problem. I'd say that VH debut was right around the corner and about to blow every ones mind with Eruption. I still can't get over how far ahead Priest was compared to other bands.
Can't believe Taken By Force didn't make it. He's a Woman She's a Man is proto-thrash. The guitar work influenced Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, etc.
Jakob Holub I've always thought the same. Taken by Force is their best for me. Uli is so good on it.
Jakob Holub I agree. That Kiss song sounded so wimpy compared to He’s a Woman, She’s a Man or Sails of Charon.
Especially considering scorpions is way more metal than kiss!!
Jakob Holub- it's a good song/good band but not anything close to being categorized as a thrash song.
C J proto-thrash as in it had an influence on thrash. I understand its not thrash but it definitely inspired bands who ended up actually playing thrash.
Sin after sin is so heavy... Blast it at high volume now and again :)
Haha, okey x)
Popoff is an example to us all, metalheads, standing for a form of Art he truly believes in, and showing it to the rest of the mainstream perception, as the only genre in popular music that perpetuates the classical erudition of European Music, having absorbed a slight Blues influence as the main contribute from Black Music to Heavy Metal. It's not that we don't also enjoy our Gothic or DarkFolk side follies, or some Industrial and Prog diversions on the side - metalheads have a solid wide view of Music and are often articulate to the point of leaving no room for argument to their detractors. Martin is at the top of that pyramid, relaxed yet alert and focused. A 1/4 of an hour lesson on how the forebears of Metal used to sound.
Not bad choices, but as Popoff said, Taken by Force - Scorpions and Bad Reputation - Thin Lizzy could've replaced the other two albums. I would go even further and replace the Motorhead debut (which was more in line with what he did in Hawkwind) and the Rush album as well.
AC/DC's Let There Be Rock was a phenomenal choice as it is their heaviest album and the title song is the closest thing AC/DC got to prog, or quasi-prog how I like to name it. The first time in their career when they went for a more complex song structure.
Personally, I would've added Riot's debut album, Rock City, as it is similar with what Judas Priest were releasing during that period, a hybrid between early heavy metal, hard rock and early speed metal.
My top list would look like this:
1. Judas Priest - Sin After Sin
2. Scorpions - Taken By Force
3. AC/DC - Let There Be Rock
4. Riot - Rock City
5. Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation
Kalimdor199 Thank you for mentioning Thin Lizzy and Riot. Thin Lizzy released many great albums but the average Joe only really knows one or two songs off their Jailbreak album and the rest of their catalog is lost. Riot having a long career that is still going and have a plathora of great albums. Rock City really was a fantastic first album.
Not sure if it belongs on this list but anyone who hasn't listened Bad Reputation carefully over time doesn't really know Thin Lizzy.
Keith Rader
If they overlook Thin Lizzy , They dont know Rock and Roll!
I with you on those 5 myself. Riot and Thin Lizzy have added so much themselves to Hard Rock, and to Metal.
Personal top-5 for 1977, in no order:
1. Thin Lizzy- Bad Reputation
2. Judas Priest- Sin After Sin
3. UFO- Lights Out
4. Riot- Rock City
5. Rush- A Farewell To Kings
Honorable Mentions: AC/DC- Let There Be Rock, Motorhead- s/t, Heart- Little Queen (if nothing else than for "Barracuda"), Queen- News Of The World. In other words, Popoff, the voters, and I have similar tastes.
I'm surprised UFO made the list and not the Scorpions. 70's Scorpions with Uli Roth was very heavy. His German Hendrix persona.
Agreed or Thin Lizzy Or Scorpions
Riot - Rock city
Scorps were metal....very metal with Uli
Agreed, Scorps with Uli is my favorite era of the band but still love all Scorpions!
Let's credit the Schenker brothers, both were great in their own ways and did tons for each of their respective bands
This was a great take- Farewell to Kings is maybe one of the most under appreciated recordings ever
Congrats to Bangertv and the GREAT Martin Popov for such content. Cheers from Rio, Brasil.
YEAH! This vid just made my day, I totally agree with the numbers. I've read your Priest book, and it is very well written, deeply informative. Hope to see more of these "pick a year" típe of videos! Really great idea, and even better implementation!
There is no brighter bulb than Martin when it comes to dissecting heavy metal.
I really appreciate these videos because it reminds me where metal stemmed off.
A true knowledgeable man, and living encyclopedia.
Martin knows his shit like no one else does. Period.
