'80s Metal History (November 21st)

November 1980: Shortly after guitarist Dennis Stratton was allegedly fired for having a fondness for "easy listening music", his replacement Adrian Smith made his first public appearance with Iron Maiden on West German TV show "Rockpop in Concert".

November 1986: "The next big thing"... American rock radio stations were "flabbergasted" by "Modern Day Cowboy", the first single from Tesla's forthcoming album "Mechanical Resonance"... "We told you these Sacramento rockers packed a power punch." (FMQB radio trade publication ad - November 21, 1986)

"Stairway To Heaven/Highway To Hell" was released in late November 1989, a compilation album featuring cover songs made famous by artists who died from drug or alcohol abuse, recorded by bands who performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in August that year, including Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Scorpions, Cinderella and Bon Jovi. The album was issued by Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi manager Doc McGhee's Make a Difference Foundation. McGhee had pled guilty to importing marijuana into the US and part of his plea bargain included spending $250,000 and dedicating 3,000 hours to his Make a Difference Foundation. Release information source: Billboard Magazine review - December 9, 1989.

November 21, 1981: A full page ad in Billboard Magazine signaled the arrival of "Mob Rules" in North America (early November '81 in the UK), Black Sabbath's second studio album with Ronnie James Dio. Produced by Martin Birch (Iron Maiden), the LP debuted on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart on November 28th.

November 1981: Loudness released their debut album "The Birthday Eve" in Japan only. Their live shows were a success in their home country and by 1985, the "Thunder In The East" were known the world over.

November 21, 1989: Featuring their biggest '80s hits plus a cover of The Who's "I Can’t Explain", Scorpions "Best Of Rockers 'N' Ballads" was issued in North America (one day earlier in the UK). Release information source: [US] Billboard Magazine ad - November 18, 1989.; [UK] Kerrang! - November 11, 1989.

November 21, 1988: Breathing fire on the frozen tundra, Slayer, Motörhead and Overkill brought relentless thrash metal to Minneapolis.

November 21, 1984: Motörhead brought the "No Remorse" Tour, sometimes called "No Remorse Death On The Road" Tour to the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara, California. Lemmy expressed that having a completely new line up of members "took ten years off of me, easy, 'cause they were so excited."

November 21, 1983: Black Sabbath had just "Trashed" Minneapolis and were now traveling west to bring the "Born Again" Tour to Salt Lake City, but the crew got caught in a blizzard, so Salt Lake was canceled.

Happy Birthday to Manilla Road singer Bryan "Hellroadie" Patrick (November 21, 1966). Bryan was the roadie and drum tech for Manilla Road during the '80s. He joined the band as a live member in the early 2000s and eventually replaced original singer Mark "The Shark" Shelton who died in 2018.

November 21, 1980: AC/DC released "Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution" as the third single from the album "Back In Black" in the UK. It would reach No. 15 on the Official Charts. Release date source: Record Business - November 17, 1980.

November 1984: Judas Priest concluded the "Metal Conqueror" Tour two months earlier in Tokyo, but were still in the American public conciousness with a feature in the latest Hit Parader Magazine on the band's early days...

"We really hadn't come up with an image yet. It was funny because we dressed in leather off stage, but we felt that rock stars had to dress in satin and silk. Once we realized that satin pants really weren't right for us, we were on our way. Sometimes I think back to the beginning of this group and I wonder how we've ever made it this far." -Rob Halford