Haha! Ive never heard Cats in Boots or Harem Scarem so Ive got some Googling to do! In fact, I expected it and embrace it, so much so that I almost took it to heart, right up until the moment that I gave legendary KISS guitarist Ace Frehley top placement on this list. People didnt give a shit then either. 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. 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. 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. Read Part 1 of this series here: https://vwmusicrocks.com/return-to-the-sunset-strip-10-underrated-glam-hair-metal-era-albums/, Read part 3 of this series here: https://vwmusicrocks.com/the-headbangers-ball-reaches-its-edge-10-underrated-glam-hair-metal-era-albums-part-iii/, Andrew Daly (@vwmusicrocks) is the Editor-in-Chief for www.vwmusicrocks.com and may be reached at andrew@vinylwriter.com. The record stalled at #141 on The Billboard 200 and quickly fell off the charts. Aerosmith's second shot at glory, and they pulled it off. Warrant has had the unfortunate fate of being arguably one of the best hair metal bands out there and arrive at the scene too late for what it wanted to do. 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. This album should be the focal point for Jani Lane's legacy, NOT Cherry Pie. 06. 08. A little more filler on this one, but "November Rain" has got to be the greatest power ballad of all time. For every Axl Rose or Nikki Sixx, there were hundreds of also-rans, buffoons and no-hopers who crashed and burned before they had a chance to leave any lasting mark. Here is where people will start screaming. Lyrics are a bit trite, but this is a great debut. 07. Less than two years later, Femme Fatale broke up in 1990, ending what could have been a promising career. The result? Best Song . They should have been huge! 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? 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. As you stated I have always championed JOKER myself. This is an album that was completely buried by the Alt-Rock and Grunge craze that was sweeping the nation in the early 90s. They're kind of like Skid Row, the Bulletboys, and Faster Pussycat thrown in a blender. I gotta find a copy of that CD thats not $35 or more! If the opening melody of Rock Aint Dead doesnt grab you, you wont care about the rest. If youre one of them, stop reading now and beat it. It now enjoys a cult following among fans of hair. As a whole, this record does have minor ups and downs. Well, I am here to tell you that those people are assholes. I prefer Pump over this one, but this is filled with killer cuts. 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. 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. i hung around with Joker in the old days and went to High school with the guitarist.I hope they do come back. 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. As for the comments, they ranged from things like, This album sucks all the way to, This is awesome! Other tracks worth calling out include "4:AM T.M." As for their debut record, massive commercial and financial failures aside, this was an excellent record. Thanks for the excellent comment! Heres how it works. Ah, Tigertailz: the band the Manic Street Preachers could have been. A dud. Q5s first album is a classic but the second one was tragic. (I was gonna say Hair Metal but I hate reducing things to genres) JackOfAllTrades, Mar . 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. Good lists. 04. I suspect I am going to get flack for this, but despite what you might think, this all-female Hair Metal masterpiece is supremely underrated. A demo produced by Metallicas Kirk Hammett was followed by a self-titled debut album full of dirtier-than-a-used-hypodermic tracks like Doghouse, Too Much T-Bone and semi-immortal single Half The Way Valley. Extreme: The thinking person's hair metal band. Other notables: 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. 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. Thanks for popping by, and stay safe! In hindsight, the decade of glam and glitz was most certainly writhe with bizarre and possibly regrettable fashion choices, but it was also magical. The hairspray and makeup came off, and Lane's songwriting simply shined. It's a shockingly awesome record, easily in my all-time Top 10 as far as hair metal goes. OzzyOsbourne_ 3 yr. ago. 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). One year prior Skid Row had done quite well with comparable tracks, but by '92 I guess it was just too late, despite the musical chops and name recognition of Heavy Bones' lineup. Do NOT pass this one up. Femme Fatale Femme Fatale (1988) picdoc 4 yr. ago. 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: When it comes to underrated hair metal, I always sing the praises of Kik Tracee. Perhaps more than any other group on this list, Wildside truly should have been "the next big thing" given the circumstances surrounding their debut album. Vito Bratta is one of the really underrated guitar players, alongside Reb Beach. Stand by Me, I Cant Wait, Let Go, etc. 