MTV Metal Memories

johnfrank1970

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Jan 10, 2002
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I recently finished reading I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story Of The Music Video Revolution (review link below), which got me thinking about my own history with MTV. I realize most of you were either too underground and tr00 to have ever bothered with MTV or you were too young to experience the network when it played mostly music videos (1981-1992). There might be a few posers such as myself out there though, so I thought I would give this a shot.

I Want My MTV book review:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/craig-marks-and-rob-tannenbaum-i-want-my-mtv-the-u,65244/

MTV started in 1981. My best guess is that I first saw it in 1982 when I visited my dad that summer. He had cable several years before we were hooked up at my house. I believe the first video I saw was J. Geils Band - Freeze-Frame. It consisted of the band throwing paint at each other. I was not overly impressed. I likely watched some MTV at my dad's in 83 and 84 as well, but I have no specific memories of doing so. I was far more obsessed with watching as many movies on cable as I possibly could. Though I must have seen some of the Van Halen videos off of 1984 that summer, and they were my favorite band at the time as well as my gateway to the glorious world of heavy metal.

In 1985, I was obsessed with Motley Crue - Theater of Pain and Ratt - Invasion of Your Privacy. I recall watching the video for Lay It Down at my dad's as much as I possibly could. I believe my mom got cable at our house in the fall of 1985. At that point, we also had a VCR, which enabled me to spend most of my waking teenage hours watching MTV and waiting for a cool video to tape. Late nights were reserved for Skinemax flicks, of course. The first video I recall recording was Kiss - Tears Are Falling. Of course, I religiously (Hail Satan) watched any and all metal-related programs, taped them, and took notes on each show's video lineup and interview segments.

Quick history of metal shows on MTV:

Heavy Metal Mania began airing monthly in June 1985. It featured guest hosts from metal bands starting with Dee Snider. Headbangers Ball The show began on MTV on Saturday, April 18, 1987. The show remained on the air until January 1995, when MTV abruptly canceled the show without any prior warning to viewers.

I graduated from high school in 1989 and started college. I still watched Headbanger's Ball in the dorm TV lounge, but I could not tape videos. During my sophomore year in 1990, I had my first experience with the fellowship of metal. (In high school, I had several friends who liked metal, but metal was not responsible for our friendship.) I was watching Headbanger's Ball in the dorm TV lounge as usual, and a fellow longhair and I started talking. We are still friends to this day, although I am much more obsessed with metal than he is, if you can believe that.

Rather pathetically, I was in the dorms for three years during undergrad. Once I moved into an apartment in the fall of 1992, I don't recall watching much MTV. I don't even remember if we had cable. At that point, I certainly was not missing much as The Real World debuted that year, which was the beginning of the end for music videos on MTV.

Some notable hair metal videos for me in the early years:

Van Halen - Jump, Panama, Hot for Teacher (Van Halen was my band. I think I still might have these memorized.)

Motley Crue - Looks That Kill (So fucking vicious and evil. When that pentagram flew off of Tommy's bass drum toward the screen, I knew I wanted to be a minion of Satan.)

Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It, I Wanna Rock (Sheer cinematic brilliance.)

Kiss - Who Wants to Be Lonely (I saw Tears Are Falling much more often, but this was far nastier given all the hosing down of vinyl swimsuit-clad babes, so it was therefore vastly superior.)

Dokken - It's Not Love (Dude, they drove around LA on a flatbed truck and played the tune! How fucking sweet is that?)

Scorpions - Big City Nights (Showed you how awesome it was to be a metal band, both on and off the stage.)

Judas Priest - Turbo Lover (I really thought Priest took it to the next level on Turbo. Rob grew out his hair, they all wore cool matching leather outfits, and those guitar synths were so fucking metal! The video was kind of unique for the time too.)

Yngwie Malmsteen - I'll See the Light Tonight (Such a killer song, and the video was completely badass in the most awesome D&D geek sort of way. When I visited Universal Studios in LA, I was thrilled to find out that Yngwie filmed this video on the Conan show stage. The ultimate nerd moment. Also, Yngwie plays his guitar upside-down and left handed or such fantastic nonsense.)
David Lee Roth - Yankee Rose (Give me a bottle of anything. And a glazed doughnut. To go! Loved the video. Loved the song. The height of cool.)

Dokken - Dream Warriors (I was really stoked for both the new Dokken album and the new Nightmare on Elm Street flick, so this was a huge deal.)

Whitesnake - Still of the Night (I was not a fan of the band, but of course I needed to see the World Premier of the latest hair metal video. Who are those guys with Coverdale? Cool, he got Tommy Aldridge on drums. Hey, that's Rudy Sarzo on bass! Who's that blonde guitarist? He's beautiful. How about the other guitarist... Wait, no, that can't be... Holy fucking shit, that's Vivian Campbell! Fucking supergroup, dude! The tune was pretty cool too.)

