Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, I mean, fuck, just check out those eerie acoustic arpeggios during the chorus of "Badboy Breakout"; the big, open chord progressions of "Bad to Love"; the textbook sleaze of "Crank the Heat Up"; etc. Yeah, thats pretty much it. Marq did, however, play guitar with Ratt in their early days. Love it or hate it, but you cant deny that Superstitious slays and it might just be Europes greatest ever track. The production is flawless. People didnt give a shit then either. Haha! Very slick production, the epitome of pop metal. April 6, 2021 Connor Shelton Features, KTRM-FM, Music, Reviews. Heres how it works. Kix had kind of an AC/DC vibe, but this album is pure hair metal. IMHO opinion, there is not a single bad track on Hollands Little Monsters! Beau Nasty - Dirty But Well Dressed Its no joke that their debut was produced by Paul Northfield, the inimitable force behind Moving Pictures and the song Empire by Queensryche (just a couple of my favorites in a cool career), two completely different examples of dark rock sounding fantastic. Go ask Axl Rose, who nicked frontman Richard Blacks back-alley sneer and sideways shuffle and spun it into gold. W.A.S.P. 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. Maybe even an old T-shirt laying around! You cannot hear that album with seeing the menacing face of Bolo Yeung staring at you in a windows reflection. Wildside is still one of my faves simply because it was so much heavier than all the bands at that time and darker too. Q5 are now called Nightshade and still play out every once in a while. Theme: The Road to The Roxy: 10 Underrated Glam & Hair Metal-Era Albums Part II, Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), My fingers feel possessed on the EC-1000! A list by TukkerPride. 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time. http://. 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. You can read Dalys comments for each album at Vinyl Writer Musics website. I tend to be a huge sucker for catchy songs, so some degree of commercialism probably flies past my radar, heh. Many bands would have given up right then and there, and no one would have blamed Britny Fox for packing it in, but after all, they had been through, I suppose that wasnt an option. Yes. yeah, that thing is always priced so high! With Hooked, we see more of the bands Hair Metal stylings, but finally, their Blues Rock roots begin to soak through. Guns N' Roses. Now, let's begin. This one also gave birth to the tern "pop metal," and made metal accessible to screaming girls everywhere. 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. Jani Lane, Joey Allen and Steven Sweet are not original members of Warrant. That's a long time. Metal albums that I like and that don't have much ratings: consists of the albums I currently rate 4.5* or 5* that have roughly 50 ratings or lower. 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. An album that is underrated though it would be their next effort, the aptly titled Hooked. 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. 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. 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. Aerosmith's second shot at glory, and they pulled it off. Britny Fox were doing lines of coke off of Elton Johns piano while in the studio making Bite Down Hard. I meancome on, Space Ace Frehley basically invented Glam Metal with KISS. 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. Dripping with attitude. "Headed For A Heartbreak" is an awesome ballad. Tracks like "Let Go," "Dead Inside," and "Painting The White To Grey" absolutely crush. Adrian Belew - Young Lions. Now, I dont know much, but I do know that if youre a band about to hit the road for a huge tour, you probably dont want to lose your frontman. Dont believe me? 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. 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.). As for the band, they hung in there until 1993 and then closed up shop, only to regroup in 1998, but without Mick Sweda. It was at this moment that I realized the proverbial writing was on the wall for the band. In the end, Columbia didnt bother to support the record, but that doesnt mean you shouldnt. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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? Bonus fact: future Wildhearts frontman Ginger was briefly a member, reputedly dying his hair black as part of the deal. [Disclaimer: There's simply no good term for this style of music. http:// Other bands just because I am biased, but from Divebomb - SARGANT FURY, DIMAGE and CASANOVA. 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. 01. This album should be the focal point for Jani Lane's legacy, NOT Cherry Pie. Cruella DVille - Showdown in Tinsel Town The album that gave "hair" to the hair metal genre. Hair metal with real bad attitude. Coverdale & Co. best selling album. all the bands on your list kick ass! White Lion Fight To Survive (1985). The guitar tone is annoying, but When the Mirror Cracks has some KILLER songs. I am not anticipating a part three to this thing, but Ill never say never. The worlds biggest and best metal magazine, (Image credit: Getty Images/Scott Dudelson/Brian Rasic), Robb Flynn: "This gang threatened to throw grenades onstage while I played". 