History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Ratt

Ratt was unfairly grouped into the L.A. Hair Metal scene of early 80s, but they were much more than that.

Ratt's brash, melodic heavy metal made the Los Angeles quintet one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-'80s. The group had its origins in the '70s group Mickey Ratt, which had evolved into Ratt by 1983; at that time the band featured vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Robbin Crosby, guitarist Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier, and drummer Bobby Blotzer.

The band released their self-titled first album independently in 1983, which led to a major label contract with Atlantic Records. Their first album under this deal, 1984's Out of the Cellar, was a major success, reaching the American Top Ten and selling over three million copies. "Round and Round," the first single drawn from the album, hit number 12, proving the band had pop crossover potential. While their second album, 1985's Invasion of Your Privacy, didn't match the multi-platinum figures of Out of the Cellar, it also reached the Top Ten and sold over a million copies.

By that time, the band could sell-out concerts across the country and were a staple on MTV and AOR radio. Both Dancin' Undercover (1986) and Reach for the Sky (1988) continued the band's platinum streak and their audience, had only slipped slightly by the time of their final album, 1990's Detonator.

In 1992, Pearcy left Ratt to form his own band, Arcade, and Ratt was quiet for most of the 90s. But by the late nineties, the public's interest in '80s rock began to perk up, leading to Ratt reuniting in time for 1997's Collage. Two years later, Ratt's second self-titled release of their recording career was issued, following the same formula as its predecessor.

Pearcy left Ratt for the second time, but the band tried to stay on without him. The group soon disolved and in 2002, Crosby died of AIDS after years of heroin abuse.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Motley Crue

Mötley Crüe's beginning can be traced back to 1981, when bassist Nikki Sixx (born Frank Ferrana) and drummer "Tommy Lee" Bass decided to leave the bands they were in at the time and pursue a new project together. Bob "Mick Mars" Deal was hired to play guitar and "Vince Neil" Wharton was added as vocalist.

The band went through several name changes before Mars presented them with Mottley Krue, recalling a time when his previous band was described as a "motley looking crew." After agreeing on this name and altering the spelling somewhat, the newly formed group began to play at local clubs and soon became cult favorites, known for their unique stage theatrics.

The band soon met up with Allan Coffman, who financed their first album, Too Fast for Love, on their own small, independent Lethur Records label; the record sold a surprising 20,000 copies. After signing to Elektra Records, the band released Shout at the Devil in 1983, which featured the hit video "Looks That Kill." The record went platinum.

Theatre of Pain, released in 1985, soared up the charts, making the band stars and producing their first Top 40 hit with a cover of Brownsville Station's "Smokin' in the Boys' Room."

After a short hiatus, the band regrouped with Neil to film a music video for "Home Sweet Home"; the first hit power ballad to be aired on MTV, it became their most requested music video for four months straight.

A year later, Mötley Crüe released their fourth album, Girls Girls Girls. The uncensored video for the popular title track was immediately banned from television, not airing until a slightly cleaned-up version was released. The group finally embarked on their own tour, but the European dates were canceled when Sixx suffered a drug overdose and nearly lost his life.

Over the next year, all four members sought out drug rehabilitation and Mötley Crüe remained out of the spotlight. They returned, clean and sober, in 1989 with Dr. Feelgood, which hit number one on the Billboard charts due to the strong singles "Kickstart My Heart," "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)," "Without You," and the infamous title-track, which became their first Top Ten single.

In 1992, sessions for Mötley Crüe's next album turned ugly, and Neil was fired and replaced with vocalist John Corabi, formerly of the Scream. The 1994 product was Mötley Crüe, which peaked at number seven in the U.S. and eventually went gold, but was ultimately a commercial disappointment (as was a supporting tour).

In early 1997, Corabi was fired and Neil rehired for the much-hyped Generation Swine. (Corabi resurfaced alongside former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick in the group Union.) Though Generation Swine opened at number four, it was sharply criticized and fell off the charts before long.

Motley Crue released New Tattoo in 2000, but soon after personal tensions caused the band to split. The group reunited for a tour in 2005.

