Black Sabbath‘s second life started with this album, Heaven And Hell (Vertigo, 1980). Ronnie James Dio‘s powerful vocals combined with Iommi ‘s riffs make it an almost unbeatable hard rock classic (review).
AC/DC also needed a new singer on their 8th album Back In Black (Atlantic, 1980), because the charismatic Bon Scott had died. The album sold 50 million worldwide – the ultimate proof for the universal appeal of this uncomplicated and powerful rock machine (review).
With this post we start a new series, that focuses on specific years in the history of melodic hard rock.
For each year there will be two sections. One for the albums that made it big. These ‘essential’ albums, in the sense that aspirant fans should know them, are the high roads of rock history. The second section will cover albums that should have made it big on the basis of their quality, but didn’t. These albums, that clearly deserve a wider audience, present the roads less travelled. This section will bring you music that remained hidden for too long. You’re guaranteed to be surprised with some stunning melodies.