Favoriate 80's Hair band

[witchhunt]

There were many great regional hairbands too... all of the following played a lot of their own material:
Bashful (Mt. Union), Hanon Tramp (Harrisburg), Optimus Prime (Reading), Hard Knoxx (Scranton), Zaza (Erie), Monarch (Hagerstown), Tung Bandits (Pgh.) , Easy Mickey (York),Slammer (Altoona), Rough Dymond (Philly), Satin Steel (Erie), Dead End Kids (Philly), Child's Play (Balt.), Blackmail (Frederick), Teeze (Philly), Dezire (Allentown), Krank (Philly), Cry Tuff (York), Dirty Blond (Allentown) ...

Notice all of the cheesy alternate spellings. Funny.

[BDR]

In a word ... RATT.

r:>)

[Bic & Que]

Jackyl.....

Que showed up at work one day with their first cd.....I didn't even know that she liked rock! Asked her out shortly after that....the rest is history

[songsmith]

For all who weren't active back then... the term, "hair band" was not used back then. Poison or Slayer, it was all called metal, except most metal bands didn't refer to themselves as that. At that time, you got to pretty much define yourself.
80's metal was a very cool thing in the beginning... Priest was mean, Crue was mean, lots of slamming import metal available, it was aimed at teenage boys, which was my demographic at the time. Then, in '86, Jonny Bon Jovi sold a few million records to chicks, and it was all over. I knew then that my music was done. Record corps signed everybody who stole leopard print spandies out of their sister's closet, and everybody who Bon Jovi ever met in a bar. Sorry, ladies, when music is geared to teeny-boppers, it gets corporatized, homogenized, sugar-coated, and sanitized (SEE Priest's guitar-syths, Kiss's "I Was Made For Lovin' You," and Kix's "Don't Close Your Eyes") and the life is drained out of it completely. By the early 90's my music was wussified to the point where it would collapse under it's own lack of backbone, and when Nirvana hit, metal was boned.
Man, it was fun, though, wasn't it?--------->JMS

[BDR]

Man, it was fun, though, wasn't it?--------->JMS

It was fun growing that hair when it would actually grow ... thank God, for those of us who are no longer able to grow that stuff, clean shaven is socially acceptible ...

r:>)

[Bic & Que]

Amen BadDazeRob!

The Mr Clean look is now socially acceptable, thank all that is Rock!

[Jim Price]

I was big on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement and a number of the bands that emerged from that...Iron Maiden, Saxon, Marseilles, Girlschool (who are back together), pre-Hysteria Def Leppard, Diamond Head, and a lot of the bands who frequently got ink in British metal mag Kerrang! at the time...

I also liked a lot of European "hair" metal that came out during that period, such as Trust and Ocean from France; Vandenberg, Picture and Highway Chile from Holland; Baron Rojo (Spain); Hanoi Rocks (Finland), Trash (Sweden), Shotgun Messiah and Pretty Maids (Denmark) and more.

From this side of the pond, I liked Twisted Sister, Dokken, Ratt, Malice, Q5, The Rods, Helix, Kickaxe, Killer Dwarfs, Tesla...and of course, Queensryche (although as some have mentioned about Iron Maiden, Queensryche wasn't "hair metal," but surfaced at the same time). Queensryche remains my favorite band to surface from the 80's.

Although they got lumped in with the "hair band" movement, I list Judas Priest, Scorpions, Krokus, Riot and Whitesnake separately, as their beginnings all go back to the early and mid 70's. They rode the wave of the "hair band" popularity in the 80's, but their roots were from the 70's.

As Songsmith said, as metal became more commercialized and started selling hit records in the 80's, a lot of bands tried to alter their sound to cash in, and it didn't work. It killed Saxon's, Girlschool's and Krokus' careers on this side of the pond.