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. This album gave a huge kick in the ass to the genre when it was spawning hundreds of wanna be's. 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. Yeah, the Chicago bands none-more-unique selling point was perma-squinting frontman Stanley who, when he wasnt spitting out genius fuck-you anthems Jawohl Asshole and Fuckin Shit-Ass, lived on the street and had the malodorous clothes and propensity for shitting in public to prove it. I am not anticipating a part three to this thing, but Ill never say never. Only Bas could rival his voice. Wanna know the details? And yeah, anyone unfamiliar, Divebomb has reissued some GOLD in this realm, so pick them up while you still can: That said, the album received middling reviews at the time, and Ace and the boys were forced to stick to small halls and clubs while on tour, but that has not tarnished this records legacy one bit. Now, how about DMolls & Shotgun Messiah!?! "Every great trend has top tier bands that define an era and become larger than the scene that blasted them off. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. This album was Def Leppard's bridge between being a NWOBHM band and a hair metal band. Joker's high-level songwriting is at times poppier than other selections on this list, dropping some huge sing-along choruses. A couple of other amazing and underrated glam albums that didnt make this list (but easily could have)- There's a great snarl to the vocals, loads of gritty riffs (and excellent guitar playing in general), etc. That Dangerous Toys disc rules, and despite them getting so much shit back in the day those first two Winger albums are very solid. 2) The songwriting on this album is absolutely top-notch, which is something of a small miracle, considering Ace had quit KISS in 1982, in a drunken haze, almost died in several car wrecks, and hadnt made any music in around five or so years. Thrash and hair metal made for strange bedfellows, though nobody told Two-Bit Thief. Thanks. 13 Most Underrated Hair Metal Albums Of All Time!! Yes. Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Pure pop metal with long, stick thin blond hair X2. Sure, it was shallower than a puddle after a midnight shower on the Sunset Strip, but that was the point: what the hell else do you want from a band with a singer called Steve Sex Summers? Unfortunately, the album's lack of commercial success, coupled with being called out on Beavis and Butt-head and several other factors saw Winger disband in 1994 and remain so for the rest of the decade. Enter Lorraine Lewis, the frontwoman with an absolutely huge voice, who led the now mostly forgotten group Femme Fatale. Def Leppard officially stepped into pop metal territory with this one. Do yourself a favor and go score this record. Better late than never and all, but oh how I wish I had known about Wildside when I was a kid. Not quite as big a seller as "Lean Into It," "Mr. Big" is the debut from a band that should have ruled the world. It stands toe to toe and chest to chest with any Hair and Glam Metal album of the era. In 1991 while Metallica and Guns 'N Roses were sliding into mediocrity, Skid Row move into legendary status, improving leaps and bounds over their debut. 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. Now, this album did end up going gold at some point, but over time, its fallen into complete obscurity for anyone besides truly devout fans of the band, which is a sad thing. So here are the most underrated records by 20 major metal bands. Having seen him live several times over the years, I can attest that he still packs the house, and his fans still love these tracks. Mixing metal, punk, and glam, everything on this album just clicked perfectly. Wake Me When It's Over (1989) Full of sleaze and attitude, one of the better hair metal albums to come out at the tail end of the 80's. Had a minor hit with "House of Pain," but never really went anywhere. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Silent Rage. Never could get into Enuff Znuff, but I do dig that one song they had on the Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer soundtrack. Less than two years later, they had already been dropped by Capitol before the end of 1993, in large part due to the fact that grunge was taking over. (side note, i am not including any 70's albums of Kiss because they would take up too much of this list). Totally with you on many of your other suggestions. 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. Most people will recall this as The record that came out after The Final Countdown, or The record that came out after John Norum left the band. For many reasons, this is a pretty sad state of affairs, as this record is really, honestly nearly as good as The Final Countdown, if not, dare I say itbetter. 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. To sum the vibe surrounding this album up, I leave you with a quote from the bands vocalist, Janie Lane, who recalls, I walked into the foyer at our label (Columbia Records), I discovered a large, framed poster of Warrant had been removed from the wall and had been replaced by an even larger poster of Alice in Chains. 