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Glam metal

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Glam metal
Stylistic originsHeavy metal, Glam rock, Hard rock, Arena rock
Cultural origins1979 — 1984, Sunset Strip, Los Angeles, California and England. Fully emerged genre by 1981
Typical instrumentselectric guitar (often two), bass guitar, drums, occasional keyboards
Subgenres
Sleaze rock
(complete list)
Regional scenes
Los Angeles - New York City - UK
Other topics
Timeline of heavy metal

Glam metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that arose in the late 1970s - early 1980s in the United States. It was a dominant genre in popular rock music throughout the 1980s and early 1990s (c.1983-1992).[citation needed]

The genre is also referred to, often by detractors, as hair metal. This term was popularized by MTV in the 1990s and derives from the tendency amongst most bands to style their long hair in a teased-up fashion. During its heyday, the genre was often referred to as heavy metal or simply metal.

Characteristics

Generally, glam metal has hedonistic lyrics, often focuses on sex, alcohol, and drugs, and many of the first wave bands had songs pertaining to the occult. Musically, glam metal songs often featured distorted guitar riffs, shred guitar solos, anthemic choruses, hard hitting drumming, and complementary bass.

Many glam metal performers became infamous for their debauched lifestyles, long teased hair (hence the alternative hair metal tag) and use of make-up, gaudy clothing (chiefly consisting of tight denim or leather jeans, spandex, leather and headbands), and accessories—traits somewhat reminiscent of glam rock, a music genre which first emerged in the United Kingdom during the early 1970s. However, the earlier groups of the genre also implemented some of the leather and studs imagery which had previously been made famous by heavy metal band Judas Priest.

Origins (1970s)

The genre took influence heavily from 1970s glam rock and heavy metal bands, with large sections taking influence from the likes of AC/DC, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, New York Dolls, Queen, The Sweet, Van Halen, Slade, Mott the Hoople, T.Rex, Judas Priest and others.

A few bands had previously experimented with mixing glam rock and heavy metal prior to the 1980s when glam metal emerged as a fully fledged genre. Angel, Starz, and Legs Diamond were prime examples of this. However, it wasn’t until the early 1980s (c.1981) that the genre truly began to gather speed and thus some of the earlier bands mentioned are not always viewed as part of it.

The first band of the 1980s to truly travel down the make-up and gaudy clothing route was Finnish group Hanoi Rocks. Credited as influences by countless bands, Hanoi Rocks followed the template laid down by hard rock bands of the 1970s and stuck to the make up and garishness of the New York Dolls.

In the United States, many fans credited that the movement on the Sunset Strip was kick-started largely by Mötley Crüe and Nikki Sixx’s former band London after the earliest years when they started as a glam rock band. Others assert that it was kick-started by Quiet Riot's Metal Health album when it reached #1 in the billboard music charts in the early 80s (c.1983). In any event, these bands played a prominent part in the genre’s direction and would go on to influence a lot of the bands who formed from the mid-1980s onwards.

During 1981 in England, the same year of Mötley Crüe’s forming, a band known as Wrathchild, fronted by Rocky Shades, also emerged. This band was known for playing glam metal style music and having a similar image; they also used pyro similar to that of shock rock sections of the genre and would eventually tour with W.A.S.P. in 1984. However, Wrathchild did not gain the same level of fame as their Los Angeles contemporaries.[1]

First wave of '80s glam metal (1981-1984)

During the early 1980s, heavy metal spawned several sub-genre forms; glam metal became its most popular manifestation. The first wave of glam metal bands included the likes of Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Helix, W.A.S.P., Twisted Sister, Stryper. Their music was a bit closer to traditional heavy metal than their younger contemporaries who would eventually emerge, like Cinderella, Warrant and Poison, whose music and image ultimately became synonymous with the genre.

From 1981 to 1984 several important albums which would shape the genre, and change the course of music during the 1980s emerged, amongst them were:

Around this time and the years following it, bands who had long been an established part of heavy metal and hard rock music during the 1970s and had ironically influenced many of the glam metal bands began to experiment with the genre’s stylings, an example of this is Kiss's Lick It Up. During the later part of the 1980s, many other acts would follow suit in a similar fashion; Alice Cooper in 1989 with Trash, Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation and Whitesnake with their 1987 self-titled album which featured the massively successful hit "Here I Go Again."