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). Great White Hooked (1991). More straight hard rock, than pop metal. (for which they filmed their lone video); "Turn it On" (which takes the power ballad approach into a catchy and uplifting direction); and, of course, the token high energy, bluesy sleaze of "Where the Livin' is Easy.". . The list is not without some eye brow raising since at least one album achieved gold certification in the United States of America but its a fun list nonetheless. The one that gave birth to the entire genre. 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. Ah, Tigertailz: the band the Manic Street Preachers could have been. I gotta find a copy of that CD thats not $35 or more! There are albums by Bon Jovi which frequently pop up, such as Slippery When Wet and New Jersey, or if youre trying to be different, you may pick the bands self-titled debut, Because it started it all, or because, It has Runaway on it. I know that comes off as presumptuous, but its true, and you know it. If not, let me jog your memory. An album of pure attitude, arriving when most glam bands were changing over to pop metal. BulletBoys came with a pedigree right from the start, as the band was founded by Mick Sweda (guitar), who had already starred in the also underrated King Kobra. On the other hand, the fact that it brought something any lingering W.A.S.P. Femme Fatale simply wasnt meant to be, it seems. I also noticed that not too many loved my placement of Asylum, and I am good with all of that. 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. 1. Some remain underrated despite having done moderately well in their day, while others have been lost to near complete obscurity. If you see it, definitely pick it up and enjoy. Another decent glam band that came out of Chicago was Holland. It's a very solid record, though, highlighted by the superb "Dead End St." (included above)a dark, brooding power ballad complete with emotive leads and vocals. Only time will tell. 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). Blackie Friggin Lawless. Never could get into Enuff Znuff, but I do dig that one song they had on the Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer soundtrack. So, tease your hair, lay the eyeliner, and rouge on thick because were hitting the strip tonight. Poison's first two usually get more recognition, but this is their finest moment. 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. 01. Thanks so much for the comment! The Welsh wonders second album, 1990s Berzerk, is a stone-cold classic featuring the greatest pop-metal anthem of the era in Love Bomb Baby. Now that weve got my justification out of the way lets talk significance. Not sure why Ann from NRR sits on it to this day. 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. 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. When you listen to this, you get the feeling that this is the album that David Lee Roth always wanted to make. White Tiger White Tiger (1986) Bath #bringstadiumrockback #besteraGreat White Live Ritz 1988 - All Over Nowhttps://youtu.be/gBiAnQXuF6w1- . Guitarist Michael Angelo Batio is well known for his guitar instructional videos Speed Kills and he also played guitar in the band Nitro (The Double Headed Guitar!) This, along with Slippery When Wet, epitomized pop metal, and helped bring it to the mainstream back in 1986. In fact, I myself have only learned about the following groups within the last 10 years! Guns N' Roses was that band. Great, unsung (for the most part) gems, no doubt. Overseas, things were slightly better, with the albums final single Never Gonna Die managing to reach number 21 on the Australian charts. Man, for real??? So being that I grew up on this stuff and have been doing a hair metal podcast for 20 years Ill lay on a few more underrated jems: BANG TANGO Psycho Cafe, DANGEROUS TOYS self-titled debut, LYNCH MOB Wicked Sensation, DON DOKKEN Up From the Ashes, FIREHOUSE self-titled debut, KIX Hot Wire, XYZ Hungry, ICON self-titled debut, BANYLON A.D. self-titled debut, CHILDS PLAY Rat Race, EXTREME self-titled debut, RACER X Second Heat, SLEEZE BEEZ Screwed, Blued, & Tattooed, and lastly Y&T, they have so many underrated albums it is mind blowing. Davy Vain made his name producing Bay Area thrashers Death Angel, but he had a glam metal heart. 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. Edit 20-04-2011: Deleted all albums with 60 ratings or higher. Fantastic band. I mean, as far as follow-up records go, this album is truly strong, and to expect the band to maintain, let alone reach the stratospheric heights of their now-signature effort, is simply unreasonable. Dont ever let anyone tell you the music you love sucks or is less than. 07. I dont know; maybe it was something in the water, but what I do know is the Rock music that came out of that decade was truly memorable, catchy, and fun. Of course, it turned out to be a put-on Stanley was really a rich kid called Chris Stann, and the whole thing was somewhere between performance art, social commentary and plain bad taste. An incredibly underrated disc. Harem Scarem - Mood Swings (1993) *this one is particularly good! A year later they fell apart, and bassist Chris Schlosshardt died of heroin-related causes soon after. It was mixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero (who also mixed. Q5 had two albums that would simply destroy you. Well, I am here to tell you that those people are assholes. had already proved what they were capable of on their previous album "The Headless Children" which saw the shock rock act depart from their usual themes of having sex, and "The Crimson Idol" was a very strong attempt at continuing along the same path. While she may not have been a pure speed shredder, she more than made up for it with tasteful and melodic licks, which always fit Vixens songs like a glove. While that sentiment still rings true for me, as I know all too well that many will say, Hair Metal sucks as a default response to the opening chords of Dr. 