LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 11, 2020…TWENTY SEVEN YEARS AGO QUIET RIOT RELEASED THEIR THIRD STUDIO ALBUM, AND IT WOULD PROVE TO BE A GROUND BREAKER FOR METAL BANDS.
THE ALBUM WAS ‘METAL HEALTH’ AND IT WAS A GROUNDBREAKER BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST EVER HEAVY METAL ALBUM TO TOP THE BILLBOARD ALBUM CHARTS. ‘METAL HEALTH’ KNOCKED ‘SYNCHRONICITY’ BY THE POLICE OUT OF THE NUMBER ONE SPOT IN NOVEMBER OF 1983. THE ALBUM’S COMMERCIAL SUCCESS WAS FUELED BY 2 HIT SINGLES , ‘CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE’ AND THE TITLE TRACK ‘METAL HEALTH’. NOW THIS MIGHT GET CONFUSING BECAUSE THE SINGLE ‘METAL HEALTH’ WAS THEN RETITLED ‘BANG YOUR HEAD (METAL HEALTH)’ AFTER THE ORIGINAL PRESSING. THE ALBUM ENDED UP SELLING OVER 6 MILLION COPIES. BTW, SOME GREAT TRIVIA ON THE ‘BANG YOUR HEAD (METAL HEALTH) VIDEO. IT WAS A STAPLE ON MTV, BUT WAS MADE ON THE CHEAP BY THE BAND, BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T HAVE ANY MONEY TO RECORD AN ELABORATE VIDEO. SO THEY MADE A DEAL WITH A LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND RECRUITED STUDENTS TO FORM THE CROWDS FOR THE STAGE SCENES. HERE’S THE OFFICIAL VIDEO