Glam metal
Encyclopedia
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock
and heavy metal
that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip
music scene. It was popular throughout the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, combining the flamboyant look of glam rock
and playing a power-chord-based heavy metal musical style. The genre rapidly lost mainstream interest from 1991 to 1993 with the rise of grunge
and the release of albums such as Nirvana
's Nevermind
, but has enjoyed revivals since the beginning of the new millennium.
Musically, glam metal uses traditional hard rock and heavy metal songs, incorporating elements of punk rock
, while adding pop-influenced catchy hooks
and guitar riff
s. Like other heavy metal songs of the 1980s, they often feature shred guitar
solos. Aesthetically glam metal draws heavily on the glam rock
or glitter rock of the 1970s, often with very long backcombed hair, use of make-up, gaudy clothing and accessories (chiefly consisting of tight denim or leather jeans, spandex
, and headbands). The visual aspects of glam metal appealed to music television producers, particularly MTV
, whose establishment coincided with the rise of the genre. Glam metal performers became infamous for their debauched lifestyles of late-night parties, which were widely covered in the tabloid press.
anthropologist
Sam Dunn
. Allmusic refers to glam metal as hair metal, whose characteristics are flashy clothing and heavy makeup (as embodied by Poison
, Twisted Sister
and Mötley Crüe
), whereas pop metal refers to the whole pop-tinted hard rock
and heavy metal
scene of the 1980s (including Def Leppard
, Bon Jovi
, Europe
). In the "definitive metal family tree" of his documentary
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
, anthropologist Sam Dunn also differentiates glam and pop metal, with glam metal bands including Mötley Crüe
, Poison
, Twisted Sister
and Hanoi Rocks
, while pop metal bands include Def Leppard
, Europe
, Lita Ford
and Whitesnake
.
Hair metal is a derogatory, derisive umbrella term
encompassing the whole 1980s glam metal scene; use of the term started in the early 1990s, as grunge
took over the popularity at the expense of 1980s metal. However, the term is used in a non- or semi-derogatory sense by Allmusic to refer to glam metal.
claims the influences of the style can be traced back to acts like Aerosmith
, Kiss
, Boston
, Cheap Trick
, and The New York Dolls. Particularly Kiss, but also the shock rock
style of such acts as Alice Cooper
, served as a major influence on the genre. Finnish band Hanoi Rocks
have been credited with setting a blueprint for the look of hair metal.
Van Halen
has been seen as highly influential on the movement, emerging in 1978 from the Los Angeles music scene on Sunset Strip
, with a sound based around the lead guitar skills of Eddie Van Halen
. He popularized a playing technique of two‐handed hammer‐ons and pull‐offs called tapping
, showcased on the song "Eruption
" from the album Van Halen
. This sound, and lead singer David Lee Roth
's stage antics, would be highly influential on glam metal, although Van Halen would never fully adopt a glam aesthetic.
Often categorised with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
, in 1981 Def Leppard
released their second album High 'n' Dry
, mixing glam-rock with heavy metal, and helping to define the sound of hard rock for the decade. Their follow-up album Pyromania
(1983), certified Diamond
by the RIAA having sold over 10 million copies in the US, reached number 2 on the Billboard 200, and the singles "Foolin'", "Photograph", and "Rock of Ages", helped by the emergence of MTV
, reached the Top 40. It was widely emulated, particularly by the emerging Californian scene.
from Western Maryland
, who released their eponymous debut
in 1981. From San Francisco Night Ranger
's first album Dawn Patrol
(1982), reached the top 40 in the US, but their breakthrough album was 1983's Midnight Madness
, which included the top 5 single "Sister Christian
". From New York Twisted Sister
, originally formed as a glam rock band in 1972, released their first album, Under the Blade
in 1982.
The most active scene was in the clubs on Sunset Strip
, Los Angeles, including The Trip, the Red Velvet, the Whisky a Go Go
, and Starwood, all of which began to avoid booking punk rock
bands because of fears of violence, and were colonised by metal bands, usually on a "pay to play" basis, creating a vibrant scene for hard rock music. One of the first groups to emerge from this scene were Mötley Crüe
, with their albums Too Fast for Love
(1981) and Shout at the Devil
(1983). Quiet Riot
's US debut Metal Health
(1983) was the first glam metal album, and arguably the first heavy metal album, to reach number 1 in the Billboard music charts and helped open the doors for mainstream success by subsequent bands.
Increasing numbers of L.A. bands were able to produce début albums in 1984, including Ratt
with their breakthrough Out of the Cellar
(1984), Dokken
, with Tooth and Nail, Great White
with their eponymous album
, Autograph
with Sign in Please
and W.A.S.P.
with their eponymous album
. In addition Black 'n Blue
, formed in Portland, Oregon released their eponymous debut
and New York-based Danish band White Lion
produced Fight to Survive
(1985). All of these bands played a prominent part in the developing the overall look and sound of glam metal.
By the mid-1980s, glam metal had begun to be a major mainstream success. Los Angeles continued to foster the most important scene around the Sunset Strip, with groups like London
, which had originally formed as a glam rock band in the 1970s, and had seen future members of Mötley Crüe, Cinderella and Guns N' Roses pass through its ranks, finally releasing their début album Non Stop Rock
in 1985. Philadelphia also produced successful bands, with Poison
and Cinderella
releasing their multi-platinum début albums, respectively Look What the Cat Dragged In and Night Songs
in 1986. Stryper
, formed in 1983 in Orange County
, California
, made their mainstream breakthrough in 1986 with their platinum album To Hell with the Devil
and brought Christian lyrics to their hard rock music style and glam metal looks. Van Halen
released 5150
(1986), their first album with Sammy Hagar
on lead vocals, which was number 1 in the U.S. for three weeks and sold over 6 million copies. The anthemic The Final Countdown
(1986) by Swedish
group Europe
reached the top ten in several countries, including the U.S. and while the title single
hit number one in 26 countries.