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. Still, damn good sleaze metal. http:// As grunge became all the rage during the early '90s, these albums never got the attention they really deserved. Britny Fox Britny Fox was in the same league as Poison and Cinderella in the hair metal band corner of rock in the '80s. I loved this kind of music when I was a kid, and I still love it now. - In my personal opinion, two of the best damn sleaze bands nobody has ever heard of Sunset Strip: 10 Underrated Glam & Hair Metal-Era Albums didnt really garner a whole lot of harsh words per se, but I did see a great many surmise that I, Must be a big KISS fan, which is true. The second album shouldve just been the actual soundtrack to Bloodsport. Well, they did. Their first album Steel the Light borders on metal in an 80s Judas Priest-ish kind of way, and has one of the best pre-choruses ever written on the albums eponymous song. He has written for Metal Hammer, Louder, Prog, the Observer, Select, Mojo, the Evening Standard and the totally legendary Ultrakill. I still need to try and get used to the vocals in Heavy Pettin, but Q5 is indeed awesome. 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. This is a band that was supremely talented but simply didnt hang around long enough to really make any waves. Looking back, there must have been some necromancy or wizardry in the air. So "glam" and/or "hair" it is.]. Wildside - Under The Influence ;t=2333s Totally overlooked upon release due to being a debut album of the genre released in 1992. To this day, George Lynch's solo in "Tooth & Nail" leaves my jaw on the floor. I totally agree with Q5 and Heavy Pettin for sure! Cool, many thanks. Whereas Skid Row got marketed as your run-of-the-mill pretty boy glam metal outfit from the get-go, their self-titled debut showed that they were capable of much more than providing quick and cheap amusement for the masses, and their sophomore album "Slave to the Grind" made the most of the band's prodigious potential. Great White was so much more than just "Once BittenTwice Shy.". SPREAD EAGLE, GREAT ALBUM = TO APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION. Britny Fox Britny Fox (1988) 02. Some will say their success is attributed to the novelty of women playing Metal. Stay tuned for Part 3! Swingin Thing - Desperate Living. This, along with a few other releases in 1983, blew the door wide open for metal to gain mainstream success. They should have been huge! 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. 10. * 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. 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. Contraband - s/t lesmortsdansant 3 yr. ago. 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. Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. I should really pick up some Lillian Axe sometime. Real Steel opened for the Bulletboys, Bang Tango, and Gorky Park in their day, and apparently had interest from several labels (almost signing with Warner Bros.). 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. The only thing louder than the clack of high heels on the pavement outside the Rainbow was the ker-ching of cash registers as Guns N Roses, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Poison, Cinderella, Ratt, Slaughter and the rest hoovered up the record sales. However, that doesn't mean that there was no glam-labeled music being released at the time. During that time, he has been Deputy Editor on Kerrang! How about Roxy Blue and Wildside? As you might expect, it's extremely hard to find Joker's CDs, and even if you do, the prices will almost certainly be total bullshit. Sebastian Bach is THE singer of the hair metal genre. By that point, oversaturation was just starting to set in, and so, if you werent truly aces, you werent going to make it. No makeup, no hairspray, just a t shirt and jeans band, a "working man's" band. The album that kind of fused metal and glam into one. 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. It's a shockingly awesome record, easily in my all-time Top 10 as far as hair metal goes. - Next to Under the Influence by Wildside, this is the best debut album not called Appetite for Destruction. 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. Packed with more hits than Illusion 1, I prefer this one over that one. This one went way under the radar, but definitely deserves a spot in hair metal history. Thanks. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Surprised to see this at Number One? Also, Dog Eat Dog is significant to the bands history, as it is the final album to feature the bands quintessential five members. Tommy Paris filled some big shoes and did so with grace and ease. Another one from 1984 that influenced tons of bands in the 80's. Songs like "Rest in Peace", "Tragic Comic", and "Warheads" had cleverly arranged harmonies, featured very diverse stylistic approaches, and all had engaging lyrics, but the album produced no hit singles and ended up a commercial disaster despite being the highlight of Extreme's career. No, instead, crank the dial to max volume and tell your friend to saddle up or walk home. Thank you for your article. 