Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Live Albums
This category catches both hard rock and heavy metal live albums.
In the 1970s the two terms were used interchangeably to describe the music of groups like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple
and Black Sabbath to distinguish the music from both pop rock and prog rock.
Then punk rock came along and out of that emerged the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal with bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon.
Motorhead played faster and provided a template for thrash metal groups like Metallica and Megadeth. It was too much for me and particularly as I got older but I can’t deny that there is an adrenalin rush from great heavy metal and I believe it’s best captured on live albums.
Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Live Albums
Quick Links To Selected Live Hard Rock And Heavy Metal Live Albums
I haven’t included all the albums by the major acts here because you can normally get to the others from their most popular albums.
AC/DC If You Want Blood You’ve Got It 1978
AC/DC Live 1990 1991
Aerosmith Live Bootleg
Aerosmith A Little South of Sanity
Bachman & Turner Live At The Roseland Ballroom NYC 2012
Beck Bogert & Appice Live 1973
Black Sabbath Live At Last 1973
Black Sabbath Live Evil 1982
Blue Öyster Cult On Your Feet Or On Your Knees
Blue Oyster Cult Some Enchanted Evening 1978
Budgie Radio Sessions 1974 & 1978
Deep Purple Made In Japan
Deep Purple Live In Paris 1975
Def Leppard Viva Hysteria 2013
Rory Gallagher Stage Struck
Grand Funk Railroad Live Album 1970
Guns N Roses Live Era 87–93
Hawkwind Space Ritual Alive 1972
Iced Earth Alive in Athens 1999
Iron Maiden Live After Death 1985
Iron Maiden Rock In Rio 2001
Judas Priest Unleashed In The East 1979
Kiss Alive
Kiss Alive 2
Led Zeppelin How The West Was Won 1972
Led Zeppelin – The Song Remains The Same 1973
MC5 Kick Out The Jams 1968
Megadeth That One Night Live In Buenos Aires 2005
Metallica Live Shit Binge And Purge 1993
Metallica S&M 1999
Michael Schenker Group One Night At Budokan 1981
Motley Crue Live Entertainment Or Death
Motorhead No Sleep Til Hammersmith 1981
Mott The Hoople Live 1973 & 1974
Moxy Raw 2001
Nirvana From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah
Ozzy Osbourne Tribute 1981
Ozzy Osbourne Speak of the Devil 1982
Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes Live At The Greek
Rainbow On Stage 1976
Lou Reed Rock N Roll Animal 1973
Rush All The World’s A Stage
Rush Exit Stage Left 1980 & 1981
Saxon The Eagle Has Landed Live 1981
Scorpions Tokyo Tapes 1978
Scorpions World Wide Live 1984
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band British Tour 76
Slade Alive! 1971
Slayer Decade Of Aggression 1991
Thin Lizzy Live And Dangerous
UFO Strangers In The Night 1978
Uriah Heep Live 1973
The Who Live At Leeds
Y&T Yesterday & Today Live 1990
You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk.
What Are The Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Live Albums Of All Time
To help you to find the best live albums I have created a readers poll:
Best Heavy Metal Albums and you’ll see that there are so many good live albums in this category that I’ve opened up a second division poll for albums that may get enough votes to deserve to be promoted.
Loading ...You’ll find more of your favourite live albums in this next poll.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk.
You may also be interested in these other live album polls – Best Blues Rock Albums – Best Indie Rock Albums – Best Punk Rock Albums – Best Southern Rock Albums
I also have readers polls to find the best live albums by the following hard rock and heavy metal groups:
AC/DC – Black Sabbath – Blue Oyster Cult – Deep Purple – Jimi Hendrix – Iron Maiden – Kiss – Led Zeppelin – Ted Nugent – Rush – Thin Lizzy – The Who
How The West Was Won is a live album by Led Zeppelin from gigs in June 1972 at the LA Forum and Long Beach Arena in the USA.
The world waited for a long time for a Led Zeppelin live album and when it did appear, The Song Remains The Same received a disappointing reception although it’s been improved with the extended reissue.
How The West Was Won was released in 2003 and was immediately acclaimed as the real sound of Led Zeppelin live.
