Fischer-Z-Red Skies Over Paradise (1981)

Fischer-Z were one of the most successful and well-known post-punk and new wave bands of the early 1980s. Formed in 1977 by guitarist and activist John Watts, along with David Graham (bass), Steve Liddle (drums), and Steve Skolnik (keyboards), this quartet built a strong reputation over several years on the London club and pub circuit, thanks to their blend of punk rock and synth-pop with elements of pub rock and ska and reggae rhythms. Signed to United Records, they released their debut album, "World Salad", in mid-1979, which featured biting political themes of the time and a catchy, basic pop-rock style. With their next full-length album, "Going Deaf For A Living", Watts solidified the group's style, firmly establishing their music as a vehicle for conveying political ideas through the short narratives of their songs. On their first two albums, they featured sarcastic songs like "Pretty Paracetamol", "The Worker", "So Long", and "Room Service". With "Red Skies Over Paradise", their third release, they made clear political references to the Cold War between capitalist and communist countries, starting with the ironic cover art. This ironic narrative is present in songs like "Battalions of Strangers" and "Cruise Missiles", which contrast with melancholic love songs like the moving "Marliese". With this last album, Fischer-Z achieved their best creative and commercial work, selling over a million copies and, incidentally, becoming their epitaph. Shortly after, John Watts ended the band, at least for six long years, before reviving them with new members, but showcasing their usual forceful political messages mixed with other, more repetitive songs.

Seventh Key-Seventh Key (2001)

In early 2000, bassist Billy Greer, formerly of Kansas' second incarnation, and guitarist Mike Slamer, formerly of the band led by Steve Walsh Street, founded Seventh Key, a group that navigated between melodic rock and hard rock. At the start of 2001, they released their debut album, which, in addition to keyboardists David Manion and Igor Len and drummer Chet Wynd, also featured some members of Kansas, including Phil Ehart, Steve Walsh, Steve Morse, and Rich Williams. On this first album, the hard rock guitar riffs of Slamer, Morse, and Williams, along with Manion's keyboard flourishes and the irresistible vocal harmonies courtesy of Greer and singers Terry Brock and Steve Walsh, are the common thread running through most of the tracks. From attractive mid-tempo tracks like "Only The Brave", "Missy", "Surrender" or "When Love Is Dying", to catchy AOR tracks like "Everytime It Rains" and "Forsaken", passing through the energetic "The Kid Could Play" or "Prisoner of Love", they all together make up an excellent work highly regarded by fans of adult-oriented rock, which would have a brilliant continuation several years later with "The Raging Fire".

Todd Rundgren-Initiation (1975)

This is probably Todd Rundgren's most progressive solo work, considered by many to be a masterpiece of avant-garde rock, offering everything from energetic tracks to astonishing instrumental exercises on keyboards and guitars. Released in 1975, "Initiation" was his sixth album outside of his band Utopia, and on it the guitarist and producer surrounded himself with a wide range of collaborators, including Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, David Sanborn, Dan Hartman, Rick Marotta, and Roger Powell, among others. With an unusual runtime of nearly 70 minutes, Rundgren managed to fit a repertoire twice as long as almost any other record released at the time onto just one side of the original vinyl. While the album features several songs with a clear conventional rock feel, it also contains many progressive and experimental moments. The heavy tracks "The Death of Rock and Roll" and "Eastern Intrigue" are perhaps the most peculiar among all the conventional ones, contrasting sharply with the pleasant "Real Man" or the extravagant "Born to Synthesize", an a cappella song sung by Todd himself. However, the expansive "Initiation", "Fair Warning", and especially the hallucinatory instrumental suite "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" are the high points of this surprising recording by the blond guitarist from Pennsylvania.

Judas Priest-Sin After Sin (1977)

In 1977, Judas Priest was still finding its way, and despite having released the commendable "Rocka Rolla" (1974) and "Sad Wings of Destiny" (1976), these were far from defining the style that would propel them to fame years later. For their next album, "Sin After Sin", they moved away from the dark and melancholic sound of their previous record, raising the tone and adding much more aggression that would lay the foundation for their future work. They distanced themselves from the blues influences that had shaped greats like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple, and with their incendiary guitar duels perhaps the best in history (with all due respect to other legendary bands like Wishbone Ash and Thin Lizzy) and the accelerated tempos in some tracks, heavy metal began to grow and take shape. Tracks include true anthems like "Sinner" or the amazing version of Joan Baez's "Diamonds And Rust".

Judas Priest-Painkiller (1990)

"Painkiller" is one of the most memorable heavy metal albums ever recorded, a powerful record created by gods of the genre like Judas Priest. With this, their twelfth album, the British group reached the next level within their classic heavy metal style, featuring the blistering and lightning-fast guitar riffs of KK Downing and Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford's anguished and aggressive screams, Ian Hill's heavy and driving bass, and the prodigious, hyperactive double bass drumming of the newly added Scott Travis. Composed of ten tracks, the entire album is incredibly solid, dizzying, powerful, rhythmic, and tremendously catchy. Tracks like "One Shot At Glory", "Night Crawler", "A Touch Of Evil", "Painkiller", "Metal Meltdown", "Hell Patrol", "Battle Hymn" or "Leather Rebel" make up one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed albums worldwide, also representing a milestone in heavy metal, mainly due to the wide influence and impact it had on many subsequent bands.

