Today in Boston ROCK: July 27

Welcome to another edition of Today in Boston ROCK, where I, Adam 12, spotlight Very Important Days In Rock History. July 27 is one.

• 1979

  July 27, 1979: AC/DC releases Highway To Hell. The album resides at the “legendary” level of the rock pantheon for a number of reasons. It’s the album that broke the band internationally after they’d achieved varying levels of success in various parts of the world throughout the 1970s. It would mark the band’s final album with frontman Bon Scott; he would die in February of 1980. And, in less than a year, its success would be eclipsed by the follow-up, Back In Black, which was released just under a year later.

  AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’: Every Song Ranked from Great to Greatest

• 1984

  July 27, 1984: Metallica releases their sophomore album Ride The Lightning. Interesting that the timeline somewhat mirrors the AC/DC timeline I laid out above. Metallica’s debut, Kill ‘Em All, which was released on July 25, 1983. So let’s do the math: Metallica debuts on record in July of ’83 and, within a year, they’ve toured, written a new batch of songs, recorded them, and released a new album. I wrote about it for the 35th anniversary a few years ago.

  Metallica’s ‘Ride The Lightning’ Turns 35

• 1993

  July 27, 1993: Smashing Pumpkins release their sophomore album, Siamese Dream. This is a Top 10 all-time favorite album of mine, and I have something big planned for it next year, when it turns 30.

  Smashing Pumpkins ‘Siamese Dream’ Turns 25 (+1)