Wednesday, May 1, 2024

The 20 greatest hair metal bands of all time

hair metal bands

Even in the "Runaway" days of 1984, the hair was teased, and the stage coats were long. Its songs perfectly combine arena rock and pop-metal, capturing a mainstream audience. The success of 1986's Slippery When Wet, featuring the anthemic "Livin' on a Prayer," made Bon Jovi one of the biggest acts in the world. More than anybody else on this list, it's been able to remain relevant and even earn induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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Come on, if there was a song made for MTV, it was 1990's "Cherry Pie." Give the band credit. Warrant knew how to follow a formula, and retro fans still want to hear it. Originally co-founded by longtime guitarist Tracii Guns, the project was ultimately put on hold when Guns and bandmates Ole Beich and Rob Gardner joined up with two L.A.

Hanoi Rocks, ‘Self Destruction Blues’ (

The more bands that popped up, the more venues opened and the more deals were signed. Bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee formed Motley Crue in 1981. They soon recruited guitarist Mick Mars and eventually hired Vince Neil as their singer. The Crue quickly become of the most successful bands to emerge from the Sunset Strip.

hair metal bands

Bon Jovi

Their second album was the reason they became so big since it spawned hits such as When The Children Cry and Wait, which made it to the Top 10 in the charts. This is classic hair metal with rocking guitars, riffs, superb vocals, and more thrown together into one solitary package. Songs including the likes of Rock Of Ages and Photograph are a must-listen. We love that they bring way more of a melodic feel to their music, and they offer something unexpected from a hair metal band in their approach. Seen as one of the best-ever heavy metal singers, his voice led Poison to critical acclaim, with three consecutive platinum-selling albums in the mid-80s. Famous for songs such as Unskinny Bop and Every Rose Has Its Thorn, you will find yourself singing along in no time at all.

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The band's music was slightly darker than others in the genre but still friendly enough for MTV. Formed in Las Vegas by Mark Slaughter, they have brought hip hop into the glam metal scene. Often underrated, they spent a vast amount of time touring to promote their studio albums. As a band, they would move from hair metal to more psychedelic, developing their own unique sound. Even if you have never heard of the term, we promise you will know a number of the names that pop up in this list of the 31 best hair metal bands of all time. Which of these talented musicians do you believe are the greatest 80s metal bands, and who deserves GOAT status at the top of this list?

Cinderella, ‘Night Songs’ (

The most active glam metal scene was starting to appear in clubs on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, including The Trip, the Whisky a Go Go, and the Starwood. Early glam metal evolved directly from the glam rock movement of the 1970s, as visual elements taken from acts such as T. The first examples of this fusion began appearing in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene.

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Dokken, ‘Under Lock and Key’ (

But even though they had this backing, their first album never had any real hits. Almost as a reaction to the new direction GNR were talking the scene, other bands strived to explore material beyond “pullin’ the pin of their love grenade”. At the pinnacle of this hair metal tradition is Poison’s ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’, an acoustic strummer that became the band’s biggest hit. After Poison’s success, every band sought out their sensitive side to have a power ballad of their own that could crossover into mainstream radio.

The Darkness's Permission to Land (2003), described as an "eerily realistic simulation of '80s metal and '70s glam",[79] topped the UK charts, going quintuple platinum. The band broke up in 2006, but reunited in 2011, releasing the album Hot Cakes the following year. What we love about them is how they blend music that sounds like Led Zeppelin with pop or even blues music.

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Plus, it had one of the best and wide-ranging voices in all of metal with Sebastian Bach during its heyday. Skid Row broke through with its self-titled 1989 debut that made them MTV staples thanks to hits "Youth Gone Wild," "18 and Life," and the widely popular power ballad "I Remember You," which truly showed off Bach's range. Its 1991 follow-up, Slave to the Grind, was rawer and reinforced the band's collective talent. However, hair/glam metal was a sinking ship, and Skid Row, unfortunately, was going down with the rest. Formed in 1978, this glam rock band managed to have several chart hits throughout the first decade of its existence.

Their legendary partying drew almost as much as attention as their music. What we love is their hard rock with thrashing drums, heavy guitars, and out-of-this-world vocals from Vince Neil. This hair metal band from New Jersey was a big deal in the 70s and 80s. However, they were not your usual band, thanks to introducing some real comedy into their music. As a band, they have sold countless albums and have a string of classic hits such as Livin’ On A Prayer and You Give Love A Bad Name, which are both great rock anthems. These included the rock ‘n’ roll venue Gazzarri’s, where Van Halen got its start, and the Comedy Store, which opened in 1972 at Ciro’s old home.

As with most other genres, once the industry becomes oversaturated with a bunch of bands that look and sound very similar to one another, the bubble tends to burst. Plus, by the end of the '80s, a group of bands formed a few hours north of the fading Los Angeles scene in and around Seattle. The jewel of that release was a cover of the Slade track "Cūm On Feel the Noize." However, the title track was a quality original. The hair, or glam, metal bands of the 1980s remain one of the true guilty pleasures in music history.

Early glam metal bands include Mötley Crüe, Hanoi Rocks, Night Ranger, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, and Dokken. Glam metal achieved significant commercial success from approximately 1983 to 1991, bringing to prominence bands such as Poison, Skid Row, Cinderella and Warrant. Though legendary frontman Dee Snider thinks Twisted Sister should not be considered a hair metal band, it definitely qualifies. Yes, it was established before the scene took off, but it certainly looked the part and used MTV and the overall hair/glam rock movement to score its only commercially successful album with Stay Hungry (1984).

The Sunset Strip occupies a short stretch of Sunset Boulevard, but its reputation as a stomping ground of gangsters, glamour girls, rock stars, and hell-raisers has held an oversized fascination for decades. This is the final installment in a series exploring how the Strip became the playground of the famous—and infamous. Driving down the Sunset Strip in the 1970s could be hazardous to your health. The dozens of balconies lining the Continental Hyatt House were often populated with visiting rock stars, including The Who, Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin. Despite all the money and means injected by Geffen, Roxy Blue’s debut Want Some?

After turmoil and member changes in the '90 and early 2000s, the classic lineup got back together, touring and releasing new music. They wrapped up what they say is their farewell tour at the end of 2015. Formed in 1985, Whitecross has won several awards, and when you listen to some of their songs, then that’s no real surprise. Their best albums include Triumphant Return in 1990 and In The Kingdom in 1992.

Hair metal vocalists rarely get the respect that traditional metal singers do, in part because of the glam looks and accessible songs. They were huge in the United Kingdom and Japan thanks to their hair metal rock songs. With aspects of Billy Idol in their music, it’s a surprise they did not make it bigger in the industry.

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