17. Iron Maiden- Piece of Mind(1983)- Rock/Metal Album Track Ranking

British heavy metal titans Iron Maiden return to my ranking/rating series with their fourth studio album, Piece of Mind, so here comes my ranking, as usual, starting with my least favourite song and finishing with the one I love the most: 

9. Quest for Fire- 7(OK)

8. Sun and Steel- 7.5(Good)

7. Die with Your Boots on- 8.5(Very Good)

6. To Tame a Land- 9(Great)

5. Still Life- 9

4. Flight Of Icarus- 9.5(Fantastic)

3. Revelations- 9.5

2. Where Eagles Dare- 10(Stellar)

1. The Trooper- 10

 

 AVERAGE RATING- 8.88

There is no surprise regarding the winner- The Trooper is an absolute classic, a flawless track that doesn't need a chorus to active greatness- its galopant rhythm takes my mind on a journey to the battlefield, as this is just one of the history-inspired tunes Maiden have delivered throughout their long, spectacular career.

The second 10 for me, Where Eagles Dare, opens the album in a highly dynamic, energetic manner- a superb heavy metal tunes that doesn't drag for a single second of its six brlliant minutes.

The 3rd and 4th placed songs, Revelations and Flight Of Icarus, are also excelent. catchy, mesmerizing tunes; they slow down the pace a little, especially Revelations, a song which, just like The Trooper, shows that Iron Maiden are capable of creating mind-blowing songs even without a chorus. More greatness is achieved in the tracks ranked from 5 to 7 in my preference list, but there are also two less amazing tracks, which are not bad by any means, they're not just as exciting as the others, at least in my opinion.    Sun and Steel and Quest for Fire are tracks that I would never skip when listening to Piece of Mind, as they both have their strong moments.

With a respectabile average of 8.88, Piece of Mind has managed to beat the only Maiden I have ranked before, The Number of the Beast. which had an average rating of 8.62, but there are still plenty of outstanding Maiden albums that I have to rank, in the 80s as well as starting with the year 2000, when Bruce Dickinson returned to the band, but I'm quite sure that, after I finish ranking those albums, Piece of Mind will occupy a high position in my ranking of Iron Maiden records. I will always have a high regard for Piece of Mind, a remarkable album from a legendary heavy metal band!

 

15. Ozzy Osbourne- Diary of a Madman(1981)- Rock/Metal Album Track Ranking

Ozzy Osbourne makes his second appearance in my series as a solo artist, and his fourth overall considering the two Black Sabbath albums I have ranked so far, with Diary of a Madman,  so here comes my usual ranking/rating, followed by more comments and thoughts:

8. Little Dolls- 8(Solid)

7.Believer- 8.5(Very Good)

6. Flying High Again- 9(Great)

5. S.A.T.O.- 9

4. Tonight- 9.5(Fantastic)

3. You Can't Kill Rock'n'Roll- 9.5

2. Over the Mountain- 10(Stellar)

1. Diary of a Madman- 10

ALBUM RATING: 9.18

Ozzy's sophomore solo album includes a series of outstabding tunes, and at the top of everything lies the title track, an ambițios, epic masterpiece with progressive elements, and a highly emotional middle section which sends shivers down my spine every time I hear the song, it's a beautiful piece of music which illustrates the inner turmoil of the protagonist, "the madman", no other than Ozzy himself.

The second perfect song for me on this amazing record, Over the Mountain, opns the album in full strength with a great drum intro and an awesome guitar riff. It's brilliant, catchy, dynamic and it includes an exceptional guitar solo from Rhandy Rhoades- it really makes you feel like flying high over a big mountain!

For the 3rd and 4th place I picked two slower, but also memorable tunes- You Can't Kill Rock'n'Roll and Tonight- which convey a lot of emotion and have remarkable choruses, which stick to my mind for quite a while after hearing them. 

Unlike Ozzy's debut solo album, which contains a track I'm not particularly fond of(read my ranking of Blizzard of Ozz and you will find out which one), here I enjoy every single track, so its high rating of 9.18 isn't surprising at all, placing it clearly above Ozzy's debut, which got a rating of 8.87, and allowing it ți make its way into my top 5 of the 15 records ranked so far. The high raking of Diary of a Madman is an obvious testimony of the brilliance of Ozzy's early solo work as it certified his return to the big league of hard rock/heavy metal giants, and he îs destined to remain there forever!

13. Metallica- Ride the Lightning(1984)- Rock/Metal Album Track Ranking Series

The almighty Metallica is the second band(after Black Sabbath) to be featured for the second time in my ranking series with- you guessed- its second album, Ride the Lightning, so here is how I rate and rank the tracks from this legendary record:

8. Escape- 7.5(Good)

7. Trapped under Ice- 8(Solid)

6. The Call of Ktulu- 8.5(Very Good)

5. Fade to Black- 9.5(Fantastic)

4. For Whom the Bell Tolls- 9.5

3. Ride the Lightning- 9.5

2. Fight Fire with Fire- 10(Stellar)

1. Creeping Death- 10

OVERALL RATING: 9.06

Once again, the difference between the top 5 tracks on this super album is extremely small for me, but it appears that Creeping Death has wom the battle for my favourite track not only from Ride the Lightning, but- spoiler alert- from the entire Metallica catalogue. How could I not adore such a monstruos track with incredible riffs, a great bridge, fabulous guitar solos and deep biblically-related lyrics? This track has it all, so at least for the time being it has no challenger for the position of greatest Metallica track!

