Enter Sadmen: The Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Hall of Fame

In the latest episode of the loudest podcast in the world, the Sadmen look at three rock albums that topped the US Billboard 200. The episode spans three decades, stopping off at 1974 and 1987 for the respective debuts of Bad Company and Hollywood bad boys Guns 'N' Roses, and checking in on 1991 for Skid Row's sophomore release, Slave To The Grind. 

For the latest adventure in the quest to review, rate and rank the all time great hard rock and heavy metal albums of rock's golden age, the boys take a rare trip to a world beyond the 1980s and explore a less well-charted land: 1992.

It was a time when the established old guard were trying to find a way to stay relevant and when new kids were on every block. Kiss personified the former, Neil Schon side project Hardline typified the latter.

But what was that dark smudge on the horizon? A smudge that was growing larger by the day and carried with it the soon-to-be unmistakeable sound of de-tuned guitars and stories of epic misery ...

For the latest episode of the Enter Sadmen podcast the Tico Torres Tombola of Topics and Themes spat out NUMBERS. The brief? Choose a classic album released between 1970 and 1995 where either the album title or the band's name contained a number.

Then, as usual, listen to them end to end as many times as possible over the course of a week and reconvene to review them, rate them track by track, average out the overall scores to give each album an average score - and then put each one into the fabled Hall of Fame.

By the end of the episode there would be 69 albums on that list as the boys edged ever closer to the first ton of titles. Stepping into the fray? Bon Jovi with 7800 Fahrenheit, Rush with 2112 and AORsters Q5 with their secondf album When The Mirror Cracks.

Beyond Episode 33 - now just ten episodes away - lies a trapdoor as the Sadmen aim to create the definitive list of the very best hard rock and heavy metal albums from the genre's classic quarter century- and find the 100 that cvan truly be described as the greatest of all time.

Over time the lads shine a spotlight on the producers who've been responsible for some of the very best music hard rock and heavy metal offered up between 1970 and 1995.

First up on the Sadmen stage is legendary British producer, Max Norman, whose contribution to the genre stands comparison with any of the big names on the other side of the glass during rock's classic era.

With a list of production and engineering credits as long as Methuselah's beard, all the boys had to do was pick the three they thought worth of particular attention (at least until Max Norman Part 2 rolls around)... 

For the latest edition of the Enter Sadmen podcast, the boys fired up the Tico Torres Tombola of Topics and Themes and waited for it to spit out a theme. Which, as sure as night follows day, it duly did.

The result? A journey back to 1971 and a land that time forgot. Luckily, it was also a time when a group of earnest and committed young men, together comprising three bands, discovered their musical muse and the succumbed to the allure of experimentation ...

First out of the gate was Detroit antiheroes The MC5 with High Time, followed by Brit-prog darlings Uriah Heep and their acclaimed Look At Yourself. Bringing up the year, another bunch of proggers in the soon-to-be supergroup Yes with Fragile...

Just before recording this episode, the Sadmen sat down for a chinwag with Jody and Julie Turner - the drum- and guitar-playing sisters behind fan favourites Rock Goddess.

After an hour in which they all laughed a lot, discussed Jody's pipework and Julie's memories - or lack thereof - of debuting at the Reading Rock Festival at the age of 14, and shared their own Top 10 albums of all time, the girls chose three records for the boys to review, rate and rank in their next show.

Stepping up to the mic, The Runaways, AC/DC and Metallica with Waiting For The Night, If You Want Blood and Metallica respectively - and a show that covered one of the greatest back stories in rock and roll history.

In the latest of their occasional specials in conversation with rock's royalty, Mark and Richard sit down with two thirds of Rock Goddess - sisters Jody and Julie Turner - to talk about everything from being bribed with new jeans to practice their instruments in the early days of the band to sharing the Reading Festival bill with Iron Maiden as teenagers and how technology has changed the way they work.

As we prepared to get say goodbye to 2020, Mark, Steve and Rich sat down together virtually with a glass of mulled wine and a few mince pies and looked back at the first 19 shows of the Enter Sadmen podcast.

It was a year in which some big guns underachieved and some minnows scaled heights of recognition they may until now have thought lost to them. 

More than that, it was a year of bloody good music and bloody good fun!

In the penultimate full episode of 2020, the Sadmen get to grips with three albums recorded by bands featuring siblings within their ranks. Stepping up to the amps for this show, then, are the Wilson sisters from Heart with Little Queen, Raven's Gallagher brothers John and Mark and the noisy Rock Until Your Drop, and Jody and Julie Turner from Rock Goddess and their cracking little self-titled debut.

Six bands (or seven, depending on which Donington you happened to be at) in the August sunshine of the British East Midlands.

For this episode the boys take a trip back to the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock Festival in 1987 and choose three three different bands who were on the bill that day. The rules? None - other than the stipulation that the album from each band had to be the one released closest to the date of the festival.

Which all added up to Among The Living from Anthrax, Long Cold Winter from Cinderella and a sting in the tail from W.A.S.P. with Inside The Electric Circus.