Tommy Paris filled some big shoes and did so with grace and ease. Enter Lorraine Lewis, the frontwoman with an absolutely huge voice, who led the now mostly forgotten group Femme Fatale. Fun Fact: Lorraine Lewis would revive Femme Fatale in 2013, this time with a truly all-female line-up, only to fold the band once again to join Vixen in 2019. Way too oversaturated with keyboards,but still catchy as hell. Femme Fatale - Femme Fatale (1988) While the era of 80s Hair Metal and Glam is mostly known as being predominantly male, several females infiltrated the scene and staked their claim as well. Great White Hooked (1991). BA1 1UA. Heavy Pettins debut was the first record produced by Brian May of Queen, and although the sound is just fine, the songwriting is utterly badass. Most of their material follows a slower, pulsing paceat times leaning a touch more towards classic, traditional heavy metal than much of this list (notably during "On My Way," dueling leads 'n' all). Besides, doesn't "Love Of A Lifetime" make the perfect wedding song? These are the forgotten heroes of hair metal. More sleaze than hair or pop metal, but once you hear this album, you will never forget it. Those first two albums are absolutely awesome. Its no joke that their debut was produced by Paul Northfield, the inimitable force behind Moving Pictures and the song Empire by Queensryche (just a couple of my favorites in a cool career), two completely different examples of dark rock sounding fantastic. Theme: The Road to The Roxy: 10 Underrated Glam & Hair Metal-Era Albums Part II, Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), My fingers feel possessed on the EC-1000! While the late Meat Loaf was a true showman with a near-operatic voice, Bat Out of Hell featured an . Total nostalgia trip for me. Blackout in the Red Room has a couple of classics, too, though some of the lyrics get questionable for sure. As grunge became all the rage during the early '90s, these albums never got the attention they really deserved. The only thing louder than the clack of high heels on the pavement outside the Rainbow was the ker-ching of cash registers as Guns N Roses, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Poison, Cinderella, Ratt, Slaughter and the rest hoovered up the record sales. Like Hericane Alice, one can only imagine that Wildside would have been an absolutely huge success had their debut hit the streets a few years prioreven more so considering the good fortune that was lining up in their favor prior to the album's release. I gotta find a copy of that CD thats not $35 or more! Connor Shelton described it as one of the few bands from the era to bring a level of depth . The worlds biggest and best metal magazine, (Image credit: Getty Images/Scott Dudelson/Brian Rasic), Robb Flynn: "This gang threatened to throw grenades onstage while I played". Southgang - Tainted Angel I should really pick up some Lillian Axe sometime. KISS Asylum (1985) 2) The songwriting on this album is absolutely top-notch, which is something of a small miracle, considering Ace had quit KISS in 1982, in a drunken haze, almost died in several car wrecks, and hadnt made any music in around five or so years. Aversionline 2000 - 2023. They also contributed to two movie soundtracks in '92Bad Channels and Demonic Toysbut by that point it was likely too late for said appearances to give Joker the career kickstart they deserved. Put together by former members of Bay Area crossover crew Attitude Adjustment who swapped their white hi-tops for cheap leather trousers and bargain-shop bandanas, their debut album plunged its needle into the same vein of bluesy cock rock as fellow greasers Circus Of Power and Little Caesar, throwing in some hardcore-esque gang vocals and nailing their were-not-White Lion cred with a punkabilly cover of Johnny Cashs Folsom Prison Blues. Great article, as usual! If not, let me jog your memory. They had Michael Angelo Batio on guitar. As expected Ive only heard of two or three of the bands you listed off there. Femme Fatale simply wasnt meant to be, it seems. Real Steel opened for the Bulletboys, Bang Tango, and Gorky Park in their day, and apparently had interest from several labels (almost signing with Warner Bros.). Be warned! It,s not glam or hair metal. Thanks so much for the comment! I loved this kind of music when I was a kid, and I still love it now. They quickly rose through the ranks and paid their dues through club gigs and were noticed pretty quickly, and in relatively short order, signed with MCA Records and recorded their eponymous debut record, Femme Fatale. Only time will tell. Love/Hate - Blackout In The Red Room (1990) 09. That said, the album received middling reviews at the time, and Ace and the boys were forced to stick to small halls and clubs while on tour, but that has not tarnished this records legacy one bit. He has written for Metal Hammer, Louder, Prog, the Observer, Select, Mojo, the Evening Standard and the totally legendary Ultrakill. Just great guitar shredding all over this album. True, I don't identify with (or in some cases approve of) elements of the lyrical content, but from a songwriting and musicianship perspective, I very seriously enjoy this stuff, and would