Hair metal

Hair metal is a type of heavy metal music that arose in the late 1970s, in the United States, and was a strong force in popular music throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Such bands are frequently called hair bands. Pejorative terms for hair metal include poodle rock, due to the teased, bushy hair of many performers, or other derogatory terms, such as cock rock reflect a fixation on sexual lyrics and deeds and the lack of respect afforded by some music critics.

Decline of hair metal

By the early 1990s, hair metal had become widely ridiculed (the 1984 film This is Spinal Tap is a satire of the genre), and increasingly formulaic, (for example, the music of Firehouse, Vixen, and Slaughter.) In 1991, the surge in popularity of grunge music, such as that performed by Alice In Chains, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam, led to a decline in hair metal’s popularity. Ironically, while many grunge and alternative music bands signed contracts with major record labels, many hair-metal bands, once considered proponents of “corporate rock,” signed with small, independent labels, and found niches; for example, CMC International released the music of Slaughter, Warrant, and others. New hair metal bands are coming into the fold such as Bittersuite, and Cherry Bang. Other unsigned bands (such as Blanc Faces, Secret Smile) that formed in the hey-day of hair metal, are now being signed, to smaller labels.

Related Topics:
This is Spinal Tap - Firehouse - Vixen - Slaughter - Grunge - Alice In Chains - Nirvana - Pearl Jam - Warrant

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Several hair metal bands, most notably Mötley Crüe, have stayed commercially viable throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. The British band The Darkness has attempted to revive the hair-metal style, albeit in a more tongue-in-cheek style, somewhat reminiscent of early Van Halen, and Queen.

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