For the Canadian release, Lights Out was renamed to Lights Oot
Dang, no Thin Lizzy. At least they got an honorable mention.....
Great show Martin!! can't wait for the next one.
Cygnus X1 is a pretty heavy metal song!!
My List:
RUSH - A Farewell To Kings
THIN LIZZY - Bad Reputation
MOTÖRHEAD - Motördead
AC/DC - Let There Be Rock
JUDAS PRIEST - Sin After Sin
Also great:
THOR - Keep The Dogs Away
SCORPIONS - Taken By Force
RIOT - Rock City
TED NUGENT - Cat Scratch Fever
I absolutely agree with your assessment of the self-titled Motorhead record, but I am also happy to see it included here. Motorhead is important for living in that liminal space between punk and metal - the one (or one of few) band(s) the punk kids and the metal kids could agree on. Who knows? Without Motorhead, we might not have had thrash.
Supercharged rock n roll, blues influences intact. I love that it's equally THAT, punk and metal. Sort of proto-crossover really!
Dude ! Without Motorhead there is no Thrash ! No question
Thin Lizzy? Bad Reputation?
Absolutely, better than at least 3 albums on here
Kiss & UFO beat out Thin Lizzy! Disappointed :(
Martin agrees! Check out the "Honorable Mentions" at the end.
One of their best albums, I think.
I love that last song "Dear Lord".
It's one of those songs you can hear Phil's voice almost breaking as if he wants to cry.
Phil Lynott was such a great singer. And songwriter. And bass player.
Although I'm a big UFO fan and Kiss as well, I have to agree with you.
That riff from Cygnus X-1 is black metal before black metal existed.
Rainbow - Long Live Rock N' Roll
So it was, if the video was about the best hard rock and heavy metal albums of 1978, that would have been correct
Triumph - Rock and Roll Machine
I am so glad Rush made it onto this list!
DudeRush2112 FUCK RUSH!
Why? I like girls.
Cygnus X1 is the heaviest darkest song on this list. Not to mention every album that came before it. Rush invented progressive metal you guys are just too stupid and close minded to realize it.
Since when is Rush heavy metal??
@@jockmctodger "2112" is considered progressive metal.
I really like Martin reviews, he is clever and focused, not disrespectful to the bands as other reviewers on the channel
I too was very surprised not to see Draw The Line and Cat Scratch on the list. In 1977 Ted and Aerosmith were amongst the biggest metal/hard rock bands on the planet (along with Kiss), filling stadiums. Agree with you that their non-inclusion is probably related to some of the voters being younger than us old folks who used the terms heavy metal and hard interchangeably at the time.
chris tighe Agree, I saw Ted back around that time, and he was loud and heavy as hell. He ended up going a little weird, but then he was something to see
M - Nugent's last three albums (Craveman, Love Grenade and Shut Up & Jam) are all great albums that you should check out if you like prime era Nuge. Especially Craveman.
I was once in my local Veteran's Affairs clinic, and I was listen on my phone without headphones to the Taken by Force album. A guy goes past me and ask me if it's Metallica, and I say: "no it's Scorpions". He was surprised, cause it didn't sound to him anything like 80's Scorpions, neither to me. So it is fair to classify 70's Scorpions as heavy metal.
Dissident Aggressor BLEW me away the first time I heard it. Almost my favorite Priest song.
youngn9na92 That opening scream and that riff. Always grabs my attention.
BDaMonkey I was just listening to music when all of a sudden there was a long pause between songs. I checked to see if music was still playing and then Rob's scream came through my headphones followed by that killer riff.
Phenomenal, completely blind sided me.
youngn9na92 I love it when it comes on when I have my music player on shuffle. The fade in always gets me.
The Sentinal is pretty sick
BDaMonkey The fade is so powerful, it's like the moment before a whole mountain falls on top of you.
Riot - Rock City
no
@@The-Punnkk yes
@@dono2926 Double YES
Yes
Glad Sex Pistols "never mind the bollocks" got a mention as , for me, this album was by far the most important album of that era !! The revolution that Punk was changed my life !!
Sin after sin is a masterpiece
downshifter 27 agreed
Martin Popoff is Voltaire of Heavy Metal. We need more Popoff!
I just listened to Dissident Aggressor tonight. I love Sin After Sin with Sinner, Let Us Pray and Raw Deal as well. When I saw this video for 1977 was up, I thought that Sin After Sin had to be on it, and when it made number 1 I shouted “Yes!”
