Blue Öyster Cult was the thinking man's heavy metal group. Put together on a college campus by a couple of rock critics, it maintained a close relationship with a series of literary figures (often in the fields of science fiction and horror), including Eric Von Lustbader, Patti Smith, Michael Moorcock, and Stephen King, while turning out some of... [+] Read More

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4 out of 4 people agree

For a very brief moment, Quiet Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop chart (a claim that greatly depends on one's exact definition of heavy metal), the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their monster 1983 smash album Metal Health. But Quiet Riot's road to... [+] Read More

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3 out of 3 people agree

The Ramones are the first punk rock band. Other bands, such as the Stooges and the New York Dolls, came before them and set the stage and aesthetic for punk, and bands that immediately followed, such as the Sex Pistols, made the latent violence of the music more explicit, but the Ramones crystallized the musical ideals of the genre. By cutting... [+] Read More

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1 out of 4 people agree

AC/DC's mammoth power-chord roar became one of the most influential hard rock sounds of the '70s. In its own way, it was a reaction against the pompous art rock and lumbering arena rock of the early '70s. AC/DC's rock was minimalist -- no matter how huge and bludgeoning the guitar chords were, there was a clear sense of space and restraint.... [+] Read More

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Black Sabbath has been so influential in the development of heavy metal rock music as to be a defining force in the style. The group took the blues-rock sound of late '60s acts like Cream, Blue Cheer, and Vanilla Fudge to its logical conclusion, slowing the tempo, accentuating the bass, and emphasizing screaming guitar solos and howled vocals... [+] Read More

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In the eyes of countless hard rock fans, David Lee Roth is the prototypical frontman. With a flamboyant, larger than life stage presence and a party-hearty surfer dude persona (not to mention his acrobatic leaps, long mane of blond hair, and skintight spandex outfits), Roth was an integral part of Van Halen's meteoric rise to global dominance... [+] Read More

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Def Leppard, in many ways, was the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. There were many bands that rocked harder, and were more dangerous, than the Sheffield quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well. Emerging in the late '70s as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the group actually owed more to the glam... [+] Read More

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With a gritty reputation that was arguably equaled only by Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe's infamous antics made them a force to be reckoned with in the '80s. As one of the first and most influential hair metal bands of the '80s, Mötley Crüe had a series of hit albums, the biggest and most noteworthy being 1989's Dr. Feelgood. The band continued to... [+] Read More

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Though many bands have succeeded in earning the hatred of parents and media worldwide throughout the past few decades, arguably only such acts as Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, and Marilyn Manson have tied the controversial record of Ozzy Osbourne. The former Black Sabbath frontman has been ridiculed over his career, mostly due to rumors denouncing... [+] Read More

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Pretty Boy Floyd were a hair metal quartet on the glammier end of the spectrum, consisting of singer Steve Summers, guitarist Kristy Majors, bassist Vinnie Chas, and drummer Karl Kane. The group's debut album, Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz, was released in 1989, but did not manage to crack Billboard's Top 100 albums chart, and Pretty Boy Floyd... [+] Read More

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Ratt's brash, melodic heavy metal made the Los Angeles quintet one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-'80s. The group had its origins in the '70s group Mickey Ratt, which had evolved into Ratt by 1983; at that time the band featured vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Robbin Crosby, guitarist Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier, and... [+] Read More

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Ratt's brash, melodic heavy metal made the Los Angeles quintet one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-'80s. The group had its origins in the '70s group Mickey Ratt, which had evolved into Ratt by 1983; at that time the band featured vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Robbin Crosby, guitarist Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier, and... [+] Read More

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Known best for their 1984 anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and the 1990 ballad "Wind of Change," the German rockers the Scorpions have sold over 22-million records, making them one of the most successful rock bands to ever come out of Continental Europe.


Originally formed in 1969 by Rudolf Schenker, the original lineup... [+] Read More

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Known best for their 1984 anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and the 1990 ballad "Wind of Change," the German rockers the Scorpions have sold over 22-million records, making them one of the most successful rock bands to ever come out of Continental Europe.


Originally formed in 1969 by Rudolf Schenker, the original lineup... [+] Read More

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Skid Row was one of the last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s. They were also arguably the last of such bands to have any originality. While their 1989 self-titled release used standard pop-metal riffs and contained a handful of generic lyrics, 1991's Slave to the Grind and 1995's Subhuman Race... [+] Read More

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Some people who have grown up in a post-'80s generation fail to recognize the rock group Spinal Tap, and the reason they probably don't is because the band is totally fictitious. Spinal Tap comes from the 1984 satirical movie This Is Spinal Tap, a Rob Reiner film starring actors/comedians Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer. The... [+] Read More

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All right! The Batallion was formed in the summer of 2006 with the intention of reawakening the spirit of classic oldschool deaththrash. All members are from Bergen, Norway and are well established metalheads and have played in some of the most legendary bands from Norway.The Batallion is NOT a "project" band, but a band totally independent from... [+] Read More

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For metalheads who thought bands like W.A.S.P. and Mötley Crüe just weren't menacing or heavy enough, White Zombie was the perfect antidote for a period of time during the mid- to late '90s, as they fused B-horror movie visuals and subject matter with heavy music and growled vocals. And while White Zombie was originally thought to be a... [+] Read More

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