The most commercially significant release of the era was Bon Jovi
from New Jersey
, with Slippery When Wet
(1986), which mixed hard rock with a pop sensitivity, and spent a total of 8 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200
album chart, selling over 12 million copies. It became the first hard rock album to spawn three top 10 singles, two of which reached number 1. The album has been credited with widening the audience for the genre, particularly by appealing to women as well as the traditional male dominated audience, and opening the door to MTV and commercial success for other bands at the end of the decade. During the mid-to-late 1980s, glam metal bands were in heavy rotation on the channel, often at the top of MTV's daily dial countdown, and some of the bands appeared on the channel's shows such as Headbanger's Ball, which became one of the most popular programs with over 1.3 million views a week. The groups also received heavy rotation on radio stations such as KNAC
in Los Angeles. By the second half of the decade, despite mostly negative critical reviews and being shunned by certain sections of the music industry, glam metal had become the most reliable form of commercial popular music in the United States.
Mötley Crüe with Girls, Girls, Girls (1987) continued their run of commercial success, and Def Leppard with Hysteria (1987) hit their commercial peak, the latter producing a hard rock record of seven hit singles. L.A. band Faster Pussycat
released their eponymous début
, but the greatest success was Guns N' Roses
, originally formed from a fusion of bands L.A. Guns
and Hollywood Rose
, who released the best-selling début of all time, Appetite for Destruction
(1987). With a "grittier" and "rawer" sound than most glam metal, it produced three top 10 hits, including the number 1 "Sweet Child O' Mine
". Such was the dominance of the style that Californian hardcore punk
band TSOL
moved towards a glam metal sound in this period.
In the last years of the decade the most notable successes were New Jersey
(1988) by Bon Jovi, OU812
(1988) by Van Halen
, while Open Up and Say... Ahh! (1988) by Poison, spawned number 1 hit single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn
", and eventually sold eight million copies worldwide. Britny Fox
from Philadelphia and Winger from New York released their eponymous débuts in 1988. In 1989 Mötley Crüe's produced their most commercially successful album, the multi-platinum number 1 Dr. Feelgood
. In the same year eponymous débuts included Danger Danger
from New York and Dangerous Toys
from Austin, Texas
, who provided more of a Southern rock
tone to the genre. L.A. débuts included Warrant
with Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
(1989), and Skid Row with their eponymous album
(1989), which reached number 6 in the Billboard 200, but they were to be one of the last major bands that emerged in the glam metal era.
Glam metal entered the 1990s as one of the major commercial genres of popular music. In 1990 débuts for Slaughter
, from Las Vegas
with Stick It to Ya
and Firehouse, from North Carolina
, with their eponymous
album reached number 18 and number 21 on the Billboard 100 respectively, but it would be the peak of their commercial achievement. Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I
and Use Your Illusion II
(both in 1991) and Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
(1991) showcased the genre's popularity. In 1992, Def Leppard followed up 1987's Hysteria with Adrenalize
, which went multi-platinum, spawned four Top 40 singles and held the number 1 spot on the U.S. album chart for 5 weeks, the only hard rock album to reach that position that year.
The 1988 film The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years captured the L.A. scene of successful and aspiring bands. It also highlighted the excesses of glam metal, particularly the scene in which W.A.S.P.
guitarist Chris Holmes
was interviewed while drinking vodka on an inflatable raft in a swimming pool as his mother watched. As a result it has been seen as helping to create a backlash against the genre. In the early 1990s glam metal's popularity rapidly declined after nearly a decade of success. Several music writers and musicians began to deride glam metal acts as "hair farmers," hinting at the soon-to-be-popularized term hair metal. Another reason for the decline in popularity of the style may have been the changing popularity of the power ballad, a slow, emotional song that gradually builds to a strong finale. While the use of the power ballad, especially after a hard-rocking anthem, was initially a successful formula, in the late 1980s and early 1990s audiences lost interest in this approach.
One significant factor in the decline was the rise of grunge
music from Seattle, with bands including Alice in Chains
, Pearl Jam
and Soundgarden
. This was particularly obvious after the success of Nirvana
's Nevermind
(1991), which combined elements of hardcore punk
and heavy metal into a dirty sound that made use of heavy guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback, along with darker lyrical themes, a stripped-down aesthetic and a complete rejection of the glam metal visual style and performance. Many major labels felt they had been caught off-guard by the surprise success of grunge and had begun turning over their personnel in favor of younger staffers more versed in the new scene. As MTV shifted its attention to the new style, glam metal bands found themselves relegated more and more often to and late night airplay, and Headbanger's Ball was cancelled at the end of 1994, while KNAC went over to Spanish programming. Given glam metal's lack of a major format presence on radio, bands were left without a clear way to reach their audience. Other alternative rock bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers
and Jane's Addiction
also helped further supplant the popularity of the genre.
In the new commercial climate many glam metal bands like Europe, Ratt, White Lion, Britny Fox, Stryper, Skid Row and Cinderella broke up and while many of these bands would re-unite again in the late 1990s or early 2000s, they never reached the commercial success they saw in the 1980s or early 1990s. Other bands such as Mötley Crüe, Poison, and Slaughter saw personnel changes which impacted their commercial viability. In 1995 Van Halen released Balance
, a multi-platinum seller that would be the band's last with Sammy Hagar
on vocals. In 1996 David Lee Roth
returned briefly and his replacement, former Extreme
singer Gary Cherone
, was fired soon after the release of the commercially unsuccessful 1998 album Van Halen III
and Van Halen would not tour or record again until 2004. Guns N' Roses' original lineup was whittled away throughout the decade. Drummer Steven Adler
was fired in 1990, guitarist Izzy Stradlin
left in late 1991 after recording Use Your Illusion I and II with the band. Tensions between the other band members and lead singer Axl Rose
continued after the release of the 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident?. Guitarist Slash
left in 1996, followed by bassist Duff McKagan
in 1998. Axl Rose, the only original member, worked with a constantly-changing lineup in recording an album that would take over ten years to complete.