Second wave of '80s glam metal (1985-1991)

By the mid-1980s, glam metal could be defined by two major divisions. On the mainstream side were bands such as Bon Jovi, whose 1986 album Slippery When Wet was a huge success at Top 40 radio and MTV, as well as the band Europe, whose single "The Final Countdown" hit number one in 26 countries; the bands in this style were and still are described as pop metal.

Los Angeles fostered a more insular scene around the Sunset Strip, starting in 1984-1985. This movement eventually spawned bands such as Poison, Faster Pussycat, London and L.A. Guns. Other bands were associated with that scene’s style but actually came from outside of Hollywood; Cinderella and Britny Fox, both Philadelphia bands, are prime examples.

Also in the mid '80s Stryper brought Christian lyrics to glam metal, making Christian Metal popular in the process.

There were also some groups who continued in the style originated by the earlier glam metal bands. King Kobra (which would spawn The Bullet Boys, known most notably for their MTV hits "Smooth Up In Ya" and their cover of "For The Love of Money") and Madam X are examples of this, the latter of which would eventually feature a future star of the genre, a young Canadian named Sebastian Bach.

File:Eab2.jpg
Promo photo of the band Cinderella

The visual aspects of some glam metal bands became thought of as appealing to music television, particularly MTV when it was launched. During the mid-to-late 1980s, glam metal tracks were in heavy rotation on the channel. Glam metal bands often resided at the top of MTV’s daily dial countdown, and some of the bands appeared on the channel’s shows such as Headbanger’s Ball. The groups also received heavy rotation on radio shows such as KNAC in Los Angeles.

The second wave of glam metal would prove to be the most commercially successful for the genre as a whole, and enjoyed widespread success during the 1980s, but bands would sometimes find themselves on the wrong side of critics and certain sections of the music industry.

Some of the major albums of 1985-1990 were:

A notable example came in 1987 with the release of Mötley Crüe’s Girls, Girls, Girls. Before the establishment of Soundscan in 1991, Billboard’s album chart was decided by a combination of reports from retailers, wholesalers, and industry professionals, rather than on actual album sales. As the band related on MTV’s Week in Rock, the week that Girls, Girls, Girls peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart, it was actually the highest-selling album of that week. However, the industry professionals gave extra weight to Whitney Houston’s second album, allowing it to retain the top spot. In the band’s opinion, the industry simply wouldn’t allow their album to hold the #1 spot. (The band eventually conquered the top spot with their next album, Dr. Feelgood, which became the biggest album of their career.)

Glam metal continued to grow its fanbase as the 1980s progressed. Def Leppard’s 1987 album Hysteria spawned seven successful singles, and eventually sold more than 12 million copies just in the US. This would later become one of the most popular hard rock albums of all time, being one of the most popular albums in the 1980s. Poison’s second album Open Up and Say...Ahh! spawned a huge single in "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," and eventually sold eight million copies worldwide. Skid Row would later release their debut album in 1989, although they had been around since 1986 and had a harder hitting sound than many of the other bands in the genre at that point.

Sleaze glam

Main article: Sleaze rock

Guns N' Roses completely changed the direction of glam metal in 1987. They incorporated the sounds of blues and punk into the music, while retaining some of the imagery of glam metal. Guns N’ Roses became a mega-success in 1988 thanks to singles such as "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Sweet Child o' Mine," and went on to sell millions of albums. Other bands which arose around this time with similar musical styles are Skid Row, Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, Roxx Gang, and Dangerous Toys. This offshoot of glam metal is dubbed "sleaze glam", "sleaze rock", and more recently "sleaze metal".

