In a year worthy of your rage, metal delivered in spades. What with the economy circling the drain and Sarah Palin coming down from the tundra and then refusing to go back, 2008's been the kind of year that really makes you want to smash your head into walls or punch random strangers in the face. Good thing there were so many awesome records available to serve as a soundtrack for exactly that kind of behavior. The ten discs below are just the tip of a very big, very heavy iceberg. Metal seems to
​Judas Priest is so influential, so part of the original heavy music, that the band was already rocking when the term "heavy metal" was invented. Formed by guitarist K.K. Downing and bassist Ian Hill, the band originally came together in 1969 over a shared love of bands like Cream. Their hometown of Birmingham, England, though, is not exactly a pastoral place -- it's industrial gothic, and the sooty gloom eventually penetrated their heavy blues rock. (It's absolutely no surprise that Black Sab
​Judas PriestMonday, August 17Hard Rock Live, HollywoodBetter Than: A case of the MondaysThe Review:Classic metal shows are always an excellent bang for the buck -- see previous reviews on local shows by Iron Maiden or Slayer, for example. The bands are drawing on years of a critic- and fan-vetted catalog, so as a fan, you're guaranteed to like at least 90 percent of the songs played. So will everyone around you, who will generally be drunk, possibly sunburned, and generally good-natured and u
