25 Years Later: A Look Back At Roadrunner Releases From 1986

Roadrunner Records has a long and storied history as one of metal's longest-running independent labels. Throughout the years, we've brought iconic bands like Sepultura, Suffocation, Slipknot, and even some whose names don't start with S, to the world's attention. So even as we move forward into the future, with new releases by veteran acts and brand-new ones, we feel it's worthwhile to look back at some of the albums we released 25 years ago, way back in 1986.

Crimson Glory's self-titled debut was a pinnacle of the progressive power metal movement in the mid '80s. The band had a knack for image-making, performing in silver masks and giving their singer the stage name "Midnight." Their music was very much in the vein of Queensryche, with powerful guitar leads and screaming upper-register vocals, and song titles like "Queen of the Masquerade," "Angels of War" and "Heart of Steel." Their sound got poppier on subsequent releases, but Crimson Glory was a shockingly assured debut, and the band is still revered in prog and power metal circles.
Where Are They Now? Crimson Glory vocalist Midnight passed away in 2009, but the band has reformed with new frontman Todd La Torre and toured Europe in April 2011, celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut.

Mercyful Fate singer King Diamond made his solo debut that year with Fatal Portrait, an album that mixed the "concept album" approach he'd take on later releases with a collection of stand-alone songs on the disc's second side. The first four songs, "The Candle," "The Jonah," "The Portrait" and "Dressed in White," all tell a single linked story of the ghost of a girl whose spirit is trapped in a painting...or something like that. The performances, by King and lead guitarists Andy LaRocque and Michael Denner, not the coherence of the story, are what make Fatal Portrait a metal classic, though, and helped it launch a brilliant solo career.
Where Are They Now? King Diamond's most recent album was 2007's Give Me Your Soul...Please. In December 2010, he underwent heart surgery, from which he is presently recuperating.

An unjustly forgotten Roadrunner release from '86 is Brutal Destruction, the debut album by Belgian speed metallers Cyclone. They weren't as polished as Metallica or Megadeth, but they had all the fury and energy of German thrash acts like Kreator and Sodom, and Brutal Destruction is packed with riffs that'll make you want to kick a total stranger in the face. And isn't that what thrash is all about?
Where Are They Now? Cyclone broke up after their second album, 1990's Inferior to None.

Source: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/news/story.aspx?newsitemID=23161

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