underrated hair metal albums
Contraband - s/t 10. I still dont really know what makes something good or bad, and I really dont think I am qualified to tell you what you should like or dislike. Like Joker, there's not a ton of information out there regarding Real Steel. However, that doesn't mean that there was no glam-labeled music being released at the time. Some will say their success is attributed to the novelty of women playing Metal. Also, another tidbit that makes this album pretty cool: Vivian Campbell (Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Def Leppard) joins the fun, and played guitar on Desperate. While Vivian did his thing and killed it, make no mistake, Jan matched him note for note the rest of the way. picdoc 4 yr. ago. I gotta find a copy of that CD thats not $35 or more! And I still think Sole Survivor is just one of the greatest rock songs ever (despite the ear-splitting treble caused by a shitty mix at the end of the song). Blue Murder - Blue Murder (1990) Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind (1983) The biggest problem with Iron Maiden 's fourth album is that it's sandwiched between the twin juggernauts that are The Number Of The Beast and Powerslave. From there, Warner Brothers gave Rough Cutt one last shot, and the group recorded their next record in 1986, called Want You!, which also completely stalled. lesmortsdansant 3 yr. ago. Vinnie Vincent Invasion Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986) ConflictAddict 4 yr. ago. If you dont, I promise youll regret it later. Doro True At Heart (1991) i hung around with Joker in the old days and went to High school with the guitarist.I hope they do come back. Heres how it works. 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. All across the board, there are just too damn many to choose from: And all of this barely scratches the surface, so please include your own recommendations in the comments below! You probably remember them for their platinum and multiplatinum albums One Bitten and its 1989 follow-up Twice Shy, and with good reason, as these albums are classic but certainly are not underrated. If the opening melody of Rock Aint Dead doesnt grab you, you wont care about the rest. I had forgotten about that band! The former is annoying and yet also expected. Love em, Leave emAs long as their breathin! -Love on the Run. 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. The album was recorded at Eddie Van Halen's 5150 home studio, and Wildside was the first band other than Van Halen to record there. "Slave to the Grind" arrived at the time when record label's realized that the audiences were beginning to get tired with over-saturation of glam metal, and received fairly little support and air time as a result. Now, this is a weird entry in many ways. [Disclaimer: There's simply no good term for this style of music. To be honest, by rights, Warrant really had no business releasing a Hair Metal album in late 1992, but they did it anyway, and the results are perhaps their best record. Original Scorpions albums sound A-OK so can't see why yaow'd bovver wiv reworkings. By that point, oversaturation was just starting to set in, and so, if you werent truly aces, you werent going to make it. In retrospect, the tone and style of the record truly are the last of what we have come to know as Glam Metal styling, as not too many albums like it came out afterward if any did at all. It was produced by Andy Johns (who had worked with everyone from The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to Cinderella and Van Halen). I can't tell if they're still active or not, but Wildside does have a Facebook page that's touting a remastered re-release of Under the Influence this year, and I'll be all over that if it becomes a reality. If not, youre not alone. 10 obscure but brilliant hair metal albums | Louder - loudersound So here are the most underrated records by 20 major metal bands. Pure pop metal with long, stick thin blond hair X2. No genre has been as mocked and reviled as much as hair metal, but for a few years in the 80s when it was still called glam metal it bestrode the world like a Spandex and fishnet-clad colossus, twirling its drumsticks at it surveyed all before it. While I didnt intend for the KISS roots to run so deep within the article per se, I will admit that we are all subject to our own biases, and anyone who knows me will tell you I am not about to apologize for KISS influence. You can read Dalys comments for each album of his Part II at Vinyl Writer Musics website. Apparently they had even written a bunch of new songs and were in pre-production for their second album when they got dropped. The band got started in Los Angeles in the late-'80s as Young Gunns; signed a seven-album (!? Ah, Tigertailz: the band the Manic Street