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Who were some of the bands that smoothed the transition from hair metal to grunge?
Posted on 5/19/24 at 8:54 pm
Posted on 5/19/24 at 8:54 pm
I'm trying to avoid bands who were around at the time but whose sound was already developed and who the grunge movement simply caught up to (i.e. Soundgarden, et al)
1. Skid Row - While still employing some hair metal chops, their look and sound was a bit edgier--appealing more to the younger-up-and coming crowd looking for something a little more serious and aggressive than veteran headbangers of the time.
2. The Cult - While hitting hard as a metal act, there was something different about Ian Astbury and company. Their themes were less sophomoric, more cinematic. They brought a goth appeal to their look and music. They sounded metal, but they looked... different... not quite of the mainstream.
3. GNR - They burst on the stage looking the hair metal part, but their sound was a punch in the face, far too aggressive to simply be lumped into the hair metal mix. With each new release, their songwriting matured and provoked universal acclaim and debate until reaching legendary status on par with the greatest of the greats in contemporary music history. GNR seemed the apex of the '80s metal movement before it all came crashing down.
1. Skid Row - While still employing some hair metal chops, their look and sound was a bit edgier--appealing more to the younger-up-and coming crowd looking for something a little more serious and aggressive than veteran headbangers of the time.
2. The Cult - While hitting hard as a metal act, there was something different about Ian Astbury and company. Their themes were less sophomoric, more cinematic. They brought a goth appeal to their look and music. They sounded metal, but they looked... different... not quite of the mainstream.
3. GNR - They burst on the stage looking the hair metal part, but their sound was a punch in the face, far too aggressive to simply be lumped into the hair metal mix. With each new release, their songwriting matured and provoked universal acclaim and debate until reaching legendary status on par with the greatest of the greats in contemporary music history. GNR seemed the apex of the '80s metal movement before it all came crashing down.
Posted on 5/19/24 at 9:08 pm to shutterspeed
Skid Row had a big hit with Slave to the Grind but quickly became irrelevant after Sebastian Bach left. GNR also fell apart in the early 90s due to band members leaving and then taking forever to follow up Use Your Illusion. I don't think either band really fit into the hair metal genre though, especially GNR.
Posted on 5/19/24 at 9:17 pm to shutterspeed
quote:
smoothed the transition from hair metal to grunge
I can't think of one... Most of the bands that were considered "grunge" were the antithesis of Hair Metal...
Gun to head, I'd probably say Mother Love Bone...
Posted on 5/19/24 at 9:20 pm to shutterspeed
There was no transition from hair metal to grunge. One day '80s bands were king, the next day Nirvana happened.
Posted on 5/19/24 at 9:44 pm to Saint Alfonzo
Mother Love Bone
Alice In Chains
Alice N Chains before they added and “I” and Jerry joined
Alice In Chains
Alice N Chains before they added and “I” and Jerry joined
Posted on 5/19/24 at 10:11 pm to shutterspeed
GNR - they were a lot grittier and dirtier than the average hair metal band that had weak rockers and sappy ballads. Plus, they wore punk influences on their sleeves.
Posted on 5/20/24 at 1:46 am to shutterspeed
I also vote for no transition.
Posted on 5/20/24 at 6:22 am to TFTC
quote:
I'd probably say Mother Love Bone...
Where were they popular before Andy OD’d?
I only heard of them from the SubPop tape or CD that “your cool friend” had. And then Temple of the Dog. Which was written for him after he died.
The Cult was mentioned but even with them you have to go back. I loved Ceremony but it was not their best album. But it was released in that time period before Seattle took over.
Soundgarden was responsible for Seattle but they definitely could do both. Birth Ritual from Singles and some of Badmotorfinger can easily be called metal. Not hair metal but metal.
Posted on 5/20/24 at 6:57 am to shutterspeed
Glam totally changed once GNR released Appetite for Destruction. Alot of the glam bands toned down the makeup big time.
Posted on 5/20/24 at 10:32 am to Honest Tune
quote:
Tesla
As a big hair metal fan who was in high school from 1986-90, I always felt like Tesla and GnR were "different" from the rest of the hair bands I typically favored and, if we can categorize an in-between phase before grunge took over, they should be included.
Having said all of that, the band that made me say, "WTF", before I first heard Nirvana on the radio was Faith No More. That might not be a great example, but the song and the video for Epic sticks out to me as one of the early death knells for hair metal.
