GMD Poll: Top Ten Albums Of 1988

[CiG]

No, not really. Lyrics don't make a song filler.

 

[alex76]

The thrash metal giants had just begun to emerge on the other side of their prime period, but were still capable to putting out some killer shit. Older metal acts though were really starting to show their age. Nevertheless, metal was in a grace period, with lots of new and exciting music being made. Music videos for metal acts were becoming a standard, and hair bands were beginning to spread their toxicity to the masses. The underground scene for more extreme shit was a-stirring.

1. Metallica - ...And Justice for All
2. Slayer - South of Heaven
3. Coroner - Punishment for Decadence
4. Danzig - Danzig
5. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
6. Sadus - Illusions
7. Angel Dust - To Dust You Will Decay
8. Forbidden - Forbidden Evil
9. King Diamond - "Them"
10. Pestilence - Malleus Maleficarum

I have to stop doing honorable mentions...

 

[The Ozzman]

No, not really. Lyrics don't make a song filler.

This is the point I was trying to make.

 

[rms]

This year seems relatively weak, not sure there's any solid #1 and maybe just an above average tier1.

Vio-Lence - Eternal Nightmare
Rigor Mortis - s/t
Adramelch - Irae Melanox
Helstar - A Distant Thunder
Sanctuary - Refuge Denied
Blind Guardian - Batallions of Fear
Realm - Endless War
Brocas Helm - Black Death
Metallica - And Justice for All
Hyd - Sanctuary Lost

 

[RadicalThrasher]

so we're counting spectrum of death as 88?

It's a demo, Lock up your Children, so if we're counting demo's?........ It is the same as Spectrum of Death. It'll be # 1 spot on the 1990 album's for me.

 

[Krow]

This year seems relatively weak, not sure there's any solid #1 and maybe just an above average tier1.

I'll be happy to get this year out of the way so theres no more fucking Metallica. (MoP, RtL, KeA are all done already)

 

[no country for old wainds]

It's a demo, Lock up your Children, so if we're counting demo's?........ It is the same as Spectrum of Death. It'll be # 1 spot on the 1990 album's for me.

i know but i just don't want the votes getting split because some counted it as '88 and others as '90. and it also seems weird to count the same thing for both years, but it is a slightly different recording innit so maybe it's fine. i guess just count SoD as 90 and if people wanna list the demo here too they can.

edit: it's just a remix rather than different recording apparently, according to the little voice in my ear

 

[Phylactery]

I'll be happy to get this year out of the way so theres no more fucking Metallica. (MoP, RtL, KeA are all done already)

Yeah thank God for that.

 

[no country for old wainds]

1) load

 

[zerostatic]

1) Slayer - South of Heaven
2) King Diamond - Them
3) Metallica - And Justice for All
4) Coroner - Punishment for Decadence
5) Razor - Violent Restitution
6) Flotsam and Jetsam - No Place for Disgrace
7) Overkill - Under the Influence
8) Death - Leprosy
9) Megadeth - SFSGSW
10)Testament - The New Order

 

[Burkhard]

Toxik - World Circus

I also thought this was released in 1988, but not only RYM, yet also M.A. and discogs list it as 1987. However, in the additional notes on M.A. it says:
"Although some copies (advance/promo) were available in 1987, it may not have been fully distributed until 1988."

In the German Metal Hammer magazine (the biggest metal magazine in Germany way back then), it was reviewed in the March-issue 1988 which came out at the end of February 1988 and there's also an advertisement for "World Circus" in the same issue. Album reviews usually used to precede the official relase dates, so I'm nearly 100% sure that "World Circus" wasn't officially released before 1988 - at least not in Germany. Since I might include it in my list, I'd like to know whether - for this game - it can be considered a 1988 release or not.

