Day 0465 - British Steel

Judas Priest "British Steel" (1980) - got it

 
So the development of metal continues.  Priest took the musicianship and thunder of Led Zep and Black Sabbath, added the speed and intensity of punk.  The vocals and lyrics though stay larger-than-life with songs like "Metal Gods" or "Grinder".

Because metal hadn't come of age and the 'rulebook' hadn't been set, there seemed to be no feelings of self-consciousness about belting out an uplifting anthem like "United", engaging in some party rock with "Living after midnight", or even dropping a hint of reggae with "the Rage".

I saw Judas Priest 4 years ago at a metal festival in Auckland, and by golly they could still put on a show! Rob Halford may be in his 60s but he was still able to wail and scream with the best of them. He also did this whole thing where he went off stage partway through one song, there was a loud roaring and he came rolling onto the stage on the back of a motorbike... what a showman.

Day 0411 - D.O.A.: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle "D.O.A.: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle" (1978)

 
So I'd heard the name throbbing gristle, but had always assumed that they were a punk band... I was not prepared for the world of weird, electronic, often loop-based music I encountered.

The band make imaginative use of field recording equipment, early sampling techniques and sonic manipulation. Some of the tracks are just a stream of barely coherent sound, other sections are a mix of drone and electronic sounds and drifting vocals that create a sound somewhere in the middle of a Venn diagram with the velvet underground, Kraftwerk and the Residents. This is certainly nobody's idea of "easy listening"!

The bad went on to become an influence on sonic experimenters such as Depeche Mode and Trent Reznor.