A similar movement also emerged in London, England at around the same time. Like Guns N' Roses, these bands were heavily influenced by early rock n' roll and punk rock. Like Hanoi Rocks, the bands from this English movement such as Dogs D’Amour and London Quireboys didn’t consider themselves heavy metal, but rather as rock n' roll, though they are sometimes incorrectly termed glam metal. Also, around this time British band The Cult moved their music away from their post-punk roots and began playing a more AC/DC influenced sound, touring the United States with Guns N' Roses and then later with Metallica.

During the 2000s the sleaze glam style has returned somewhat thanks to the likes of Buckcherry and Brides of Destruction, the latter of which features Nikki Sixx and Tracii Guns. Newer bands such as Vains of Jenna, Backyard Babies, Hardcore Superstar, and Red Star Rebels are also beginning to gain a lot of recognition.

Decline of glam metal (1991-1997)

In the early 1990s glam metal’s popularity rapidly declined after nearly a decade of success. Several music writers and musicians began to deride glam metal acts as "hair farmers,"[2][3] hinting at the soon to be popularized term hair metal. Several factors played a role in the decline; blame is often placed squarely at the door of grunge music from Seattle.

Grunge

Main article: Grunge music

Bands who were termed "grunge," such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, started supplanting glam metal’s popularity in 1992.

As grunge grew to greater success, many glam metal bands discovered that their labels were no longer supportive. Many major labels felt they had been caught off-guard by the somewhat surprise success of Nirvana’s Nevermind, and had begun turning over their personnel in favor of younger staffers more versed in grunge. Jani Lane of Warrant commented on the change in a late-1990s interview with MTV, noting that he knew his band was in trouble when he walked into his label’s offices and noticed that the prominent Warrant display had been replaced by one of Alice in Chains. Most of the popular glam metal bands found themselves dropped from their respective labels by the mid-1990s.

In a notable irony, many grunge bands, who professed anti-corporate attitudes, wound up signing contracts with major record labels. At the same time, many glam metal bands, once considered proponents of "corporate rock" by some, ended up signing with independent labels. Labels such as CMC International and Perris Records were aware that glam metal had an audience, and were more than willing to help bring the music to its fanbase.

Media

One element in the decline was the significant role that music television played in glam metal’s success. While grunge was more serious in tone, it contained many of the elements that made glam metal so ideal for music television, including its own visual style in the way of "grunge" fashion. As MTV shifted its attention to the new style, glam metal bands found themselves relegated more and more often to Headbanger’s Ball and late night airplay, and almost entirely disappeared from the channel by early 1994. Given glam metal’s lack of a major format presence at radio, bands were left without a clear way to reach their audience.

The power ballad

Another reason for glam metal’s decline was the power ballad. What was seen as a discernible formula emerged during the later part of the 1980s in the way that glam metal bands were marketed. Labels would start off by releasing a hard-rocking anthem, then follow it with a power ballad. From Poison ("Fallen Angel followed by "Every Rose Has Its Thorn") to Mötley Crüe ("Kickstart My Heart" followed by "Without You") to Warrant ("Down Boys" followed by "Heaven") to White Lion ("Wait" followed by "When the Children Cry"), to Europe ("The Final Countdown" followed by "Carrie") to Winger ("Seventeen" followed by "Headed for a Heartbreak") to Def Leppard ("Pour Some Sugar On Me" followed by "Love Bites"). Older bands with full hard rock/heavy metal roots also fell into this trap: Whitesnake's 1987 eponymous album introduced a rerecording of "Here I Go Again", which was followed by "Is This Love?", both considered power ballads (the latter more so than the former); likewise Aerosmith had a hit with "Crazy" in 1994. Furthermore, British metal icon Ozzy Osbourne used the formula. Inspired by the success of "Close My Eyes Forever", his duet with Lita Ford, his next album, No More Tears, contained three power ballads: "Time After Time", "Road to Nowhere", and "Mama, I'm Coming Home", all of which were released as singles after the title track. This formula became so commonplace that it began to be seen as a glam metal cliché. Fans of the genre balked as well[citation needed], noting that, of the pair, the power ballad typically received far more airplay on mainstream radio.

