On AOL's Radio Blog, in honor of his band's new album Infestation out today, guest blogger/ Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy runs through his ten favorite albums.
From Van Halen to Led Zeppelin, Pearcy namechecks glam metal pioneers Sweet, heavy metal godfathers Black Sabbath, and recounts his love for Golden Earring, Alice Cooper and Judas Priest among much more.
On Screaming For Vengeance, Pearcy writes, "When Robbin [Crosby] turned me onto the Priest I almost lost my mind. What the hell is this? Talk about metal in your face, this record was intense and I'm sure the band were just getting started when I heard 'Sin after Sin,' but 'Screaming' is total Metal with a capital M!!! The metal gods, Priest set the standard after this record that no one could touch or get close to. My favorite band, I still play a Priest song when doing a solo show, I'm a big fan to this day and can never get enough of the metal gods. Great record, stamp of the Priest!"
As for Golden Earring's Moontan, Pearcy explains, "People only know this band from the song 'Radar Love'; fact is they have plenty of great songs. I like the record because of the songs on this record and how they were structured together. There are (five) songs on this record but a lot of music. Kinda of a story in there somewhere. I love the song 'Candy's Going Bad.' I can practice to this record top to bottom, and can play it by the way, lol."
For Led Zeppelin, Pearcy discusses Presence, saying, "I love any and all Zeppelin, but 'Presence' just moved me in every which way, before I even got into music. The thing about Zeppelin, is live they would take the songs all over the place and jam per say, so when I hear these songs from the record I appreciate them even more. Having collected every bootleg (sorry guys, I buy a lot also!) from the band since I first heard them back in 1970, and still do to this day. It's great that Page has been letting us hear the live re-mastered recordings, they are gems. I was lucky enough to see the band a few times in 1973-75 and they changed my life forever. I'd practice to Zeppelin for hours a day. I was very influenced by them although it's not so evident in RATT music."