Preachers could have been. Man, could Mike Matijevic hit a high note! Vixen Vixen (1988) No, I only stumbled upon this CD in a local used bin for $5 (alongside Roxxi's Drive it to Ya Hard!, so talk about a huge score) a few years ago, and totally flipped out when I tossed it in for the first time. Winger epitomized late 80's pop metal, and seemed to be the pinup boys for all the hatred towards hair metal with the dawning of grunge. Of course, I had no idea this album existed in 1990, which is a damn shame, as I would've been an enormous fan from day one. Aversionline 2000 - 2023. One of the most underrated bands in the genre. Edit 20-04-2011: Deleted all albums with 60 ratings or higher. It deserves love too, you know? While reviews at the time were mixed, retrospectively, it has been given high praise. 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. This album kicks so much ass I had a really hard time selecting which track to highlight above, but the fast-paced energy and raging, bluesy riffing of the album's title track brought it home in the end. Totally with you on many of your other suggestions. This, their best album contains the song "Metal Health" which is, according to Kevin DuBrow, the original FU song. The classic lineup released I'm A Rebel (1980), Breaker (1981), Restless And Wild (1982), Balls To The Wall (1983), Metal Heart (1985), Russian Roulette (1986) and finally Eat The Heat in 1989 which featured American vocalist David Reece and featured a more mainstream sound. Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 Next > R79 Forum Resident Thread Starter. Enter Lorraine Lewis, the frontwoman with an absolutely huge voice, who led the now mostly forgotten group Femme Fatale. 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. 04. On the other hand, the fact that it brought something any lingering W.A.S.P. The album that gave "hair" to the hair metal genre. 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. In Winger's case, "Pull" ended up being surprisingly good and instantly became a favorite among the band's fans. When it comes to underrated hair metal, I always sing the praises of Kik Tracee. So, tease your hair, lay the eyeliner, and rouge on thick because were hitting the strip tonight. No, instead, crank the dial to max volume and tell your friend to saddle up or walk home. W.A.S.P. 06. Connor Shelton described it as one of the few bands from the era to bring a level of depth . No makeup, no hairspray, just a t shirt and jeans band, a "working man's" band. 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. Surprised to see this at Number One? Wildside - Under The Influence ;t=2333s Totally overlooked upon release due to being a debut album of the genre released in 1992. The list is not without some eye brow raising since at least one album achieved gold certification in the United States of America but it's a fun list nonetheless. 100 Essential Hair Metal Albums - Rate Your Music Marq did, however, play guitar with Ratt in their early days. Now, beyond that, what it also did was elicit plenty of comments and responses. East Coast glam metal was darker and weirder than its Californian cousin. If you listen to this album, you will be singing the songs in your head for years to come. Yes. They sound like Toto, Journey or Asia. As heard above, "I Rule the Radio," from the Heavy Artillery compilation, is a perfect example of Real Steel at their anthemic, fist-pumping best. Well, I stand by it. Record labels, radio stations, and the mainstream audience themselves all got very tired of this approach and embraced the Seattle underground sound instead, which led to a lot of bands who were all the rage only years before disband and/or become highly irrelevant. I'll never understand what it is that makes some bands "click" while others that are just as good if not better simply fade away into relative obscurity. Now that weve got my justification out of the way lets talk significance. Kickstart your hearts and shout at the devil because en route are more huge hooks, mighty guitar licks, and most importantly, more sleaze coming your way, faster and harder than ever. 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. Well, I am here to tell you that those people are assholes. A couple of other amazing and underrated glam albums that didnt make this list (but easily could have)- Or the impeccable "Somewhere in Time," which honestly touches on a much more "authentic" level of metal or hard rock (akin to maybe Queensrche or something) with its prominent but not distracting keyboards and thought-out, composed leads? So, what did they do? Also, their weren't too many other guitarists from this era that could rival Vito Bratta's playing. Sure, John Norum is tough to replace, but you could do a whole lot worse than the wonderfully talented Kee Marcello. (I can't help but feel like the epic power ballad, "Too Late," should've been a massive hit single.) Britny Fox were doing lines of coke off of Elton Johns piano while in the studio making Bite Down Hard. 