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!

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: #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!