Chart History: Boston

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Boston. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:

1976: Boston (No.3)
1978: Don't Look Back (No.1)
1987: Third Stage (No.1)
1994: Walk On (No.7)
2002: Corporate America (No.42)

Singles:
1. More Than A Feeling (No.5)
2. Long Time (No.22)
3. Peace Of Mind (No.38)
4. Don't Look Back (No.4)
5. A Man I'll Never Be (No.31)
6. Feelin' Satisfied (No.46)
7. Amanda (No.1)
8. We're Ready (No.9)
9. Can'tcha Say (You Believe In Me) (No.20)
10. I Need Your Love (No.51)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Celtic Frost

Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and to a lesser degree, the sometimes cartoonish Mercyful Fate), Frost's enduring influence on Europe's heavy metal landscape is arguably comparable to Metallica's standing in America.

Thomas Gabriel Fischer was the product of a broken home and a less than financially secure upbringing — a rare predicament in his native Switzerland, but one that instilled in him the burning ambition and outcast mentality usually required in the formative years of a rock star. Fresh out of high school, the teenager was already enamored with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and particularly high-energy trios like black metal pioneers Venom and proto-thrashers Raven.

Inspired by that movement's D.I.Y. credo, Fischer renamed himself Tom Warrior, and along with bassist Steve Warrior and drummer Bruce Day, formed his first band, Hellhammer, in the fall of 1982.

Less than a year later, and though still raw beyond description, the band's demos — now featuring bassist Martin Eric Ain and drummer Stephen Priestly — had become surprisingly popular within the underground tape-trading community.

But Warrior and Ain felt that Hellhammer had already run its course and that the group's extreme nature was too limiting for their increasingly mature compositions. Thus, with their gothic, pseudo-satanic image already coming into focus, in May 1984 they evolved into Celtic Frost.By October, the trio was in Berlin recording its first album, Morbid Tales, which cemented the group's position as one of Europe's most promising metal acts thanks to its still relatively straightforward — but nevertheless excellent — thrash metal attack.

Now growing from strength to strength, Warrior decided to replace the increasingly unmotivated Ain with bassist Dominic Steiner and Priestly with American drummer, Reid St. Mark for their second album, To Mega Therion. But he soon had second thoughts, and Ain returned after the album's completion that fall.

On To Mega Therion, Warrior had begun experimenting with different musical styles (especially classical music and electronica), leading certain journalists to describe the band's direction as "avant-garde" metal. Released in 1987, Into the Pandemonium would substantiate these claims and then some, introducing an unconventional collision of death metal brutality and symphonic overtones on its way to becoming one of the classic extreme metal albums of all time.

Now at the peak of their powers, Frost headed for America to undertake their biggest tour ever, but trouble was right around the corner. Personality clashes, egos and substance abuse saw a succession of lineup changes and unbelievable the band dumped their heavy thrash sound in exchange for a pop metal-glam look and sound.

The album Cold Lake, released in 1988, was a disaster and the group called it a day in 1992. Warrior would resurface in the mid-nineties with his group Apollyon Sun.

Warrior once again connected with Martin Ain, and quietly set about planning Celtic Frost's resurrection. Working mostly in seclusion and avoiding all external intervention or financing, the duo — plus new drummer Franco Sesa — slowly recorded enough material for a comeback album to be titled Monotheist, which they eventually licensed to Century Media and released to much well-deserved fanfare in early 2006 — just over 20 years after their debut.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Helloween

Alongside Switzerland's Celtic Frost and Sweden's Bathory, Germany's Helloween were possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s.

By taking the hard riffing and minor key melodies handed down from metal masters like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, then infusing them with the speed and energy introduced by the burgeoning thrash metal movement, Helloween crystallized the sonic ingredients of what is now known as power metal.

Helloween were formed in Hamburg, Germany, by guitarists Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath, bassist Markus Grosskopf, and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. Originally named Second Hell then Iron Fist before morphing into Helloween in 1982, they signed with Germany's own fledgling Noise International two years later. With Hansen also handling vocals and the bulk of songwriting duties, the quartet recorded its self-titled debut mini-album in early 1985.

The full-length Walls of Jericho and the Judas maxi-single followed the year after, and the media was soon buzzing over the band's thrash-fueled interpretation of classic heavy metal. Countless fans across continental Europe were also fast converting to the band's cause, but Hansen remained dissatisfied with his singing ability, and felt Helloween needed a proper frontman in order to achieve their full potential. Enter teenage vocalist Michael Kiske, whose high-pitched delivery followed in the footsteps of previous heavy metal banshees like Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson.

Helloween were ready for the big time. Returning to the studio in early 1987, the band emerged in May with Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1, a landmark recording that remains arguably the single most influential power metal album to date. Its volatile combination of power and melody would inspire an entire generation of metal bands, and transformed Helloween into bona fide superstars all over Europe and the U.K., even making tentative inroads into America at the time.

