What killed Hair Metal?

[GodOfRhythm]

I think GNR initially cracked open death's door for hair metal. Nirvana kicked that door open.

So a combination of GNR and Nirvana.

I agree, together with the release of the black album.

As well as:

A) The imagery had gone to a point where it was becoming TOO decadent

and

B) The industry needed their change again, just as they'll phase out the urban heavy R&B / Hip Hop movement of today in favor of a new style of music which opens a new market to replace the old.

[Rsmacker]

How long will it be before Prince's lawyers are here telling us to pull those pictures?

Yeah, I miss that B3ta compo too.


Cocks in Spandex killed hair metal - there's nothing quite so hilarious as seeing some ugly twat come home from work from the steelworks, slap a load of make-up and then hit the town in his gladrags with his hair teased up. Yeah mate, very L.A, but this is Birmingham, and you look like a prick. Bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale was it? Orrroight!
You have to be a certain type of person to carry that look off, and 99% of us aint that type.

Nirvana etc were just like one of us - scruffy cunts in jeans and t-shirts. Anyone could get hold of a guitar and bingo, you could be out there doing it. Hmm yeah, very marketable....!
No need to wear your sister's underwear (well, not outside eh Wilkinsi? ), no need to look like a total bell-end, just go and do it. Before Metallica disappeared up their own arse they were the same, just 4 blokes, dressed on stage as they did off-stage (I'm sure Lars just wandered about in lycra shorts really). They were instantly accessible, an instant connection with the audience, just blokes from down the pub done good.

That said, there was, and still is, a place for Rock Stars - OTT people like David Lee Roth, Gene Simmons, Ozzy (when he's been on the pop), David Coverdale etc. They have an unmistakable charisma and appeal by being NOT one of the lads.

Hair Metal started going down the toilet when it became mainstream. I don't mean mainstream musically either, I mean totally fucking mainstream. How many films from the late 80s/early 90s have the obligatory soundtrack that could have been Ratt/Dokken/any of them? Not tracks used by the makers, just an incidental backing track done by session musicians. Not just films, but TV programs too, and radio ads (I remember being in the US and hearing Guitar Centre adverts that used to get right on my tits). They were everywhere, even on fucking yoghurt commercials, just saturated every market.
Nirvana etc came along, dropped the chorus pedal and it was like a breath of fresh air (which is quite a feat for people who look like they have shit their pants).


Oh yeah, and the obvious thing helped kill it too - Baldness. I had lovely lush long hair back then, I'm a slaphead now. Somewhere in between, it started to thin, it comes with getting old (for those of us with balls that work overtime).

[Snoogans]

Having just sat down with a coffee and pondered the question, I conclude that the real reason that "Hair Metal" died was because all the record-buying losers were jealous of us good-looking and talented guitar players who were getting all the hottest chicks.

[thebeggar]

I think it was a number of things, most already covered in this thread. It was partly generational, some of the kids getting to that age when they start to get into music were probably looking at that band above the poison pic a couple of posts back and were thinking fuck that shit.

Not sure who that band is but they are one of the reasons (there are many) for the decline of hair metal. They just looked uncool. And you know how important being and looking cool is.

So the choice becomes do I listen to this band of men with big hair who look fucking stupid or a shaggy looking dude with a striped shirt singing about teen spirit.

[Snoogans]

How long will it be before Prince's lawyers are here telling us to pull those pictures?

Anyhoo - I think that G'n'R did as much to kill "Hair Metal" as did Nirvana. At least that seemed to be the case over here. Grunge was popular in the UK, but not to the same extent as the US.
We got stuck with the infinitely-worse "Madchester" scene - loads of smackheads with stupid haircuts playing rave-influenced bollocks on shitty guitars, while wearing anoraks. It was even worse than it sounds, especially if you lived in the "untrendy" South of the country.

[Jacksons Shred]

I think GNR initially cracked open death's door for hair metal. Nirvana kicked that door open.

So a combination of GNR and Nirvana.

[Endrik]

all things aside, I think hair metal wasn't gay nor most of them were homosexuals, usually those who called it gay didn't had luck with the girls, hair metal was vanity fair but they had more groupies than other bands so that's the reason why they were like that, hell I would put spandex on and use aquanet and make-up if some hottie would offer me a blowjob for looking like a clown.

gay was serious metal bands with no female audience, ugly sweaty dudes all together.... yuk. the most macho/manly image turned out to be gay... Rob Halford was the man

btw. Metal Sludge has some cool pictures of many "true metal" bands who looked like "gay glam" dudes too, "real metal" fans can bash how much they want but they aren't spared from the crimes against the fashion either.