During the late 1990s and the 2000s glam metal began to enjoy something of a revival, with some established acts managing to weather the storm, others reforming and new bands emerging to emulate the glam metal style. Bon Jovi were still able to achieve a commercial hit with "It's My Life
" (2000). They branched into country music
with a version of their 2005 song "Who Says You Can't Go Home
", which reached number 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart in 2006 and the rock/country album Lost Highway which reached number 1 in 2007. In 2009, Bon Jovi released another number 1 album, The Circle
, which marked a return to their hard rock sound.
Mötley Crüe reunited with Vince Neil
to record the 1997 album Generation Swine
and Poison reunited with guitarist C.C. DeVille in 1999, producing the mostly live Power to the People
(2000), both bands began to tour extensively. There were reunions and subsequent tours from Van Halen (with Hagar in 2004 and then Roth in 2007), The long awaited Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy
was finally released in 2008, but only went platinum, produced no hit singles, and failed to come close to the success of the band's late 1980s and early 1990s material.
Europe's "Final Countdown" enjoyed a new lease of popularity as the millennium drew to a close and the band reformed. Other acts to reform included Ratt, White Lion, Britny Fox, Night Ranger, Stryper (annually), Skid Row and Cinderella. Beginning in 1999, Monster Ballads
, a series of compilation albums that feature popular power ballads, usually from the glam metal genre, capitalised on the nostalgia, with the first volume going platinum. The VH1
sponsored Rock Never Stops Tour
, beginning in 1998, has seen many glam metal bands take to the stage again, including on the inaugural tour Warrant, Slaughter, Quiet Riot, FireHouse, and L.A. Guns. Slaughter also took part in the 1999 version with Ted Nugent, Night Ranger, and Quiet Riot. Poison and Cinderella toured together in 2000 and 2002 and in 2005 Cinderella headlined the Rock Never Stops Tour, with support from Ratt, Quiet Riot, and FireHouse. In 2007 the four-day long Rocklahoma
festival held in Oklahoma
included glam metal bands Poison, Ratt, Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and Britny Fox. Warrant and Cinderella co-headlined the festival in 2008. Nostalgia for the genre was evidenced in the production of glam metal themed musical Rock of Ages
, which ran for in Los Angeles in 2006 and in New York in 2008.
Glam metal experienced a partial resurgence around the turn of the century, due in part to increased interest on the internet, with the successful 'Glam Slam Metal Jam' music festival taking place in the summer of 2000. By the early 2000s, a handful of new bands began to revive glam metal in one form or another. The Darkness's Permission to Land
(2003), described as an "eerily realistic simulation of '80s metal and '70s glam", topped the UK charts, going quintuple platinum. One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) reached number 11, before the band broke up in 2006. Los Angeles band Steel Panther
managed to gain a following by playing 80s style glam metal. Another attempt to revive glam metal was made by bands of the sleaze metal movement in Sweden, including Vains of Jenna
, Hardcore Superstar
, H.E.A.T. and Crashdïet
. Other new acts included Beautiful Creatures
and Buckcherry
, whose breakthrough album 15
(2006) went platinum and spawned the single "Sorry
" (2007), which made the top 10 of the Billboard 100.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
music scene. It was popular throughout the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, combining the flamboyant look of glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
and playing a power-chord-based heavy metal musical style. The genre rapidly lost mainstream interest from 1991 to 1993 with the rise of grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
and the release of albums such as Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's Nevermind
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
, but has enjoyed revivals since the beginning of the new millennium.
Characteristics
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, while adding pop-influenced catchy hooks
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
and guitar riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s. Like other heavy metal songs of the 1980s, they often feature shred guitar
Shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
solos. Aesthetically glam metal draws heavily on the glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
or glitter rock of the 1970s, often with very long backcombed hair, use of make-up, gaudy clothing and accessories (chiefly consisting of tight denim or leather jeans, spandex
Spandex
Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than natural Latex, its major non-synthetic competitor. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was co-invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's...
, and headbands). The visual aspects of glam metal appealed to music television producers, particularly MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, whose establishment coincided with the rise of the genre. Glam metal performers became infamous for their debauched lifestyles of late-night parties, which were widely covered in the tabloid press.
Terminology
Pop metal is routinely used as a synonym to glam metal but sometimes refers to a related but separate movement, especially according to Allmusic and CanadianCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
anthropologist
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
Sam Dunn
Sam Dunn
Sam Dunn is a Canadian anthropologist and film-maker whose work focuses on the culture of heavy metal. Together with Scot McFadyen, Dunn owns Toronto-based production company Banger Films, Inc.-Metal: A Headbanger's Journey:...
. Allmusic refers to glam metal as hair metal, whose characteristics are flashy clothing and heavy makeup (as embodied by Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
and Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band 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...
), whereas pop metal refers to the whole pop-tinted hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
scene of the 1980s (including Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
, Europe
Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
). In the "definitive metal family tree" of his documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey is a 2005 documentary directed by Sam Dunn with Scot McFadyen and Jessica Wise. The film follows 31-year-old Dunn, a Canadian anthropologist, who has been a heavy metal fan since the age of 12...
, anthropologist Sam Dunn also differentiates glam and pop metal, with glam metal bands including Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band 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...
, Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
and Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979, whose most successful period came in the early 1980s. The band broke up in 1985 after the death of their drummer, Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley...
, while pop metal bands include Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, Europe
Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
, Lita Ford
Lita Ford
Lita Ford is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.-Early life:...
and Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
.
Hair metal is a derogatory, derisive umbrella term
Umbrella term
An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category. Umbrella term is also called a hypernym. For example, cryptology is an umbrella term that encompasses cryptography and cryptanalysis, among other fields...
encompassing the whole 1980s glam metal scene; use of the term started in the early 1990s, as grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
took over the popularity at the expense of 1980s metal. However, the term is used in a non- or semi-derogatory sense by Allmusic to refer to glam metal.