The band toured relentlessly for the rest of the year and into 1988 (including a lengthy opening stint with Iron Maiden), but despite this manic work schedule, they still found time to record the aptly titled Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2. Released in September 1988, the record was another blockbuster that crashed the U.K. Top 30, but its uneven songwriting (especially from longtime leader Kai Hansen) revealed the beginnings of a major band crisis.

Hanson left Helloween in 1989 to form the power metal band Gamma Ray and Kiske was fired in 1993, ending any chance for superstardom for the band. The group still trudges on with various lineup changes and still remain a solid attraction in Europe.

Chart History: Judas Priest

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Judas Priest. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1978: Stained Class (No.173)
1979: Hell Bent For Leather (No.128)
1979: Unleashed In The East (No.70)
1980: British Steel (No.34)
1981: Point Of Entry (No.39)
1982: Screaming For Vengeance (No.17)
1984: Defenders Of The Faith (No.18)
1986: Turbo (No.17)
1987: Priest Live (No.38)
1988: Ram It Down (No.31)
1990: Painkiller (No.26)
1997: Jugulator (No.82)
2001: Demolition (No.165)
2005: Angel Of Retribution (No.13)

Singles:
1. You've Got Another Thing Comin' (No.67)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Anthrax

Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax was responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. Combining the speed and fury of hardcore punk with the prominent guitars and vocals of heavy metal, they helped create a new subgenre of heavy metal on their early albums.

After their first album, Fistful of Metal, singer Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello joined a lineup featuring guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz, along with drummer Charlie Benante.

Anthrax arguably became the leaders of speed metal. As the '80s became the '90s, they also began to increase their experiments with hip-hop, culminating in a tour with Public Enemy in 1991 and a joint re-recording of PE's classic "Bring the Noise."

After their peak period of the late '80s, Anthrax kicked Belladonna out of the band in 1992 and replaced him with ex-Armored Saint vocalist John Bush — a singer that was gruffer and deeper, fitting most metal conventions perfectly. Subsequently, their sound became less unique and their audience shrank slightly as a consequence.

After frequent lineup changes and lukewarm album releases, the original lineup reunited in 2005 for a tour and the CD/DVD retrospective Anthrology: No Hit Wonders [1985-1991]. Anthrax also issued Alive 2, recorded during their summer 2005 reunion tour.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Megadeth

After he left Metallica in 1983, guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine formed the thrash metal quartet Megadeth. Though Megadeth followed the basic blueprint of Metallica's relentless attack, Mustaine's group distinguished themselves from his earlier band by lessening the progressive rock influences, adding an emphasis on instrumental skills, speeding the tempo up slightly, and making the instrumental attack harsher.

Throughout Megadeth's many lineup changes, the two core members were bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine (born September 13, 1961), who was the band's official leader. Mustaine grew up in the suburbs of Southern California, where he was raised by his mother in a broken home; frequently, his mother left him to be raised by aunts and uncles, who never encouraged his musical inclinations and often belittled him for his fondness for heavy metal.

In 1981, he formed Metallica with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Mustaine spent two years with Metallica, developing a strong cult following in California's underground metal scene, before he was kicked out of the group in 1983, allegedly over his substance abuse. Immediately following his firing, he formed Megadeth with Ellefson, Slayer guitarist Kerry King, and drummer Lee Rauch. This lineup was extremely short-lived, and Mustaine and Ellefson soon recruited guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson.

For the next few years, Megadeth toured and gained a following, signing with the independent label Combat in late 1984. The following year, the group released their debut, Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!, which received strong reviews, not only in metal-oriented publications, but also in mainstream music magazines. The album sold very well for an independent release, which attracted the attention of major record labels. By the end of the year, the group had signed with Capitol. Megadeth's first major-label album, Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?, was released in the fall of 1986. Like its predecessor, Peace Sells was greeted by strong reviews and sales; it eventually went platinum.

In the years immediately following the release of So Far, So Good...So What!, Mustaine was impaired by his drug addictions. In early 1990, he was arrested for driving under the influence and entered a rehabilitation program.

