80s metal: under the radar....fave recordings

I have to admit that I was a metal head in the 80's. I've seen Nasty Savage front row and Nasty Ronnie lifted me off the ground. I've seen Exciter, Merciful Fate, Motorhead, Metallica with David Mustane, Anvil, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Twisted Sister with UFO, Ronnie James Dio (RIP) amongst many others. I was not a fan of Krokus but I liked Saxon (Wheels of Steel) and I totally and undeniably LOVED Accept. I still have Balls to the Wall and some others packed away somewhere. I was also a huge huge fan of The Scorpions earlier music with Ulrich Roth on guitar. Michael Schenker Group (MSG)...awesome. I live in Rochester NY and this was a heavy metal hub back in the 80's for some reason.

I also have to mention that there's a lot more metal bands I listened to in the 80's. It's just been awhile and I can't recall them off the top of my head right now. One of my closest friends hosted a metal show on the radio on Friday nights when we were in high school and it was wildly popular. Then he went to Trevis (spelling) Institute of the Recording Arts up in Toronto. He would interview metal bands as they came through town. He had breakfast with Slayer in 1986, the morning after a show. I'll never forget driving up to visit him. What a blast. He lived right down the street from Mapleleaf Gardens.

These days those bands are just memories. I'm a huge jazz fan now, but I enjoyed the ride. I would have to say that Merciful Fate, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Ronnie James Dio were the best I saw live. If I could see one of them again, I'd choose Dio because he was just insane live. His voice was perfect even in old age. You know dio would be about 70 right now?

Now you've got me feeling like I've lost my memory. I really liked Savatage a lot. Venom, Cirrith Ungol, Overkill. There's more but I can't think of them. I have all this stuff on vinyl and no longer own a turntable. Anyhow, my wife was a Deadhead and would stop talking to me if I played any of this. I tried to put on some old Scorpions and she quickly resolved the issue. I still have my fading memories of Lemmy flicking lit cigarettes into the crowd and I smoked a doobie with Anvil back stage in Toronto once.