Your favorite years?

[Greeno]

When you look back what are you favorite years of music? (the "what were you listening to at 20" thread got me thinking about this)

There are 2 for me...

1983 to 1987 (my highschool years) were my favorite "metal years". There was so much cool metal happening then from Ratt to Grim Reaper to Metallica to Exciter.... it was just never ending. Ever week it seemed like there was a new band (that was great) to check out.

1988 to 1991 (my college years) is probably my favorite years. There was sooo much diversity in music then. Metal was still going and there was this great underground scene with bands like the Big F, Warrior Soul, The Nymphs and others. The day "Nevermind" came out the scene died but up until then it was fantastic.

 

[tedvanfrehley]

Interesting...you show your age, Greeno! haha You were in college when I was in High School...but anyways, I would say my alltime favorite music year was 1986 because that's when I got Master of Puppets on vinyl and started to discover a lot of punk bands that my skateboarding friends were all into like Suicidal, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, Social Distortion, JFA, and GBH. So 86 was when I started to see there was more than just metal out there...before that I was all about KISS, VH, OZZY and Crue...I didn't think there WERE any other bands! haha

Secondly would be about 92 or 94 when country began to call my name....But again, 1986 opened my mind to a lot of new sounds!!

 

[Wicked Child]

Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, Social Distortion.

 

[Bryant]

Istarted to discover a lot of punk bands that my skateboarding friends were all into like Suicidal, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, Social Distortion, JFA, and GBH.

Hey Ted did you ever hear Gang Green ? I was never big into punk, but I loved that band. Their lyrics were funny as hell.


Bryant

 

[Bryant]

I would say from about 84 (when I discovered bands like DIo Accept and Yngwie) -1990. Many of my all-time favorites came out around 88-89 like "Blessing in Disguise" for example. That was also my HS-college era as well.



Bryant

 

[SoundMaster]

It's hard to really pick one 'era' over another, but I'd have to say one of the following totally blew me away:

1984-1985. In 1984, I discovered metal. Period. That says it all. This eras was dominated by Dio, Priest, Ozzy, Accept, Sabbath, Scorpions, Motley Crue and, of course, Iron Maiden.
Also of importance is that these are the years of my adolesence. These years, by default, can only bring fond memories.

1995-1999. The era of 'atmospheric metal'. In my opinion, this was the genre's golden moment - when creativity was paramount, and bands broke the traditional mold of what metal was "supposed to be". In my view, the very fact that metal was, at this point, totally underground is what gave it the room to breath and grow as it did. Commercial restrainst were lifted.
Many of my fav bands were 'discovered' during this glorius run:
Opeth, My Dying Bride, Anathama, In the Woods, the Gathering, Katatonia, Emperor, Lacuna Coil, Ulver, Sentenced, Tiamat, etc.

honorary mention:
1986-1987. At the time, I felt that the thrah movement was the purest form of metal....it's ultimate destination after a years long evolution. During this time, I actually found Sabbath, Maiden, and Priest to be 'too soft', as thrash/speed totally dominated my focus. You know who the bands are.
However, over time, I've grown to feel that the opposite is true. IMO, thrash doesn't stand the test of time....at the end of the day, it's a limited genre, and too one-dimensional. That's why, I believe, only a handful of bands survived and live today.
Anyway, at the time, I felt like metal was king, and these bands were it's deliverance.

 

[Hawk]

My favorite year in music is NOW! I am expecting a very good if not a top year! Looking very much forward to the re-mixed release of Enemies of Reality and the new Nevermore album, the new Symphony X album, The new Kamelot , the new album from Shadow Gallery and who knows what amazing debut albums 2005 holds in store for us!

Although I love the previous periods I am not one for nostalgia. The last 10 years have been great years as far as I am concerned. And in general most of my favorite albums come from the last 15 years. This does not mean I have something against the 80s. I just think that at this moment the quality of our favorite music is in general played at a much higher level then it was in the past.

It must be almost sacrilege to say this in the Old School forum. But thats what I think about it. I never enjoyed the new albums that are released as much as right now. I wish I could live to be a hundred! I can't what the future has in store!

 

[sixxswine]

1986-1992
I saw my first real show in '86, DLR with Cinderella! I thought that was the shit & "heavy." Obvioulsy it wasn't but it was a good place to start. That same year I saw Van Halen with Hagar! So this took me all the way through High School & the various other bands that I discovered. Man,those were great times. A bit "excessive" but great none the less!

But I would also have to agree with Hawk. NOW. Not the shit pop compilations entitled NOW, but right now! There's is so much great stuff out there that I have yet to even listen to. There's so much stuff out there that I haven't even scratched the surface of! Now! I'm picking up the new Soilwork today! Also The New BLS, can't wait to hear those, can't wait to bust the the wrapping off those & listen to those for the first time! You can't beat the feeling!

 

[JonnyD]

My favorite year in music is NOW! I am expecting a very good if not a top year! Looking very much forward to the re-mixed release of Enemies of Reality and the new Nevermore album, the new Symphony X album, The new Kamelot , the new album from Shadow Gallery and who knows what amazing debut albums 2005 holds in store for us!