Origins
Stephen DavisStephen Davis (music journalist)
Stephen Davis is an American music journalist and historian.Davis was born in New York City and attended Boston University. He began his career writing for the Boston Phoenix in 1970...
claims the influences of the style can be traced back to acts like Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Boston
Boston (band)
Boston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, and The New York Dolls. Particularly Kiss, but also the shock rock
Shock rock
Shock rock is an umbrella term for artists who combine rock music with elements of theatrical shock value in live performances.-History:Screamin' Jay Hawkins was arguably the first shock rocker...
style of such acts as Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, served as a major influence on the genre. Finnish band Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979, whose most successful period came in the early 1980s. The band broke up in 1985 after the death of their drummer, Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley...
have been credited with setting a blueprint for the look of hair metal.
Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
has been seen as highly influential on the movement, emerging in 1978 from the Los Angeles music scene on Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
, with a sound based around the lead guitar skills of Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
. He popularized a playing technique of two‐handed hammer‐ons and pull‐offs called tapping
Tapping
Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
, showcased on the song "Eruption
Eruption (song)
"Eruption" is a guitar solo written and performed by Eddie Van Halen. Eruption often appears on many 'greatest guitar solos' lists. It is often played together with "You Really Got Me", which follows the song on the album Van Halen....
" from the album Van Halen
Van Halen (album)
Van Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released in February 1978.- History :Recorded in 1977, Van Halen sold over 10 million copies in the US alone, becoming one of the most successful debuts by a rock band. Along with 1984, it gives Van Halen two original albums with...
. This sound, and lead singer David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
's stage antics, would be highly influential on glam metal, although Van Halen would never fully adopt a glam aesthetic.
Often categorised with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
, in 1981 Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
released their second album High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry is the second studio album by British heavy metal band Def Leppard, released on 11 July 1981. Its title song, "High 'n' Dry ", ranked number 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. High 'n' Dry was Pete Willis' last full time album with Def Leppard...
, mixing glam-rock with heavy metal, and helping to define the sound of hard rock for the decade. Their follow-up album Pyromania
Pyromania (album)
Pyromania is the third studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the UK Albums Chart.The album was partially recorded with...
(1983), certified Diamond
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the RIAA having sold over 10 million copies in the US, reached number 2 on the Billboard 200, and the singles "Foolin'", "Photograph", and "Rock of Ages", helped by the emergence of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, reached the Top 40. It was widely emulated, particularly by the emerging Californian scene.
First wave (1981–84)
In the early 1980s a number of bands from across the US began to move towards what would become the glam metal sound, including KixKix (band)
Kix is an American hard rock/heavy metal band who achieved popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Band members continue to tour, recently appearing at the Rocklahoma festival in 2008 in Oklahoma and the M3 Rock Festival in May 2011 in the band's home state of Maryland.-Formation:Kix was...
from Western Maryland
Western Maryland
Western Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that consists of Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the...
, who released their eponymous debut
Kix (album)
Kix is the self-titled debut album by the glam metal band Kix, released in 1981 on Atlantic Records.-Track listing:# "Atomic Bombs" # "Love at First Sight" # "Heartache"...
in 1981. From San Francisco Night Ranger
Night Ranger
Night Ranger is an American rock band from San Francisco that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. The band's first five albums sold more than 10 million copies worldwide...
's first album Dawn Patrol
Dawn Patrol
Dawn Patrol is the debut album by Night Ranger released in 1982. The band was named Ranger during the recording of the album. The first issues of the album were printed and ready to be shipped when it was discovered that there was a country band from California with the same name...
(1982), reached the top 40 in the US, but their breakthrough album was 1983's Midnight Madness
Midnight Madness (album)
Midnight Madness is the second album from Night Ranger. The album contained the band's best known hit, "Sister Christian", and became the band's highest selling album, selling well over a million copies in the US.-Track listing:...
, which included the top 5 single "Sister Christian
Sister Christian
"Sister Christian" is a power ballad by the hard rock band Night Ranger, which was the second single released on their album Midnight Madness. It was ranked number 32 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s. To this day, it is one of the most popular first dance songs at weddings.-Origin and...
". From New York Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
, originally formed as a glam rock band in 1972, released their first album, Under the Blade
Under the Blade
Under the Blade is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on Secret Records on September 18, 1982. . It featured a very brutal and rough sound which was eventually totally ignored on a remixed re-release by Atlantic Records on July 14, 1985...
in 1982.
The most active scene was in the clubs on Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
, Los Angeles, including The Trip, the Red Velvet, the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
, and Starwood, all of which began to avoid booking punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands because of fears of violence, and were colonised by metal bands, usually on a "pay to play" basis, creating a vibrant scene for hard rock music. One of the first groups to emerge from this scene were Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band 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...
, with their albums Too Fast for Love
Too Fast for Love
Too Fast For Love is the debut record of American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe; 900 copies were released in November 1981 on the band's Leathür Records label. Elektra Records signed the band the following year, at which point the album was remixed and partially re-recorded...
(1981) and Shout at the Devil
Shout at the Devil
Shout at the Devil is the second album by heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on September 26, 1983. "Looks That Kill" and "Too Young to Fall in Love" became huge hits and "Shout at the Devil" became very popular as well.-Reception:...
(1983). Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American Heavy Metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were 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...
's US debut Metal Health
Metal Health
Metal Health is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Quiet Riot. It was released on March 11, 1983, bolstered by the #5 hit "Cum on Feel the Noize" and the #31 hit "Metal Health". It knocked The Police's Synchronicity out of #1 in the US. The album went on to sell over six million...
(1983) was the first glam metal album, and arguably the first heavy metal album, to reach number 1 in the Billboard music charts and helped open the doors for mainstream success by subsequent bands.
Increasing numbers of L.A. bands were able to produce début albums in 1984, including Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
with their breakthrough Out of the Cellar
Out of the Cellar
Out of the Cellar is the breakthrough album by heavy metal band Ratt, released in 1984. It is currently certified 3x platinum by the RIAA. Produced by Beau Hill, the album features their best-known hit, "Round and Round", and other hits such as "Wanted Man", "Lack of Communication" and a...
(1984), Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
, with Tooth and Nail, Great White
Great White
Great White is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. The band released several albums in the late 1980s and gained airplay on MTV with music videos for songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"...
with their eponymous album
Great White (album)
Great White is the first full-length album by the American rock band Great White. Three tracks are taken from the band's previous EP, albeit in re-recorded versions. The musical style of this album is very different from the following highly successful releases of Great White, as they display here...
