On the following pages, I've outlined my picks for the ten best albums of 1998, along with my ten favorite songs. In addition, I've also outlined what I consider to be the top news stories of the past twelve months. You can jump right to my Countdown of the Year's Ten Best Albums, or read on for the top news stories.
January
Two big news stories in the month of January. First off was the news that Black Sabbath was going to reunite for a tour and release a live album called Reunion, both of which were very successful.
The other big news story concerned guitarist Chris DeGarmo quitting Queensrÿche. Here's the original press release thingy from queensryche.com:
It was announced late yesterday (January 27) that guitarist Chris DeGarmo has decided to depart from the band. Word from the fanclub is that Chris will be working with Peter Cornell (brother of Chris Cornell) on another project. Chris has been replaced, with the name of the new guitarist to be named very shortly. Bad news, I know... but with bad news comes good news. With the bad news aside, it's also been made public that the rest of the band has completed 50% of the new album. Which, I've been told is VERY HEAVY and could possibly be a concept album.
After months of speculation, the new guitarist turned out to be Kelly Gray.
February
Tommy Lee assaulted Pamela and was sent off to jail. Oni Logan quit Lynch Mob (again). Slaughter guitarist Tim Kelly was killed in a car crash. Rob Halford came out of the closet, prompting the following remarks from the rest of the band to MTV:
Guitarist K.K. Downing let out a mock yawn as bassist Ian Hill said, "It must have been the worst kept secret in rock and roll." Answering Halford's comments that he may have been intimidated by the band to keep his sexuality a secret, guitarist Glenn Tipton said, "We supported Rob for 27 years." "He quit the band in 1992," Downing added, "and he only just made this statement. I think that answers the question."
March
Soulfly announced an album; nobody noticed. Bret Michaels claims that Pamela dumped Tommy 'cos of Bret and Pam's sex video. Acefrehley.com posts a buncha crap about infighting in the KISS Psycho Circus sessions, most of it pretty entertaining.
April
Faith No More call it quits. Cozy Powell is killed in a car crash at the age of 50. Lollapalooza is cancelled.
May
Country crooner Tommy Stinson has been seen working with Axl Rose; rumors fly. The Sab-less Skid Row are now known as Ozone Monday; a whole host of metalheads cease to care about them. Babylon A.D. gets back together. UFO breaks up (again). Vixen releases a comeback album. Cinderella reforms. The last episode of Seinfeld airs.
June
David Lee Roth loses both of his guitarists. Judas Priest announces a two-disc live album with Ripper on vocals. Rumors place C.C. Deville back in Poison, then are quickly refuted. The Marilyn Manson tour encounters resistance from every right-wing group in existance (along with many venues). Nick Menza is kicked out of Megadeth. W.A.S.P. gets kicked off the Iron Maiden tour of North America. Two has to cancel all of their European dates, presumably due to lack of interest. Firehouse sues Sony. System of a Down release the most heavily hyped album that nobody ever heard. Tool's legal troubles begin. Bruce Dickinson jams onstage with Dream Theater... thousands of metalheads get really jealous. Rush's three-disc live set is announced. I watched the new X-Files movie three times in one week.
July
Ozzfest kicks off. Iron Maiden cancels some tour dates 'cos Blaze hurt his throat; rumors fly. Ralph Saenz quits L.A. Guns, causing me to lose a lot of interest in that band. Neal Peart loses his wife in a car crash. Bruce Dickinson finishes work on A Chemical Wedding; thousands of metalheads begin drooling. RATT signs with Sony.
August
Reb Beach is the new Dokken guitarist. KoRn hits number one on the Billboard charting, topping both Snoop Dogg and the Beastie Boys. Voivod gets in a car accident, putting them out of commission for awhile. More rumors of disenchantment in the KISS camp say Paul and Gene only sang and didn't actually play on the new record.
September
The new Iron Maiden reissues come out. Dee Snider releases Strangeland. White Zombie breaks up. KISS announces their own ISP. Judas Priest announces a North American tour. Tool's legal woes continue. Vanilla Ice threatens to mount a comeback, fronting a hard rock band called Picking Scabs. I move to Evanston, IL.
October
Mötley Crüe appear on WWF Raw is War and lip synch a couple songs (okay, at the very least they faked the backing vocals, I'm sorry but Nikki Sixx does not sound like that!). The RIAA tries to prevent Diamond Multimedia from releasing the Rio mp3 player; they are unsuccessful, and the Rio ships in November. KoRn refuses to appear on eMpTyV with Bruce Dickinson because he's "too metal." Primal Fear, HammerFall, Pegazus, and Labyrinth storm Europe, causing me to wish they'd come here. The Rock Never Stops tour continues for the 20th month in a row or something.
November
Helmet breaks up. Garage Inc. comes out. Mötley Crüe open their own store on Melrose Ave called S'Crue. Ted Nugent retires from music so he can kill things.
December
Helloween performs in the U.S. for the first time in a decade (and I still haven't read a review yet, c'mon peeps, let's go!). A new KISS video game is announced, a 3d-shooter in the vein of Doom and Quake. Rumors fly that Iron Maiden is gonna fire Blaze Bailey and reunite with Bruce for another tour. VH-1 suddenly gets really cool and airs a bunch of specials on metal bands. Tool's legal troubles finally end, allowing the band to start work on their fourth album. Gerri Miller leaves Metal Edge magazine.
So that's the news for the year. Wanna read my take on the year's ten best albums? Well, let's get started then with number ten!
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