[åron]

Prince? Oh come on now, what does he have to do with gay? The man rocks and has had more top notch ladies than the rest of the guys in the picture combined!

[xenophobe]

Gayness killed hair metal. Wearing girls clothes, wearing high heels and makeup.... too many love ballads... homosexual girly men killed hair metal.

Look how well all the pictures fit together.











GAY

[Rich#6]

It just imploded.
The bands that did right good songs in the beginning started to suck. Due to drugs, member changes, egos, etc... I think dee snider said once how do you keep writing angry songs once your rich.
The next generation of teens were angry and the cheesy sex ballard wasn't going to do it anymore.
Poison still plays the areas so they did not kill hair metal. They did sound like shit live in 89 though. I walked out I got my moneys worth with the 4 other bands.

[Cygnus X1]

Not to quote 442w40's whole text, but I had the same experience. I loved the Temple of the Dog, AIC (rock), and SG thing, until it got old. But it only took about six months for it to wear out, for me. I really haven't paid that much atention,since, and new rock hasen't caught my ear much.
With the blesssing, or the curse of the Internet, I can easily remember when I had limited access to the music I wanted, and am reliving what I
missed. Me and many others. So, instead of going out and buying all of the LP's I couldn't afford, or was barely aware of, I can wander around youtube and catch what I couldn't get. And, that hurts the music industry, so I'm told. But Rush is out there making great money on tours, and so is Judas Priest, and a number of others that are still very strong. It's a circle, and, I agree, it will come around and slap us older guys in the face.
I'm looking forward to that day.

[442w30]

I agree the roots of Grunge go way back to sound garden, I think I may still have an offbeat magazine from 1986-7 (Kerrang or something?) that had Husker Du and Soundgarden in it. I had thought it was odd, but SG looked and sounded like they'd kick ass from the interview. Of course, music was hard to get cheaply then just to check out, so I never got around to it.

To be honest, I moved from "hair metal" to rave-type dance/mix and even country right around "Every Rose has its thorn" etc.

I was tired of the whitesnake ballad ripoffs, was more into slayer, metallica, savatage, iron maiden, priest up until 1986-7 when I heard whitesnake, poison, ratt, new van halen, etc all the time.

When it got huge 88-90, I was not really listening, except for some big hits. Warrant really was good, white lion was OK, but the endless Slaughter, bullet boys, britney fox, winger, etc was old fast.
It was a lot of fun, but it became a parody of itself as anything overdone becomes.

I was almost drawn back into metal by Alice in Chains which came in not sounding like grunge. I think they opened the door a crack more from where LA Guns and GnR did with the sleazy, dark hair metal.

Then AIC did a 180 and STP, Pearl Jam, etc kicked the door the rest of the way open.
Nirvana was sort of a stealth joke band that caught on with people tired of the ridiculous overdone hair thing.

Smashing pumpkins was sort of a metal approach to the Cure type of thing, which meshed more with what I liked at the time, though.

[Axewielder]

"Hair Metal" isn't a bad term compared to "Cock Rock" or "Poodle Rock".

[JACKSONFREAK]

Grunge as it's called actually started in 85 with Sound Garden. At the saem time GnR hit the airwaves. GnR was just more marketable than SG was at the time. When "hair metal" started lossing fans to the over done , similar sounding, hair bands of the late 80's eraly 90's Ratt, Skid Row excluded cus they realy had talant. the record companies just wanted something new. Along with the arrival of Curt Cobain. Something new and fresh and highly marketble to the record companies. other grunge bands came to light. It was the over done copy cat bands that the record companies put together or just threw out there to see what they had in the appeal to the masses. Is what helped the near extinction of "Hair Metal" i still odnt like that term. lol although they did have some huge hair.. lol maybe it was the 2 hours in the dressing room just doing thier hair everynight at a gig and for PR shots, etc. did it in. They just got lazy and tired of using and industrial size can of Aqua net every night. Not to mention what all that did to to ozone layer.. but thats for a differant thread.
Gil

[Axewielder]

I hear the Brits are putting the finishing touches on the TWOBHM* for 2008

* Third Wave of British Heavy Metal