The OBSCENE Quintessential Cock Rock guide to Big Hair Glam Metal bands!!
Before grunge scrubbed the smeared makeup off of the face of hair metal and trimmed its flowing locks, an endless parade of longhaired dudes did their level best to destroy the ozone layer, fuelled by a steady diet of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Oh, and, well, depending on the band, more sex and lots more drugs. Lots more. During the Reagan era, glam metal reigned supreme with these bands ferociously whipping their hair. Keep reading for my rundown of the fifteen (in no particular order) bands that I think capture the true cockiness of the hair metal phenomena.
Warrant
The band first came into the national spotlight with their Double Platinum debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its singles, "Heaven," reached No. 1 in Rolling Stone and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band continued its success in the early 1990s And it would be remiss not to mention the strip club staple "Cherry Pie," even though it is a song much loathed by the band as a last minute recording on the album to snag a hit single with the Double Platinum album, it provided the hit album titled song and music video. Although this act summoned an ocean of lighters to illuminate arenas everywhere with ballads like "Heaven" and "Sometimes She Cries," Warrant's late front man Jani Lane still wrote songs like "Uncle Tom's Cabin" that were more serious than your average glam tune.
Poison
Poison achieved great commercial success in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s and has sold over 45 million records worldwide. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10 singles and the Hot 100 number-one, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The band became icons of the 1980s MTV era and had widespread commercial success. The band's breakthrough debut album, the multi-platinum Look What the Cat Dragged In, was released in 1986 and they hit their peak with the second album, Open Up and Say... Ahh!, With songs like "Un skinny Bop," Poison's songwriting wasn't always in front of the makeup and hairspray, but the band nonetheless earned fame well beyond the Sunset Strip with a simplistic, sexed up pop metal sound. Bret Michaels was one of those front men with a vocal range that turned your ears inside out but he still chalked up huge radio and MTV hits like "Nothin' but a Good Time," "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."
Cinderella
From Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania Cinderella's glam metal fairytale got its start in Philly a world away from the Sunset Strip. The band emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation Breaking through the thousand-strong army of already waging hair metal bands with Night Songs in 1986,. They were famous for being a glam metal band, but then shifted over towards a more hard rock/blues-rock sound. By the mid-1990s, the band's popularity declined severely due to personal setbacks, break-ups, and changes in the music industry Cinderella squashed its predecessors with edgier banshee vocals and powerful harmonies that led to a succession of hit singles. Despite its terrifyingly hackneyed hair band appearance, Cinderella was a step above other bands from that era musically.
Twisted Sister
An American band from Long Island, New York, Twister Sister Stake claim to the fact that it created two of the loudest and most sacred hair metal anthems of the '80s that kids shook their fists to in "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock." Many of the band's songs explore themes of parent vs. child conflicts and criticisms of the educational system Twisted Sister had a loud, large and rebellious sound symbolized by Dee Snider's massive curly blonde locks and his teeth biting sneer, making Twisted Sister seem wilder than the other pretty boy glam metal bands. While the band members' famously cross-dressed appearance might seem to link them with the 1980s glam metal movement, Twisted Sister's aggressive musical style was coupled with a more grotesque use of makeup and women's clothing resulting in a product quite distinct from the more hedonistic androgyny of glam metal groups
L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1983. The first incarnation of the group was formed by Tracii Guns in 1983, but disbanded in 1985 following its merger with fellow Los Angeles group Hollywood Rose with Axl Rose, becoming the first lineup of Guns N' Roses. The same year, the group was reformed by Guns and singer Paul Black .That group broke through when it released its self-titled debut in 1988, and especially with its follow-up, Cocked & Loaded, containing "The Ballad of Jayne," which locked in a flock of hardcore fans.
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot was one of the original forces in this genre with two mega hits, "Cum on Feel the Noize" and "Bang Your Head (Metal Health. The band was founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet Riot in May 1975. The band's name was inspired by a conversation with Rick Parfitt of the British band Status Quo, in which Parfitt said he'd like to name a band "Quite Right",[1] and his thick English accent made it sound like he was saying "Quiet Riot". Even though Randy Rhoads was the original guitarist before leaving to work with Ozzy in 1979, Quiet Riot still gained the bragging rights of the first U.S. debut metal album, Metal Health, to reach numero uno on the charts in 1983.
Dokken
Dokken was first formed around 1976 when Don Dokken teamed up with Greg Pecka (drums) and Steven R. Barry (bass). Prior to this Don had been playing club shows in the Los Angeles area billed as "Airborne", but had to change the band name to Dokken because another band with the same name had already acquired a record deal. Dokken made a name for itself with its vibrato-laden, high-note reaching, namesake front man, whose voice could soar high with the best killer pipe wailers in glam. Partnered with George Lynch, arguably one of the top axe men of the era with impressive sharp, clean solos, Dokken is one of the more underrated hair metal bands.
Bon Jovi
Formed in 1983, Once the band began playing showcases and opening for local talent, they caught the attention of record executive Derek Shulman, who signed them to Mercury Records. A friend suggested they call themselves Bon Jovi, following the example of the other famous two-word bands such as Van Halen. This name was chosen instead of the original idea of Johnny Electric. Despite its tepid sound and the fact that it embraced every rock clichÈ in the book, Bon Jovi earned a massive following and churned out a seemingly never ending string of hits starting with "Runaway" in 1984. These stadium rockers are lucky they haven't gone blind with all the girls that have flashed their boobs over the years. Global superstardom came after the release of Slippery When Wet in 1986. Even though Jon Bon Jovi is widely regarded as big of a douchebag as Bono, he had one of the better set of pipes during the hair band era.