be perfectly happy were it the majority of my day-to-day listening. Unfortunately, in most cases, the label stuck like a nasty coffee stain, while the attempts of self-reinventing usually didn't go well. Enuff Z'Nuff is when the Beatles become a hair metal band. It was mixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero (who also mixed Appetite for Destruction and .And Justice for All, to name but a few). Many bands would have given up right then and there, and no one would have blamed Britny Fox for packing it in, but after all, they had been through, I suppose that wasnt an option. All of that aside, go back and listen to Rock Soldiers, Love Me Right, Into the Night, and Calling to You. Those tracks are transcendent rockers, and his backing band of Tod Howarth, John Regan, and Anton Fig are a truly inspired bunch who had sensational chemistry. Shortly after the Retrospect Records reissue, Real Steel performed at Rocklahoma 2008 and were talking about working on new material, but it would appear nothing much came of that. Ill have to dig it out and give it another chance. Speaking of late-stage Hair Metal, this record is about as late as it gets in that regard. Never could get into Enuff Znuff, but I do dig that one song they had on the Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer soundtrack. Britny Fox Britny Fox was in the same league as Poison and Cinderella in the hair metal band corner of rock in the '80s. If you see it, definitely pick it up and enjoy. fans weren't really expecting may have only hindered this otherwise amazing release, which, coupled with other unfortunate circumstances, made the supporting tour for the album arrive 15 whole years too late. Sebastian Bach is THE singer of the hair metal genre. A list by TukkerPride. I was introduced to Chicago's Joker by Matt Rudzinski from Divebomb Records, and I don't know much about them, so I can only assume they were another absolutely incredible band that got rolling just a little too late to capitalize on their talents. Here are some trivia tidbits about their debut full-length, Under the Influence: The record was slated for release by late-1991, but ended up being delayed until May of '92, during which time Wildside lost their slot opening for Van Halen on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour. Blending the best of 80's AOR rock with just the right amount of hair metal, the album features some of the era's best rock songs and two of the best power ballads of the late 80's/early 90's. . Just curious regarding the comment about lyrical content: Ive been reading you long enough to know that youre no prude, so the only thing I can think of is that some of this stuff is borderline (if not outright) mysogynistic. One of the most underrated bands in the genre. Perhaps, maybe no one is truly qualified in that regard. The second album shouldve just been the actual soundtrack to Bloodsport. An album of pure attitude, arriving when most glam bands were changing over to pop metal. Honestly, its not easy stepping into the shoes of a Guitar God, at the height of a bands fame, in the middle of a hysterical wave of Hair Metal mania, but thats exactly what Kee Marcello did. After even more line-up shuffling, the group finally settled into what would be known as their Mk.3 line-up, which would also come to be their most successful. It was this line-up that recorded the now dusty gem Rough Cutt for the major label, Warner Brother Records. I just have to say that I typed their breathin instead of theyre breathin after a marathon of not sleeping. The result was a killer record that confused the shit out of thrashers and glammies alike. Dont ever let anyone tell you the music you love sucks or is less than. At the end of the day, time hasnt ever been kind to this record, and it can be had for cheap. In 1991 while Metallica and Guns 'N Roses were sliding into mediocrity, Skid Row move into legendary status, improving leaps and bounds over their debut. I dont know; maybe it was something in the water, but what I do know is the Rock music that came out of that decade was truly memorable, catchy, and fun. OzzyOsbourne_ 3 yr. ago. I cant explain it, but every time I listen to it, I just see scenes from that film running through my head; its not a curse, but a blessing. People didnt give a shit then either. 3) This album was produced by Eddie Kramer, and it simply rocks. Brighton Rock - Love Machine Rounding out this powerhouse line-up was Share Ross on bass and the thunderous Roxy Petrucci on drums, who is as hard a hitting drummer as youll ever hear. Vinyl Writer Music's 10 Underrated Glam & Hair Metal Era Albums: 01. Their cult-classic debut album, Welcome To Bop City ,was a Scandi-glam mini-masterpiece featuring groinally-charged anthems with titles like I Dont Care Bout Nothin and Squeezin Teazin, played by men calling themselves Zinny J Zan and Stixx Galore (yup, the drummer). The greatest hair meatl band album on parole with GNR??? I also noticed that not too many loved my placement of Asylum, and I am good with all of that. Yeah, the Chicago bands none-more-unique selling point was perma-squinting frontman Stanley who, when he wasnt spitting out genius fuck-you anthems Jawohl Asshole