Although I love the previous periods I am not one for nostalgia. The last 10 years have been great years as far as I am concerned. And in general most of my favorite albums come from the last 15 years. This does not mean I have something against the 80s. I just think that at this moment the quality of our favorite music is in general played at a much higher level then it was in the past.

It must be almost sacrilege to say this in the Old School forum. But thats what I think about it. I never enjoyed the new albums that are released as much as right now. I wish I could live to be a hundred! I can't what the future has in store!

Hawk My friend you read my mind!!! ... I agree with every word here!

 

[Hawk]

1986-1992
I saw my first real show in '86, DLR with Cinderella! I thought that was the shit & "heavy." Obvioulsy it wasn't but it was a good place to start. That same year I saw Van Halen with Hagar! So this took me all the way through High School & the various other bands that I discovered. Man,those were great times. A bit "excessive" but great none the less!

But I would also have to agree with Hawk. NOW. Not the shit pop compilations entitled NOW, but right now! There's is so much great stuff out there that I have yet to even listen to. There's so much stuff out there that I haven't even scratched the surface of! Now! I'm picking up the new Soilwork today! Also The New BLS, can't wait to hear those, can't wait to bust the the wrapping off those & listen to those for the first time! You can't beat the feeling!

You rule my friend!

 

[tedvanfrehley]

BRYANT - GangGreen - I never heard 'em but I remember their tshirts...didn't they have "GANGREEN" written like the Budwieser logo or something like that??

 

[USMC0341]

1984-1988 (High School)

and

1990-1996 (Active-duty Unites States Marine Corps)

But I love my life since 1997 when I met my wife and now have a kid on the way...I've had some good times.

JB

 

[Griffin-]

when I was -16 ? No, seriously the last few years since I discovered the real good metal and I've never gone in a different direction since. My first years of metal (I mustve been 13 or 14) weren't much fun since NOBODY liked metal in my school and none of my friends either, let alone another girl. Im glad I have many friends who like metal now though so we can share opinions and music.

 

[Wyvern]

1982-1984

 

[The saYer]

well, I was a kid that was born in 83 (when the metal revolution started) and I remember all of the 80's as being the best. Like I laways say, highschool in the 80's really looked like a great adventure, my high school from 97 to 2001 seemed more flat , except for the backyard wrestling project at lunchtime of course.

 

[Captain_Steel]

I am thinking that the intent of this thread was to recall the years when you listening to metal that you loved the most....unfortunately for me, I wasn't listening to much metal during my favorite metal years...

which were 87', 88', 89', and 90'....these four years were the culmination of thrash, especially the bay area scene, not to mention the progression of bands like Guns N' Roses to something decent - as evidenced by the illusion albums...91' I know..but..also the beginnings of death metal....of which I am a fan of the early stuff only.

Just look at Testament's best stuff, the first four albums, released consecutively during this time period. After 90's Souls of Black, the band could never recapture the sound....sadly.

In the late 80's plenty of thrash bands popped up all over the world, even in smaller metro american areas, like Seattle, Boston, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, etc...These bands might not have been as good as their L.A. and N.Y. peers, but were all unique and tried hard.

I loved the late 80's as a time period also...skateboarding seemed cooler, as did going to Magic Mountain...

 

[kittybeast]

1982-1984

18-20 yep sounds good! Those were great years for me but didn't have money then for the luxuries of road trips for shows, lots of merch and better seats!

 

[Insania]

I follow the Hawk on this one -- I will say 2002-2003.

I considered 87-88 to be the best until I realize that Immortal, Lefay, Soilwork (and the whole damn Swedish melodic death catalog) is simply too outstanding to ignore. The scene is different, but the music is top-notch. I was a bit too young to have fallen in with the start of thrash (I'm 35 now) and I didn't go to many gigs back then. I do now, and it's the shit.

 

[Insania]

1986-1987...During this time, I actually found Sabbath, Maiden, and Priest to be 'too soft', as thrash/speed totally dominated my focus. You know who the bands are.
However, over time, I've grown to feel that the opposite is true. IMO, thrash doesn't stand the test of time....at the end of the day, it's a limited genre, and too one-dimensional. That's why, I believe, only a handful of bands survived and live today.
Anyway, at the time, I felt like metal was king, and these bands were it's deliverance.

Cool way to put it, SoundMaster. I still can't get back into any of those original bands (Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Dio...) because I'm such a thrash freak, and they don't deliver the energy I want.

Your limited genre comment, I was at first reluctant to agree but I think it's correct. Thrash lives on in other ways that I can really enjoy, but there's nothing like discovering a new modern band that nods to the old style and plays straight up, clean vox thrash. A rush!

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

I would say 1983-87 were the best thrash/classic metal years.. when metallica were actually good as well as maiden's golden years and countless other bands.. as for Gangreen yes they had shirts that looked like beer.. i also liked hardcore bands such as sick of it all, murphy's law, minor threat, agnostic front etc... i might also include the years 1980-83 because of Randy Rhoads, J. Priest, Motorhead, Ozzy golden years.... etc.