80s Metal History (May 24th)

Late-May 1985: Ratt released "Lay It Down" as the lead single from their forthcoming album "Invasion Of Your Privacy". "Wait, Stephen! Don't forget to make a wish." Playboy model Marianne Gravatte is in the music video and also the model on the LP cover. Release information source: FMQB radio trade publication ad - May 24, 1985.

May 1980: American rock radio was loving the new Scorpions album "Animal Magnetism". Stations everywhere were playing "The Zoo" this month, but also "trusting their inner feelings" and taking "Make It Real" for a spin.

May 24, 1980: "What we have here is a total blood-boiling, skull-crushing metal tour-de-force"... Beginning at St. Albans City Hall, Krokus played a string of dates in the UK in support of their new album "Metal Rendezvous".

May 24, 1985: Megadeth played Chuck Landis' Country Club in Reseda, California with Hirax, Laaz Rockit and Dark Angel. The "Killing For A Living Tour" was the band's first major concert tour, supporting their debut LP "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! Note the ad reads "Album Out Now". Most sites show Megadeth releasing their debut album on June 12, 1985. However, there is quite a bit of evidence that it was released two months earlier. The LP appears in the New Releases section of the April 6, 1985 issue of Billboard Magazine in the US and one Megadeth flyer shows the album "Coming April 26". Adding fuel to the fire is a blurb in the March 7, 1985 issue of Kerrang! that notes a UK release date of May 3, 1985 and then an ad that appeared in the May 16, 1985 issue of Kerrang! There is no documentation supporting the June 12, 1985 release date 🤔

May 1990: San Francisco rockers Babylon A.D. released "The Kid Goes Wild" as a single from their self-titled debut album. The song was also featured in the film "RoboCop 2".

May 1985: Often credited as one of the "Big Four" of German thrash metal, Destruction released their debut album "Infernal Overkill". Formed in 1982 as "Knight Of Demon", they went from an Iron Maiden-esque sound to one heavily influenced by Venom.

May 24, 1983: If you knew then what you know now, you would not have missed this show at The Country Club in Reseda, California with upstarts Dokken and Lita Ford opening for Armored Saint 🤘

May 24, 1985: With Accept in tow, Iron Maiden brought the "World Slavery" tour to Nassua Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

May 1986: Two months after the North American release of "Turbo", Judas Priest were touring the US and selling big. The "Fuel For Life" tour would burn on to the East Coast and Texas in June '86 and a remix of "Turbo Lover" was on the way.

May 1975: While on tour in the US, Lemmy Kilmister left the space rock band Hawkwind and flew back to London. He would almost immediately form a new group called Motörhead... "They'll be the dirtiest rock and roll band in the world. If we moved in next door your lawn would die." -Lemmy (Sounds - May 31, 1975)