1988

Nineteen eighty-eight was a year of thaw and static. The Soviet Union began its economic restructuring on New Year's Day, and Hungary started letting people travel west, so the Iron Curtain was fraying. Meanwhile the Morris worm gave the young Internet its first well-known virus, and the Winter Olympics came to Calgary.

In metal, thrash was growing up and getting ambitious. Metallica's ...And Justice for All arrived in September, and Megadeth's So Far, So Good... So What! and Slayer's South of Heaven showed how wide the genre's range had become. Anthrax answered with State of Euphoria. Iron Maiden went progressive with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Queensrÿche built a whole story into Operation: Mindcrime. Elsewhere, AC/DC were still turning out Blow Up Your Video, Ozzy Osbourne released No Rest for the Wicked, Motörhead offered Nö Sleep at All, and Guns N' Roses followed up with G N' R Lies. Soundgarden's Ultramega OK hinted at the grunge to come. Metallica also joined Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken and Kingdom Come on the Monsters of Rock tour, while Living Colour's Vivid climbed to number six in America.

The personnel changes were busy. Kai Hansen left Helloween after band and record-company troubles, and went on to form Gamma Ray. Faith No More fired Chuck Mosley and brought in Mike Patton. Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth's band to start Mr. Big. Mötley Crüe went into rehab, and Warlock called it a day. A reunited Led Zeppelin, with Jason Bonham on drums, stole Atlantic Records' fortieth birthday show in May.