Here are some trivia tidbits about their debut full-length, Under the Influence: The record was slated for release by late-1991, but ended up being delayed until May of '92, during which time Wildside lost their slot opening for Van Halen on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour. Way too oversaturated with keyboards,but still catchy as hell. He was all set to resume the tour but at the last hour Sharon and Ozzy decided he was just too young to leap into the madness of an Ozzy tour and hired Bernie Torme instead (Jake was after Bernie). 01. The '80s have taught us that you could expect a lot of things from Blackie Lawless, but releasing a concept album wasn't one of them. 10 obscure but brilliant hair metal albums | Louder - loudersound What about the tactful keyboards, chorus hook, and big vocal harmonies of token power ballad "Dry Your Eyes"? Toodlum 4 yr. ago. It's a shockingly awesome record, easily in my all-time Top 10 as far as hair metal goes. It stands toe to toe and chest to chest with any Hair and Glam Metal album of the era. 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. Now, this is a weird entry in many ways. Andrew, my cousin Scott Smalley is/was lead vocals/bass for Real Steel! Because of their look, they were thought of as a Poison copy. Probably everyone on Earth has heard "Rock You Like A Hurricane.". The album that gave "hair" to the hair metal genre. It deserves love too, you know? Gotta do some digging there. Stay tuned for Part 3! yeah, that thing is always priced so high! 10. The debut album from his eponymous band deserved to be way bigger than it was: killer single Beat The Bullet and the title track imbued prime West Coast sleaze with dark San Francisco energy. The follow-up album "Blood from Stone" was released in 1991. - In my personal opinion, two of the best damn sleaze bands nobody has ever heard of Were much better - especially live. I gotta find a copy of that CD thats not $35 or more! Underrated metal albums. Warrant's biggest seller, though not quite their best (see Dog Eat Dog), but this album is what early 90's hair metal was all about. The Spandex-clad gems that turned the Sunset Strip into the boulevard of broken dreams. Totally with you on many of your other suggestions. With Kiss being one of the biggest names from rock's history that continued kicking in a (more or less) healthy manner to this day, I'm not sure you could really call any Kiss album underrated. They filmed a music video for the lead track, "Hang on Lucy," but the above "So Far Away" is my personal favoriteit's got a darker edge and those riffs during the chorus just kill me for some reason. Even the ballads have balls. Thanks! A year later they fell apart, and bassist Chris Schlosshardt died of heroin-related causes soon after. Ironically, this record is probably regarded as Warrants strongest record from a critical standpoint, whatever thats worth. Previously, we alluded to the massive screw job that Britny Fox received in being bumped off KISS Hot In The Shade Tour, which subsequently led to an avalanche of garbage raining down onto them for the next few years. Totally different album, and utterly, completely epic and emotional awesome. I wasnt a fan at all. The best LPs from the age of Aqua Net. You'll find this album at at least the top five of any hair metal list, and mine is no different. If anyone at all loves Cock Rock, No Respect by Vain should be in their collection, and Davy Vains subsequent efforts have all been respectable. Haha! Great White was the would-be Blues-Rock band, that simply couldnt help but indulge in Hair Metal. Some of the artists below released albums on major labels and may have done alright in their day, but they certainly don't get spoken of in the same regard as biggies like Mtley Cre, Skid Row, etc. Great article, as usual! The LA band had been kicking around the Sunset Strip for a decade by the time they released Law Of The Order, and lost classics like Paris Calling and slow-burning semi-ballad, Why Should I Believe were slicker, smarter and classier than any of the candy floss being churned out by most of the chinless bozos who came along in their wake. A bit more polished and focused than their debut, which I personally prefer over this one, but this is the album that blew the door open for the entire 80's hair metal genre. 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. 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. Aerosmith's second shot at glory, and they pulled it off. Great White Hooked (1991). Recording quite a bit of material for having remained so unknown, they self-released an album called Out of the Box in 1989, followed-up with Joker the following year on Red Light Records (which has almost the same tracklist as their debut), and then came back with Cool Deal in 1992. Anyway, come what may, I will stand by this pick for a few reasons: 1) Ace Frehley wasnt an old man in 1987, but at 36, he was something of an elder statesman of the Rock world, and the fact remained that he is perpetually cited as a direct influence to nearly all those who came after him. http:// 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. An incredibly underrated disc. I got TT on 1st end LP and it's sumptuous! Three junkies and alcoholic,is how Sea Hags own manager described them, to which sandpaper-throated frontman Ron Yocom responded: Nah, it was two junkies and two alcoholics. Either way, it goes a long way to explaining why these Bay Area sleazebags failed to set anything other than their own trousers on fire. It was mixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero (who also mixed. They're kind of like Skid Row, the Bulletboys, and Faster Pussycat thrown in a blender. But the public proved resistant to the hard sell, and Vain were left sitting forlorn and alone on the sidewalk while lesser groups were whisked behind the velvet rope of fame. This album gave a huge kick in the ass to the genre when it was spawning hundreds of wanna be's. 