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While punk was shaking the foundations
of rock n’ roll, heavy metal came back with Judas Priest, Queen, the Scorpions,
Accept, and the short-lived New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). The highly
importa
nt British
invasion brought with itself bands like the acclaimed Diamond Head, Def Leppard,
Iron Maiden, Saxon, Samson, Tygers of Pan Tang, Venom, Raven, and Sweet Savage,
of which only Iron Maiden and Def Leppard were to survive (Saxon would enjoy
a short-lived fame). Judas Priest would popularize the leather, studs, and spikes
apparel that would characterize metal for years to come; the veteran Scorpions
would increase their string of brilliant releases, such as Virgin Killer, Lovedrive,
and Blackout, which featured the band’s taste for both ballads and heavy songs;
Accept would demonstrate its solid musicianship through classic albums like
Breaker and Restless and Wild; and Queen kept breaking the barriers of music,
in combinations such as thrash and melodic vocal harmonies in "Stone Cold Crazy",
or the famous combination of rock and opera in "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Meanwhile, Ir
on
Maiden brought back the mystic imagery of heavy metal while pounding out some
of the heaviest riffs of their time in albums like Killers, Piece of Mind and
Powerslave. They were to remain the heaviest band to rule the arena hard-rock
circuit for years until the advent of Metallica. While Maiden pounded out harmonized
and majestic guitar riffs backed by a thunderous bass (a combination commonly
known as classic metal, not to be confused with the pioneering genre), Venom
would truly begin the thrash metal genre with classic albums like Welcome to
Hell and Black Metal, in which they also flirted occasionally with what would
turn out to be death metal later on. Originally a band meant as a tongue-in-cheek
project named Oberon, Venom were to become the most intense band of their time;
and they would inspire, along with Motörhead, Judas Priest’s Stained Class and
Riot’s distinguishable and energetical musical outbursts, young bands such as
Metallica, Exodus, Slayer, and Mantas (which would later become Death) to start
making their own brand of fast, aggressive music.
As in the past, the United States decided to bite
back with a vengeance, which was embodied in the pop/glam metal explosion
of the 80’s. Van Halen was already there since 1978 and had become an arena
band, hitting the world hard with Eddie Van Halen’s guitar wizardry and David
Lee Roth’s wild show antics. The prototypical Journey had sold millions of records
since its inception in 1972 with its keyboard-oriented metal, and later Angel
and Foreigner would begin breaking through to the masses while Montrose released
legendary music. But the real vengeance came in the early Eighties with Mötley
Crüe and Ratt, two bands from Los Angeles which wrote relatively acce
ssible
songs that were big on hooks and strongly influenced by the likes of veterans
Sweet and T-Rex. Both bands also took the glam images from bands such as Alice
Cooper, David Bowie, the New York Dolls, Kiss, and Gary Glitter. Taking them
to the extreme, glam metal bands began wearing women’s makeup, leather outfits,
fishnets, headbands, spikes, and whatever they could basically get their hands
on. Mötley Crüe, perhaps the most important pop metal band of the 80´s, began
the LA metal explosion in 1983 with Shout At the Devil, an album that was solely
responsible for bringing heavy metal fully back into commercial circles; at
the same time helping propel Ratt and the older Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot
into stardom. "Round and Round," "We’re Not Gonna Take It," and "Cum On Feel
the Noize," respectively, broke each band over to mainstream audiences worldwide;
a success that in turn paved the way for Bon Jovi.
Bon Jovi was the second most successful metal band
ever, right after Def Leppard; selling millions upon millions of a
lbums
and releasing hit ballad after hit ballad. Slippery When Wet and New Jersey
took the world by storm, as would Def Leppard´s Pyromania and Hysteria. These
two bands perfectly learned how to take metal’s harshness and mix it with pop’s
accessibility, therefore producing a perfect blend for the MTV-influenced youth
of those days. Meanwhile, Mötley Crüe and Ratt innovated their own music with
every album and remained successes for a long time, reflecting the darker side
of pop metal. However, these bands obscured others which had as much to offer.