, Autograph
Autograph (American band)
Autograph was an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California.-Formation:Autograph began in late 1983 originally as a solo project for singer, songwriter & guitarist Steve Plunkett, who had recently left the band Silver Condor, due to his frustration with their lack of interest in recording...
with Sign in Please
Sign In Please
-Personnel:*Steve Plunkett - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar*Steve Lynch - Lead Guitar*Randy Rand - Bass, backing vocals*Steven Isham - Keyboards, backing vocals*Keni Richards - Drums, Noises-Production:*Produced By Neil Kernon...
and W.A.S.P.
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 Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot 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...
with their eponymous album
W.A.S.P. (album)
W.A.S.P. is the debut eponymous album by W.A.S.P., released August 17, 1984 . The album has been known under three different names. The spine of the vinyl release has Winged Assassins printed on it...
. In addition Black 'n Blue
Black 'N Blue
Black 'n Blue is a Hard rock band from Portland, Oregon. The current members are singer Jaime St. James, guitarist Shawn Sonnenschein, guitarist Jeff Warner, bassist Patrick Young, and drummer Pete Holmes.-History:...
, formed in Portland, Oregon released their eponymous debut
Black 'N Blue (album)
Black 'n Blue is the self-titled debut album of Black 'n Blue, recorded in 1984.The track "Chains Around Heaven" had previously appeared on the second pressing of the first Metal Massacre compilation, perhaps best known as the compilation to feature the first commercially-released recording by...
and New York-based Danish band White Lion
White Lion
White Lion is an American/Danish hard rock/heavy metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "Wait" and #3 hit "When the...
produced Fight to Survive
Fight to Survive
Fight to Survive was the first album by the American/Danish hard rock band White Lion, released by Victor Records in Japan in 1985. The band was signed to Elektra Records, which shelved the album with no intention of publishing it in the USA. Philadelphia-based Grand Slamm Records bought the album...
(1985). All of these bands played a prominent part in the developing the overall look and sound of glam metal.
Second wave (1985–90)
London (heavy metal band)
London is an American heavy metal band, based in Hollywood, California. The band is perhaps most notable for featuring members that would go on to play in more famous bands such as Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, W.A.S.P...
, which had originally formed as a glam rock band in the 1970s, and had seen future members of Mötley Crüe, Cinderella and Guns N' Roses pass through its ranks, finally releasing their début album Non Stop Rock
Non Stop Rock
Non-Stop Rock is the first album of London, released in 1985 by Shrapnel Records.The riff during the intro to the song "Radio Stars" is taken from the song "Too Fast for Love" by Mötley Crüe.- Track listing :...
in 1985. Philadelphia also produced successful bands, with Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
and Cinderella
Cinderella (band)
Cinderella is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation. They were famous for being a glam metal band, but then shifted over towards a more hard...
releasing their multi-platinum début albums, respectively Look What the Cat Dragged In and Night Songs
Night Songs
Night Songs is Cinderella's debut album, released in 1986 through Mercury Records in America and Vertigo Records in Europe. It sold several million copies due to a combination of their breakthrough single "Nobody's Fool", MTV airplay, and an opening slot on labelmates Bon Jovi's tour, in support of...
in 1986. Stryper
Stryper
Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet , Oz Fox , Tim Gaines , and Robert Sweet...
, formed in 1983 in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, made their mainstream breakthrough in 1986 with their platinum album To Hell with the Devil
To Hell with the Devil
To Hell with the Devil is the Grammy Award nominated third release, and second full-length album, by the Christian metal and glam metal band Stryper, released in 1986 . It was both the first Contemporary Christian and Christian metal album to achieve Platinum status, selling over one million copies...
and brought Christian lyrics to their hard rock music style and glam metal looks. Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
released 5150
5150 (album)
5150 is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1986 through Warner Bros. Records. The album was the first to be recorded with new lead singer Sammy Hagar who replaced David Lee Roth....
(1986), their first album with Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
on lead vocals, which was number 1 in the U.S. for three weeks and sold over 6 million copies. The anthemic The Final Countdown
The Final Countdown (album)
The Final Countdown is the third studio album by the Swedish rock band Europe. Released on 26 May 1986 through Epic Records, the album was a huge commercial success selling over 3 million units in the United States alone, peaking at number 8 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and reaching high...
(1986) by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
group Europe
Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
reached the top ten in several countries, including the U.S. and while the title single
The Final Countdown (song)
"The Final Countdown" is a rock song by the Swedish band Europe released in 1986. Written by Joey Tempest, it was the first single from the band's third studio album which was also named The Final Countdown. It is considered by some to be the band's most recognizable and popular song. The song...
hit number one in 26 countries.
The most commercially significant release of the era was Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
from New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, with Slippery When Wet
Slippery When Wet
Slippery When Wet is the third studio album by Bon Jovi, released in August 1986 by Vertigo Records. Slippery When Wet was an instant commercial success. The album features songs that are today considered as Bon Jovi's most well-known tracks such as "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer"...
(1986), which mixed hard rock with a pop sensitivity, and spent a total of 8 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart, selling over 12 million copies. It became the first hard rock album to spawn three top 10 singles, two of which reached number 1. The album has been credited with widening the audience for the genre, particularly by appealing to women as well as the traditional male dominated audience, and opening the door to MTV and commercial success for other bands at the end of the decade. During the mid-to-late 1980s, glam metal bands were in heavy rotation on the channel, often at the top of MTV's daily dial countdown, and some of the bands appeared on the channel's shows such as Headbanger's Ball, which became one of the most popular programs with over 1.3 million views a week. The groups also received heavy rotation on radio stations such as KNAC
KNAC
KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:...
in Los Angeles. By the second half of the decade, despite mostly negative critical reviews and being shunned by certain sections of the music industry, glam metal had become the most reliable form of commercial popular music in the United States.