Edit: I think it's easier for me, if "World Circus" is treated as a release from 1987, because putting together my album top 10 of 1988 was already difficult enough as it is. It now looks like this:

1. Hexenhaus - A Tribute to Insanity
2. Anacrusis - Suffering Hour
3. Znowhite - Act of God
4. Death - Leprosy
5. Voivod - Dimension Hatröss
6. Sieges Even - Life Cycle
7. Drifter - Reality Turns to Dust
8. Forbidden - Forbidden Evil
9. Mekong Delta - The Music of Erich Zann
10. Coroner - Punishment for Decadence

Honourable mentions:
Helstar - A Distant Thunder
Flotsam & Jetsam - No Place for Disgrace
Fates Warning - No Exit
Meanstreak - Roadkill
Megadeth - So Far, So Good...So What!

In order to avoid any confusion, I have decided my original list - which was solely based on the number of spins - in the following spoiler.

Spoiler

Here's my first attempt at the album top 10 of 1988 - this ranking is based on the number of spins these albums got from me and the final list will probably look a bit different, though I might keep the first four:

1. Hexenhaus - A Tribute to Insanity
2. Znowhite - Act of God
3. Death - Leprosy
4. Anacrusis - Suffering Hour
5. Voivod - Dimension Hatröss
6. Meanstreak - Roadkill
7. Forbidden - Forbidden Evil
8. Flotsam & Jetsam - No Place for Disgrace
9. Prong - Force Fed
10. Fates Warning - No Exit

(If I included Toxik's "World Cirus" in the list above, it would appear at no. 6.)

Honourable mentions:
Drifter - Reality Turns to Dust
Sieges Even - Life Cycle
Coroner - Punishment for Decadence
Helstar - A Distant Thunder
Mekong Delta - The Music of Erich Zann

 

[no country for old wainds]

i've seen that znowhite cover art so often but i've never listened to it. maybe it's time...

good info about toxik. i'm still leaning toward '87 unless we have more evidence to the contrary. if it said the only '87 release was in germany then maybe it'd be enough, but i'm not sure a german magazine failing to pick it up 'til 88 automatically means it couldn't have been released in holland, brazil and the US already, as discogs suggests.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Hyd - Sanctuary Lost

Didn't think anyone else here liked this demo. Proto-Solitude Aeturnus playing Texan tech-USPM/thrash, overlooked demo.

Sad to see Adramelch, Brocas Helm, Realm, and Helstar described as "just above average" tho

 

[rms]

Didn't think anyone else here liked this demo. Proto-Solitude Aeturnus playing Texan tech-USPM/thrash, overlooked demo.

Sad to see Adramelch, Brocas Helm, Realm, and Helstar described as "just above average" tho

That one forum you linked awhile ago had a few really awesome demo/eps like HYD.

 

[Bloopy]

You could do just one for the entire 70s or maybe you could do 70-74 and 75-79. There certainly aren't enough albums to do a year-by-year.

I like the idea of separating 70-74 and 75-79! Though 70-74 would have to stretch beyond RYM & Encyclopaedia Metallum's definition of metal. Throw in Led Zeppelin, UFO, King Crimson, Flower Travellin' Band etc.

 

[no country for old wainds]

no deep purple though

 

[Krow]

no deep purple though

Well that would probably cause some anger.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

I like the idea of separating 70-74 and 75-79! Though 70-74 would have to stretch beyond RYM & Encyclopaedia Metallum's definition of metal. Throw in Led Zeppelin, UFO, King Crimson, Flower Travellin' Band etc.

Do any of those bands have metal ALBUMS though? Zeppelin and King Crimson certainly have songs one could argue are metal, but not sufficient enough to compose an entire album.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

I refuse to take Buttburger's opinions on a subject when he lists off over 100 albums from a year that he claims to have listened to when he listened to them one time in 2009 and has never looked back on them.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I refuse to take Buttburger's opinions on a subject when he lists off over 100 albums from a year that he claims to have listened to when he listened to them one time in 2009 and has never looked back on them.

I've listened to all of those at least a couple times, on average I probably have heard them all around 5 times, most in the top 50 easily dozens of times. There's 30 or so I haven't listened to in several years that I've excluded, and will include only when I refresh my memory on them.

But like I care about the opinion of a guy that claimed to only know a Thin Lizzy single or two and then a few months later is talking about how they're his favorite band and always sings them at karaoke bars.