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. 08. 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. 10 Underrated Glam Metal Albums - YouTube Some GREAT tips, thanks! I don't consider Van Halen a hair band per se, but I swear, every guitarist in the 80's wanted to be Eddie Van Halen, and their songs would fit right into the hair metal genre. Although they werent truly a hair metal band, Leatherwolfs Street Ready album has many of those kinds of sonic qualities and is packed with killer songs. 02. Ill have to dig it out and give it another chance. It bombed, leaving the group with a million-dollar debt to the label, and that was that. Shortly thereafter, Rough Cutt disbanded, and while they have managed to regroup here and there, you wouldnt expect to see them headlining any summer 2021 legacy act tours with Styx or Journey anytime soon. Joker's high-level songwriting is at times poppier than other selections on this list, dropping some huge sing-along choruses. Kix had kind of an AC/DC vibe, but this album is pure hair metal. Extreme: The thinking person's hair metal band People didnt give a shit then either. With Hooked, we see more of the bands Hair Metal stylings, but finally, their Blues Rock roots begin to soak through. An around pop metal romp in the early 90's, one of the last bands to come out of the genre successfully before the ship sank. I would KILL to reissue the Tuff Luck album too. The Best Underrated Albums of 2021, According to Pitchfork Staff Pure attitude from a band that actually lived it. Cool, many thanks. No filler and great guitar playing. The 10 Most Underrated Hair Metal Guitarists Of The '80s 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 latter was gratifying and gave me a certain sense of mission accomplishment. 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. Thrash and hair metal made for strange bedfellows, though nobody told Two-Bit Thief. The band's debut album spawned two respectable hits - "Waiting for the Big One" and "Falling In and Out of Love" - but went largely unnoticed otherwise, which led to Femme Fatale only releasing a. 1 hit, "More Than Words," and the album it was released off of, "Extreme II: Pornograffitti.". Full of sleaze and attitude, one of the better hair metal albums to come out at the tail end of the 80's. With the success of all-female Hair Metal group Vixen, MCA was certain that Femme Fatale would rise hard and fast, but it was not to be. A dud. Edit 20-04-2011: Deleted all albums with 60 ratings or higher. I also noticed that not too many loved my placement of Asylum, and I am good with all of that. But their debut album was pop-metal perfection what featherweight party anthems Toast Of The Town, Rock And Roll Outlaws and shoulda-been-massive single Rock & Roll (Is Gonna Set The Night On Fire) lacked in heaviosity they made up for in pleather-trousered attitude. http://. 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. The result? In truth, this record is not the first one that people think of when they consider albums that define the 80s. Heres how it works. Lyrics are a bit trite, but this is a great debut. Pure pop metal with long, stick thin blond hair X2. The production, helmed by underrated hair metal architecht Michael Wagener, is nearly perfect, as are the earnest heart spills of frontman Mike Tramp and fret-board gymnastics of guitarist. Hey, you never got that with Warrant. Robert Sarzo (Hurricane guitarist and Rudy Sarzos brother) was to be Randys replacement in Blizzard Of Ozz, not Marq Torien. Thanks for popping by, and stay safe! Dream Unending: Tide Turns Eternal. In general I dont really identify with the whole good time/party angle either cause its just not my thing, but the misogynistic aspects are what gets bothersome at times. However, it also proved to be not very radio-friendly in a couple of ways 1) for being a record by a "glam" band, and 2) for having rather mature lyrical content. underrated hair metal albums. picdoc 4 yr. ago. Wildside - Under The Influence ;t=2333s Totally overlooked upon release due to being a debut album of the genre released in 1992. If you're old enough to have been reading guitar magazines in the early-'90s, you probably at least recognize the name Gary Hoey, and may recall having seen him in a good number of advertisements, if nothing else. That's a long time. 1. Shortly after the Retrospect Records reissue, Real Steel performed at Rocklahoma 2008 and were talking about working on new material, but it would appear nothing much came of that. 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time - Rolling Stone Ace Frehley Frehleys Comet (1987) So, if youre a fan, the summer of 2021 may finally be your chance to get a taste of some late 80s sleaze. Better late than never and all, but oh how I wish I had known about Wildside when I was a kid. i hung around with Joker in the old days and went to High school with the guitarist.I hope they do come back. Their No Rules album (produced by Dana Strum!) However, as the Grunge revolution came about in the early '90s, Kiss albums saw a significant decrease in sales numbers, and "Revenge" was no exception. Britny Fox Britny Fox was in the same league as Poison and Cinderella in the hair metal band corner of rock in the '80s. It was on the LA rockers' sophomore studio album where Warrant began showing what it was capable of, and while "Cherry Pie" definitely got the attention it deserved, you couldn't say the same for its follow-up, 1992's "Dog Eat Dog", despite it being a much better album. Silent Rage. 