'80s Metal History (October 7th)

October 7, 1986: Ten days after his untimely death, a funeral was held for Metallica bassist Cliff Burton in Castro Valley, California. "Orion" from the "Master Of Puppets" album was played as Cliff had said it was one of his favorite Metallica songs.

Combat records promoted the new Exodus album "Pleasures Of The Flesh" with ads that read "Metal’s Heaviest Meal" in stores October 7, 1987, but the original cover art was a no go with American retailers so the LP release date was delayed until November.

Happy Birthday to Krokus singer Marc Storace (October 7, 1951).

October 7, 1981: With their new album in stores and drummer Nigel Glockler behind the kit for his first concert with the band, Saxon launched the UK "Denim And Leather" Tour in Brighton. Riot opened and tickets were only £3.50. Kerrang! ad - October 1981; Record Mirror review - October 24, 1981

DIO released "Hungry For Heaven" as the second single from the album "Sacred Heart" the week of October 7th in the UK, originally written for the "Vision Quest" movie soundtrack which was slightly different from the album version.

DIO "Hungry For Heaven" release information source: Kerrang! ad - October 3, 1985; Kerrang! ad - October 17, 1985; Debuted UK Official singles chart on October 19, 1985.

October 7, 1991: Ozzy Osbourne's sixth studio album "No More Tears" was now available in the UK (September 17th in North America) featuring singles the title track and "Mama, I'm Coming Home", the lyrics for the latter written by Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister. In early 1990, Ozzy had tentatively elected to call the new album "No Dogs Allowed", then changed it to "Say Hello 2 Heaven" before settling on "No More Tears". Release date source: Kerrang! ad - October 12, 1991.

October 1987: Megaforce issued Testament EP "Live At Eindhoven" in the UK, recorded at the Dynamo Open Air Festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands in June that year. For some reason, this wasn't available in North America until 1990. Release information source: [UK] Kerrang! ad - October 31, 1987.

October 1986: Nuclear Assault released their debut album "Game Over" featuring "Radiation Sickness". If you have the cassette version, hang onto it for the band's only issued recording of the song "Lesbians". Release information source: Kerrang! review - October 30, 1986.

October 7, 1984: Twisted Sister's Dee Snider was arrested after a concert in Amarillo, Texas for using “profane and abusive” language during a concert at the Amarillo Civic Center. According to Snider, a mom who had escorted her daughter to the show, filed a complaint after Snider screamed, “Suck my mutha-f****n’ d**k!” at a concertgoer who was harassing him. Snider ended up paying a fine of $75 🙃

October 7, 1987: Mötley Crüe brought the "Girls, Girls, Girls" Tour home to Los Angeles for the second of two shows at the Forum. The day before, Nikki Sixx was pulled over on his way to the concert, arrested for speeding and almost hauled off to jail.

October 7, 2022: Queensrÿche released their 16th studio album "Digital Noise Alliance" in North America, featuring singles "In Extremis" and "Behind The Walls". Release date source: Blabbermouth.net - May 20, 2022.

October 7, 2008: Tesla released their sixth studio album "Forever More" in North America (November 7th in Europe) featuring single "Breakin' Free". Release date source: Blabbermouth.net - October 15, 2008.

October 7, 2000: Original KISS members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss played their final concert together in North Charleston, South Carolina.

October 7, 2023: METAL SHOP's Rich Rock was losing his mind in '80s metal heaven at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California. Night 2 featured Judas Priest (who replaced originally scheduled Ozzy Osbourne) and AC/DC (performing for the first time in 7+ years). Rob Halford walked on stage with a cane that disappeared after 30 seconds and Judas Priest brought the "Fire Power". Watching guitarist Glenn Tipton make a rare appearance and nailing the solo on "Metal Gods" was a great moment. AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson appeared to be having more fun than any other performer at the festival, smiling almost the entire night as if maybe he felt just incredibly thankful he can still do this after losing his hearing in 2016. Scheduled to close Power Trip the next night, Metallica were in the front row for both Judas Priest and AC/DC, enjoying each show with the fans 🤘