Nice section chosen for Cygnus X-1. One of my favourite Rush songs because it is like proto-prog metal.
Dimebag rated "I Stole Your Love" as one of his all-time favorite songs.
Martin, I read your book Riff Kills Man! ( I bought it in Trail and your autograph is in it) you introduced me to 70's Judas Priest and I'll thank you forever!!
Riot's debut album also came out this year, and is up there with Sin after Sin and Taken by Force in terms of heaviness.
Riot has always been criminally underrated, especially that first album! From Rock City to Thundersteel they did no wrong.
Queen's News of the World album should have been mentioned with early metal tracks like "Sheer Heart Attack", "Fight from the Inside" etc.
Sheer Heart Attack was a plain punk song
I feel sorry for you.
Blue oyster cult - Spectres.... #1 for me
no
Indeed , it should be #1 !
Hey I made that Tee Shirt for Agony Column!!! Great Metal best of 1977! Love this video!
AFTK got me into Rush, glad to see it here, well deserved, Lemmy came from my favorite Band Hawkwind, which was responsible for the Pistols being, ironic really. So from the creativity of Hawkwind came lots of Bands, Sin after Sin my fav Priest album.
you where 14 in 1977? wtf you look great man
metal keeps people young
I was 14 in '77 too. The Kiss song cracked me up. My Sister used to crank that one.
Caturday Nite So was I, we went to see Alice Cooper that yr. I'll never forget that
Grïsu Eat your broccoli kids 😎
I was 14 in 1977 also! First concert was Kiss in summer of 1976!!
Judas Priest in the number 1 spot where they belong!
Do top Death Metal albums from 1950!!.
I think 1952 was a much better year for death metal tho...
there was no true black metal until 1953
Ah what was that album with the cellos and marching band, from back then, that essentially played death metal but without vocals or obviously without the proper instruments? The Grim Ones or something? They basically invented the blast beat and the cellos were playing Scream Bloody Gore-type riffs. My grandfather had it and it was worth a fortune because of the occult-themed titles and nude women on the cover, which of course was banned back in 52.
the revolutionary wave of the punk of postwar
That was the year Sinatra released his Black metal masterpiece "I R SATAN" which is an anagram of his name...
Coming back to this video about a year later, I think some albums worthy of mention are Triumph’s “Rock & Roll Machine”, Moxy’s “Ridin’ High”, Riot’s “Rock City”, and Bowwow’s “Signal Fire”. You could mention The Runaways’ “Queens of Noise” and Thor’s “Keep the Dogs Away” possibly too.
Hell yes to those first three!
so glad to see sin after sin on top such a heavy crushing album a real piece of art, and one of the greatest album openers of all time! SINNER!!! this album will always be relevant and brilliant
awesome list banger! thanks for the entertainment!!!
this is as good of a list and presentation as one could get
Queen - News of the World (1977) was heavy as well.
no Not heavy metal even for 1977. there not even on Metal mayhem or the head bangers ball back in the day. there more like Foreigner and Boston there more hard rock.
Stewie 😅
It's THEY'RE, not there and yes, I know that Queen was a hard rock band, but so were every other band on this list with exception to Judas Priest. Kiss was not heavy metal. Rush was not heavy metal. UFO was not heavy metal and neither were The Scorpions, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, or The Sex Pistols. In 1977, there were only 2 heavy metal bands making music (Black Sabbath and Judas Priest). MAYBE, you can throw Motorhead into the mix, but not yet in 1977. Yes, Iron Maiden were performing live, as were Saxon, but neither were studio bands. 1979 is when a lot of heavy metal bands would start to break loose (Accept, Motorhead, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and a shit ton more..mostly NWOBHM bands).
1977 was a great year for music. I was 16 and just got my license. We wouldn't have been seen dead at a KISS concert.
Absolutely love martin. MORE MARTIN PLEASE !!!
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street survivors
Queen - News of the world
AC/DC - Let there be rock
Aerosmith - Draw the line
UFO - Lights out
Very articulate reviews, a pleasure to listen to. And also instructive.
Right, I wrote under 1980 one that those songs didn't register as metal - this doesn't even sound like music to me. This is exactly the kind of stuff some sadist terrorists would use to torture me into insanity. The Priest is probably the most frustrating cause I like their classic work from Screaming for Vengence and on. Thank you for your educating work, guys, and keep them coming: it's absolutely fascinating to see how music I know and love evolved from THIS in less than one decade!
100k is so fucking close !!! Keep rocking guys 🤘
UFO - Great concert, even though Pete Way pasted out on stage for two and a half songs.