It was disappointing to me that as the metal market became oversaturated in the late 80's and early 90's, a number of good bands got overlooked because they surfaced just as grunge was kicking in and "hair metal" was suddenly yesterday's news...Bands like Law and Order, Power Trio From Hell, Wolfsbane and others all were victims of bad timing (even Extreme; there was a lot more to that band than "More Than Words," "Hole Hearted" and Gary Cherone's failed experiment fronting Van Halen)...

[Baceman Spiff]

There were better things going on at the time.
Like Suicidal Tendencies, Sick Of It All, Agnostic Front, and other things Hardcore. Just never got into the Hair Metal, Maybe Jackyl are they Hair Metal? They're cool Or Shotgun Messiah (just joking about that one).

I agree with you Dirt. The term "Hair Metal" is an oxymoron. I would add D.R.I. and S.O.D. to your list.

The drummer from Motorhead (Philthy Animal) used to fluff his hair up, so I say Motorhead! Does that count?

Joe you just lost thirty metal points for starting this thread! Now you have tp play the entire "Reign in Blood" album, everyday for a week, so you can get them back! haha JK....or am I??

[SpellboundByMetal]

am i the only one who cant stand hair metal @ all????

[BDR]

(even Extreme; there was a lot more to that band than "More Than Words," "Hole Hearted" and Gary Cherone's failed experiment fronting Van Halen)...

No $hit ... their first abum was remarkable, IMHO. It's really a shame because, as has been pointed out, a lot of good bands got a bum rap being tied into the "hair genre" — Extreme, Slaughter and Winger are three that come to mind right off the top.

Oh well, that's the nature of things, I guess. I, for one, am glad that I got to be a part of this time period, though. Lots of weird — and cool — music came out of that decade, and not just the metal.

Two words: SAFETY DANCE.



r:>)

[metalchurch]

Baceman, I might have lost 30 Metal points for starting this thread but I will gain them back with Deicide's Serpents of the Light album. Christian and Jesus killin death metal!! I like 80's for the guitars. But I also like Death Metal and that is on the whole other extreme. I'd start a thread about killing jesus and his followers but people wouldnt like that so I opt to remain somewhat PC on here. So I guess I get 50 Metal points for mentioning the death of jesus?

[DirtySanchez]

No, but if you write a formal apology to the Metal Commission C/O
Keith Reyn, you may be forgiven. (send Peter Steele nudes as well)

Include Lyrics that speak of the constant torture and grisly death that every Brett Michaels wannabe so deserves, and he may throw in a Cannibal Corpse keychain/flashlight combo.

[metalchurch]

ok, apology sent....... i repent for my sins!!

I actually should have titled this favoriate 80's band instead?
The label Hair band is generic and lame. The guitars rocked though.
George Lynch Wilton and DeGarmo Crosby and DeMartini Vai Mamlsteen Gilbert......the list goes on and on. Those guys were amazing! There's alot of good that came from there, whether people like to admit it or not? I remember when slayer and pantera had 'big hair' and wore make-up. Is it the image? Or the content of the music?

[DirtySanchez]

The image was what it was. The music was Gay for the most part.
Ballads/cheesy lyrics killed the genre not Kurt Cobain.
The NEW YORK DOLLS however kicked much ass.

Genres just have to cleanse after too much trendy bandwagon shit goes on. Look at country radio nowadays can you really call that shit country.

Do you think Grandmaster Flash and Fergie and NWA belong lumped together? After awhile so much crap accumulates that the public just "flushes the toilet" by not listening anymore.

[metalchurch]

I'm not too sure about the New York Dolls, that name just sounds gay.
Country music? Rap?
Sanchez!! I think someone else is losing points...... Shame on you!!
lol just kidding.

[DirtySanchez]

I like to think it's not just my physical figure that is well rounded.

[metalchurch]

I think its your sense of humor.

[Baceman Spiff]

I remember Slayer's hair and makeup. But they werent going for the huss look. They were trying to freak people out. Just like Twisted Sister. They're look was so over the top, it was cool. And Pantera came to their senses, when they dropped the glam crap. Soon after their career took off. I have more of an appreciation for some of those bands now. But back then the whole image just turned me off.

