'80s Metal History (July 26th)

July 26, 1986: Shortly before a show in Evansville, Indiana, Metallica's James Hetfield broke his wrist while skateboarding and the band had to cancel. The news was not well-received and Cliff Burton was hit with a paper cup by a fan. For the shows that followed, Kirk Hammett's guitar tech John Marshall filled in for James on guitar. John later played with Metal Church from 1986-1995 and 1998-2001. Third image from Kerrang! - Sept. 4, 1986

July 26, 1985: Megadeth's debut album was in stores along with Exciter's "Love Live The Loud" and they were touring the US together with Megadeth opening when they played Fender's Ballroom in Long Beach, California.

July 26, 1980: Motörhead headlined the "Heavy Metal Barn Dance" at Bingley Hall in Stafford, England. A limited edition comic called "Rock Commando" was given out at the show that also included Saxon and Angel Witch on the bill.

July 26, 1992: With the return of Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice and Geezer Butler, the Black Sabbath "Mob Rules" lineup had reunited for the album "Dehumanizer" and tour that on this date brought them to Atlanta with opener Danzig.

Remembering Metal Church singer [1988-94, 2015-21] Mike Howe, who died July 26, 2021 at age 55. R.I.P.

July 26, 1988: German thrash metal band Kreator released their second EP "Out Of The Dark... Into The Light" in the UK featuring "Impossible To Cure" and Raven cover "Lambs To The Slaughter". Release date source: Kerrang! - July 16, 1988.

Late-July 1985: Agent Steel released their debut album "Skeptics Apocalypse" in the US (February '86 in the UK). Vocalist John Cyriis was the first singer for Megadeth, but fired after only 8 months. He was really interested in UFO's, but Dave Mustaine was against the idea. Release information source: [US] Kerrang! - July 11, 1985; [UK] Kerrang! - February 20, 1986.

July 26, 1993: Accept released their ninth studio album "Objection Overruled" in North America, their first with Udo Dirkschneider since "Russian Roulette" (1986). Udo and guitarist Wolf Hoffmann were simpatico on this record..."that classic Accept sound again." Release date source: The Hard Report radio trade publication - July 23, 1993.

July 26, 1994: Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke released his debut solo album "Pawnshop Guitars" in North America featuring rock hits "Cure Me... Or Kill Me..." and "Tijuana Jail"... Slash played lead guitar on both tracks. Release date source: The Hard Report radio trade publication ad - July 22, 1994.

July 26, 2004: Megadeth released "Die Dead Enough" in North America as the lead single from their forthcoming album "The System Has Failed". Dave Mustaine wrote it for the movie "Tomb Raider II", but the deal fell through. Release date source: Blabbermouth.net - June 19, 2004.

July 26, 2005: Yngwie Malmsteen released his 15th studio album "Unleash The Fury" in North America (February 2005 in Japan), the title a reference to a drunken incident that occurred on a 1988 flight to Tokyo during the "Odyssey" tour. Release date source: Blabbermouth.net - June 27, 2005.

July 1987: "Following a brief spell laid-up recovering from the worst excesses of their mind-f**king 'Master Of Puppets' world tour," Metallica returned to the studio for a week of "sleepless nights recording a weird bunch of material." -Kerrang! "Wait till you hear it though... we sound energised!" -Lars Ulrich. "The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited" hit record shops the following month.