and Fuckin Shit-Ass, lived on the street and had the malodorous clothes and propensity for shitting in public to prove it. Read Part 1 of this series here: https://vwmusicrocks.com/return-to-the-sunset-strip-10-underrated-glam-hair-metal-era-albums/, Read part 3 of this series here: https://vwmusicrocks.com/the-headbangers-ball-reaches-its-edge-10-underrated-glam-hair-metal-era-albums-part-iii/, Andrew Daly (@vwmusicrocks) is the Editor-in-Chief for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at [email protected]. Vito Bratta is one of the really underrated guitar players, alongside Reb Beach. Heavy Bones came relatively early in Hoey's professional career (having moved from Boston to Los Angeles in the late-'80s upon the recommendation of Ozzy Osbourne, after auditioning for the position that ultimately went to Zakk Wylde), and released but one self-titled album on Reprise Records in 1992. Kingpin were Swedens entry into the 1988 Hair Metal Olympics. Vain was less poppy than most cock rock bands, and they just had a serious vibe in their sound. A bit more polished and focused than their debut, which I personally prefer over this one, but this is the album that blew the door open for the entire 80's hair metal genre. I don't consider Van Halen a hair band per se, but I swear, every guitarist in the 80's wanted to be Eddie Van Halen, and their songs would fit right into the hair metal genre. Britny Fox Britny Fox (1988) While the era of 80s Hair Metal and Glam is mostly known as being predominantly male, several females infiltrated the scene and staked their claim as well. One of many other early 80's albums that influenced a whole generation of hair metalheads throughout the rest of the 80's. Still, damn good sleaze metal. He seems to be singing about an octave and a half lower on the first one, and the overall energy on Lettin Loose is far greater. Cruella DVille - Showdown in Tinsel Town In his time with Carmine Appices King Kobra, Mick had learned a thing or two and had turned himself into a true songsmith, and by the time he formed BulletBoys, he was raring and ready to go. Severely underrated, and released at a time when hair metal was just about dead. As you might expect, it's extremely hard to find Joker's CDs, and even if you do, the prices will almost certainly be total bullshit. An around pop metal romp in the early 90's, one of the last bands to come out of the genre successfully before the ship sank. Stand by Me, I Cant Wait, Let Go, etc. They filmed a music video for the lead track, "Hang on Lucy," but the above "So Far Away" is my personal favoriteit's got a darker edge and those riffs during the chorus just kill me for some reason. . There are tons and tons of other glam/hair metal bands that never quite received their due (hell, I'd argue that bands like Lynch Mob and Vain still deserve a little more love). However, in 2019, Mick did rejoin BulletBoys. April 6, 2021 Connor Shelton Features, KTRM-FM, Music, Reviews. Speaking of Vixen, here they are! - In my personal opinion, two of the best damn sleaze bands nobody has ever heard of I know I'm not alone in crossing my fingers that the band will agree to have their recordings properly reissued on CD at some point! Femme Fatale Femme Fatale (1988) The band itself was formed in 1982, and the original Mk.1 lineup actually featured legendary guitar hero Jake E. Lee, while Lee would leave Rough Cutt in 1983, to join Ozzy Osbourne as a replacement for the recently deceased Randy Rhodes (freak plane crash), soon to sign on were former members of Ratt in Chris Hager (guitar) and Matt Thorr (bass). All of that aside, this is an album where Great White was truly able to allow their undisputed talent to shine, and if you didnt know any better, you might actually think it was Robert Plant singing in place of Jack Russel on some of these tracks. You couldn't go two hours without seeing a Whitesnake video on MTV back in '87. Its an amazing Great White album. Check out the old TKO albums also, they are basically Q5 without Floyd Rose. For me, Aces positioning at the number one spot on this list is both hard-earned and well deserved. Oh, man, yeah, checking out Leatherwolf now and I need this for sure! Now, I dont know much, but I do know that if youre a band about to hit the road for a huge tour, you probably dont want to lose your frontman. So, what have you got to lose? Well, in the wake of the Hot In The Shade screw-job, the band still managed to book a nice tour of well-paying gigs and were set to depart, when Dean The Diva Davidson decided to split and make a go of it on his own. Let the bargain hunting begin, Id rec The Scream - Let it Scream, Lillian Axe - Love + War, Saigon Kick - s/t, Ratt - Reach for the Sky, Junkyard - s/t, Killer Dwarfs - Dirty Weapons, Some of my recommendations: This is easily their greatest album. A lot of it's not that "metal," some of it's not that "glam," most bands' membersregardless of genrehave "hair," and so on. But their debut is way more fun: a rough-arsed glam-punk gem that came on like Poison, if Brett Michaels had grown up in Cardiff and spent every Saturday night getting in a fight down Bogiez. 