Tesla
The band City Kidd was renamed Tesla during the recording of their first album, 1986's Mechanical Resonance, on the advice of their manager that City Kidd was not a great name (in addition, there was already another band going by that name).Rock and roll outweighed the glam in Tesla with its members donning T-shirts and jeans. The act also boasted two underrated guitarist during a time when musicianship wasn't always in the limelight, and hair, makeup and tight pants were. Apart from producing the classic '80s power ballad "Love Song," most of Tesla's lyrics strayed from popular rock themes, and instead of fluffing up the element of glam when breaking mainstream, they took a step back into a more classic rock sound.
W.A.S.P.
W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the same Los Angeles scene that spawned Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Guns N' Roses and others. The band's popularity peaked in the 1980s, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy metal bands. W.A.S.P. gained notoriety for their shock rock themed image, lyrics and live performances. Compared to other hair metal bands of the '80s, with its much darker sound and raunchy, shocking live shows, W.A.S.P. fits better in the "fuck you!" category than the glam category. "Fuck" was a word that was often implied in glam metal, but W.A.S.P. put it in a song title, "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)," which grabbed the attention of anal politicians and played into their censorship agenda. Instead of looking back on W.A.S.P. as a fucked up band, the world should look back on them as an original contributor to the '80s metal sound.
Skid Row
Skid Row was formed in Toms River, New Jersey, in late 1986 by bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo and Fronted by Sebastian Bach with vocals that shatter glass and make ears bleed. They story goes that Jon Bon Jovi had been put in a position to seek out new and upcoming talent. He had set up a publishing company called the Underground Music Company. The band secured a record deal with Atlantic Records in 1988 & signed a publishing deal with the Underground Music Company. Skid Row signed over a shitload of the publishing rights to Bon Jovi, which later became an issue as the band became more successful. In time Sambora agreed to give the band back his percentage of their publishing. Skid Row made a lasting impression with a heavier hair metal aggression, fusing thrashy guitar with a whole bunch of pop. The band's self-titled debut and Slave to the Grind are two major albums in the time capsule of glam.
RATT
Ratt has been recognized as instrumental in the formation of the early 1980s Los Angeles glam metal scene was one of the first glam metal bands on Sunset Strip to help shape its sound in the early '80s., promoting what's known as the 'Sunset Strip' sound of pop hooks infused into an aggressive metal ethos along with groups such as friendly rivals Mötley Crüe. With ripping singles like "Round and Round" and "Lay It Down," which featured the blazing fretwork of Warren DeMartini, RATT chewed up the other bubblegum groups of the time and then spit them out, displaying notably superior musicianship cloaked in a more leathery hard rock skin.
Motley Crue
Mötley Crüe formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has been described through the years as the world's most notorious rock band and one of the world's best-selling groups of all time, having sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. The members of the band have often been noted for their hedonistic lifestyles and the persona they maintained. They have had numerous brushes with the law, spent time in prison, suffered from alcoholism, suffered from long addictions to drugs such as cocaine and heroin, had countless escapades with women and are heavily tattooed. On stage, Motley Crue was the wildest and craziest band of all, reaching new levels of rock star overindulgence. Unlike most bass players who blend in with the background, Nikki Sixx was a major player in the songwriting process, producing a hefty catalog of catchy tunes like "Kickstart My Heart" and "Shout at the Devil." As one of the pioneers of glam metal, Crue helped shape the sound of this larger-than-life subgenre as early as 1981 with Too Fast for Love.
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses was formed in March 1985 by singer Axl Rose and rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin of Hollywood Rose, along with lead guitarist Tracii Guns, bassist Ole Beich, and drummer Rob Gardner of L.A. Guns. The band coined its name by combining the names of both previous groups. After only a short time, during which they reportedly played just two or three shows, Beich was replaced by Duff McKagan, while Guns' lack of attendance at rehearsals led to his replacement by Slash. Gardner quit soon after and was replaced by Steven Adler. Stradlin had previously played with Slash in Hollywood Rose, while Slash had played with McKagan and Adler in Road Crew. More glam in their early days on the Sunset Strip than on studio albums, with the amazing one-two punch combination of Slash's serious shredding and Axl's vigorously vicious vocals, Guns N' Roses, without a doubt, outmatched all other hair metal contenders. Not only did they kick the shit out of hair metal, they were a major force in general, leaving an infinitely indelible impression with the tour de force that is Appetite for Destruction -- one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish hard rock band formed in 1979, whose most successful period came in the early 1980s. The band broke up in 1985 after their drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a car accident with Vince Neil at the wheel a year earlier. Crawling out in the wee early hours of the '80s, Hanoi Rocks caffeinated other early acts like Motley Crue, making sure glam dressed itself properly with gender-bending flamboyance and brought an edgy attitude to hand down to its glam band beneficiaries. Although Hanoi Rocks never accomplished commercial success, the band did create a strong cult following. Unfortunately the ride ended early when its drummer Razzle died.
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