Band splits

The decline in glam metal was further compounded by many key 1980s metal bands, glam or otherwise, coincidentally either breaking up, losing significant band members, and/or releasing new albums that largely displeased existing fans. For example, in late 1991-early 1992, Stryper, White Lion, Europe, and Britny Fox all broke-up. Vince Neil was briefly fired from Mötley Crüe, guitarist Robbin Crosby left Ratt (who then broke up with the departure of lead singer Stephen Pearcy), C. C. DeVille left Poison, Sebastian Bach left Skid Row (though the band had largely discarded their glam metal sound), and others as well.

Revival (1997-present)

During the late 1990s, however, several glam metal bands of the first and second eras began to assert themselves again, releasing new material. New glam metal bands have also formed. Starting in 2006, glam metal has been becoming more and more prominent, even more than they were in the early 2000's. Events such as Rocklahoma, T.V. such as VH1 Classic, and bands putting out new material has helped expose people to the music and create new fans, and new bands. Although the mainstream popularity of glam metal at this time was being supplanted more heavily due to the popularity of emo rock, post-grunge (a direct descendant of grunge music), and especially hip hop music.

Bands reform

Mötley Crüe reunited with Vince Neil, and recorded the 1997 album Generation Swine, embarking on a successful U.S. tour. Poison reunited with C.C. Deville, and embarked on a successful 1999 tour of amphitheaters. A 2000 package tour featuring Poison, Slaughter, Cinderella, and Dokken sold extremely well.

In the 2000s, coinciding with the new blood of glam metal bands, more groups from the original movement continue to perform, and others that broke up have reformed. Bands such as L.A. Guns, Ratt,and W.A.S.P. have appeared in package tours together, and Mötley Crüe and Poison are continuing to record material and tour, reaching the upper parts of the Billboard 200 with compilation albums. The Monster Ballads compilation series has sold well, with the first volume peaking at #18 on the Billboard 200. It was announced that a large glam metal festival would be taking place in Oklahoma, during July 2007 named Rocklahoma, over three days.[4] Amongst the bands featuring are Poison, Ratt (reformed with Stephen Pearcy and missing deceased founding member Robbin Crosby), Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, Bang Tango, Vince Neil Band, Twisted Sister, Jackyl, Dokken, Quiet Riot, Britny Fox (reformed), Enuff Z'nuff and Y&T.

New blood

By the early 2000s, a handful of new bands began to revive glam metal in one form or another. The successful British band, The Darkness, was one example, albeit in a more tongue-in-cheek manner that’s somewhat reminiscent of early Queen. Newer bands, such as Wig Wam, Murderdolls, Vains of Jenna, Andrew W.K., Hardcore Superstar, Babylon Bombs and Private Line borrow elements from glam metal and have grown fanbases. Until their vocalist died in early 2006, Crashdiet were also gaining popularity and were the first band of the genre to sign to a major label in over a decade, However they did continue with a new vocalist and released a second album titled "The Unattractive Revolution". Some unsigned and lesser-known bands of the genre that formed during glam metal’s popular years are now being signed to smaller labels such as Perris Records and releasing material.

Beautiful Creatures, a band formed by ex-Bang Tango frontman Joe Lesté, even signed a major label deal with Warner Bros. Records in 2000. American rockers Buckcherry scored a #1 Mainstream Rock hit with "Lit Up" in 1999. They have continued enjoying success on the pop charts, remaining on the Billboard Top 100 extensively, and have achieved gold certification. Bullets and Octane have brought a punk rock influenced variant of sleaze rock to popularity as well, becoming a major touring act, especially through Southern California. The band Dirty Penny has been gaining popularity fast since they played at crue fest and Rocklahoma. They have been compared to Mötley Crüe because of the way they look and sound. Such groups have helped carry glam metal elements, largely lyrical and vocal, to modern fans, often with a heavier, more updated sound.

See also

References

  1. ^ Wrathchild History—First Glam Metal band
  2. ^ Thompson, Dave (March 1994). "I Slept With Soundgarden and Other Chilling Confessions". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
  3. ^ Magnuson, Ann (February 1992). "SUB ZEP?". Spin. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
  4. ^ Glam-Metal.com
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