08. So being that I grew up on this stuff and have been doing a hair metal podcast for 20 years Ill lay on a few more underrated jems: BANG TANGO Psycho Cafe, DANGEROUS TOYS self-titled debut, LYNCH MOB Wicked Sensation, DON DOKKEN Up From the Ashes, FIREHOUSE self-titled debut, KIX Hot Wire, XYZ Hungry, ICON self-titled debut, BANYLON A.D. self-titled debut, CHILDS PLAY Rat Race, EXTREME self-titled debut, RACER X Second Heat, SLEEZE BEEZ Screwed, Blued, & Tattooed, and lastly Y&T, they have so many underrated albums it is mind blowing. Posted on March 17, 2021 by Olivier in Uncategorized // 0 Comments. It kinda sucks when your biggest hit is a cover song, although probably nobody knew that back in 1989. 5 Underrated Hair Metal Albums - YouTube A response to the article on the Goldminemag website about 5 Underrated Hair Metal Albums that every record collector should. Black N Blue Nasty Nasty (1986) Its also remembered as the official debut of the now-iconic Bon Jovi logo that we have all come to know and love, and while there arent too many songs that would make a standard greatest hits list, save for In and Out of Love, this record is filled with heavy-hitting deep cuts that are sure to satiate your appetite for sleazecakes. Seriouslyher lead work is some of the best of the era, in my opinion. The Toys could have been worthy successors to Guns N Roses, but this album pretty well fell flat in 1989. An incredibly underrated disc. Other notables: Although they werent truly a hair metal band, Leatherwolfs Street Ready album has many of those kinds of sonic qualities and is packed with killer songs. All rights reserved. Im too afraid to reread the rest of my post to see what else I mistyped. had already proved what they were capable of on their previous album "The Headless Children" which saw the shock rock act depart from their usual themes of having sex, and "The Crimson Idol" was a very strong attempt at continuing along the same path. White Lion are actually my second favorite hair band, but I know they won't rank high on any all time list simply because they were considered wimpy, mainly because they loaded their albums with love songs. A couple of other amazing and underrated glam albums that didnt make this list (but easily could have)- Fantastic band. BulletBoys came with a pedigree right from the start, as the band was founded by Mick Sweda (guitar), who had already starred in the also underrated King Kobra. Feelgood, Ive also learned that the devout fanbase that makes Hair Metal so special, still remains and that they too have a voice. Oops. They changed their name to Shotgun Messiah, fired their singer and eventually went industrial metal. Thanks. The glaring sin here is to leave out the godly Heavy Pettin as well as Q5. . Yes. Also, Dog Eat Dog is significant to the bands history, as it is the final album to feature the bands quintessential five members. You can read Dalys comments for each album of his Part II at Vinyl Writer Musics website. But Stained Glass is A-grade arena rock like they used to make before Nirvana came along and curled out a turd in the punchbowl. But their debut is way more fun: a rough-arsed glam-punk gem that came on like Poison, if Brett Michaels had grown up in Cardiff and spent every Saturday night getting in a fight down Bogiez. Google, here I come! They hired Tommy Paris as their new lead singer, called up Zakk Wylde and Rikki Rockett to guest star, and proceeded to make a balls-to-the-wall Glam Metal album. I quipped about hipsters sitting in cafs and dredging Hair Metal the first time around. Dream Unending: Tide Turns Eternal. This video is inspired by @rockandmetalinvasion who did a video in response to a 'Goldmine' article with 5 'underrated' Hair Metal albums. Guns N' Roses. In truth, this record is not the first one that people think of when they consider albums that define the 80s. With a much harder edge than the previous release, the second album was produced in Los Angeles by renowned Keith Olsen. Sure, it was shallower than a puddle after a midnight shower on the Sunset Strip, but that was the point: what the hell else do you want from a band with a singer called Steve Sex Summers? The Nelson brothers could write a hell of a song, because every one on this album is catchy and loaded with hooks. The Triple-Axe Attack, as they were known by, exemplified power guitar with great riffs and a lead singer that had a raspy, yet seemingly effortless, powerful voice. At that time their songs were a little longer and less good time/party oriented, but they ended up relocating to Los Angeles in the late-'80s, and eventually vocalist Bruce Naumann (who had been the last member to join the group) was working with an entirely new lineup. A good snotty, snarly album. Fans of Heavy Bones might also want to check out vocalist Joel Ellis previous band Cats In Boots (specifically the 1989 album Kicked And Klawed). If you dont, I promise youll regret it later. However, make no mistake-their third record Bite Down Hard, is a rager. Aerosmith's second shot at glory, and they pulled it off. Other bands just because I am biased, but from Divebomb - SARGANT FURY, DIMAGE and CASANOVA. Def Leppard officially stepped into pop metal territory with this one.
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