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. 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. The 1990s started out with DS-1 distortion pedal grunge bands viciously stomping on the global spandex-wearing hair-metal movement from the decade before and ceremoniously ended with the rise. Def Leppard officially stepped into pop metal territory with this one. That said, surely an album with songs co-written by Ronnie James Dio is worth at least a few spins, right? Black N Blue Nasty Nasty (1986) 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. 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. 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. 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. This video is inspired by @rockandmetalinvasion who did a video in response to a 'Goldmine' article with 5 'underrated' Hair Metal albums. 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. 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. The McAuley/Schenker albums don't get much love in general but, though they do indeed sound very late-80s, they're full of good songs and feature both main men in excellent form Queensryche is not a hair band per se, but this album bordered on pop metal and would fit right in with the genre. An album with a nice balance of rockers and ballads. As a whole, this record does have minor ups and downs. However, in 2019, Mick did rejoin BulletBoys. Rough Cutt Rough Cutt (1985) 10 years earlier, they would've been superstars. "The Ballad of Jane" is one the best hair metal ballads ever. I believe that they wrote songs that way because they LIKED pretty rock ballads. 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. Underrated metal albums. Only Bas could rival his voice. Blackout in the Red Room has a couple of classics, too, though some of the lyrics get questionable for sure. 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. 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. Especially the song Gotta Run. They changed their name to Shotgun Messiah, fired their singer and eventually went industrial metal. Then again, "Heat Me Up" is a prime cut of typically structured hair metal with a raspier snarl to the vocals; while "She's Untouchable" combines crunchy rhythms, fluid melodies, and slick vocal harmonies. Butas with every band cited abovethe story's the same: having been right around the time of the grunge takeover, it didn't happen and the end was near. 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. Life, Sex & Death had it all: a bunch of Cheap Trick-on-steroids songs, the muscle of a major label behind them and a homeless guy on vocals. A shameless throwback or the start of a hair metal revival? Full of sleaze and attitude, one of the better hair metal albums to come out at the tail end of the 80's. They're kind of like Skid Row, the Bulletboys, and Faster Pussycat thrown in a blender. If I was going to put a Great White album on this list it would be Psycho City, not Hooked. This is an album that was completely buried by the Alt-Rock and Grunge craze that was sweeping the nation in the early 90s. 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. Location: 39629. . Their No Rules album (produced by Dana Strum!) Best selling and most recognizable of TS's output, it is also their best. True, I don't identify with (or in some cases approve of) elements of the lyrical content, but from a songwriting and musicianship perspective, I very seriously enjoy this stuff, and would be perfectly happy were it the majority of my day-to-day listening. More sleaze than hair or pop metal, but once you hear this album, you will never forget it. Simply put, if you want to put your art out into the world, you better be prepared to take some heat, which is something any self-respecting hair metal artist can certainly understand. Less popular and less keyboardy than Slippery, but much better. Wanna know the details? While the late Meat Loaf was a true showman with a near-operatic voice, Bat Out of Hell featured an . Speaking of hooks, lets kick this thing off with. 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. Some GREAT tips, thanks! Blue Murder - Blue Murder (1990) Early 90's pop metal at it's finest, this is a hair metal fest from start to finish. 1 hit, "More Than Words," and the album it was released off of, "Extreme II: Pornograffitti.". 04. Vinyl Writer Musics principal Andrew Daly has released his list for the 10 Underrated Glam & Hair Metal Era Albums. 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. The band got started in Los Angeles in the late-'80s as Young Gunns; signed a seven-album (!? If people only listened to bands whose lyrical content was largely aligned with their own views it would be quite limiting. Erotic Suicide - Abusement Park & Perseverance Its an amazing Great White album. Mist of the Maelstrom. The perfect hair metal album, and one of the last ones before the glory days came to an end. Janet Gardner was the quintessential frontwoman, and Jan Kuehnemund played her ass off on this record. 08. 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. Great White was the would-be Blues-Rock band, that simply couldnt help but indulge in Hair Metal. A subscription makes a thoughtful gift for both family and friends.