"Aces High: The Top 250 Heavy Metal Songs Of The '80s is the heavier, hairier follow-up to Riff Raff: The Top 250 Heavy Metal Songs Of The '70s and yes, things have intensified. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal kicks the decade off and then after that there's the thrash of the big four and beyond duking it out with... hair metal! But not only that, some of your favourite '70s legends have something to say, although a studied comparison with the '70s book will reveal that many have simply disappeared from metal consciousness. The results of our ranking--250 songs, each with analysis and author quote and presented in reverse order--are derived from a massive worldwide poll asking heavy metal fans to pick their favourites and send in a list of either ten or 25 ranked or unranked. A bunch of quantitative analysis was applied and here we have it, the cream of the crop perfect for a 20-CD box set and/or Spotify playlist. Look also for rare photography of your favourite bands in action, as well as dozens of 45 picture sleeves that take you back to what many call heavy metal's first real decade, and less contentiously, the golden age of heavy metal. A few geeked-out appendices complete our expansive trip, arranged from #250 on the march toward the #1 heavy metal song of the '80s as picked by you."--Back cover.