Mötley Crüe with Girls, Girls, Girls (1987) continued their run of commercial success, and Def Leppard with Hysteria (1987) hit their commercial peak, the latter producing a hard rock record of seven hit singles. L.A. band Faster Pussycat
Faster Pussycat
Faster Pussycat is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1986. The group was most successful during the late 1980s with their self-titled debut album, their 1989 gold album Wake Me When It's Over and the 80,000 selling Whipped! in 1992.-The roots of Faster Pussycat...
released their eponymous début
Faster Pussycat
Faster Pussycat is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1986. The group was most successful during the late 1980s with their self-titled debut album, their 1989 gold album Wake Me When It's Over and the 80,000 selling Whipped! in 1992.-The roots of Faster Pussycat...
, but the greatest success was Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, originally formed from a fusion of bands L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns is the name of a hard rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, of which two rival incarnations currently exist due to numerous line-up changes. The first incarnation of the group was formed, by Tracii Guns, in 1983 but disbanded in 1985 following its merger with fellow Los Angeles...
and Hollywood Rose
Hollywood Rose
Hollywood Rose was an American hard rock group formed in 1983 and is best known as the precursor group for what would eventually become Guns N' Roses. The group was founded by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Chris Weber while they were aided during live shows by Rick Mars, Johnny Kreis, Steve Darrow...
, who released the best-selling début of all time, Appetite for Destruction
Appetite for Destruction
Appetite for Destruction is the debut studio album by American rock band Guns N' Roses, released in July 1987 on Geffen Records. It was well-received by critics and topped the American Billboard 200 chart...
(1987). With a "grittier" and "rawer" sound than most glam metal, it produced three top 10 hits, including the number 1 "Sweet Child O' Mine
Sweet Child O' Mine
"Sweet Child o' Mine" is the third single by American rock band Guns N' Roses, and the third from their 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. Released on August 17, 1988, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the band's first and only number-one single in the U.S...
". Such was the dominance of the style that Californian hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band TSOL
TSOL
TSOL is an American punk rock band which formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. TSOL is short for True Sounds of Liberty although they are rarely referred to by their full name....
moved towards a glam metal sound in this period.
In the last years of the decade the most notable successes were New Jersey
New Jersey (album)
New Jersey is Bon Jovi's fourth album, released on September 19, 1988. The album charted at #1 on The Billboard 200. New Jersey was particularly notable for producing five Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 singles, the most top ten hits to date for a hard rock album.-Unreleased songs:The album was...
(1988) by Bon Jovi, OU812
OU812
OU812 is the 8th studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1988. The album title is allegedly a joke on Van Halen's previous lead singer David Lee Roth's 1986 album Eat 'Em and Smile . However, "OU812" was also seen in the 70s sitcom Taxi written on a wall...
(1988) by Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, while Open Up and Say... Ahh! (1988) by Poison, spawned number 1 hit single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up And Say... Ahh!. It is the band's only number-one hit in the U.S., reaching the top spot on Christmas Eve in 1988 for three weeks . It was...
", and eventually sold eight million copies worldwide. Britny Fox
Britny Fox
Britny Fox was an American Glam metal band from the Philadelphia area, initially active from 1985 to 1992 then subsequently reforming in 2000. They are best known for their music video for "Girlschool" and their hit "Long Way to Love" .-History:...
from Philadelphia and Winger from New York released their eponymous débuts in 1988. In 1989 Mötley Crüe's produced their most commercially successful album, the multi-platinum number 1 Dr. Feelgood
Dr. Feelgood (album)
*Disc one contains the original albumThe original Korean LP edition does not contain the first two tracks, "T.N.T. " and "Dr...
. In the same year eponymous débuts included Danger Danger
Danger Danger
Danger Danger is an American glam metal band, formed in 1987 in Queens, New York. Despite enjoying moderate success in the U.S. with their debut album Danger Danger, the band vanished from the radar due to legal problems and changes in its line-up....
from New York and Dangerous Toys
Dangerous Toys
Dangerous Toys is an Austin, Texas-based hard rock band with often humorous lyrics. Founded in 1987, Dangerous Toys put out four full-length albums and one live album before unofficially disbanding at the turn of the millennium....
from Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, who provided more of a Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
tone to the genre. L.A. débuts included Warrant
Warrant (American band)
Warrant is an American heavy metal band from Hollywood, California, that experienced success from 1989-1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its...
with Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
Warrant: Live - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich is the first Warrant video album released in 1990 on VHS and Laserdisc, featuring the band performing live in concert.The video was certified Platinum -Track listing:#"So Damn Pretty"#"Ridin' High"...
(1989), and Skid Row with their eponymous album
Skid Row (album)
-Personnel:*Sebastian Bach – lead vocals*Scotti Hill – lead and rhythm guitar*Dave "The Snake" Sabo – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals*Rachel Bolan – bass guitar, backing vocals*Rob Affuso – drums and percussion*David Kent – engineer...
(1989), which reached number 6 in the Billboard 200, but they were to be one of the last major bands that emerged in the glam metal era.
Glam metal entered the 1990s as one of the major commercial genres of popular music. In 1990 débuts for Slaughter
Slaughter (band)
Slaughter is an American heavy metal band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada by lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum. The band reached stardom in 1990 with their first album, Stick It to Ya which spawned several hit singles including "Up All Night", "Spend My Life", "Mad...
, from Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
with Stick It to Ya
Stick It to Ya
Stick It To Ya is the debut album from hard rock band Slaughter. It was released in 1990 by Chrysalis Records. It sold over 2 million copies...
and Firehouse, from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, with their eponymous
FireHouse (album)
FireHouse is the debut album of the band FireHouse. It was released in 1990 and launched the band into stardom. It was certified 2x Platinum in the United States, and Gold in Canada, Japan, and Singapore....
album reached number 18 and number 21 on the Billboard 100 respectively, but it would be the peak of their commercial achievement. Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion I is the third studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. It was the first of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, the other being Use Your Illusion II. The two are thus sometimes considered a double album. In fact, in the original vinyl...
and Use Your Illusion II
Use Your Illusion II
Use Your Illusion II is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. It was one of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, and as a result the two albums are sometimes considered a double album...