Judas Priest-Turbo (1986)

In 1986, Judas Priest showcased their experimental side with the release of "Turbo", a controversial yet successful album where they first used synthesizers and embraced (albeit quite subtly) heavy pop. At the height of their success, Rob Halford and company dared to flirt with the styles that, at the time, most rivaled hard rock and heavy metal: the glamorous and commercial sound of American glam metal. Much like Iron Maiden did during those years, synthesized guitars are used elegantly, at least in tracks like the monumental "Turbo Lover", which would become an instant heavy metal classic. "Locked In" and "Private Property" follow a similar path, featuring the immense talents of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton on guitars and a driving rhythm section comprised of Dave Holland and Ian Hill. However, there are also glimpses of the usual Judas Priest sound with the ironic "Parental Guidance", the carefree "Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days", and the heavy rock of "Reckless". Despite being maligned by many of their more orthodox fans, "Turbo" is the album that best balances raw, powerful heavy metal with the rock/pop of the 1980s.

Judas Priest-Killing Machine (1978)

"Killing Machine" is the second album released by the British band Judas Priest in 1978, and the first to feature the same lineup as their previous album, "Stained Class". Interestingly, this album was released in the United States three months later than in the rest of the world, and was also retitled "Hell Bent For Leather". While maintaining a very high level of musicianship, this release adjusts the sound towards more basic parameters to make it more accessible and commercially viable. Even so, it remains a powerful heavy metal album, with thrilling, hard-hitting songs. Tracks like "Hell Bent For Leather", "Running Wild", "Delivering The Goods", "Evil Fantasies", and "Killing Machine" form the solid backbone of the album's heavy metal, while the melodic "Before The Dawn" is the only piece that offers a brief respite from the relentless pace of the rest of the album. "Killing Machine" is considered the perfect transition between the classic hard/heavy rock sound with some progressive tendencies of their previous works and the dark and accelerated tone of conventional heavy metal of their subsequent releases.

Judas Priest-Ram It Down (1988)

In 1988, heavy metal was immersed in the sounds favoring the speed of thrash and glam that dominated MTV, leaving the genre's more traditional bands at a crossroads: whether to stick to their established philosophy or explore these styles that were trending at the time. In this context, Judas Priest had attempted to commercialize their style with "Turbo" (1986), a synthesizer-heavy album that was panned by their most devoted fans but nevertheless gained many new followers. Despite the commercial success of "Turbo", the band didn't want to continue down that path, or at least not so blatantly, and several years later released the challenging "Ram It Down", an album that straddled the line between their classic heavy metal and some of the experimentation they had showcased on their previous work. On "Ram It Down", Judas Priest returned with their fiercest and coldest sound, crafting a precise heavy metal album with the dizzying riffs of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing and the thunderous rhythm section of Dave Holland and Ian Hill. Songs like the galloping title track, the accelerated "Heavy Metal" and "Hard As Iron", the conventional heavy metal/hard rock tracks "Come And Get It", "Monster Of Rock", and "Love You Death", the dramatic "Blood Red Skies", and the experimental cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" (the latter two being the closest to the sound of their previous album), not only demonstrated a profound reflection on the path forward but also showcased the astonishing vocal range of Rob Halford, who was at the peak of his powers during those years.

Judas Priest-Defenders Of The Faith (1984)

Considered by their most die-hard fans as one of Judas Priest's last great albums, "Defenders of the Faith" continued the triumphant path of its predecessors, "British Steel" (1980), "Point of Entry" (1981), and "Screaming for Vengeance" (1982). On this occasion, the band even transformed their visceral style into aggressive heavy metal, with countless instrumental pyrotechnics driven by their two ruthless guitarists, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, and supported by the blistering rhythm section of bassist Ian Hill and drummer Dave Holland. Special mention must be made of the soaring vocals of a sublime Rob Halford in immeasurable form. Thrilling heavy metal tracks like "Freewheel Burning" or "The Sentinel", along with the raw "Jawbreaker", "Rock Hard Ride Free", "Love Bites", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" or "Heavy Dute", make up the amazing repertoire of one of the essential albums in the history of heavy metal.

The Herbie Hancock Group-Head Hunters (1973)

Once Herbie Hancock concluded his "Mwandishi" period (essentially a fusion of free jazz, modal jazz, and tribal sounds), he returned to a more conventional, funk-infused jazz style with the release of "The Herbie Hancock Group: Head Hunters". For this album, Hancock reunited his band Sextant, which included Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, and Bill Summers. Comprising four expansive tracks, from the opening "Chameleon", Hancock makes it clear that the material presented here differs considerably from his previous work. A tour de force in clear jazz-funk style, the jazz-rock influences of "Bitches Brew" are represented in the dynamic "Sly" and the ethereal, atmospheric "Vein Melter", while the jazz-fusion track "Watermelon Man" provides the most accessible moment on the entire album. This "Head Hunters" is, along with works such as "Crossings" (1972), "Sextant" (1973), "Thrust" (1974), "Man-Child" (1975) or "Mr. Hands" (1980), the creative pinnacle of one of the greatest jazz rock pianists in history.