Mustaine brought on guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. This lineup recorded Megadeth's fourth and most progressive album, Rust in Peace. The record peaked at number 23 on the American charts and went platinum. 1991 saw Metallica break through to the mainstream, and sensing the possibility for similar success, Mustaine followed suit in stripping down the band's sound, though it remained as technically perfectionistic as Rust in Peace. The result, Countdown to Extinction, was released in 1992, entering the charts at number two; the record went double platinum and became the band's biggest hit, confirming that they had retained their audience in the wake of grunge.

Megadeth, albeit with many lineup changes, continues to record and tour. The groups latest album is United Abominations.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Metallica

Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s, responsible for bringing the music back to Earth. Instead of playing the usual rock star games of metal stars of the early '80s, the band looked and talked like they were from the street. Metallica expanded the limits of thrash, using speed and volume not for their own sake, but to enhance their intricately structured compositions.

The release of 1983's Kill 'Em All marked the beginning of the legitimization of heavy metal's underground, bringing new complexity and depth to thrash metal. With each album, the band's playing and writing improved; James Hetfield developed a signature rhythm playing that matched his growl, while lead guitarist Kirk Hammett became one of the most copied guitarists in metal. Lars Ulrich's thunderous, yet complex, drumming clicked in perfectly with Cliff Burton's innovative bass playing. After releasing their masterpiece Master of Puppets in 1986, tragedy struck the band when their tour bus crashed while traveling in Sweden, killing Burton.

When the band decided to continue, Jason Newsted was chosen to replace Burton; two years later, the band released the conceptually ambitious ...And Justice for All, which hit the Top Ten without any radio play and very little support from MTV. But Metallica completely crossed over into the mainstream with 1991's Metallica, alos known as the Black Album, which found the band trading in their long compositions for more concise song structures; it resulted in a number one album that sold over seven million copies in the U.S. alone. The band launched a long, long tour which kept them on the road for nearly two years.

By the '90s, Metallica had changed the rules for all heavy metal bands; they were the leaders of the genre, respected not only by headbangers, but by mainstream record buyers and critics. No other heavy metal band has ever been able to pull off such a trick. However, the group lost some members of their core audience with their long-awaited follow-up to Metallica, 1996's Load. For that albu the band changed their image to a more alt-rock one and cut their hair, pissing their hardcore fans off in the process.

In January 2001, bassist Jason Newsted announced his amicable departure from the band. Shortly after the band appeared at the ESPN awards in April of the same year, Hetfield, Hammett, and Ulrich entered the recording studio to begin work on their next album, with producer Bob Rock lined up to handle bass duties for the sessions.

In late summer 2001, the band's recording sessions (and all other band-related matters) were put on hold as Hetfield entered an undisclosed rehab facility for alcoholism and other addictions. He completed treatment and rejoined the band and they headed back into the studio in 2002 to record St. Anger, released in mid-2003. The recording of St. Anger was capped with the search for a permanent replacement for Newstead. After a long audition process, former Ozzy Osbourne/Suicidal Tendencies bass player Robert Trujillo was selected and joined Metallica for their 2003/2004 world tour.

Chart History: Thin Lizzy

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on Thin Lizzy. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1976: Jailbreak (No.18)
1976: Johnny The Fox (No.52)
1977: Bad Reputation (No.39)
1978: Live And Dangerous (No.84)
1979: Black Rose/A Rock Legend (No.81)
1980: Chinatown (No.120)
1982: Renegade (No.157)
1983: Thunder And Lightning (No.159)
1984: Live And Dangerous (No.185)

Singles:
1. The Boys Are Back In Town (No.12)
2. Cowboy Song (No.77)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Exodus

Once the kings of the Bay Area metal scene (widely accepted as the birthplace of thrash), Exodus were unceremoniously demoted from their post with the arrival of Los Angeles' Metallica in 1982. Sadly, with a little more luck, the group may have occupied the role of, say, Slayer as the purest purveyors of ultra-thrash, but while they continued to be perceived as a major influence by younger bands and proceeded to carve out a career of their own over the next decade, Exodus were ultimately fated to be the ultimate also-rans of the genre they helped spawn.

Formed in 1981 by singer Paul Baloff, guitarists Gary Holt and Kirk Hammett, bassist Geoff Andrews, and drummer Tom Hunting, Exodus were heavily influenced by Motörhead and New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Raven, whose lessons they combined with the raw, do-it-yourself aesthetic of the prolific Bay Area punk scene to create thrash metal.

