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Metal Health

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Metal Health
Studio album by
Quiet Riot
ReleasedFebruary 28, 1983[1]
StudioPasha Music House, North Hollywood, California
Genre
Length40:57
LabelPasha
ProducerSpencer Proffer
Quiet Riot chronology
Quiet Riot II
(1978) 		Metal Health
(1983) 		Condition Critical
(1984)
Singles from Metal Health
  1. "Cum On Feel the Noize"
    Released: July 1983[3]
  2. "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)"
    Released: November 1983[3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[4]

Metal Health is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Quiet Riot, released on February 28, 1983.[1] The album spawned the hit singles "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Metal Health". It was the band's first album to receive a worldwide release, as the first two were released only in Japan.

Metal Health was the first heavy metal album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart,[5] replacing the Police's Synchronicity at number one in November 1983. Due to its commercial success, Metal Health is regarded by some as the catalyst that opened the door for hair metal's immense popularity throughout the next several years.[6] The album went on to sell more than ten million copies worldwide[7] and over six million in the U.S. alone, being certified six-times platinum by the RIAA.

Overview

[edit]

The band parted ways with bassist Chuck Wright early in the recording process, and replacement Gary Van Dyke was not working out. Vocalist Kevin DuBrow asked the band's former bassist Rudy Sarzo to take part in the recording of "Thunderbird", a song written as a tribute to the band's founder Randy Rhoads, who died in a 1982 plane crash. While DuBrow began writing the song while Rhoads was still alive, it wasn't completed until after the guitarist's death.[8] The partnership was quite fruitful and Sarzo ended up recording several songs with the band, and he ultimately left his spot with Ozzy Osbourne to re-join Quiet Riot as a permanent member.[9]

In support of the album, Quiet Riot opened for Black Sabbath on their Born Again tour in the US. They also managed to secure a spot at the 1983 US Festival alongside established acts such as Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest. Prior to Quiet Riot's US Festival performance, Sarzo was punched in the face backstage by a drunken Osbourne, still bitter over the bassist leaving him to rejoin Quiet Riot several months prior.[9]

Due to the band's subsequent failure to match Metal Health's commercial success, Quiet Riot has at times been referred to as "one-hit wonders".[10] This is not correct, however, as the band had two songs reach the Billboard Top 40, in addition to a subsequent album being certified Platinum for over one million album sales.[11] The title track was ranked No. 35 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. "Slick Black Cadillac" is a re-recording of a song that appeared on the band's 1978 album Quiet Riot II.

Artwork

[edit]

The album cover art was designed by Stan Watts, who had previously designed the covers for the Doobie Brothers' Best of The Doobies Volume II (1981), Black Sabbath's Live Evil (1982) and Martin Briley's One Night with a Stranger (1983), as well as the poster for the film The Howling (1981). Frankie Banali later stated that Quiet Riot had wanted to create an icon for the band, and that Sarzo had suggested something akin to Alexandre Dumas' "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1847). While many thought the masked cover model was DuBrow, it was actually Watts himself, whose wife took the photo of him, which he then airbrushed for a "dramatic, high-contrast look". The mask became so popular that DuBrow wore a similar one on the cover of the band's follow-up album, 1984's Condition Critical.[12]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Metal Health"
5:17
2."Cum On Feel the Noize" (Slade cover)
4:51
3."Don't Wanna Let You Go"
  • DuBrow
  • Cavazo
4:43
4."Slick Black Cadillac"
  • DuBrow
4:13
5."Love's a Bitch"DuBrow4:11
6."Breathless"
  • DuBrow
  • Cavazo
3:51
7."Run for Cover"
  • DuBrow
  • Cavazo
3:38
8."Battle Axe"Cavazo1:39
9."Let's Get Crazy"DuBrow4:08
10."Thunderbird"DuBrow4:43

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from LP liner notes.[13]

Quiet Riot

Additional musicians

  • Pat Regan – keyboards
  • Chuck Wright – bass guitar ("Metal Health", "Don't Wanna Let You Go"), backing vocals
  • Tuesday Knight – backing vocals ("Thunderbird")
  • "Riot Squad" (Frankie Banali, Kevin DuBrow, Spencer Proffer, Carlos Cavazo, Donna Slattery) – backing vocals ("Let's Get Crazy")

Technical

  • Spencer Proffer – producer, additional engineering
  • Duane Baron – engineer
  • Csaba Petocz – additional engineering
  • Jay Vigon – art direction, design
  • Quiet Riot – concept
  • Stan Watts – cover illustration
  • Sam Emerson – back cover photographs
  • Ron Sobol – button photos

Charts

[edit]
Weekly Charts (1983–1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] 39
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 5
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 33
US Billboard 200[17] 1

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] 3× Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] 6× Platinum 6,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

[edit]
Publication Country Accolade Rank
Consequence of Sound US 10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck[2] 3
Rolling Stone US 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time[20] 15
Loudwire US Top 30 Hair Metal Albums[21] 11

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b FMQB New Releases (Feb. 18, 1983)
  2. ^ a b "Consequence of Sound - 10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck". Consequence of Sound. February 5, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Great Rock discography". p. 668.
  4. ^ "Review: Quiet Riot - Metal Health | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  5. ^ DiVita, Joe (July 22, 2013). "10 Best Metal Albums of 1983". Loudwire. Retrieved April 9, 2021. Metal Health' is immortalized in music history as the first heavy metal album to reach the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart
  6. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (August 6, 2018). "The 11 Heaviest Hair Metal Songs". Loudwire. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Quiet Riot - BIO". www.quietriot.band. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  8. ^ Quiet Riot 2001 CD: Liner notes
  9. ^ a b Sarzo, Rudy (2017). Off the Rails (third edition). CreateSpace Publishing. ISBN 1-53743-746-1
  10. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo; Franck, John Franck. "Metal Health review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  11. ^ Mitchell, Matt. "The 100 Greatest Cover Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  12. ^ Bennett, J. (December 1, 2010). "Quiet Riot's 'Metal Health': The Story Behind the Cover Art". Revolver. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  13. ^ Quiet Riot (1983). Metal Health (LP liner notes). Pasha Records. FZ 38443.
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4451a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Quiet Riot – Metal Health". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  17. ^ "Quiet Riot Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  18. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Quiet Riot – Metal Heath". Music Canada.
  19. ^ "American album certifications – Quiet Riot – Metal Health". Recording Industry Association of America.
  20. ^ "Rolling Stone - 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. August 31, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  21. ^ DiVita, Joe (November 9, 2016). "Top 30 Hair Metal Albums". Loudwire. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
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