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Description of Pop Metal

 
With the commercial success of Heavy Metal in the '80s came a crop of musicians who were half head-banger and half marketeer. Turning their attention to catchy hooks and MTV-friendly looks, these bands -- with their unbleached roots tracing back to '70s Glam bands such as T. Rex, Gary Glitter and Sweet -- cultivated a new image and a clean sound for Popular Metal. Often dismissed by critics as "Hair Metal" for their teased hair and over-the-top fashion sense, bands including Pennsylvania-bred Cinderella and Poison, and L.A.'s Motley Crue, created a calculated stage and camera presence with the effeminate edge of their Glam ancestors. But the bands' attitudes were all testosterone, their songs endlessly reworking the ancient themes of sex, love and rock 'n' roll. The realm of Pop Metal extends beyond the '80s, both backwards and forwards in time. The forefathers of the movement are certainly early Kiss and ghoulish rocker Alice Cooper. Today, bands on the regional circuits still want to "Rock and Roll All Night" and it's pretty easy to trace the line from Cooper to Goth-influenced rockers like Marilyn Manson and his ilk.
 

Pop Metal Key Tracks

 
 

Filed Under

 
 

Pop Metal Key Artists

 
Autograph

In 1985, Autograph had a
huge hit with the Def
Leppard-esque hair metal
anthem "Turn Up the Radio."

Bon Jovi

With the possible exception
of Def Leppard, no other
band defined the Pop Metal
era of the 1980s better than
Bon Jovi. Everyone's favo...

Cinderella

With a sound that often
mirrored the Stones,
Cinderella showed more
grit than most of their
big-haired contemporarie...

Def Leppard

Def Leppard were part of
the New Wave of British
Heavy Metal. Eventually
though, pop hooks would
outweigh the heavy riffs....

Dokken

Dokken's smart, streamlined
and explosive approach to
hair metal put them
somewhere at the top of
the genre. Dokken forme...

Faster Pussycat

Faster Pussycat weren't the
most original Sunset Strip
pop metal band, but
sometimes originality
doesn't matter so much.

Great White

Hard rocking hair band
whose biggest contribution
to the '80s was their Ian
Hunter cover. In the '80s
Great White's biggest hit...

L.A. Guns

Formed by ex-Guns N' Roses
guitarist Tracii Guns, L.A.
Guns ruled the Sunset Strip
during the glam metal
explosion. Guns also has p...

Lita Ford

Former Runaways guitarist
Lita Ford kicked out the
jams in the late '80s with
shiny metal, tougher than
Joan Jett balladry. Ford...

Motley Crue

The poster boys for Eighties
hair metal, Mötley
Crüe parlayed whip-lash
hard-rock songs, melodic
power ballads and a hedo...

Poison

In 1986, Poison was at the
forefront of the glam metal
scene, known as much for
their music as their gaudy
use of makeup. Poison so...

Quiet Riot

Quiet Riot was a rowdy
party metal band that hit it
big in the '80s with covers
of Slade songs and
rebellious anthems. Rand...

Ratt

During the pop metal boom
of the 1980s, Ratt were
considered one of the
major players, with hits on
both the radio and MTV. R...

Scorpions

German rockers known for
the 1980s songs "Rock You
Like A Hurricane" and "No
One Like You." The band
found success in Japan w...

Skid Row

Skid Row got huge on the
strength of "Youth Gone
Wild,""18 and Life," and
singer Sebastian Bach's
public jackassery. Bach h...

Tesla

Tesla were a good
old-fashioned Hard Rock
band that came to
prominence during the
heyday of hair metal. One...

Twisted Sister

Nightmarishly dressed in
drag and playing the
cheesiest metal imaginable,
Twisted Sister were like
Quiet Riot, only funnier. T...

Vixen

This all-female glam metal
band appeared at the tail
end of the pop metal thing.
Their only hit was "Edge of a
Broken Heart."

Warrant

One of the most successful
pop metal bands of the era,
Warrant even managed to
sell records after Nirvana
took over. "Cherry Pie" is...

Whitesnake

Whitesnake had a number
of hits, but they are best
remembered for Tawny
Kitaen's dress in the "Here I
Go Again" video. Whitesna...

Y&T

Y&T never made it big, but
continued to crank out
non-commercial hard rock
for 20-odd years, paving the
way for hair metal. Y&T na...

Electronics

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