Motley Crue - Girls, Girls, Girls (Um, I wasn't old enough to get into strip clubs. This was the next best thing. The album disappointed me, but the videos did not.)

I started getting into the more underground stuff in 1986, especially thrash. Most videos by the heavier bands were not very appealing, but I still watched the shit out of them. A few favorites at the time:

Megadeth - Wake Up Dead (Such a killer and unique song, and the video was so intense, man! It made me afraid to go to a thrash show, as I was certain I would get crushed against the chain link fence by all those psycho mosher dudes. Good thing my mom would not let me go to club shows.)

King Diamond - The Family Ghost (Abigail was huge for me. I watched this over and over again. Such awesome musicians, and I loved King's schtick. Never got to see him live, which still is a huge regret.)

Anthrax - Indians (OK, maybe a thrash show would be fun. Anthrax always looked like they were having a good time, and I could probably last a few minutes in a circle mosh. OK, maybe not, but I was willing to try.)

Nuclear Assault - Critical Mass (Follow the bouncing one-eyed mutant smiley face, and sing along to our lyrics. Also, the gratuitous nasty part with Jessica Hahn and her new boobs. Plus, an environmental theme! Perfection.)

Megadeth - Holy Wars (Several of us in the dorm could barely contain ourselves waiting for the world premier of the new Megadeth video off the forthcoming album. I think I came in my pants about 20 seconds into the tune. Still one of my favorite songs of all-time.)

Metallica - One (Metallica never made videos. Videos were for lesser bands. Bands that did what they were told. But Metallica had an idea for video that would be uniquely theirs. I trusted them because they were Metallica. Metallica could never let me down, right? Loved the video. Fucking edgy, man. Bleak. Unique. I would get so pissed when MTV played the shorter, edited version. Of course, this was the last time I was ever impressed with something the band did. OK, the video for The Unforgiven is decent, but that's it.)

Scatterbrain - Don't Call Me Dude (Just a lot of fun. Never before or since was there a metal band that combined humor and awesome musicianship as well as Scatterbrain.)

I should note that Dio was my favorite band for much of this time, but I always felt Ronnie slathered the cheese on a bit too thick in all of his videos. The best one for me was probably I Could Have Been a Dreamer. The Rainbow and Sabbath vids with him are considerably better. Of course, his full-length concert videos were amazing for me, both the Sacred Heart and Dream Evil tours.

In addition to the Dio concerts on MTV, I also recall really enjoying the Scorpions - World Wide Live set and the Iron Maiden - Live after Death material. I saw other cool ones as well such as Kiss on the Animalize tour, Ozzy on The Ultimate Sin tour, and even Alice Cooper.

I remember being really outraged when MTV banned a video I wanted to see. It seemed like it happened often, but the only examples I can come up with are Twisted Sister - Be Chrool to Your Scuel and Motley Crue - You're All I Need.

As I was walking down memory lane, I thought I would make a list of the non-hair metal videos that came out during this time period. Looking all of these up, I uncovered some videos I never knew existed. Links are provided for your viewing pleasure. I did not list vids from Anthrax, Dio, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera (Phil era), Queensryche, and Testament because they released a fair number of them. For most of the other bands on the list, videos were fairly rare. It's a good thing I liked all of that quality hair metal as well, right?