1. Sin After Sin 2. Alive II 3. Let There Be Rock 4. Bad Reputation or Taken by Force 5. Never Mind the Bollocks
A farewell to kings is amazing!!
Since when is Rush heavy metal?
Taken By Force by the Scorpions should be number 1
well most people don't even know about 70s scorpions, they just think rock you like a hurricane
Its based on votes by the fans.
BOC-Spectres, JP-Sin After Sin, ACDC-Let There Be Rock, Ted Nugent-Cat Scratch Fever, Tie for #5 are Rainbow-Long Live Rock And Roll. Scorpions-Taken By Force. Honorable mention, Riot-Rock City.
Spot on. Dissident Aggressor's riff is the genesis of thrash metal riffing. Like Martin, I would have put Lizzy's Bad Reputation on here.
wow it’s weird how time marches on. alot of the original metal heads are retirees!!! crazy.
Very well read! Martin, your continued expertise on these subjects is greatly appreciated. Great job guys, love your opinions as they are always well thought out and researched.
Thanks for pointing out that hard rock and heavy metal were the same genre in the 70s.
With all due respect Martin, I'd consider KISS' Love Gun to be fairly heavy, although not all the way through. But tunes like Love Gun, I Stole Your Love and Almost Human are pretty heavy duty to me. And I definitely agree that Scorpions' Taken By Force should have been included in the list. "Sails of Charon is kick-ass!!!
Priest RULE!!! Saw them for the 1st time last week. Among other songs they played, Sinner was definitely a highlight of the show.
never mind the bollocks should be number 1. lots of these songs covered by metal bands like megadeth and motley crue and still sounds fresh.
yeah!...old is gold....\m/
Love Gun and Lights Out, tie in at #5, that makes the KISS and UFO fan in me equally happy
Good Stuuf! I graduated High School in 1978 and yea, your right, The term "Metal" wasn't being used yet and Black Sabbath, that literally changed my life was really the only True Metal of the time. Lots of cool hard Rock that I was into but, it was cool that you mentioned The Sex Pistols and with that being said. The Dead Boys - Young, Loud, and Snotty that came out in 1977 was IMO more Hard Rock/Metal Then a couple of the mentioned bands. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Loud_and_Snotty. Funny though...I bought every album you Mentioned and stumbled on AC/DC while looking through the PUNK section of the record store and thats when I bought the masterpiece, " Let There Be Rock". Really enjoy your channel. Thank you!
Robert either your wrong or nobody explained to you heavy metal. if you think heavy metal came out in 1980 your wrong heavy metal was invented in 1970.
Um, I don't think I said that Metal came out in 1980 and I don't need anyone to explain it to me. I was there.I don't claim to know everything. I do however learn a lot from this show and this show has turned me on to a lot of bands so I'm very grateful for that and this show. Currently playing the hell out of the new "Witchery" CD. Born in 1960. I didn't hear the term "Heavy Metal" until I believe 1980 because we went to a Drive in movie and it was playing. I got into Black Sabbath in 1974 when I was at a friends smoking Mexican and some Dude came over and put "master Of Reality" in the 8 track player and it blew my mind. Life changing event for sure and the only people that listened to them, In my area anyway, were us Stoners. Master of Reality remains my favorite Sabbath Album. up until 1976-77, I listened to the hardest stuff I could, Sabbath, UFO, Thin Lizzy ,Nazareth, You get the picture no internet, radio pretty much sucked., A lot was word of mouth or buying albums because of the band name and cool album cover. I would get burned sometimes when it turned out to suck. but that is how I bought the 1st Iron Maiden Album, Motorhead "No sleep till Hammersmith" and Judas Priest "Unleashed in the East" so you would get lucky too. Actually, When the NWOBHM came, that was a life changing event as well. 1977 was when Old school PUNK happened to us, We saw The Sex Pistols on the News and shit our Pants. There was a Magazine called PUNK and thats how I found out about The Stooges, Dead Boys, Ramones, Damned, and the rest of the good PUNK. The few friends I have that were there and are still alive joke and say that after PUNK dried up it was Motorhead to the rescue lol. Anyway, I don't want to come across as a know it all. just have my opinions like all Metalheads. I am one of the Older Dudes I know that love Extreme Metal, Mainly Death Metal.
well look at what you wrote in your first post under the video the year you graduated high school. you might have heard the term heavy metal in 1980 but heavy metal was invented in 1970. I would imagiane radio was very cool back then.
