Sirens is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released on April 11, 1983. The music on this album is heavier than in later Savatage albums, where the band developed their own style of progressive metal. It has also been cited as a key inspiration for the then-burgeoning thrash metal scene.
Gates to Purgatory is the debut studio album by German heavy metal band Running Wild, released in 1984. It predates their piracy themes and has mostly satanically-influenced lyrics but also features songs with anarchic and libertarian themes. It was in part of Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke's studies in theology. He left the band soon after the album's release to become a vicar.
Branded and Exiled is the second studio album by German heavy metal band Running Wild, released in 1985.
After the War is the seventh solo studio album by the Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, released on 25 January 1989 by Virgin Records.
Live Bites is a live album by the German hard rock band Scorpions, released in 1995.
Under Jolly Roger is the third studio album by German heavy metal band Running Wild. It marked a stylistic turning point in which the group dropped the Satanic imagery they had previously used and adopted the pirate theme they would become known for, creating and influencing the later named pirate metal subgenre of heavy metal in the 2000s in the process. The album's title comes from the famous Jolly Roger, the flag used by pirates to identify their ships.
The Last Command is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released on November 9, 1985. The album was produced by Spencer Proffer, who was perhaps best known for producing the six-time Platinum selling album Metal Health by Quiet Riot in 1983.
Abominog is the fourteenth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in March 1982 by Bronze Records in the United Kingdom, and on July 12, 1982 by Mercury Records in the United States. It was their first album without keyboardist Ken Hensley. The album was critically acclaimed and fairly commercially successful, due in part to the band retooling and updating their sound to a contemporary style and delivering a "punchier, more pop metal era-appropriate effort.
Contraband was a short-lived supergroup/side project that included members of several famous rock bands from the 1980s, such as Shark Island, McAuley Schenker Group, Ratt, L.A. Guns, and Vixen.
The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent is the ninth studio album by English hard rock band UFO, released in January 1981. Their first to be entirely self-produced. Its song "Lonely Heart" was a minor UK hit.
Rock Until You Drop is the first full-length album by British heavy metal band Raven, released in 1981. The album was the first of many heavy metal studio albums issued by British independent label Neat Records. It reached position No. 63 in the UK Albums Chart.
Blazon Stone is the sixth album by German heavy metal band Running Wild, released in 1991. According to Rolf Kasparek in an interview to a Brazilian heavy metal/hard rock magazine, Blazon Stone is the best-selling album by the band, in the 1990s. It is also their first album with both guitarist Axel Morgan and drummer AC.
Spellbound is the second album by British heavy metal band Tygers of Pan Tang, produced in 1981 on MCA. Spellbound is the first of two full length Tygers of Pan Tang albums to feature John Sykes as second guitarist, who later joined Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake. It is also the first album with vocalist Jon Deverill. The album was re-issued in 1989 in a double-LP package with Wild Cat and on CD in 1997 with bonus tracks.
Metal Heart is the sixth studio album by German heavy metal band Accept, released in 1985. Although the group had recorded before at Dierks-Studios, this was the first album produced by Dieter Dierks himself. It marked the return of guitarist Jörg Fischer after a two year absence, with Herman Frank having been his replacement. This album was a cautious attempt to crack the lucrative American market with more accessible songcraft and emphasis on hooks and melodies. Although critically panned at the time, today Metal Heart is often considered by fans as one of the band's best records. It contains several of their classic songs such as "Metal Heart" and "Living for Tonite". The band also makes a detour into jazz metal territory with the unusual song "Teach Us to Survive".
Play Dirty is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal band, Girlschool, released on Bronze Records in 1983 and produced by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea from the hard rock band Slade. It was the first Girlschool album not to enter the UK Top 40 album chart and signalled a general downturn in their career, along with an inclination towards a softer rock sound. Kelly Johnson left the band soon after the release and an intended full US-tour never materialised. In the UK, two singles were lifted from the album, each having a picture-sleeve:
Shock Waves is a compilation album by Japanese heavy metal band Vow Wow. The album was released in 1986 in the USA and contains most of the songs from the Tony Platt-produced album III (1986), with the addition of "Beat of Metal Motion" and "You Know What I Mean" from the albums of 1984 and 1985 respectively.
No Limits is the sixth studio album by German heavy metal band U.D.O. It was recorded and mixed by Stefan Kaufmann at Roxx Studio in Pulheim. No Limits is the last album to feature guitarist Jürgen Graf.
Holy is the seventh studio album by German heavy metal band U.D.O. It was recorded and mixed by Stefan Kaufmann at Roxx Studio in Pulheim and is the band's first album with guitarist Igor Gianola, who had played with Ronni Le Tekrø in Wild Willy's Gang. The band recruited drummer Lorenzo Milani after the release of the album; in the liner notes "guess who" replaces the name of the drummer.
Loud, Wild and Heavy is the sophomore release by the United States speed metal band Hawaii.
Running Wild is the fifth studio album by the British heavy metal band Girlschool, released on Mercury Records in 1985.
