These 80s anthems rock! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the 80s rock songs that make us raise our fists and yell!
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00:00 "Live and we must fall, one love and one for all, the rising sun to wall"
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:08 And today we're counting down our picks for the 80's rock songs that make us raise
00:12 our fists and yell!
00:14 "Mighty is calling, I have to go, don't be sorry, you watch this show"
00:23 Number 10.
00:24 Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue Kings of the Sunset Strip, Motley Crue have
00:29 no shortage of heavy metal anthems.
00:31 However, it's seriously impressive that the band was able to craft songs this excellent.
00:42 Both Dr. Feelgood and fellow banger Kickstart My Heart are heavy, high-octane affairs.
00:47 The sort of songs that immediately evoke a memorable time and place.
00:51 Specifically, Dr. Feelgood chugs along at a sinister mid-pace, achieving heaviness without
00:57 skimping on major hooks and sleaze.
01:02 Meanwhile, the music video is a mini-epic, with frontman Vince Neil commanding listeners'
01:11 attention as the song's cautionary tale ends in bullets, fire and lots of explosions.
01:24 Number 9.
01:25 Ace of Spades - Motorhead Motorhead's Ace of Spades may just squeeze
01:31 into our criteria in the year 1980, but the song's influence as an iconic hard rock
01:37 and heavy metal anthem remains secure.
01:47 There's an electricity to Ace of Spades that takes hold right from Lemmy Kilmister's
01:51 overblown bass tone to that sandpaper guitar riff from fast Eddie Clark.
01:56 Add to this sonic stew the maniacal drums of Phil "Filthy Animal" Taylor, and you
02:01 have a recipe for a take-no-prisoners sonic assault.
02:09 Lemmy's fatalistic lyrics about gambling and wild west danger lend Ace of Spades a
02:14 conceptual atmosphere that's analogous to hard rock's unpredictability as the '70s
02:20 gave way to a new decade.
02:22 What remained constant, you may ask?
02:24 Well, Motorhead and their no-BS brand of rock and roll.
02:33 Number 8.
02:34 You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC If Motorhead was leading the heavy charge
02:40 in 1980, then consider AC/DC's Back in Black LP as a re-energized statement of intent.
02:49 "I'm the best damn woman that I ever seen."
02:54 The Australian legends were still reeling from their loss of their inimitable frontman
02:59 Bon Scott.
03:00 Yet it was Back in Black and songs like "You Shook Me All Night Long" that helped prove
03:04 AC/DC could soldier on with new singer Brian Johnson at the helm.
03:21 If that album's opening track, "Hell's Bells" possessed demonic intentions, then
03:25 You Shook Me All Night Long is the party-time respite that helped AC/DC re-enter the charts
03:31 with a vengeance.
03:32 It's a duck-walking, fist-pumping exercise in radio-friendly, anthemic rock that continues
03:38 to get AC/DC fans all riled up.
03:54 Number 7.
03:56 Youth Gone Wild - Skid Row A good song is a good song regardless of era,
04:01 style, or extraneous trappings.
04:12 Youth Gone Wild is truly one of the all-time greats, too.
04:15 A heavy metal anthem from one of the 1980s' most influential groups, Skid Row.
04:20 Much of the attention paid to Youth Gone Wild, deservedly so, falls to singer Sebastian Bach.
04:25 He is, quite simply, the man, and possesses a voice that embodies power, emotion, grace,
04:32 and humor.
04:37 However, the songwriting of Skid members Dave "Snake" Sabo and Rachel Bolan also can't
04:46 be denied as the glue that helps make Youth Gone Wild work so well.
04:50 The textured arrangements and attention to detail are 100% there, and Youth Gone Wild
04:55 as a result transcends the 80s to last forever.
05:03 Number 6.
05:04 Paradise City - Guns N' Roses Here's a question.
05:09 Does it matter that the main riff from Guns N' Roses' Paradise City sounds remarkably
05:13 similar to Zero the Hero by Black Sabbath?
05:16 Maybe, but we also doubt that this revelation will hurt this GNR classic from ruling radio
05:22 roosts for decades to come.
05:34 That's because it's a song that's become synonymous with Guns N' Roses as a brand.
05:38 A song they almost always have to play, and one that always gets a rabid reaction.
05:50 The aforementioned riff, heisted or not, keeps Paradise City going for the most part.
05:57 But the real kicker is during the final act, when the pace is stepped up and GNR go for
06:02 broke.