The positions from 2 to 5 have constantly switched throughout the years. Fight Fire with Fire currently occupies the honourable second place thanks to its sheer ferocity and breakneck speed, it's definitely the heaviest song on an already really heavy record! 

The title track takes the bronze medal, followed closely by the hits For Whom the Bell Tolls and Fade to Black. There's so much greatness în. these tunes that I feel tempted to rank'em all in 3rd place, but there has to be a separation, and the fact is enjoy Ride the Lightning slightly more than the other two tracks due to its Foster tempo, remarkable chorus and the fantastic guitar parts from the second half of the song.

As for the other 3 songs, I can briefly say that The Call of Ktulu is a cool instrumental, Trapped under Ice a solid, fast-paced thrasher, and Escape is a pretty good track as well, so obviously there are no skippable moments on Ride the Lightning.

So, is RTL my favourite Metallica record? Its overall rating of 9.06 place it incredibly close ahead of Kill'em All, which has 9.05, so basically they are equal for me, but there are a still a couple of top notch albums to be ranked in the nearby future(it's easy to guess which ones)  so after rating and ranking them as well I will have a clear picture of my favourite Metallica records.

To sum it all up, Ride the Lightning is a superb album, showing the prowess of a young band destined to conquer the world, a record I will never ever stop listening to with immense pleasure!

11. Black Sabbath- Paranoid(1970)- Rock/Metal Album Track Ranking Series

Black Sabbath, the true inventors of heavy metal, are the first band to have a second album ranked in my series. It's also their sophomore album, also released in 1970, am extremely prolific ear for a band eager to make its uniquely heavy music for that time known to the world, so did it manage to get a higher score than 8.62, the overall rating of their self-titled debut? Here comes the answer:

8. Rat Salad- 8(solid)

7. Planet Caravan- 8

6. Iron Man- 8.5(very good)

5. Paranoid- 9(great)

4. Han of Doom- 9.5(fantastic)

3. Fairies Wear Boots- 9.5

2. Electric Funeral- 9.5

1. War Pigs- 10(stellar)

Overall Rating: 9.00

Out of the three hits still heavily played on the radios, there is one I still can't grow tired of: War Pigs, the perfect anti-war song, with its heavily slow pace, crushing riffs and outstanding lyrics that will remain relevant for as long as there are wars on Earth and crazy rulers starting them, gets a well-deserved 10 and the undisputed winning slot.

The other two hits, Paranoid and Iron Man, although highly enjoyable as well for their iconic riffs and catchy melodies, didn't reach my top 3 because they were outtaken by the sheer complexitate and musical prowess of tracks ranked 2 to 4. Electric Funeral, Fairies Wear Boots and Hand of Doom are all remarkable, doomy tracks that seem to be way ahead of them. Ranking them was quite hard because I find them almost equally great, so their positions are interchangeable.

Paranoid definitely represents an impro event from Black Sabbath's strong debut and also a hugely influential record, especially for the genre of doom metal. Many people see it as their best record, but it definitely has some contenders for that honourable title in other 70s Ozzy-era works as well în the 80s shorter Dio period, but one thing is undeniable: it's a timeless record that will live in the hearts of rock music fans for centuries to come!

Ranking Rock/Metal Albums: #3. Iron Maiden- The Number of the Beast(1982)

The mighty Iron Maiden makes its debut in Episode 3 of my series dedicated to rock and metal albums with 'The Number of the Beast', Bruce Dickinson's introduction to the band, so here is my ranking of the songs:

8. Invaders- 7(OK)

7. Gangland- 7

6. Run To The Hills- 8.5(very good)

5. The Number of the Beast- 9(great)

4. The Prisoner- 9

3. Children of the Damned- 9

2. 22 Acacia Avenue- 9.5(fantastic)

1. Hallowed Be Thy Name- 10(stellar)

OVERALL RATING: 8.62

'Hallowed Be Thy Name', a 7-minute long masterpiece with mind-blowing guitarwork and the fabulous voice of Bruce Dickinson impersonating a man who is meditating on his life as he  is about to be sent to the gallows, is simply Maiden at its finest hour and one of my favorite tunes of all time. 

'22 Acacia Avenue' occupies the second place maybe because it's more complex and interesting than the two well-known singles of the album, the title track and 'Run To The Hills', while ' Children of the Damned', a slower, ballady, beautiful track, also managed to reach of my top 3 ahead of the aforementioned hits, which, along with 'The Prisoner', are obviously not bad either. On the contrary, they are catchy tunes with singalong choruses that also got high ratings from me.

There are, however, two tracks, 'Invaders' and 'Gangland', which I don't find bad, but which don't excite me either. It was quite hard for me to decide which one of these two tracks should take the last spot, but I finally chose 'Invaders' because I think it was a weaker chorus than 'Gangland'.

To summarise, 'The Number of the Beast' is definitely a classic Iron Maiden album, just like basically all their works from the 80s, and even if it has a couple of less impressive songs, I still enjoy it a lot and I frequently listen to it with great pleasure!

Metallica Meme- My Creation