(both in 1991) and Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1991 through Warner Bros. Records. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three weeks...
(1991) showcased the genre's popularity. In 1992, Def Leppard followed up 1987's Hysteria with Adrenalize
Adrenalize
-Deluxe Edition :*Tracks 1-4 are taken from the band's Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face EP, recorded at Bonn, Germany, on 29 May 1992*Tracks 5 & 6 taken from "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" single....
, which went multi-platinum, spawned four Top 40 singles and held the number 1 spot on the U.S. album chart for 5 weeks, the only hard rock album to reach that position that year.
Decline (1991–97)
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 Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot 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...
guitarist Chris Holmes
Chris Holmes (musician)
Chris Holmes is a musician who was born June 23, 1958 in Glendale, California and grew up in La Canada, California...
was interviewed while drinking vodka on an inflatable raft in a swimming pool as his mother watched. As a result it has been seen as helping to create a backlash against the genre. In the early 1990s glam metal's popularity rapidly declined after nearly a decade of success. Several music writers and musicians began to deride glam metal acts as "hair farmers," hinting at the soon-to-be-popularized term hair metal. Another reason for the decline in popularity of the style may have been the changing popularity of the power ballad, a slow, emotional song that gradually builds to a strong finale. While the use of the power ballad, especially after a hard-rocking anthem, was initially a successful formula, in the late 1980s and early 1990s audiences lost interest in this approach.
One significant factor in the decline was the rise of grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
music from Seattle, with bands including Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
and Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
. This was particularly obvious after the success of Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's Nevermind
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
(1991), which combined elements of hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and heavy metal into a dirty sound that made use of heavy guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback, along with darker lyrical themes, a stripped-down aesthetic and a complete rejection of the glam metal visual style and performance. Many major labels felt they had been caught off-guard by the surprise success of grunge and had begun turning over their personnel in favor of younger staffers more versed in the new scene. As MTV shifted its attention to the new style, glam metal bands found themselves relegated more and more often to and late night airplay, and Headbanger's Ball was cancelled at the end of 1994, while KNAC went over to Spanish programming. Given glam metal's lack of a major format presence on radio, bands were left without a clear way to reach their audience. Other alternative rock bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
and Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
also helped further supplant the popularity of the genre.
In the new commercial climate many glam metal bands like Europe, Ratt, White Lion, Britny Fox, Stryper, Skid Row and Cinderella broke up and while many of these bands would re-unite again in the late 1990s or early 2000s, they never reached the commercial success they saw in the 1980s or early 1990s. Other bands such as Mötley Crüe, Poison, and Slaughter saw personnel changes which impacted their commercial viability. In 1995 Van Halen released Balance
Balance (Van Halen album)
Balance is the 10th studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1995 and, to date, is the fourth and final Van Halen album of all-new material featuring lead singer Sammy Hagar. It was also a more complete divergence from their earlier, more heavy metal sound...
, a multi-platinum seller that would be the band's last with Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
on vocals. In 1996 David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
returned briefly and his replacement, former Extreme
Extreme (band)
Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen...
singer Gary Cherone
Gary Cherone
Gary Francis Caine Cherone is an American rock singer-songwriter. He is best known for his work with the rock group Extreme, as well as his short stint as the lead singer for Van Halen on their 11th album Van Halen III and subsequent tour. In recent years he has released solo recordings. In 2007,...
, was fired soon after the release of the commercially unsuccessful 1998 album Van Halen III
Van Halen III
Van Halen III is the band's 11th album and was the last studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. It is the only Van Halen album to feature Gary Cherone on lead vocals...
and Van Halen would not tour or record again until 2004. Guns N' Roses' original lineup was whittled away throughout the decade. Drummer Steven Adler
Steven Adler
Steven Adler is an American musician. He is best known as the former drummer of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s...
was fired in 1990, guitarist Izzy Stradlin
Izzy Stradlin
Jeffrey Dean Isbell , known by his stage name Izzy Stradlin, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of its fame in 1991. Following his departure, he led his own band Izzy...
left in late 1991 after recording Use Your Illusion I and II with the band. Tensions between the other band members and lead singer Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
continued after the release of the 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident?. Guitarist Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
left in 1996, followed by bassist Duff McKagan
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan is an American musician and writer. He is best known for his twelve-year tenure as the bassist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
in 1998. Axl Rose, the only original member, worked with a constantly-changing lineup in recording an album that would take over ten years to complete.
Revival (1998–present)
It's My Life (Bon Jovi song)
"It's My Life" is Bon Jovi's first single from the album Crush. It was released on May 23, 2000. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Max Martin. The song hit #1 across several countries...
" (2000). They branched into country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
with a version of their 2005 song "Who Says You Can't Go Home
Who Says You Can't Go Home
"Who Says You Can't Go Home" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora for the American rock band Bon Jovi's ninth studio album Have a Nice Day . The song was produced by John Shanks, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. It was released as the second single in North America in the first...
", which reached number 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart in 2006 and the rock/country album Lost Highway which reached number 1 in 2007. In 2009, Bon Jovi released another number 1 album, The Circle
The Circle (Bon Jovi album)
The Circle is the eleventh studio album by rock band Bon Jovi. Produced by John Shanks, the album was released November 10, 2009, with the new single "We Weren't Born to Follow" premiering on radio August 17...
, which marked a return to their hard rock sound.
Mötley Crüe reunited with Vince Neil
Vince Neil
Vincent Neil Wharton is an American vocalist and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.-Early life:Neil was born in Hollywood, California to Odie and Shirley Wharton...
to record the 1997 album Generation Swine
Generation Swine
Generation Swine is the seventh studio album and final for Elektra Records by the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on June 24, 1997. The album is the first to feature singer Vince Neil since Dr...
and Poison reunited with guitarist C.C. DeVille in 1999, producing the mostly live Power to the People
Power to the People (Poison album)
Power to the People is a music album from the American rock band Poison, released on June 13, 2000 on the band's independent label, Cyanide Music. It marked the return of the original lineup, together for the first time since 1991's Swallow This Live with the return of C.C...