Groups such as Kix, Faster Pussycat, and LA Guns, despite their strong material,
never truly obtained the success they deserved, while bands like Kiss adapted
to the ruling pop metal scene on songs like "Heaven’s On Fire." Later on, the
pop metal explosion would also obscure bands with harder or more classic styles,
such as the acclaimed Thunder, G.U.N., and Junkyard; although others like the
Cult and Jackyl did manage to surface.
However, pop metal eventually became too accessible and flashy and needed revitalizing. Whitesnake, which epitomized the common successful glam metal band, was already dying out despite its existence since the Seventies; only the strongest and best bands were surviving: Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Mötley Crüe. The scene needed a new type of band; a band that was not as polished and accessible, a band that came from the sleazy and edgy streets. Enter Guns n’ Roses.
Guns n’ Roses was what the pop metal scene needed; Appetite for Destruction was a searing, raw, and aggressive album, featuring Slash’s bluesy guitar licks and Axl Rose’s hanging-on-to-dear-life vocals. Guns n’ Roses took the spotlight immediately with their mix of the Hanoi Rocks, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and the previous pop metal bands with strong songs like "Welcome to the Jungle," "Night Train," and "My Michelle," while showing their softer side on "Sweet Child O’ Mine." Guns n’ Roses saved pop metal from commercial extinction and would eventually reign the scene along with Mötley Crüe, while Def Leppard and Bon Jovi enjoyed long breaks.
The coming
of Guns n’ Roses, however, would not prevent new accessible bands from appearing.
Poison and Warrant were probably the best and most noticeable of these; although
they weren’t something completely new, their songs were original and catchy.
However, their extreme use of makeup and glamorous clothing would incite critics
everywhere to attack them as forgettable bands. White Lion was also an important
pop metal offering; although some of the band’s songs were trite, many of its
material was quite impressive; espe
cially
songs like "Lights and Thunder," "Cry For Freedom," "If My Mind Is Evil," and
"Leave Me Alone." Meanwhile, the bluesier Cinderella offered a string of honest
and straightforward rock albums, and Tesla did likewise, shunning the glam image
in the process. The far more experienced outfit Dokken was yet another strong
feature of pop metal, displaying George Lynch’s blazing fretwork, and a heavier
influence of technical musicianship; while Europe blasted through the charts
with the melodic masterpiece "The Final Countdown." Others like the Christian
Stryper, the often criticized Winger and Great White, Mr. Big, Bad English,
Damn Yankees, and Slaughter made up an important part of the scene. There was
also the rather memorable Skid Row, but its line-up would eventually venture
into much heavier grounds, despite the heavy success of its debut album: Skid
Row.
The pop m
etal
scene would also be responsible for bringing about the most popular and widely
known female heavy metal musicians ever, who continued with the advances of
the Runaways and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal Girlschool; the two bands
most responsible for making rock a viable musical avenue for women. Joan Jett
& the Blackhearts enticed admiration with the heartfelt "I Love Rock n’ Roll,"
while Lita Ford would air on the music media through her single "Kiss Me Deadly."
The two ex-Runaways members eventually lost their popularity, but they, along
with Warlock's Doro Pesch, were responsible for influencing the creation of
young new female bands like the velvety soft Vixen, the alternative L7, the
obscure Phantom Blue, and the heavy and gloomy Drain S.T.H.
Meanwhile, a somewhat heavier and more classic approach to the genre was provided by several heavy metal legends during the Eighties. Black Sabbath, along with singer Ronnie James Dio, came back with Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules to much acclaim; both albums marking a stylistic change in which a more melodic approach was utilized. Meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne, away from the Black Sabbath front, provided ardent fans with releases such as Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, which featured prodigious guitarist Randy Rhoads and along with Dio’s later solo releases would keep his type of melodic metal alive through the Eighties; partly due to efforts of newer melodic bands that stuck to heavy metal, such as the constantly evolving Savatage, the "Kings of Metal" Manowar, and Armored Saint, each with its own style. Several of the Seventies’ legendary bands would make comebacks throughout the Eighties with different degrees of success, but there was no synchronized revival of the pioneering metal of old, partly because many bands had lost either their originality or the passion that had characterized their early impact.
| Prologue | Part I | Part II | Main | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII |
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