Their 1982 demo, Whipping Queen and Death and Domination, became wildly popular on the all-important underground tape-trading circuit and solidified their standing as the Bay Area's first thrash champions. They lost their numero uno standing a year later, however, when core member Kirk Hammett defected to Metallica, who then raced ahead of all competitors in their mission to bring thrash to the world. Undaunted, Exodus drafted guitarist Rick Hunolt and replaced bassist Andrews with Rob McKillop before signing with Torrid Records, for whom they recorded their Bonded by Blood debut in 1984. A would-be landmark of the genre, the album languished unreleased for over a year due to business problems, and by the time it was finally released by Combat Records in 1985, its impact had been severely dulled by the quick evolution of their peers.

These hardships also led to the ousting of vocalist Baloff, who was replaced by ex-Testament singer Steve Souza as the band continued to release albums throughout the 80s and 90s with only a slight impact.

Then, ten years after his departure from the band, Paul Baloff rejoined most of the classic Bonded by Blood lineup for a series of gigs in 1997. A live album entitled Another Lesson in Violence was issued by Century Media to memorialize their homecoming show in San Francisco, and the band continued to perform sporadically over the next few years until tragedy struck. Baloff suddenly passed away on February 2, 2002, after suffering a massive stroke and slipping into a coma three days earlier.

The reunion die was cast however, and after mourning their fallen friend, Exodus's "semiclassic" formation of Holt, Hunolt, Hunting, McKillop, and a returning Steve Souza began working on what would become the band's sixth studio album: 2004's Nuclear Blast-released Tempo of the Damned and 2005's Shovel Headed Kill Machine.

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We will make every effort to find out what's wrong and hopefully, be back up and posting videos on Monday.

Thanks for understanding and have a great weekend!

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Quiet Riot

For a very brief moment, Quiet Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop chart (a claim that greatly depends on one's exact definition of heavy metal), the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their monster 1983 smash album Metal Health.

But Quiet Riot's road to success had in fact been long and arduous, and when their star power subsequently began too fade, their fall from grace was ironically accelerated by the man who was most responsible for taking them to the top: singer Kevin DuBrow. Unable to suppress his infamous motor mouth from assaulting many of Quiet Riot's peers, DuBrow gradually alienated his fans and fellow musicians, and in the face of plummeting record sales, faced the iniquity of being fired from his own band.

The dust eventually settled and DuBrow was able to resurrect Quiet Riot in the 1990s, but despite their best efforts, the once chart-topping band would remain forever exiled to the fringes of pop conscience, and what might once have been a full chapter in rock history has instead become little more than a footnote.

The story of Quiet Riot begins with vocalist Kevin DuBrow and guitarist Randy Rhoads, who started the band in 1975 after disbanding an earlier project named Violet Fox, and completed their first lineup with bassist Kelli Garni and drummer Drew Forsyth. Along with local scene contemporaries like Van Halen, Xciter, and London, the band thrilled audiences packing the L.A. nightclubs, but found it difficult to land a record deal during the disco-dominated late '70s.

Eventually securing a contract with Columbia Records in Japan, they recorded two moderately successful albums — a 1978 eponymous debut and 1979's Quiet Riot II, featuring new bassist Rudy Sarzo — before losing Rhoads (and later Sarzo) to Ozzy Osbourne's band (and later a tragic plane accident, rock & roll martyrdom, immortality, etc.).

Quiet Riot disbanded and DuBrow formed a new band under his own name, working with several musicians over the next few years before signing with independent Pasha Records, reverting to the Quiet Riot moniker, and entering the studio with new guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Chuck Wright to start work on a new album. The year was 1982 and, following Randy Rhoads' well-documented demise, former henchman Sarzo quit Ozzy, pushed Wright out of the way, and brought friend and drummer Frankie Banali into the fold to complete the lineup and sessions for what would become 1983's Metal Health.

Driven by the irresistible double whammy of the title track's muscular bassline (reputedly played by Wright before his dismissal) and a raucous rendition of the old Slade chestnut "Cum on Feel the Noize," the album stormed up the U.S. charts, duly reaching the number one spot and going platinum five times over in the process. Their unexpected success shocked everyone, not least of which the bandmembers, who found it pretty hard to cope with sudden stardom and the pitfalls that came with it.

