10 Hard Rock Music Artists Who Released Two Great Albums In The Same Year
These bands had some of the busiest twelve months in all of music history.
Putting out an album is very hard work. Not only do you have to write and record all the songs, but there's also the issue of mastering them, organising any overdubs that might be needed, and putting on all the finishing touches.
In days gone by, you'd also need to actually make physical copies of records, cassettes, or CDs. Combine all this with press, touring, and other assorted titbits, and that's one hell of a schedule.
It's no wonder that, after recording an album, some artists take years to even start thinking about making a new one. Not these lot though. These lot are hardcore.
The following ten bands all put out an album at the start of the year and thought "Hey, why stop at one?" By the time the calendar changed over, another entirely new musical project had been completed and put on shelves.
What could possibly motivate people to put themselves through such a gruelling experience? Passion for music? A desire to capitalise on momentum? Cold hard cash?
Yeah, it's probably the last one.
If you were a fan of these bands, then the following years were all great ones for you.
10. Judas Priest - Stained Class & Killing Machine
The album that most critics describe as Judas Priest's breakthrough is 1980's British Steel. To be fair, that record opens with Breaking The Law, so it's kinda hard to argue against that statement.
Before they became megastars though, the band from Birmingham were beavering away trying to make a name for themselves. Said beavering included not one, but two major releases in the year 1978.
First came Stained Class from February, which not only bore a very punny name, but also gave the world the mammoth track Exciter. The song is widely considered to be a precursor to the speed metal genre and, even without historical context, it's a banger.
Eight months later, fans of the group were treated to Killing Machine, another beast of a record that saw Priest adopt their famous leather look for the first time. In fact, the album was actually renamed Hell Bent for Leather in America, but mainly because the US gets a little sensitive about aggressive album titles.
Neither album set the world on fire, but they were both essential in laying the groundwork for the monumental success that was to come.