'80s Metal History (February 4th)

Happy Birthday to "The Godfather of Shock Rock", Alice Cooper (February 4, 1948).

February 4, 1983: With John Sykes on guitar, Thin Lizzy released "Cold Sweat" in the UK as the lead single from their forthcoming album "Thunder And Lightning". Co-written by Sykes and Phil Lynott, the song became the biggest track on the record. Release date source: Record Mirror - January 29, 1983.

February 4, 1986: KISS and W.A.S.P. played the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. W.A.S.P. finished their set with "L.O.V.E. Machine", "I Wanna Be Somebody" and "Blind In Texas". KISS probably held their own, but they had some work to do.

February 4, 2008: If you wore out your VHS copy of the "Live After Death" video from 1985, Iron Maiden came through with the DVD to coincide with the start of the "Somewhere Back In Time" World Tour.

February 4, 1989: Guns N' Roses were in the Top 5 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart with "Appetite For Destruction" at No. 2 and their latest "Lies" at No. 5.

February 4, 1991: Saxon released their tenth studio album "Solid Ball Of Rock" in the UK (April 30th in North America). A return to form, singer Biff Byford noted "...our focus returned on 'Solid Ball of Rock'… since then we've been right on it." Release information source: [UK] Kerrang! ad - February 9, 1991; [US] Cashbox Magazine - April 27, 1991.

February 4, 2022: Saxon released their 23rd studio album "Carpe Diem" featuring the title track and "Remember The Fallen". The album was produced by Judas Priest touring guitarist Andy Sneap. Release date source: Blabbermouth.net - November 2, 2021.

February 1988: Kingdom Come released "Get It On" as the lead single from their forthcoming debut album, an instant hit, but as the band gained fame, there was some backlash from critics and fans for their sonic similarities to Led Zeppelin. The track debuted on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart on February 13, 1988.

February 4, 1985: The soundtrack for the movie "Vision Quest" was released in North America (May 1985 in the UK) full of '80s pop hits from Madonna, Journey, etc. Metalheads didn't really care, except for one song included was DIO's "Hungry For Heaven" 🤘 Release date source: [US] Billboard Magazine - February 2, 1985; [UK} Kerrang! - April 4, 1985.

Happy Birthday to former Fastway and Waysted drummer Jerry Shirley (February 4, 1952).

Happy Birthday to former Heathen guitarist [1985–92] Doug Piercy (February 4, 1961).

Originally called Warrior, English metal band Battleaxe released their debut album "Burn This Town" in 1983. Heavily influenced by Saxon, they toured the UK with them.

Parisian hard rockers Satan Jokers released their debut album "Les Fils du Métal" in 1983. One of the first French heavy metal releases, the band issued another album and an EP in the '80s, but then split up.

February 4, 1998: Judas Priest singer Rob Halford revealed he is gay in an interview with MTV. He called it a "beautiful" moment "that was totally unplanned."