Hair metal was a wild party, with seemingly every blond-haired voicebox pairing up with their very own enigmatic six-stringer as they prepared to stake their claim amongst the posturing masses.
In the ’80s, hair metal had its way, with its Spandex-loving perpetrators riding high throughout the decade. But as the genre entered the ’90s, seemingly overnight, it was no longer chic to clad oneself in ripped fishnets, neon-colored platforms and leopard print denim.
Much to the dismay of cock-rockers across the land, grunge and alt-rock saw to it that most of the lionhearts of the ’80s were dead men walking. And while Cobain, Cornell and Vedder ruled the day, our once mighty, now-on-life-support heroes still managed to choke out a few final gems.
What follows is a guide to 10 fine last-gasp hair metal guitar albums for fans, new and old, to chew on.
10. Harlow – Harlow (1990)
Formed by Tommy Thayer after Black N’ Blue met its end, Harlow was yet another attempt at hair metal glory for the Oregon native. Featuring heavenly doses of hairspray-soaked bombast, 1990’s Harlow was criminally overlooked upon its release.
Still, the record is full-on, with Thayer taking his frustrations out via his Les Paul through raging solos and typically clean-toned progressions. To catch the vibe, start with Chain Reaction and bask in Harlow’s long-forgotten glory.
9. Kane Roberts – Saints and Sinners (1991)
After helping resurrect Alice Cooper’s career in the late ’80s with Constrictor (1986) and Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987), Kane Roberts took his show on the road after Geffen Records came calling.
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Known for heavy metal chops as muscular as his monster biceps, Roberts’ 1991 debut, Saints and Sinners, offered up more of the same fare seen with Cooper, albeit with Roberts on vocals. If you’re one for heavy riffs tinted with just a touch of lipstick, kick things off with Twisted and enjoy the ride.
8. Wildside – Under the Influence (1992)
Wildside has long been the poster child for sadly ignored glam metal in the early ’90s. And it’s with good reason, given the gritty yet pretty nature of Benny Rhynedance’s explosive riffs and winding solos. But Wildside’s self-aggrandizing nature did them no good, and their refusal to brand themselves as “hair metal” (although they clearly were) didn’t help, either.
As great as it is, 1992’s Under the Influence wheezed across hair metal’s finish line with little more than a dull whimper. The good news is that retrospection has been kind, and with cuts like Hang on Lucy, it’s not hard to see why.
7. Dangerous Toys – Hellacious Acres (1991)
Released three years after their self-titled debut, 1991’s Hellacious Acres displays the full array of Dangerous Toys’ talents. With an overall darker tone, Hellacious Acres was a harbinger of the rage-filled music that was to come for Dangerous Toys.
Elsewhere, in the making-the-most-of-what-God-gave-him department, guitarist Scott Dalhover continued to show the world why he could be considered the era’s preeminent blue-collar six-stringer. We’d direct curious listeners to a track like Gimme’ No Lip as exhibit number one.
6. Britny Fox – Bite Down Hard (1991)
Philly rockers Britny Fox went into a tailspin of epic proportions after being booted from the opening slot of Kiss’s Hot in the Shade tour. And things didn’t get better after mouthy, fair-weather frontman Dean Davidson split in 1990. But in short order, Britny Fox rallied behind guitarist Michael Kelly Smith and new singer, Tommy Paris, for 1991’s Bite Down Hard.
Sadly, the world was no longer listening or simply didn’t care, and Kelly Smith’s hyper-melodic solos have long been ignored. But there’s still time to flip the script; dig on tracks like Six Guns Loaded to begin your education.
5. Warrant – Dog Eat Dog (1992)
Guitarist Joey Allen was often relegated during the recording of 1990’s Cherry Pie, with producer Beau Hill opting for Poison’s C.C. DeVille (on Cherry Pie) or ghost player extraordinaire Mike Slammer. But all of that changed with 1992’s Dog Eat Dog, with Allen seemingly out to prove his mettle.
And prove it he did, as he angrily stomps around tracks like Machine Gun, blasting holes through listeners’ ear drums with tailgunner leads and breakneck riffs. As the final record to feature Warrant’s original fivesome, Dog Eat Dog should be seen as a literal and figurative end of an era.
4. Badlands – Voodoo Highway (1991)
Badlands’ 1989 self-titled affair is the record that holds the most cache, but it’s 1991’s Voodoo Highway that packs a true punch. Recorded after drummer Eric Singer had deserted for Kiss and not long before vocalist Ray Gillen fell ill, Voodoo Highway is a sublime blend of early ’90s hair metal goodness with heaping doses of blues guitar heroics by Jake E. Lee.
If you’re looking to take the journey, fully immerse yourself in the uber-guitar-forward antics demonstrated on Silver Horses. Stomping around in all its glory, the cut spends nearly all of its four minutes and 40 seconds reminding us of the beautiful duality of Lee and Badlands.
3. W.A.S.P. – The Crimson Idol (1992)
Blackie Lawless has never been short on ego, and you can bet he’d agree with lionizing 1992’s The Crimson Idol. As a somewhat bizarre example of a hair metal concept record, somehow, The Crimson Idol works, punching in as perhaps W.A.S.P.’s most poignant record to date. But if you’re expecting the flavors of the ’80s a la Chris Holmes, you’ll be disappointed.
Instead, perpetually roving icon Bob Kulick takes a turn on Lawless’s carousel, shredding his way through epics like Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue). In some ways, it’s a pity Lawless never scratched this itch again; in others, it’s better that he’s stuck to what he does best.
2. Roxy Blue – Want Some? (1992)
Would you believe it if we told you that Roxy Blue’s original spark plug of a guitarist, Sid Fletcher, is now a successful dentist? We swear it’s true. What’s also true is that 1992’s Want Some? is a verifiable smorgasbord of hair metal fury. An aggressive bunch straight out of Memphis, Roxy Blue was initially thought of as the heir apparent to Warrant before things came crashing down shortly after the release of Want Some?
Jam-packed with tongue-waggling machismo, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better tandem than Fletcher and vocalist Todd Poole, but alas, it was not to be. But that doesn’t mean we can’t bask in what might have been, right? If you’re the nostalgic type, we wager that Main Attraction, with its fist-pumping riffs and oozing-with-sex solos, is the perfect place to start.
1. Spread Eagle – Open to the Public (1993)
Spread Eagle’s 1990 self-titled record was a curb-stomping combination of glam meets grit, but it fell on deaf ears. And surprise, surprise, Spread’s sophomore affair, 1993’s Open to the Public, was met with similar disinterest. But don’t let that fool you; the album is bristling with deeply melodic riffs via Boston-bred badass Paul DiBartolo.
Spread Eagle never was a band to beat around the bush, and one listen to Revolution Maker, with its lacerating riffs and sent-down-from-heaven solos, will tell you all you need to know. As the missing link between the glamourous L.A. Sunset Strip and the sleaze-ridden gutters of NYC, perhaps no one better represented the dying-but-still-trying nature of hair metal in the early ’90s than Spread Eagle.
