Don't Break the Oath is the second studio album by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate, released on 7 September 1984 through Roadrunner Records.
Nico is a compilation album by American rock band Blind Melon, released in 1996 by Capitol Records. The album was released after lead singer Shannon Hoon's cocaine overdose that resulted in his death in 1995. The album was named for his daughter, Nico Blue, and the proceeds arising from album sales were placed in a college trust for her. It features unreleased tracks, recordings started by Hoon and finished by the band, unreleased versions of previous songs and the cover songs "The Pusher" (Steppenwolf) and "John Sinclair".
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.
A Change of Seasons is the first EP by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, first released on September 19, 1995, through East West Records. It comprises the 23-minute title track and a collection of live cover songs performed at a fan club concert on January 31, 1995, at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London.
W.A.S.P. is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released August 17, 1984. The album has been known under three different names; the spine of the original European vinyl release had Winged Assassins printed on it, while early cassette releases of the album had the name of the album's first track, "I Wanna Be Somebody", printed in bold letters on the cover. The album is officially entitled simply W.A.S.P., which it is typically referred to as.
Hail to England is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Manowar, released in 1984 on Music for Nations.
Shrinking Violet is the sixth studio album by glam metal band L.A. Guns, first released on June 1, 1999, through Perris Records, and is the only L.A. Guns album with singer Jizzy Pearl. The album was reissued, with bonus tracks and new artwork, on May 24, 2010, through Favored Nations. The album was produced by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke who also provided additional guitars on the track "Dreamtime".
Negatron is the eighth studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Voivod, released on November 21, 1995 through Hypnotic Records worldwide and Mausoleum Records in the US. It is the first studio album not to feature original singer Denis "Snake" Bélanger, who temporarily left the band in 1994, with bass player Eric Forrest assuming vocal duties for the recording. The album also features Foetus frontman JG Thirlwell as a guest vocalist on the final track "D.N.A. ".
Death Penalty is the debut studio album by British heavy metal band Witchfinder General. It was released in 1982 on Heavy Metal Records. The album received some criticism for the cover photograph, which featured topless model Joanne Latham. The photograph had been taken in the yard of St Mary the Blessed Virgin Church in Enville, Staffordshire, without the permission of the local Reverend. The album was originally released on LP and picture disc and was later reissued on CD. Pictured on the cover is Phil Cope, Zeeb Parkes, Graham Ditchfield and a member of their road crew. While Peter Hinton is credited with producing this recording, the writers Phil Cope and Zeeb Parkes always felt the credit should have gone to the engineer Robin George.
Age of Consent is the fourth full-length album by the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele. The album took eight months to complete, a change from Noble Savage which was recorded in only a few weeks, and was finally released in October 1988. It received scarce promotion and distribution by their small label, resulting in very low sales. The songs of this album follow in style and content the music of the previous album Noble Savage, adding a more polished sound and production. At the time of release, the band faced legal and financial setbacks that brought to the unofficial disbandment of Virgin Steele. Joe O'Reilly, although credited for playing bass on the album, was ill at the time of recording and was ghosted by DeFeis and Pursino.
Life Among the Ruins is the fifth full-length studio album by US heavy metal band Virgin Steele. It was released in 1993, after almost five years of inactivity. The song "Snakeskin Voodoo Man" was present only in the American release and was instead released as a single in 1992 in Europe, at the same time of the VHS Tale of the Snakeskin Voodoo Man. The VHS featured videos for "Snakeskin Voodoo Man", "Love Is Pain", "Invitation-I Dress in Black" and "Cage of Angels-Never Believed in Good-Bye", interviews and backstage footage. The music of this album is bluesy hard rock and melodic metal, more similar to early Whitesnake's recordings than the epic power metal of albums like Noble Savage and the following The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part I. This is the first album with bassist Rob DeMartino, who replaced Joe O'Reilly, retired from the scene.
The House of Atreus Act I, released in 1999, is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele. It has the subtitle A Barbaric-Romantic Opera. This album is the first part of a metal opera inspired by the Oresteia, a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus which concerns the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. The music was intended to be the soundtrack for theatrical shows, with actors impersonating the characters of the tragedy. The metal opera was actually performed under the name "Klytaimnestra - The House Of Atreus" in European theatres from 1999 to 2001, with the production of the Memmingen Opera House company and Landestheater Production.
One Nation Underground is the title of the first studio album released by Hawaii, a speed metal band from the United States.
Loud, Wild and Heavy is the sophomore release by the United States speed metal band Hawaii.
Guardians of the Flame is the second album from New York power metal band Virgin Steele, released in 1983 by Music for Nations. Sanctuary reissued the album in 2002 with songs previously released in the EP Wait for the Night, a live recording, and an interview with the band.
Long Live the Loud is the third studio album by the Canadian speed metal band Exciter, released through Music for Nations in 1985 and re-released through Megaforce Records in March 2005 with the EP Feel the Knife.
Unveiling the Wicked is the fourth studio album by Canadian speed metal band Exciter, released through Music for Nations in 1986 and reissued through Megaforce Records in 2005. Is the first album without the original guitarist John Ricci, replaced by Brian McPhee.
Noble Savage is the third studio album of the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele, released in 1985 by Cobra Records. The album was reissued in 1997 on CD by Noise Records with six bonus tracks. The remastered edition of 2008 by Dockyard 1 added two other extra tracks. In May 2011, the album was reissued once more by Steamhammer Records, a subsidiary of SPV with the same track list as the 1997 release, but with an added bonus CD containing 13 additional tracks.
Devil Soldier is the second studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was released in 1982. The American Daniel McClendon was called to engineer the sound of this album, because there was no Japanese technician experienced enough in heavy metal records at the time. The album won the award for Best Heavy Metal record of the year in Japan. The reissue in CD of 2005 contains two bonus tracks, coming from the second single of the band.
The Black Light Bacchanalia is the twelfth album by New York heavy/power metal group Virgin Steele, released via SPV/Steamhammer on October 22, 2010 in Germany, Austria & Switzerland, and the rest of Europe on October 25, 2010 & on November 9, 2010, in the USA.