Pressured to capitalize on their hot streak, Quiet Riot was rushed back into the studio to whip together 1984's Condition Critical, but unsurprisingly, the album was little more than a weak carbon copy of Metal Health — even sinking so low as to include another chart-ready Slade cover in "Mama Weer All Crazee Now." Fans were unimpressed, and panic set in as the band watched the record quickly sliding off the charts to make way for fresher, up-and-coming L.A. glam metal contenders like Mötley Crüe and Ratt. An incensed DuBrow went on a rampage, incessantly slagging fellow metal bands, members of the press, and his own record company, in the process quite literally burning most every bridge he'd worked so hard to build.

Quiet Riot was never the same and eventually, DuBrow drove his fellow bandmates away with his mouth. Sarzo joined Whitesnake and Banali hooked up with Blackie Lawless and W.A.S.P.

Chart History: AC/DC

Chart History is a feature that highlights a hard rock/heavy metal act and how well the duo/group or individual performed on the Billboard charts.

Today we focus on AC/DC. Here is a rundown of all singles and albums that charted while the group was together. Greatest hits and other compilations are not included -only studio and live albums are.

Albums:
1977: Let There Be Rock (No.154)
1978: Powerage (No.133)
1978: If You Want Blood You Got It (No.133)
1979: Highway To Hell (No.17)
1980: Back In Black (No.4)
1981: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (No.3) Released in 1976
1981: For Those About To Rock We Salute You (No.1)
1982: High Voltage (No.146) Released in 1974
1983: Flick Of The Switch (No.20)
1985: Fly On The Wall (No.32)
1986: Who Made Who (No.33)
1988: Blow Up Your Video (No.12)
1990: The Razor's Edge (No.2)
1992: AC/DC Live (No.15)
1995: Ballbreaker (No.4)
2000: Stiff Upper Lip (No.7)

Singles:
1. Highway To Hell (No.47)
2. You Shook Me All Night Long (No.35)
3. Back In Black (No.37)
4. Let's Get It Up (No.44)
5. Guns For Hire (No.84)
6. Moneytalks (No.23)
7. Big Gun (No.65)

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: MSG

After stints in the Scorpions and UFO, guitarist Michael Schenker decided to form his own band, dubbed fittingly the Michael Schenker Group.

While the group got off to a promising start with such strong releases as 1980's Michael Schenker Group, 1981's MSG, plus 1982's Assault Attack and One Night at Budokan, interest eventually evaporated, as it became obvious with each subsequent release that Schenker had set his sights at the top of the charts rather than sticking to good old-fashioned hard rock/heavy metal. Constant lineup fluctuation didn't help, either.1982 saw Schenker get an invite from Ozzy Osbourne to join his group immediately after Randy Rhoads' tragic death, but like the Aerosmith bid several years earlier, it failed to pan out.

Despite failing to issue a big commercial breakthrough on his own (although 1989's pop-metal outing, Save Yourself, credited to the McAuley-Schenker Group, came close), the guitarists in such renowned groups as Metallica and Def Leppard were quick to voice Schenker's influence. The early '90s saw Schenker appear with Ratt on a best-forgotten episode of MTV's popular Unplugged series, in addition to participating in a one-off pop-metal "supergroup," Contraband (which included members of such groups as Shark Island, Vixen, Ratt, and L.A. Guns), who issued a lone self-titled debut in 1991.

Schenker rejoined UFO in 1993 for s hort-lived reunion and album, before going back to MSG and his solo career. He has consistently toured and released new material throughout the decade.

History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Manowar

Manowar was formed by ex-Dictators and Shakin' Street guitarist Ross the Boss. The original lineup included vocalist Eric Adams, bassist Joey DeMaio, and drummer Donnie Hamzik. The group's kitschy approach was designed to be the raw, primal, macho antithesis of classic rock.

Their music was based on raw, aggressive riffs, and their lyrics were mostly about fighting, violence, and death. The group dressed in animal skins in concert to underline the point. Their first album featured a solo bass arrangement of the "William Tell Overture," and the press branded the group as a joke.

The band tried to become even more extreme with each album and usually ended up dropped from their labels. They tried to take a more commercial direction in the late '80s, but this approach failed too, and Ross the Boss quit in disgust in 1988; undeterred, Manowar continued recording into the next decade, issuing records including 1992's Triumph of Steel, 1994's Hell of Steel, and 1996's Louder Than Hell.

With each release and subsequent tour, Manowar began to build a devoted fan base, especially in Europe, where the group regularly sold out stadiums. A flurry of live DVDs followed, each boasting hours of music, interviews, and Viking machismo. The band returned to the studio in 2002 for Warriors of the World, followed by the Sons of Odin EP in 2006 and Gods of War in 2007.