07. So, what have you got to lose? If not, youre not alone. Great White was the would-be Blues-Rock band, that simply couldnt help but indulge in Hair Metal. During that time, he has been Deputy Editor on Kerrang! Severely underrated, and released at a time when hair metal was just about dead. Britny Fox is the only band to return from part one, and while they may have been the big winners last time around, not so much this time. 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. That Beau Nasty is kicking my ass right now! Now, in the 80s, you basically had two types of Guitar Gods: the Neo-Classical speed shredders, such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John, and Vito Bratta, and on the other side of the spectrum were the players who were more rooted in the 70s Classic Rock and Blues, such as Slash, CC Deville, Bruce Kulick and of course, Mick Sweda. Oh, man, yeah, checking out Leatherwolf now and I need this for sure! It sounded to me like the record company saw their potential and stuck their 2 cents in and tried to get them to do a more commercial sound. Perma-pouting Hollywood fluffballs Pretty Boy Floyd made Motley Crue sound like Napalm Death and Ratt look like, well, Napalm Death. Badlands Badlands (1989) Maybe even an old T-shirt laying around! Great White was so much more than just "Once BittenTwice Shy.". In short, Vixen kicked ass and they proved once and for all that women could rock and shred as hard as their male counterparts. "The Ballad of Jane" is one the best hair metal ballads ever. lesmortsdansant 3 yr. ago. If Tear the House Down had hit the streets just two years earlier, I bet Hericane Alice would've been at least as successful as the Bulletboys, so it's a shame they never got the chance. Some remain underrated despite having done moderately well in their day, while others have been lost to near complete obscurity. Go ask Axl Rose, who nicked frontman Richard Blacks back-alley sneer and sideways shuffle and spun it into gold. with Jim Gillette! Winger - In The Heart Of The Young (1990), McQueen Street should be in this discussion and in your collection. 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. Their take on nu metal at the time brought the machine gun precision of a band like Fear Factory, but also a . KISS Asylum (1985) http:// If people only listened to bands whose lyrical content was largely aligned with their own views it would be quite limiting. Love it or hate it, but you cant deny that Superstitious slays and it might just be Europes greatest ever track. 09. Queensryche is not a hair band per se, but this album bordered on pop metal and would fit right in with the genre. As expected Ive only heard of two or three of the bands you listed off there. Just curious regarding the comment about lyrical content: Ive been reading you long enough to know that youre no prude, so the only thing I can think of is that some of this stuff is borderline (if not outright) mysogynistic. Wildside is still one of my faves simply because it was so much heavier than all the bands at that time and darker too. And yet, "Revenge" did stand out among its predecessors in several ways. 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. 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. Kix had kind of an AC/DC vibe, but this album is pure hair metal. Bon Jovi 7800 Fahrenheit (1985) Best selling and most recognizable of TS's output, it is also their best. 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. 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. The band got moving in late-'80s Cleveland, OH and appeared on a couple of compilations (among them the excellent Heavy Artillery, which was my first exposure to the group). Yeah, thats pretty much it. Connor Shelton described it as one of the few bands from the era to bring a level of depth . This is a band that was supremely talented but simply didnt hang around long enough to really make any waves. Excellent article. Ill have to dig it out and give it another chance. "Their punk rock attitude took sleaze/hair metal in a refreshing direction that was dangerous. Problem was the masses didnt want smart or classy, so they just went and bought their zillionth copy of Appetite For Destruction instead. 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). 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. An album with a nice balance of rockers and ballads. Sure, it lacked big-budget gloss, and original singer Steevi Jaimz sounded like he was ready to chin anybody who dared look at his pint wrong, but Young And Crazy bristled with the kind of attitude every pack of Sunset Strip poodles would have sold their grannies to have. Try Holland - Little Monsters. Powerful, but still memorable. In fact, I myself have only learned about the following groups within the last 10 years! 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.

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