8. Ozzy Osbourne- Blizzard of Ozz(1980)- Rock/Metal Album Track Ranking Series

1980 was a huge year for heavy metal since several seminal albums were released. One of them is  Ozzy Osbourne's debut solo whose tracks I'm ranking in this post. I have to mention that I decided not to include ' Dee', a very short instrumental, in my ranking, so this how I rank and rate the songs from 'Blizzard of Ozz':

8. No Bone Movies- 6.5(average)

7. Goodbye to Romance- 8.5(very good)

6. I Don't Know- 9(great)

5. Suicide Solution- 9

4. Steal Away(The Night)- 9

3. Revelation(Mother Earth)- 9.5(fantastic)

2. Crazy Train- 9.5

1. Mr. Crowley- 10(stellar)

OVERALL RATING-  8.87

Mr. Crowley and Crazy Train were the two well-known tracks which fought for supremacy in my ranking. The former won the big prize thanks to the wide range of emotions caused by Ozzy's singing and the magical guitarwork by Randy Rhoades, while the latter, which also benefits from a great guitar solo and an  iconic riff, finished in second place mainly because its verses aren't that impressive for me. Just like "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, I sometimes skip this song when it appears on my playlists because of the burnout factor, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a remarkable track.

As for Revelations(Mother Earth), the most complex song of the album and the winner of the bronze medal, the emotional component is also highly present in Ozzy's voice as well as in its melancholic sections as the touching lyrics invite the listeners to meditate on the fate and future of our planet. It'a song with a really deep message.

The tracks ranked from numbers 4 to 6 are all greatly entertaining, addictive hard and heavy tunes which I truly enjoy, while Goodbye to Romance showcases Ozzy's more melancholic side and it's in my opinion one of his best ballads. As for No Bone Movies, I admit I don't find it particularly interesting. It could be my least favourite songs from Ozzy's 80s albums, but we'll see that after I finish ranking all of them.

However, one less interesting song can't change my general impression on Blizzard of Oz, which I consider to be one of the greatest debut albums of the 80s. After his inglorious departure from Black Sabbath, Ozzy was back in bussiness and ready to conquer the world of rock!

Ranking Rock/Metal Albums: #5. Judas Priest- British Steel(1980)

Legendary British heavy metal act Judas Priest makes its debut in my ranking series with 'British Steel', the album which marks a shift towards a more commercial sound and achieved chart success, so here is my ranking of the tracks:

9. Metal Gods- 7.5(good)

8. Living After Midnight- 7.5

7. United- 8(solid)

6.You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise- 8.5(very good)

5. The Rage- 8.5

4. Steeler- 9.5(fantastic)

3. Grinder- 9.5

2. Rapid Fire- 9.5

1. Breaking The Law- 9.5

OVERALL RATING: 8.66

'Breaking the Law', one of the major hits of the album, wins a very tight race for the first place thanks to its iconic riff and simple but efective chorus which stick to my mind for a long time after hearing it. It's one of those overplayed hard rock/metal tunes I rarele skip, unlike the other major hit, 'Living After Midnight', another simple song with a catchy chorus, but which, as you can see from my rating, doesn't have the same appeal to me(probably because living after midnight and rockin' till the dawn is not recommended for our health if we do it frequently!).

The next three tracks with a high rating of 9.5, 'Rapid Fire', 'Grinder' and 'Steeler', are also eloquent examples of heavy greatness with sharp riffs, fast pace and the unmistakeable voice of Rob Halford sending listeners to the stratosfera, so ranking them was really tough and the order can change after more auditions.

The second half of my ranking includes mostly mid tempo tracks, which doesn't mean that I don't enjoy listening to them, I just do it to a Lester extent than those from the top 4. Even the often maligned 'United' is quite a likeable tune in my opinion, as I often find myself singing în my mind its chorus.

To summarise, I consider 'British Steel' to be a remarkable album, whose more commercial approach played an important part in raising heavy metal popularity and showing younger bands of that time that you can achieve access by playing fast, loud, energetic music as long as it has enough melody and hooks to attract a wider audience. Rock on wherever you are!

Ranking Rock/Metal Albums: #1. Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath(1970)

I'm starting a new exciting and hopefully long blogging adventure today, one dedicated to rock and metal albums I listen to, since this has been the music I love for a long time. I'm not going to write long reviews since I'm not a music specialist, I'll just rank and rate from 1 to 10 songs from rock and metal albums and  I will  also calculate the overall rating of the albums based on my preferences at that moment. It's all for fun, eventually.

To start this fascinating journey into the world and metal I picked up the album which basically started the heavy metal genre back in February 1970, "Black Sabbath" from the legendary Birmingham outfit by the same name, so here is my ranking and rating of the songs from the least favourite(not the worst, since there isn't a bad song here) to the one I love the most:

8. Wicked World- 7.5(good)

7. Sleeping Village- 8(solid)

6. Behind the Wall of Sleep- 8

5. Evil Woman- 8.5(very good)

4. Warning- 8.5

3. The Wizard- 9(great)

2. N.I.B.- 9.5(fantastic)

1. Black Sabbath- 10(stellar)

OVERALL RATING: 8.62

I have to mention that, in the case of songs with the same rating I ranked them solely on what I feel at the time of writing this post, so the positions are interchangeable based on my mood.

The title track, with its chilling intro and riff and Ozzy's haunting voice, a perfect horror tale, always sends shivers down my spine when I hear it, and N.l.B. almost has the same effect on me. They are easily the most memorable tracks for me, but this doesn't mean that the rest of the album isn't great as well. It's full of hooks and memorable moments that obviously left a profound mark on people and its huge influence on the development of heavy  metal turns it into

 an essential listening for any fan of heavy metal. It is also the start of a great string of albums from Black Sabbath's classic line-up(Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward) and I'm going to rate and rank those albums too in time. Long live heavy metal!

 BONUS: The album cover, with that creepy-looking house and mysterious lady in black, also deserves a 10!