Anacrusis - I Love the World
Anacrusis - Something Real
Anacrusis - Sound the Alarm
Anacrusis - Release
Annihilator - Alison Hell [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTYHYglem-M&ob=av2e[/ame]
Annihilator - Stonewall [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oooqGHuWuXU&ob=av2e[/ame]
Armored Saint - Chemical Euphoria
Armored Saint - Reign of Fire http://www.metalvideo.com/armored-saint/reign-of-fire-video_fb4b6978a.html
Black Sabbath - Neon Knights
Black Sabbath - Die Young
Black Sabbath - Headless Cross
Candlemass - Bewitched
Candlemass - Mirror Mirror
Carcass - Corporal Jigsore Quandary
Carcass - Incarnated Solvent Abuse http://www.metalvideo.com/carcass/incarnated-solvent-abuse-video_9debb933e.html
Carcass - Heartwork
Carcass - No Love Lost http://www.metalvideo.com/carcass/no-love-lost-video_a7d6d1498.html
Chastain - For Those Who Dare
Coroner - Masked Jackal
Crimson Glory - Lonely
Death - Lack of Comprehension
Death - The Philosopher
Death Angel - Voracious Souls http://www.metalvideo.com/death-angel/voracious-souls-video_d15346c8d.html
Death Angel - Bored
Death Angel - Seemingly Endless Time
Death Angel - A Room with a View [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Lgy6AMb10&ob=av2e[/ame]
Dream Theater - Pull Me Under
Exodus - The Toxic Waltz
Fates Warning - Silent Cries http://www.metalvideo.com/fates-warning/silent-cries-video_9e48ca777.html
Fates Warning - Anarchy Divine
Fates Warning - Through Different Eyes
Fates Warning - Point of View http://www.metalvideo.com/fates-warning/point-of-view-video_6b391bc4d.html
Flotsam and Jetsam - Hammerhead
Flotsam and Jetsam - Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
Forbidden - Step by Step
Grim Reaper - Rock You to Hell
Heathen - Set Me Free
Helloween - Halloween
Helloween - I Want Out
King Diamond - The Family Ghost [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGC2iP5ss6E&feature=relmfu[/ame]
King Diamond - Welcome Home [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJH0eBtnbcs&ob=av2e[/ame]
King Diamond - Sleepless Nights [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-yYG00Nr8I&ob=av2e[/ame]
Kreator - Toxic Trace
Kreator - Betrayer
Kreator - Coma of Souls
Kreator - People of the Lie
Yngwie Malmsteen - I'll See the Light Tonight
Yngwie Malmsteen - You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget
Mercyful Fate - Egypt
Metal Church - Watch the Children Pray
Metal Church - Badlands [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLpLYxUM2Gc&feature=related[/ame]
Metal Church - Date with Poverty [ame]http://www.metacafe.com/watch/6411377/metal_church_date_with_poverty/[/ame]
Metal Church - In Harm's Way http://www.metalvideo.com/metal-church/in-harms-way-video_99579831b.html
Metallica - One [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM8bTdBs-cw&ob=av2n[/ame]
Metallica - The Unforgiven
M.O.D. - True Colors
Mordred - Every Day's a Holiday
Mordred - Esse Quam Videri
Mordred - Falling Away
Nuclear Assault - Brainwashed
Nuclear Assault - Critical Mass
Nuclear Assault - Trail of Tears
Onslaught - Let There Be Rock
Overkill - In Union We Stand
Overkill - Hello from the Gutter http://www.metalvideo.com/overkill/hello-from-the-gutter-video_d96fd1bc2.html
Overkill - Elimination
Overkill - Horrorscope http://www.metalvideo.com/overkill/horrorscope-video_4387ad74a.html
Overkill - Thanx for Nothin' http://www.metalvideo.com/overkill/thanx-for-nothin-video_289d90d83.html
Pantera - All Over Tonight
Pantera - Hot N Heavy
Powermad - Nice Dreams
Pretty Maids - Future World
Primus - Too Many Puppies
Primus - Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
Primus - Tommy the Cat
Primus - My Name Is Mud
Primus - DMV
Primus - Mr. Krinkle
Prong - Prove You Wrong
Prong - Unconditional
Rainbow - Gates of Babylon [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu8HiZepRWo&ob=av3e[/ame]
Riot - Bloodstreets
Sacred Reich - Ignorance
Sacred Reich - The American Way
Sanctuary - Future Tense
Savatage - The Hall of the Mountain King
Savatage - 24 Hours Ago
Scatterbrain - Don't Call Me Dude
Sepultura - Arise
Sepultura - Dead Embryonic Cells
Slayer - War Ensemble [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OkYHiSFenM&ob=av2e[/ame]
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Suicidal Tendencies - You Can't Bring Me Down [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxcJW6bs5os&ob=av2e[/ame]
Suicidal Tendencies - Send Me Your Money
Vicious Rumors - Children
Voivod - Ravenous Medicine
Voivod - Tribal Convictions
Voivod - Psychic Vacuum
Voivod - Astronomy Domine
WatchTower - The Eldritch
Xentrix - For Whose Advantage?
 
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Fantastic post sir! It really shows the prominence of the scene of "true metal" back in the day. Nowadays, the true metal has all but gone underground with only a handful of bands (like Mastodon or Lamb of God) reaching the same level of prominence.

On the more extreme side of things:



MTV did this interview with Bathory mainman Quorthon in the 1990s. He explains the origins of his music. Amazing. They also played the video he made for Once Rode To Asa Bay:



Also: Beavis and Butthead ruled...but they weren't THAT much into death metal. Still, the videos got play on MTV, which is really rad (Beavis doing Chuck Schuldiner ordering from Burger World is PRICELESS):

 
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Turning 40 this and being 9 years old when MTV hit the airwaves it made a HUGE impact on me. I used to beg my parents to let me stay up to watch the concerts they would broadcast on Friday (might have been Saturday). Later on, I watched Headbanger's Ball religiously, and if i couldn't be home for it i would tape it on the VCR. MTV sucks now and it's a shame they chose a path in which the "M" is barely a feature on their network.
 
Once in a great while they would have something cool on there. They even had the Helloween / Armored Saint / Grim Reaper concert broadcast on there. I still have it on VHS.

The Scatterbrain in the studio was hilarious as was Billy Milano from MOD.

They used to play 2 good videos out of the 2 hour block on Headbangers Ball....usually at the very end of the show. They used to do a afternoon half hour show in the late 80's as well. They had guest host lots of times with people from various bands. This is back when it was almost all 24 hours of videos. They had a few game shows and stuff but nothing like how it is now.