(2000), both bands began to tour extensively. There were reunions and subsequent tours from Van Halen (with Hagar in 2004 and then Roth in 2007), The long awaited Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy
Chinese Democracy
Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released in November 2008 on Geffen Records. It is the band's first studio album since "The Spaghetti Incident?" , released exactly 15 years before Chinese Democracy, and their first album of original studio...
was finally released in 2008, but only went platinum, produced no hit singles, and failed to come close to the success of the band's late 1980s and early 1990s material.
Europe's "Final Countdown" enjoyed a new lease of popularity as the millennium drew to a close and the band reformed. Other acts to reform included Ratt, White Lion, Britny Fox, Night Ranger, Stryper (annually), Skid Row and Cinderella. Beginning in 1999, Monster Ballads
Monster Ballads
Monster Ballads, because every bad boy has a soft side, is the first in a series of compilation albums that feature popular power ballads, usually from the glam metal genre...
, a series of compilation albums that feature popular power ballads, usually from the glam metal genre, capitalised on the nostalgia, with the first volume going platinum. The VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
sponsored Rock Never Stops Tour
Rock Never Stops Tour
Rock Never Stops is a U.S. rock tour that features various rock groups of the 1980s and 1990s. The tour started in 1998 with L.A. Guns, FireHouse, Slaughter, Warrant and Quiet Riot. However, the line-up has changed through the years adding various bands of the genre.-Tour lineup:The tour's lineup...
, beginning in 1998, has seen many glam metal bands take to the stage again, including on the inaugural tour Warrant, Slaughter, Quiet Riot, FireHouse, and L.A. Guns. Slaughter also took part in the 1999 version with Ted Nugent, Night Ranger, and Quiet Riot. Poison and Cinderella toured together in 2000 and 2002 and in 2005 Cinderella headlined the Rock Never Stops Tour, with support from Ratt, Quiet Riot, and FireHouse. In 2007 the four-day long Rocklahoma
Rocklahoma
Rocklahoma is an annual hard rock music festival held in Pryor, Oklahoma...
festival held in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
included glam metal bands Poison, Ratt, Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and Britny Fox. Warrant and Cinderella co-headlined the festival in 2008. Nostalgia for the genre was evidenced in the production of glam metal themed musical Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages (musical)
Rock of Ages is a rock/jukebox musical, with a book by Chris D'Arienzo, built around classic rock hits from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of the decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Asia, among...
, which ran for in Los Angeles in 2006 and in New York in 2008.
Glam metal experienced a partial resurgence around the turn of the century, due in part to increased interest on the internet, with the successful 'Glam Slam Metal Jam' music festival taking place in the summer of 2000. By the early 2000s, a handful of new bands began to revive glam metal in one form or another. The Darkness's Permission to Land
Permission to Land
Permission to Land is the debut studio album by British hard rock band The Darkness, released in the United Kingdom on 7 July 2003 and in the United States on 5 August 2003. The album topped the UK Albums Chart and reached number thirty-six on the American Billboard 200 chart...
(2003), described as an "eerily realistic simulation of '80s metal and '70s glam", topped the UK charts, going quintuple platinum. One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) reached number 11, before the band broke up in 2006. Los Angeles band Steel Panther
Steel Panther
Steel Panther is a glam metal band from Los Angeles, California mostly known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated on-stage personas...
managed to gain a following by playing 80s style glam metal. Another attempt to revive glam metal was made by bands of the sleaze metal movement in Sweden, including Vains of Jenna
Vains of Jenna
Vains of Jenna are a rock band formed in Falkenberg, Sweden during January 2005. They have since relocated to Los Angeles, California. They will be performing around the States with the help of and -History:...
, Hardcore Superstar
Hardcore Superstar
Hardcore Superstar is a hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1997 and continue on today. Hardcore Superstar have had several #1 hit singles, and Grammy wins in Sweden.-Bad Sneakers and a Piña Colada:...
, H.E.A.T. and Crashdïet
Crashdïet
CRASHDÏET are a glam metal band from Stockholm, Sweden. They have released three albums: 2005's Rest in Sleaze, 2007's The Unattractive Revolution and 2010's Generation Wild.- Early years :...
. Other new acts included Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures (band)
Beautiful Creatures are a hard rock band formed in 1999 by guitarist DJ Ashba, formerly of BulletBoys, and singer Joe Lesté of Bang Tango. The group's current lineup is composed of Lesté , Delta Starr , Anthony Focx , Lance Eric and Justin Sandler...
and Buckcherry
Buckcherry
Buckcherry is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry and Time Bomb , before partially dissolving in the summer of 2002. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry and released a new album...
, whose breakthrough album 15
15 (Buckcherry album)
15 is Buckcherry's third studio album and the first with a new line-up, released on October 17, 2005 in Japan and on April 6, 2006 in North America. The Japanese version features two bonus tracks. "Crazy Bitch" was the first single off the album and enjoyed success on the pop charts. The second...
(2006) went platinum and spawned the single "Sorry
Sorry (Buckcherry song)
"Sorry" is the tenth single by Buckcherry, and the fifth from their third album, 15. It was not originally planned to be a single, but after increasing popularity on Mainstream radio, the band made a video and officially released the song.-Song meaning:...
" (2007), which made the top 10 of the Billboard 100.
See also
- List of glam metal bands
- 2009 in Hard Rock2009 in hard rockThis is a timeline documenting the events of Hard Rock & Glam Metal in the year 2009. Lists upcoming events, album releases, newly formed bands, expected albums and links to similar pages...
- 2010 in Hard Rock2010 in hard rockThis is a timeline documenting the events of Hard Rock & Glam Metal in the year 2010. Lists upcoming events, album releases, newly formed bands, expected albums and links to similar pages...
- 2011 in Hard Rock2011 in hard rockThis is a timeline documenting the events of Hard Rock & Glam Metal in the year 2011. Lists upcoming events, album releases, newly formed bands, expected albums and links to similar pages...