'80s Metal History (December 14th)

December 14, 1995: Billed as "The Lemmys", Metallica appeared as a surprise opening act for Motörhead, with all members dressed as Lemmy Kilmister for his 50th birthday party at the Whisky A Go-Go in West Hollywood, California. "And as we walked towards the Whisky stage (for the first time since supporting Saxon in 1982!!), the fucking look on people's faces… classic. I started 'Overkill', immediately swallowed half the wig, but… who gives a fuck?! And off we [went]!" -Lars Ulrich

December 1982: From the album "Speak Of The Devil", Ozzy Osbourne released "Paranoid" Live as a single in North America. Not surprisingly, the now established Ozzy charted higher in the US with this version (25) than the 1970 Black Sabbath original (61). Release information source: Debuted Billboard Mainstream Rock chart on December 25, 1982.

December 14, 1986: With Mark Slaughter on vocals, Vinnie Vincent Invasion were touring with Alice Cooper, having just played Cleveland and on their way to New York... "Last time I saw Vinnie he was still in KISS. The clothes have changed, the hair has been supercharged with spray, but he's still a damn hot guitarist." -Kerrang!

Happy Birthday to AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams (December 14, 1949).

Happy Birthday to original Meliah Rage singer Mike Munro (December 14th).

December 14, 1982: Back in Britain with a major tour to support "Talk Of The Devil", Ozzy Osbourne, with new guitarist Brad Gillis, performed just four Black Sabbath songs at London's Wembley Arena.

December 14, 1991: Powered by singles "Jet City Woman", "Silent Lucidity" and the title track, Queensrÿche's fourth studio album "Empire" went double platinum in the US (2 million copies sold). As of today, that number is over three million worldwide, making it the band's best selling LP.

December 14, 2004: Thousands of fans attended a memorial for late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell in Arlington, Texas, along with Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Cantrell, Zakk Wylde and Dimebag’s brother Vinnie Paul.

December 14, 2010: Motörhead released their 20th studio album "The World Is Yours" in the UK (January 2011 everywhere else), dedicated by Lemmy Kilmister to Ronnie James Dio who had died from cancer seven months earlier. Release date source: Blabbermouth.net - November 9, 2010.

Wholesome holiday wishes from Ozzy Osbourne with his very young children in 1985 🤗 -Kerrang!