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. The perfect hair metal album, and one of the last ones before the glory days came to an end. They also contributed to two movie soundtracks in '92Bad Channels and Demonic Toysbut by that point it was likely too late for said appearances to give Joker the career kickstart they deserved. Another 14-times platinum-selling album, and it's one of the great debut records of all time. Saigon Kick was a band that knew how to write one hell of a hook. Yes. "Don't Close Your Eyes" is one of the best ballads ever written. Aversionline 2000 - 2023. During that time, he has been Deputy Editor on Kerrang! You remember Great White, right? Fantastic band. This, their best album contains the song "Metal Health" which is, according to Kevin DuBrow, the original FU song. We know, we knowthats high praise for a lowly Hair Metal band, but if you dont believe me, go hunt a copy down and listen for yourself. Bath While its not a pure Hair/Glam record, and the band did begin to experiment a little, at the end of the day, its grimy, its sleazy, and it slays. All rights reserved. lesmortsdansant 3 yr. ago. Their follow up has some of the best songwriting in Cock Rock, in my opinion. The album that kind of fused metal and glam into one. Winger - In The Heart Of The Young (1990), McQueen Street should be in this discussion and in your collection. 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. BA1 1UA. 10. This is a band that was supremely talented but simply didnt hang around long enough to really make any waves. Q5s first album is a classic but the second one was tragic. It needs to be out there and readily available. 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. SPREAD EAGLE, GREAT ALBUM = TO APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION. No makeup, no hairspray, just a t shirt and jeans band, a "working man's" band. If youre one of them, stop reading now and beat it. The hair came down, the makeup came off, and Poison actually started to write music with a message. 13 Most Underrated Hair Metal Albums Of All Time!! - YouTube Tuff arrived on the scene about 3 years too late when hair metal was just about dead. Yes the vocals are an acquired taste, but, hell, I got used to Scott Jeffreys once, and I was able to get used to Steve Hayman after that. You cannot hear that album with seeing the menacing face of Bolo Yeung staring at you in a windows reflection. In retrospect, this album came out the same year as Nirvanas Nevermind, Pearl Jams Ten, and Metallicas The Black Albumit never really had a chance. Sure, the record did go gold, but the reviews were not kind, with Martin Popoff going as far as to call the record, An offensive Pop Rock outing, much closer to early Warrantthan The Final Countdown could or would dare. Popoff went on to muse, A dunce-cap posse solidly in search of cash and chicks, egregiously removed from any sort of Hard Rock acumen. Ouch. Full of sleaze and attitude, one of the better hair metal albums to come out at the tail end of the 80's. The second album shouldve just been the actual soundtrack to Bloodsport. Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Speaking of late-stage Hair Metal, this record is about as late as it gets in that regard. However, that doesn't mean that there was no glam-labeled music being released at the time. Other bands just because I am biased, but from Divebomb - SARGANT FURY, DIMAGE and CASANOVA. 03. Most of their material follows a slower, pulsing paceat times leaning a touch more towards classic, traditional heavy metal than much of this list (notably during "On My Way," dueling leads 'n' all). IMHO opinion, there is not a single bad track on Hollands Little Monsters! And yeah, anyone unfamiliar, Divebomb has reissued some GOLD in this realm, so pick them up while you still can: The Tear the House Down lineup briefly regrouped for a 25th anniversary reunion last summer, but Bruce Naumann is now working with yet another all-new lineup. Packed with more hits than Illusion 1, I prefer this one over that one. 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. Ive never heard Cats in Boots or Harem Scarem so Ive got some Googling to do! Those first two albums are absolutely awesome. I prefer Pump over this one, but this is filled with killer cuts. I loved this kind of music when I was a kid, and I still love it now. They sound like Toto, Journey or Asia. [Disclaimer: There's simply no good term for this style of music. In his time with Carmine Appices King Kobra, Mick had learned a thing or two and had turned himself into a true songsmith, and by the time he formed BulletBoys, he was raring and ready to go. Beau Nasty - Dirty But Well Dressed The Ozzy roots run just as deep as the KISS roots! Damn good stuff in 1 & 2. Heavy Bones formed in Hollywood circa 1990 and featured in its ranks guitarist Gary Hoey (who later scored a surprise hit with "Hocus Pocus") and drummer Frankie Banali (of Quiet Riot and W.A.S.P.). Exhibit A: the debut album New York gypsy-bohos The Throbs. Best Moment: The ambient breakdown in the title track, which leads to a gut-punch guitar solo whose final note resonates for almost 30 seconds. 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. Vixen Vixen (1988) Ah, Tigertailz: the band the Manic Street Preachers could have been. Blue Murder Blue Murder (1989) (Harem Scarem is sounding AMAZING so far, pretty damn sure Ill be scooping that up as soon as I can!) Also, weve added in a few that we feel could have, or maybe even should have, been on the first list as well. Badlands Badlands (1989) Extreme is best known for their No. It has been over 20 years since I have heard it.