In celebration of Canada Day - a yearly event/holiday celebrating the anniversary of July 1st, 1867, which united three British colonies into a single country under the British Empire called Canada - we are counting down the key heavy musical masterworks in our history. Hence the the 30 Best Canadian Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums Of All-Time countdown which will run daily throughout July!

We've asked the BW&BK; scribes to list their faves of all-time and now we can present you with the list. And we will count-down one-a-day for 30 days! What better way to spent the dog days of summer than to visit BraveWords.com and check out which fine Canuck metal needs to be in your collection!

Without further adieu, let's keep rockin' eh!

26) CONEY HATCH - Coney Hatch (Mercury - 1982)

Toronto’s CONEY HATCH’s claim to fame was three albums of heavy, tough, groovy AOR metal somewhere between the early hair of QUIET RIOT and RATT and a tank-roll straight outta AC/DC. Each record was glossier than the last, which is why the raw and rockin’ debut is dearest to metal hearts and making the scribes’ list. Post-Coney Hatch, ANDY CURRAN went onto a brief but successful solo career, but more poignantly, CARL DIXON (who played with modern lineups of APRIL WINE and GUESS WHO) was severely injured in a car accident while visiting his daughter in Australia. It’s testimony to his positivity and enthusiasm for life that he is alive today and near fully recovered to tell the tale.

Writes Martin Popoff, in his book The Collector’s Guide To Heavy Metal – Volume 2: The ‘80s, “Ontario boys Coney Hatch (named for an insane asylum in England) skillfully balanced exuberance with tasteful economy on this their robust, fresh, accessible debut. Produced by KIM MITCHELL for Anthem (not very well, I might add), with thanks to Kim, Pye Dubois, and Mike Tilka, this is very much an in-house brew, also featuring Kim on backing vocals and guest guitar - and not on the 'Monkey Bars' solo as Carl emphatically has told me, that being Steve Shelski just playing a heck of a lot like Kim, including Kim’s habit of learning non-guitar jazz licks on guitar. Coney Hatch had crafted a sound that zoned in on a sort of up-front AC/DC simplicity, the fat unadorned chords, the mindfulness of the groove potential inherent in the slow to mid-pace spectrum, sprinkled with updated hard rock trickery and strong melodic choruses. What resulted was a solid, memorable first effort brimming with fun and summer mischief, a heavy-handed melodic rocker delivered with self-deprecating wit and innocent wide-eyed wonder in anticipation of fulfilling a rock ‘n’ roll dream or two. Unfortunately, as their career played out, the debut record would represent what was to be the biggest buzz of the three Hatch outings, spawning minor hit ‘Hey Operator’ (later covered by Hatch clone ALDO NOVA), and securing the band back-up slot on the PRIEST’s Screaming For Vengeance tour, a tour which Andy Curran considers one of his fondest memories of the band’s run.”

The Top 30 Canadian Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums Of All-Time!

#30) TRIUMPH – Allied Forces (Attic – 1981)

#29) INTO ETERNITY - The Scattering Of Ashes (Century Media - 2006)

#28) WOODS OF YPRES - Against The Seasons: Cold Winter Songs From The Dead Summer Heat (Krackenhaus - 2002)

#27) GORGUTS - Obscura (Olympic - 1998)

#26) CONEY HATCH - Coney Hatch (Mercury - 1982)