06:03 It's classic stuff.
06:19 Number 5.
06:20 Peace Sells - Megadeth Thrash fans know this one right from that
06:25 iconic bassline.
06:27 Heck, people who never even heard of Megadeth might know Peace Sells from its long-time
06:32 use during MTV's Music News Briefs.
06:42 Beyond this bit of trivia, this title track from Megadeth's sophomore album, Peace Sells
06:47 But Who's Buying, hangs its creative hat on something we're calling the Mustaine Shuffle.
06:52 It's an approach Megadeth main man Dave Mustaine historically uses often for his riffs.
06:57 And there are few who chug and crunch in quite the same way.
07:07 Peace Sells really hits its stride when it breaks away from this shuffling rhythm, however,
07:12 hitting the thrash gas for some lightning fast solos and a chorus that still kills.
07:17 So many years later.
07:27 Number 4.
07:28 Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpions Germany's Scorpions were actually doing just
07:34 fine for themselves prior to the 1980s, enjoying a reputation as one of their country's finest
07:39 progressive krautrock exports.
07:41 However, heavy metal came calling in a big way for the group as the 70s headed into the
07:47 creative rear view.
07:55 Rock You Like A Hurricane is very much indicative of the musical path Scorpions have trod from
08:00 that point to the modern day.
08:02 A muscular and riff-focused Metallica salt.
08:20 Twin harmony leads, anthemic choruses, savage riffing, it's all there and laser-focused
08:25 to its most commercial potential for a decade that liked things loud and heavy.
08:30 Sure, Scorpions weren't really a prog band anymore, but that mattered little to their
08:35 new legions of head-banging faithful.
08:51 Number 3.
08:52 Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne Put those pitchforks away for the time being.
08:57 We know that Crazy Train isn't Ozzy Osbourne's best song, not by a long shot in fact.
09:03 However, its status as an anthem and calling card for the former Black Sabbath singer is
09:08 undeniable.
09:13 There's a hokeyness to that opening riff that's immediately recognizable by even those completely
09:19 unfamiliar with hard rock and heavy metal.
09:27 The creative flowers here definitely need to be laid at the feet of the dear and departed
09:31 Randy Rhoads, whose axe-slinging skills laid the groundwork for Ozzy to become the icon
09:36 he is today.
09:37 Rhoads may be gone, but the contributions he made on songs like Crazy Train live forever.
09:50 Number 2.
09:51 Run to the Hills - Iron Maiden We're on a similar line of thinking as Ozzy
10:03 with this one.
10:04 A tried and true heavy metal anthem that's most definitely not a deep track.
10:09 Still, Iron Maiden's Run to the Hills was, for many, a gateway drug for the intoxicating
10:14 bliss that was heavy metal back in the 1980s.
10:18 So that's gotta count for something, right?
10:20 Racist and songwriter Steve Harris leans into this trademark gallop for all it's worth
10:25 as Run to the Hills makes its presence felt.
10:38 It's then-freshly acquired singer Bruce Dickinson that really steals the show here, however,
10:43 howling with abandon and ferocity as if his life depended on it.
10:47 Love it or hate it, Run to the Hills is an undeniable rocker.
11:06 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:10 Dream Warriors - Dokken A hair metal horror anthem
11:23 Transformers - Lion The most epic animated intro ever
11:34 Nothin' but a good time - Poison The United States of Pop Metal
11:45 Metal Health - Bang Your Head Quiet Riots - Heavy Metal Enters the Charts
11:59 Round and Round - Rats Sleaze and style collide on the Sunset Strip
12:27 Master of Puppets - Metallica Who said an anthem needs to compromise anything
12:34 in order to connect with the masses?
12:36 If someone did, nobody told Metallica because worldwide dominance and success came to them,
12:42 not the other way around.
12:51 How else can we explain a world where a song as heavy, complex and brazenly metallic can
12:56 enter the pop culture zeitgeist of a show like Stranger Things?
13:00 It speaks largely to how closely Metallica's songwriting reflected a perfectionist's desire
13:05 and an almost maddening attention to detail.
13:16 This is meticulous thrash metal composed with an ear for classical bass structures and arrangements
13:22 that always service the song, as opposed to any personal indulgences of the musicians
13:27 involved.
13:28 In other words, it's perfect.
13:38 What 1980s rock song pumps you up?
13:56 Let us know in the comments.
14:06 (dramatic music)