The New York Dolls were one of the first (if not the first) Glam Bands. I havent heard alot of the music. But what Ive heard wasnt bad. Different era though. The '70's.

[ToonaRockGuy]

It's always funny to me that a lot of the metal (especially the nu-metal and alternative) bands (and some of their fans) bash the 80's metal/glam/hair scene...

Especially when, from a purely musical standpoint, the glam/hair metal musicians were 100 times better than what the grunge/nu-metal guys are. Some of the best guitarists I've ever seen were in the 80's metal era. And most of the modern guys that are playing alternative can't hold a candle to them.

Just my opinion, though.

[metalchurch]

Hair, Make-up, whatever the reason, I'm not wearing it!! Sabbath never wore it. Halford's gay and never wore it. However his tight leathers and queer moves were enough to get the point across I guess? Bands images dont matter much to me, it's the sound. The music is #1 to me.

[metalchurch]

toona rock guy, you are absolutely correct!! The guitarists from that era were so far ahead of their time and recent times for that matter. That shit was so technical to play. And not many bands can compete with that. They actually played their instruments then. It's all too easy to tune down 4 steps and sound heavy. Yes sometimes simpler is better, though. This is a hard one to argue. Let's just say they rocked!

[bassist_25]

The guitars rocked though.
George Lynch Wilton and DeGarmo Crosby and DeMartini Vai Mamlsteen Gilbert......the list goes on and on.

Don't forget Vito Bratta!

I think that my favorite band out of the the era would be Extreme. As others have pointed out, they really weren't "Hair Metal" (the same could be said of other mislabelled bands such as Saigon Kick), but they do get put in that category. They had a badass rythmn section; a guitarist who was equally an excellent composer and arranger as a shredder; and a great frontman (though the Van Halen foray sucked).

Laugh if you must, but I've always been a pretty big Slaughter fan too. They didn't quite sound like a lot of the other bands that were big at the time. Dana Strum's a great rock bassist too.

Deicide? I could never take Glen Benton's "I'm so Satanic with my upside down cross scar and endless lyrics of how I hate anything remotely Christian" seriously enough. I do have a CD by a band called Broken Hope that has a very similar sound to Deicide.

[Baceman Spiff]

It's always funny to me that a lot of the metal (especially the nu-metal and alternative) bands (and some of their fans) bash the 80's metal/glam/hair scene...

Especially when, from a purely musical standpoint, the glam/hair metal musicians were 100 times better than what the grunge/nu-metal guys are. Some of the best guitarists I've ever seen were in the 80's metal era. And most of the modern guys that are playing alternative can't hold a candle to them.

Just my opinion, though.

Your right man. The 80's were full of shredders. You almost had to have one in your band back then. But I think the early '90's were all about stripping down the music to its bare bones. And being everything the '80's weren't. Besides you dont need alot of talent to rock. Angus Young says he's been playing the same solo for years. And the "grunge" bands weren't without talent. Mike McCready from Pearl Jam was pretty damn good, so was Jerry Cantrell. Throw Kim Thayil from Soundgarden in there too.

[bassist_25]

I always loved Jerry Cantrell's playing. I think that he's highly underrated.

But aruging which form of rock music is technically superior is pretty much a moot point. Like it or not, rock's a pretty simplistic form of music, based on simple meter, simple melody, and simple harmony. Of course, I'm speaking of rock in comparison to jazz, classical, baroque, romantic and a lot of non-Western music based based on semi-tone scales.

[metalchurch]

yeah, i caught myself when i was about to say that the shredders are the best players. I cant be too much of a metal nazi. I love Alice in Chains. There was good music from all eras I believe. I dont like Kiss, but my cousin told me a tried and true method named after Kiss.
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid
AC/DC have been doing it for years and itworks for them, how they can play the same 3 chords for 30 + years and it not get stale is beyond me. Must be some cheese from down unda or something like that? Who knows