I get what your saying about 1970 but no one knew it. The term Metal wasn't being used and we had no idea of what was coming. Like I mentioned, Sabbath blew my mind but, they weren't even a fraction as popular as they are today. I actually became obsessed with Motorhead back then because after I scored No Sleep, I went out and bought Bomber, Overkill, and their 1st album.Bought Ace of Spades and Iron Fist as soon as they came out. The "Fast and Philthy" era of Motorhead remains my Favorite. Some of my friends thought I was weird with my taste in music but I always sought out the Hard and Radical. As far as the radio goes, we listened to mostly Philly stations but the good stuff was usually on a special show late at nigh. The 1st time I heard Ronnie James Dio's voice was when some Station plaid the whole Rainbow, Rainbow Rising Album. It had just came out. The next day I hitch hiked to the record store. All albums were $4.99
AEROSMITH - DRAW THE LINE
that should have been on the list.
LOVE GUN is an absolute masterpiece.
Yep . 5 skulls out of 5 !!
4 anna half skulls easy
very cool and informative. would LOVE to see more of that!
« Motörhead » is my favorite Motörhead album ! It sounds so special I love it
Sin after Sin has one of my most favorite Priest songs of all time in Starbreaker. Killer track.
Queen's news of the world should be on there with sheer heart attack
matt catling everybody forgets queen, they were huge in progressing hard rock and metal
Jake Deane agreed
Sin After Sin is one of my favorite JP albums, great choice.
I used to have the same AGONY COLUMN shirt. They were the GREATEST! I remember buying it at Liberty Lunch when they opened for Dead Horse! I'm thinking this was in 1991 or 1992. I probably have seen them at least 20 times. Their live shows were AMAZING. I'm STILL looking for my demo tape that had "Walk the Night" and "4X4". Those versions were INCREDIBLE.
What about riot rock city?
This is great! Looks like I got some album searching to do!
Great video. Good commentary, Martin.
Here I was thinking I was the only one that remembered the days when we didn't even call it metal...lol. Great list, solid presentation.
first lp from CHEAP TRICK.......not heavy but rick nielsen's guitar sounded so good in this one ..not to forget the perfect production from Jack Douglas who also produced lennon and rocks from aerosmith ...not bad at all ....amen
Spectres from Blue Oyster Cult is a strong choice for the top five of '77. That and Rush's A Farewell to Kings are two of my all time favorite albums.
Here before all the metal professors come to give us their unquestionable opinions on what is and what is not metal
I like your nickname
The only metal band is Stalaggh. The rest are poseurs. Especially Black Sabbath.
snek why did you delete the part about Black Sabbath
Thought it wasn't that funny. I'll add it back
snek thank you, you are a good person, I wish you luck and success in all of your endeavors
Badass Agony Column T-shirt!!!! Greetings from Texas!!
One of my characters thinks it is the 70’s so hes happy to watch these videos! 😊.
Wow, no mention of one of my all time favorites, RIOT's "Rock City"
pretty awesome list hehe although IDK if its studio albums only it it was Love Gun is fine lol Kiss is my Favorite band so I'll be a little biased hehe but it it's not only studio then I would've gone with Alive 2 for sure
Also Alive 2 has 5 studio recordings, so I think it still qualifies and its much heavier than Love Gun.
The best one is the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
David Delgado lol
David it's disco but it's a good album. the category a few months ago was the best heavy metal album from 1977.
Disco doesn't qualify neither does hard rock. but it's a good album.
Haha! I know. I was just fooling around. :)
The correct answer is “Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk” by Meco, and everyone knows it.
David delgado take your mirror ball and bell bottoms. And go stand in the corner
Farewell to Kings is my absolute favourite RUSH album!
I love 70s Metal/Rock...Popoff's right....Metal and hard rock was one and the same back then, These bands didn't even consider themselves Hard Rock or Metal, they thought what they were playing was extremely loud Rock n' Roll music, I love the guitar and drum sounds from this era, crisp and dry and in your face....We owe a lot to these bands!
1-sin after sin...2-motorhead...3-let there be rock...4-expect no mercy...5-too you all
Love to see a video on the future of metal
I love sin after sin that's an awesome album I even love Sad Wings of Destiny
I know this is off-topic, but I tried to pick a newer video in order to catch your attention. I've been watching some of your top 5's, and it hit me: why don't you have the viewers vote toward the end of the year for their top 5 LIVE bands!!