Kiss Alive 2 is the second live album by Kiss, recorded in 1977 with songs from Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun.
The performances came from The Forum, Los Angeles, Capital Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey and Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan.
I remember reading the reviews in the Sounds music paper by Geoff Barton where he raved about it and said that it was even better than Kiss Alive! and he loved that first album.
Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 is The Who recorded on on 29 August 1970, six months after the classic Live At Leeds album and Live At Hull were made.
It was released in 1996, shortly after Live At Leeds had been extended the first time. At that stage Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival was the only legal way to get a prime time recording of The Who performing Tommy.
Since Live At Leeds was further extended by adding in Tommy, this album has become redundant for anyone except The Who completests or people with a particular affection for the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival.
Unless you want to see the 1970 version of The Who perform live since this has the option of a DVD.
Continue reading The Who Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970
Double Live Gonzo is the first live album by Ted Nugent recorded in 1976 and 1977 and released in 1978.
Ted Nugent had been lead guitarist for the The Amboy Dukes before becoming the star attraction in that group and then going solo.
His first studio albums – Ted Nugent, Free For All and Cat Scratch Fever – were popular with heavy metal fans.
All the World’s A Stage is the first live album by Canadian heavy progressive rock band Rush from 1976 concerts promoting their 2112 studio album. It was recorded at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada.
This is a different sounding group than the one that appears on the second live album Exit Stage Left.
Live and Dangerous is the famous first live album by Thin Lizzy. It was recorded on the 1976 tour promoting the Johnny the Fox and and the 1977 tour for Bad Reputation.
The album has a great rough, tough live sound but it’s well known that it was extensively touched up in the studio although the exact amount has been disputed by the band and the producer, Tony Visconti.
In 2011 it was remastered and two bonus tracks were added – Opium Trail and Bad Reputation.
The Who concert at the Young Vic Theatre on the 26th April 1971 was recorded and released as a bonus on the deluxe edition of Who’s Next.
The Who Young Vic Theatre London 1971
This is the set list. Continue reading The Who Young Vic Theatre London 1971
On Your Feet Or On Your Knees is the first live album by Blue Oyster Cult, recorded at various concerts in 1974 promoting the Secret Treaties studio album.It was released in 1975.
Blue Oyster Cult’s speciality is melodic, guitar-based hard rock with sci-fi and occult or evil themes. The titles are often worse than the songs and may mislead you.
I’m wary of groups that lean towards the occult like Black Sabbath but BOC had some good tunes that kept bringing me back.To help you to decide if the songs are appropriate for you, I’ve linked to the lyrics
Continue reading Blue Oyster Cult On Your Feet Or On Your Knees 1974
Kiss Alive is one of the most famous and successful live albums ever. It was recorded and released in 1975 and captured the rawness of Kiss live in concert.
Kiss were a notorious live act with the theatrics and the costumes adding to the atmosphere created by their powerful, driving, forceful music.
Unfortunately this sound wasn’t properly captured on the first three studio albums – Kiss, Hotter Than Hell and Dressed to Kill.
It was on Kiss Alive!
Continue reading Kiss Alive 1975Black Sabbath Reunion is the first officially approved live album of the Ozzy Osbourne Black Sabbath from concerts in Birmingham, England in 1997.
It seems strange to wait so long when their heavy rock rivals from the 70s like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple had such success with their live albums.
Sabbath were very popular when I was at school because they were seen as a local band. They are even more local to where I now live with the band formed in Aston, Birmingham and Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward all born within a few miles of me.
After 18 years since Ozzy left in 1979, this Reunion tour included all four original members with Geoff Nicholls providing keyboards and extra guitar.
I saw Black Sabbath live on their Technical Ecstacy tour in 1976 or 1977 but I wasn’t a big fan then and, despite buying plenty of their albums, I still haven’t made the connection with them except for the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album.
I’ve always been queasy with their devils music image and their heavy, plodding sound compared to the speed of Deep Purple and the contrast of light and heavy with Led Zeppelin.
Songs are often speeded up in concert which I like because it shows the adrenalin is flowing. Don’t worry, Sabbath haven’t done that here. Reunion plods on remorselessly.
