Is there a difference between hard rock and heavy metal?
Yes but I suspect that each of us would draw the dividing line somewhere different.
Wikipedia defines hard rock as:
“Hard rock (or heavy rock) is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock. It is typified by a heavy use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric guitars, bass guitar, drums, and often accompanied with pianos and keyboards.”
Wikipedia defines heavy metal as:
“Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are often associated with masculinity, aggression, and machismo.”
As far as I’m concerned this category ranges from excellent to unbearable with plenty of ordinary rock and metal that’s acceptable but not special. It can be too heavy and too loud and the category includes bands that I think are disgusting. Mind you, I like blues rock and even singer songwriters so what do I know?
Heavy Metal And Hard Rock Live Albums Recorded In The 1980s
Accept Staying A Life 1985
Aerosmith Classics Live II 1984
Aerosmith Rehabilitated 1986
Aerosmith A Brand New Song and Dance 1986
Anthrax Caught in a Mosh BBC Live in Concert 1987
Atomic Rooster Live at the Marquee 1980
Black Sabbath Live At Hammersmith Odeon 1981 & 1982
Black Sabbath Live Evil 1982
Blue Oyster Cult Extraterrestrial Live 1981
Blue Oyster Cult Live in America 1981
Budgie The BBC Recordings 1972 to 1982
Cold Chisel Swingshift 1980
Def Leppard Live LA Forum with Pyromania Deluxe 1983
Destruction Live Without Sense 1988
Dio At Donnington 1983 & 1987
Europe The Final Countdown Tour 1986
Fields Of The Nephilim BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert 1988
Gillan Double Trouble 1981
Gillan Live Triple Trouble 1981 1982
Guns N Roses Live Era 87–93
Hanoi Rocks All Those Wasted Years 1983
Helloween Live in the UK 1988
Iggy Pop Roadkill Rising The Bootleg Collection 1977–2009
Iron Maiden Live After Death 1985
Iron Maiden Maiden England 1988
Judas Priest Priest Live 1986
King Diamond In Concert 1987 Abigail
Kiss Alive 3 1982
Michael Schenker Group One Night At Budokan 1981
Gary Moore Live At The Marquee 1980
Gary Moore Rockin Every Night – Live in Japan 1983
Gary Moore We Want Moore 1984
Motorhead No Sleep Til Hammersmith 1981
Motorhead BBC Live & In-Session 1978 to 1986
Napalm Death Peel Sessions 1987 1988
Nazareth Malice In Wonderland 1980
Nazareth Snaz 1981
Ted Nugent Intensities In 10 Cities 1980
Ozzy Osbourne Tribute 1981
Ozzy Osbourne Ozzy Live 1981
Ozzy Osbourne Speak of the Devil 1982
Quiet Riot Live & Rare Volume 1 1983 1984
Racer X Extreme Volume Live 1988
Rush Exit Stage Left 1980 & 1981
Saxon BBC Sessions / Live at Reading Festival 1986 1980 1982
Saxon The Eagle Has Landed Live 1981
Scorpions World Wide Live 1984
Slayer Live Undead 1984
Soundgarden Louder Than Live 1989
Thin Lizzy Live At The BBC 1971 to 1983
Thin Lizzy Life 1983
Thin Lizzy BBC Radio One Live in Concert 1983
Thin Lizzy Live At The BBC Super Deluxe Box Set 1971 to 1983
Twisted Sister Live at the Marquee Club 1983
Twisted Sister Live at Hammersmith 1984
UFO On Air At The BBC 1974 – 1985
UFO The Official Bootleg Box Set 1975 to 1985
UFO BBC In Concert 4th February 1980
UFO Regenerator Live 1982
UFO Live Throughout the Years 1976 1982 1998
W.A.S.P. Live In the Raw 1987
Frank Zappa Buffalo 1980
You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
The All Time Best Hard Rock And Heavy Metal Live Albums
I don’t have a readers poll to find the best hard, heavy rock albums from this decade but I do have a poll to find the all time best live albums that is a great guide.
Please vote in the poll to find the best hard rock and heavy metal live albums.
Loading ...Because there are so many great hard rock and heavy metal live albums I have split the poll into two and you may find some of your favourites in the second division. Albums will be promoted when they get enough votes.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
The Live Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums By Decade – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s – 2010s
Live After Death is the first live album by heavy metal group Iron Maiden recorded on the 1984/85 tour to promote the Powerslave studio album.
Iron Maiden were one of the groups that came out of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. I have to admit that I remember all the fuss about it in the Sounds weekly newspaper in particular but it rather passed me by.
Black Sabbath Live At Hammersmith Odeon is a recording of concerts of the Ronnie James Dio version of the group from gigs on December 31st 1981 to January 2nd 1982.
If you’re a fan of the Ozzy Osbourne version of Black Sabbath, you should check out the Reunion album from 1997.
This album is similar to the easier to find Live Evil album also featuring Dio from the same tour.
Continue reading Black Sabbath Live At Hammersmith Odeon 1981 & 1982The Official Bootleg Box Set is a compilation of seven UFO concerts from 1975 to 1985. It covers both the Michael Schenker and Paul Chapman years.
If Strangers In the Night isn’t enough live UFO for you, then this is a great place to turn.
Early versions of the box set went from 1975 to 1982 but it has been extended.
Continue reading UFO The Official Bootleg Box Set 1975 to 1985
Final Vinyl is a compilation album from Rainbow that mainly features live tracks focusing on the time when the group moved into pop-rock in the 80s.
The Rainbow of Since You’ve Been Gone and I Surrender is very different from the hard rock group that Ritchie Blackmore formed straight after leaving Deep Purple.
As well as live versions of the popular Rainbow songs, there are also a few studio rarities.
Kiss Alive 3 is a live album of Kiss during the band’s Revenge 1992 tour at various locations In the USA.
Both Kiss Alive and Kiss Alive 2 had been very popular. The first making the band’s reputation as a great live band and the second capitalising on their high profile success in their peak years.
Intensities in 10 Cities is a second live album by Ted Nugent after the big success of Double Live Gonzo.
What’s unusual about this album is that the songs featured don’t appear on any earlier Ted Nugent or Amboy Dukes albums.
The story is that Nugent was testing new songs out live and played about 20 on the 1980 tour and picked out the 10 that were best received. I’m sure that his shows had plenty of the fan’s favourites included as well.
Continue reading Ted Nugent Intensities In 10 Cities 1980Life is a live album recorded by Thin Lizzy on the farewell tour in 1983 when Phil Lynott decided to break up the band. Former guitarists Eric Bell, Brian Robertson and Gary Moore joined the band on stage.
Their previous live album, Live and Dangerous is often regarded as one of the best live albums ever so their Life live album has a great deal to live up to.
Continue reading Thin Lizzy Life 1983Live Evil is a controversial Black Sabbath live album because it features Ronnie James Dio rather than the iconic Ozzy Osborne. It also has Carmen Appice rather than Bill Ward on drums.
I’m sceptical about this album and as I admitted in my review of Reunion, I’m not a huge Black Sabbath fan.
Exit Stage Left is the second live album by Rush after the success of their first, All The World’s A Stage.
It was recorded at two concerts – June 10-11, 1980 at The Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland on the Permanent Waves tour and March 27, 1981 at The Forum, Montreal on the Moving Pictures tour.
This represents the peak time for the group as they changed their sound from the progressive heavy metal of All The World’s A Stage to a more classic rock style. They even started having hit singles with songs like Spirit Of the Radio and Tom Sawyer.