It seems to have greased the skids for wider acceptance of grunge when the video for Smells Like Teen Spirit was released a few years later.
Posted on 5/20/24 at 11:05 am to shutterspeed
quote:I think Queensryche is a decent answer. They sort of had the glam look when they first came out, but the music was never glam. And they managed to have a big hit or 2 after Nirvana made it big.
Who were some of the bands that smoothed the transition from hair metal to grunge?
Posted on 5/20/24 at 4:50 pm to Oswald
quote:
Having said all of that, the band that made me say, "WTF", before I first heard Nirvana on the radio was Faith No More.
That’s actually a pretty good choice.
I might throw in Suicidal Tendencies to the mix as well.
Posted on 5/20/24 at 5:17 pm to Oswald
Like Faith No More, Living Colour also helped smooth the way for grunge. They rocked, but they weren't hair metal and they were a little outside of the mainstream - I haven't listened to them in years, but I remember really digging their second and third albums. The third record got slept on because it came out in 93 at the height of grunge and they were out of style - but there are some songs that kick arse on it
Posted on 5/20/24 at 6:07 pm to timbo
Panter was Glam before the fired their singer and hired Phil
Posted on 5/20/24 at 9:05 pm to dallastiger55
quote:Phil was glam himself with Razor White.
Panter was Glam before the fired their singer and hired Phil
Posted on 5/21/24 at 7:04 am to Big Scrub TX
I think Queensryche is probably as close as you can come as a transition band in that respect. Although they had been around for years prior and fit comfortably in the almost heavy metal genre. They definitely were not hair band. "Progressive Metal"?
Tesla was a rock band pure and simple. They had their time during the hair metal days but they did not get all dressed up. They were just as comfortable doing an acoustic set and getting more to the blues rock sound as anyone out there. They could do Clapton like music and hard driving rock. If they had been out 15-20 years earlier their sound would have fit in with the likes of the Faces, etc.
The Cult was NEVER to be confused with Hair Bands. They were something of a bridge between Goth Rock in the mid 80's and hard rock . By 86 and 87 they had moved to the rock sound. Astbury's voice was so different from so many rockers out there, the only voice that may have been that distinctive and deep was Eddie Vitter. But The Cult was not grunge either. There was no real angst in their music like Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Soundgarten. Also Billy Duffy's guitar was closer to the the metal guys when he let loose.
Always thought that The Cult probably hit their zenith about 2 or 3 years too late. By the time they had "recovered" from the Fire Woman tour, etc. Grunge had taken hold and they somewhat faded from the scene and then tried to experiment with their sound to adapt.
Tesla was a rock band pure and simple. They had their time during the hair metal days but they did not get all dressed up. They were just as comfortable doing an acoustic set and getting more to the blues rock sound as anyone out there. They could do Clapton like music and hard driving rock. If they had been out 15-20 years earlier their sound would have fit in with the likes of the Faces, etc.
The Cult was NEVER to be confused with Hair Bands. They were something of a bridge between Goth Rock in the mid 80's and hard rock . By 86 and 87 they had moved to the rock sound. Astbury's voice was so different from so many rockers out there, the only voice that may have been that distinctive and deep was Eddie Vitter. But The Cult was not grunge either. There was no real angst in their music like Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Soundgarten. Also Billy Duffy's guitar was closer to the the metal guys when he let loose.
Always thought that The Cult probably hit their zenith about 2 or 3 years too late. By the time they had "recovered" from the Fire Woman tour, etc. Grunge had taken hold and they somewhat faded from the scene and then tried to experiment with their sound to adapt.
Posted on 5/21/24 at 12:26 pm to shutterspeed
Candlebox. They were the Seattle band that wasn't quite grunge. The way they incorporated blues into their debut record was fantastic, and it gets overlooked for how good it was.
This post was edited on 5/21/24 at 12:29 pm
Posted on 5/21/24 at 2:02 pm to Midget Death Squad
That is a really great album, good answer.
Posted on 5/21/24 at 2:25 pm to timbo
quote:
Like Faith No More, Living Colour also helped smooth the way for grunge. They rocked, but they weren't hair metal and they were a little outside of the mainstream - I haven't listened to them in years, but I remember really digging their second and third albums. The third record got slept on because it came out in 93 at the height of grunge and they were out of style - but there are some songs that kick arse on it
Jane's Addiction came from the same clubs as hair metal but they were they're own thing. Gutter punks. Never confused as hair band and in a way had the grit and heroin addiction before grunge made it cool.
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