Metal Health
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Album Summary
Metal Health was laid down in 1982 at Pasha Music Organisation studios in Hollywood, California, and came roaring out of the gates on March 11, 1983, through the combined muscle of Pasha Records and Epic Records. Produced by Spencer Proffer, this was the record that put Quiet Riot — Kevin DuBrow on vocals, Carlos Cavazo on guitar, Rudy Sarzo on bass, and Frankie Banali on drums — on the map in a way nobody could ignore. These cats had been grinding through the Los Angeles hard rock scene for years, weathering lineup changes and near-misses, and when the time finally came, they walked into that studio and made something that would change the game forever. This was not a lucky accident — this was a band that had paid its dues and was ready to collect.
Reception
- Metal Health became the first heavy metal album to reach number one on the Billboard 200, claiming that throne in August 1983 and holding court there for multiple weeks — a milestone that sent shockwaves through the entire music industry.
- The album was certified multi-platinum in the United States, with sales surpassing three million copies, fueled in no small part by relentless MTV rotation that brought the band into living rooms across America.
- The single Cum On Feel The Noize, a cover of the Slade classic, stormed up to number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the defining rock anthems of 1983, introducing a whole new generation to the power of a great hook delivered with maximum attitude.
Significance
- Metal Health is widely credited with igniting the mainstream commercial explosion of heavy metal in the United States during the 1980s, proving that hard rock could sit at the very top of the pop charts and opening the floodgates for the wave of acts that followed in its wake.
- The album stands as an early and powerful testament to the promotional force of MTV, demonstrating that a hard rock band with the right visual energy and the right songs could use the new medium to leapfrog straight into the mainstream consciousness.
- The title track Metal Health became an enduring anthem of the genre, and the album as a whole cemented Quiet Riot's place in history as the group that carried heavy metal to heights on the American charts that no one had reached before.
Tracklist
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A1 Metal Health 121
5:16
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A2 Cum On Feel The Noize 144
4:49
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A3 Don't Wanna Let You Go 108
4:39
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A4 Slick Black Cadillac 162
4:17
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A5 Love's A Bitch 105
4:06
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B1 Breathless 146
3:49
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B2 Run For Cover 103
3:38
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B3 Battle Axe 89
1:34
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B4 Let's Get Crazy 127
4:06
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B5 Thunderbird 139
4:43
Artist Details
Quiet Riot was a hard rock and heavy metal outfit born out of Los Angeles, California in 1973, cooking up a raw, high-voltage sound built on crunching guitars, pounding rhythms, and the kind of screaming vocals that could wake up the whole neighborhood. They made history in 1983 when their album Metal Health became the first heavy metal record to hit number one on the Billboard 200, blasting open the doors for the whole glam metal explosion that would own the decade. With their flashy style and arena-ready anthems like Cum On Feel the Noize, Quiet Riot didn't just make music — they lit the fuse on a cultural movement that turned heavy metal into mainstream gold.