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. 09. The Nelson brothers could write a hell of a song, because every one on this album is catchy and loaded with hooks. Youll see. Davy Vain made his name producing Bay Area thrashers Death Angel, but he had a glam metal heart. Love it or hate it, but you cant deny that Superstitious slays and it might just be Europes greatest ever track. Metallica reveal details of special 72 Seasons global album listening event, Rob Halford on Ozzy Osbourne's retirement from touring: "he made the right call", Every issue delivered direct to your door. 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! . In truth, this record is not the first one that people think of when they consider albums that define the 80s. Blue Murder Blue Murder (1989) While there's a good handful of underrated bands of this ilk that do still get mild exposure here and there, I'm for the most part trying to stick with personal favorites that I've never even encountered on satellite radio channels such as Hair Nation, etc. KISS Asylum (1985) - In my personal opinion, two of the best damn sleaze bands nobody has ever heard of If I was going to put a Great White album on this list it would be Psycho City, not Hooked. Guns N' Roses. I mean, come on, it's impossible not to sing along to "Mackinaw Avenue" or "Change"the latter of which is practically a full-on pop song, though the quality of the writing and musicianship gives it an edge that avoids the overly pristine sheen of lesser (yet more successful) outfits like Danger Danger or Firehouse. One of the many albums in the early 80's that helped bring metal to the mainstream. They're kind of like Skid Row, the Bulletboys, and Faster Pussycat thrown in a blender. Sadly, the band is probably best remembered for their track Touch and Go, being featured on the extremely dated teen comedy, License to Drive. The hard rock "Thriller." It was mixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero (who also mixed. Though there really wasn't much substance to the music, the scene was popular to the mainstream. Q5 are now called Nightshade and still play out every once in a while. Janet Gardner was the quintessential frontwoman, and Jan Kuehnemund played her ass off on this record. BA1 1UA. 200+ Hard Rock And Metal Bands From The 80s That Are Worth Listening To The Welsh wonders' second album, 1990's Berzerk, is a stone-cold classic featuring the greatest pop-metal anthem of the era in Love Bomb Baby. Lyrics are a bit trite, but this is a great debut. As a whole, this record does have minor ups and downs. 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time - Rolling Stone Every song on here is just infectious. The second album shouldve just been the actual soundtrack to Bloodsport. It's also worth noting that their early tracks as Young Gunns were equally awesome, and the B-sides from Under the Influence are pretty incredible (to the point of being significantly better than some of the album tracks, not that it would've made a difference in the end, sadly). And yet, "Revenge" did stand out among its predecessors in several ways. A little more filler on this one, but "November Rain" has got to be the greatest power ballad of all time. Real Steel (well done for resisting Reel) are the pick of the bunch for me, almost hints of Manowar circa Fighting The World on there 2 thumbs up! Vinyl Writer Musics principal Andrew Daly has released his list for the 10 Underrated Glam & Hair Metal Era Albums. Buy it, you will be pleasantly surprised. 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. Roxy Blue. Ill be emailing you! "Headed For A Heartbreak" is an awesome ballad. 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. Back then, pretty much anyone with a can of Aquanet hairspray and a guitar could bag themselves a platinum record and free entry to any strip club in town. These guys got popular fast and then went absolutely nowhere. You remember Great White, right? More sleaze than hair or pop metal, but once you hear this album, you will never forget it. Not quite as big a seller as "Lean Into It," "Mr. Big" is the debut from a band that should have ruled the world. Underrated hair metal songs | Steve Hoffman Music Forums Mist of the Maelstrom. Wanna know the details? 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time. For me, Aces positioning at the number one spot on this list is both hard-earned and well deserved. Better late than never and all, but oh how I wish I had known about Wildside when I was a kid. Some good and some bad, which I am OK with, as it comes with the territory of writing, especially when it comes to this topic. Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. 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. That's a long time. In fact, some of the bands which got jumbled in this unfortunate category released some of their best albums during this decade, and today, we'll be taking a closer look at six such examples. 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. Speaking of Vixen, here they are! Yeah, thats pretty much it. Maybe even an old T-shirt laying around! 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. Britny Foxs Girlschool video (from Britny Fox album): Copyright 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes, Vinyl Writer Music names its 10 Underrated Glam & Hair Metal Era Albums. They changed their name to Shotgun Messiah, fired their singer and eventually went industrial metal. Only time will tell. The album was well-received critically, but sadly, the band was unable to reward Warners confidence in them, and the album never made a dent in the US charts. So, if youre a fan, the summer of 2021 may finally be your chance to get a taste of some late 80s sleaze. That Beau Nasty is kicking my ass right now! Some remain underrated despite having done moderately well in their day, while others have been lost to near complete obscurity. Trixter were a bunch of teenagers when they released this, their debut,coming in at the end of the hair metal wave. It kinda sucks when your biggest hit is a cover song, although probably nobody knew that back in 1989. Their recordings were reissued on CD several years ago by Retrospect Records, howevergranted the disc is already out of print and fetching overly expensive prices on eBay. 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: Love/Hate - Blackout In The Red Room (1990) Mick parlayed the cache he had built up into a major label deal, with Warner Brothers Records, and with Marq Torien (vocals), Lonnie Vincent (bass), and Jimmy DAnda (drums), the BulletBoys were born. The album was recorded at Eddie Van Halen's 5150 home studio, and Wildside was the first band other than Van Halen to record there. I would suggest though a few more bands that arent as well known. Vito Bratta is one of the really underrated guitar players, alongside Reb Beach. Warrant Dog Eat Dog (1992) 07. Extreme is best known for their No. Extreme: The thinking person's hair metal band. This album defined early L.A. glam metal. Another great hair metal band that has gone totally underrated. I got TT on 1st end LP and it's sumptuous! On the other hand, "Dog Eat Dog" represented what the band really wanted to do with their career, which included a much heavier sound and lyrics more diverse than drooling over girls. * In short, Vixen kicked ass and they proved once and for all that women could rock and shred as hard as their male counterparts. (Harem Scarem is sounding AMAZING so far, pretty damn sure Ill be scooping that up as soon as I can!) 1 hit, "More Than Words," and the album it was released off of, "Extreme II: Pornograffitti.". Alice Cooper's pop metal album, loaded with great players and great songs. A lot of it's not that "metal," some of it's not that "glam," most bands' membersregardless of genrehave "hair," and so on. It was formed by the same dude who invented the most popular and inherently-flawed-leaving-endless-bullshit-marketing-for-upgrades-rather-than-just-make-a-great-product-in-the-first-place piece of guitar technology, Mr. Floyd Rose, who, although he did an acceptable job of producing and engineering both Q5 albums overall, did an unacceptable job of engineering the guitar sounds for both albums, and did not have enough finesse as a lead player to make his solos sound pleasing (although he wasnt awkward like Steve Howe, he was no George Lynch). As expected Ive only heard of two or three of the bands you listed off there. To nobody's surprise, "III Sides to Every Story" followed that labeling trend as well, but what you could hear on that album was anything but stereotypical glam. We've decided to rank our 20 hair metal bands of all time. The guitar tone is annoying, but When the Mirror Cracks has some KILLER songs. It needs to be out there and readily available. Britny Fox Britny Fox (1988) 02. Wildside did release one more album in 1995 (on an indie label), but had undergone some lineup changes and a complete shift in sound by that pointironically enough taking a stab at the grungier style that had destroyed their initial shot at success. I prefer Pump over this one, but this is filled with killer cuts. DLR's full length debut (after a 4 song EP in 1985). 10. 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. Vinyl Writer Music names its '10 Underrated Glam & Hair Metal Era Albums'