Led by former Ratt vocalist Marq Torien, this L.A. metal band also included ex-King Kobra guitarist Mick Sweda, bassist Lonnie Vincent, and drummer Jimmy D'Anda. Their style was strongly influenced by bands such as AC/DC and Van Halen, later going in a bluesier direction. Torien's personality often drew comparisons to David Lee Roth. The group... [+] Read More

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For a brief time in the early '90s, the supergroup Damn Yankees enjoyed a considerable amount of success on the AOR circuit. Comprised of guitarist Ted Nugent, Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, Night Ranger bassist/vocalist Jack Blades, and drummer Michael Cartellone, the group came in on the tail-end of the heyday of polished pop-metal, and... [+] 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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At a time when pop was dominated by dance music and pop-metal, Guns N' Roses brought raw, ugly rock & roll crashing back into the charts. They were not nice boys; nice boys don't play rock & roll. They were ugly, misogynist, and violent; they were also funny, vulnerable, and occasionally sensitive, as their breakthrough hit, "Sweet Child O'... [+] Read More

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Jon Bon Jovi spent the years from 1983 to 1988 establishing his hard rock band Bon Jovi as one of the most popular in the Western world with multi-platinum albums such as Slippery When Wet and New Jersey. He then put the band on hold and made a solo album, Blaze of Glory (July, 1990), whose songs were inspired by the motion picture Young Guns... [+] 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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Mr. Big was one of the few "shredder" heavy metal bands (translation: its members were very proficient at their instruments) that realized that songcraft was more important than just simply playing a thousand notes per minute. The seeds for the group were sown when bass player extraordinaire Billy Sheehan (often called the Eddie Van Halen of the... [+] Read More

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In a decade fueled by party anthems and power ballads, Poison found a high amount of popularity, with only Bon Jovi and Def Leppard outselling them. While the group had a long string of hits, they soon became just as renowned for their stage show, and continued to be a major attraction over the course of their first three albums. Although their... [+] Read More

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In a decade fueled by party anthems and power ballads, Poison found a high amount of popularity, with only Bon Jovi and Def Leppard outselling them. While the group had a long string of hits, they soon became just as renowned for their stage show, and continued to be a major attraction over the course of their first three albums. Although their... [+] 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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Several years after splitting from Journey, keyboardist Gregg Rolie launched a solo career, before co-founding a similarly styled, mainstream pop outfit -- the Storm. Although the group failed to match Journey's monstrous commercial success, they did score a hit single with the track "I've Got a Lot to Learn About Love," which hit number 13 on... [+] Read More

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A former member of Alice Cooper's band, bassist Kip Winger formed his own group in 1986; in addition to vocalist/bassist Winger, the group featured guitarist Reb Beach, bassist Paul Taylor, and drummer Rod Morgenstein, formerly of the Dixie Dregs. Taking its name from its leader, Winger specialized in the stylish pop-metal that sent Bon Jovi and... [+] Read More

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