The Spectacular Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Hair Metal

by Christopher P. Hilton

“For both devoted fans and people who just hum the tunes, this is the definitive account of Hair Metal's history, including all of the behind-the-scenes drama and spectacle—a well-written and exciting adventure.” —Jonathan P. Brazee, USA Today Bestselling writer and multiple Nebula and Dragon Award finalist. An intoxicating chronicle detailing the sensational arc of one of the history’s most polarizing and successful musical genres—the ‘80s-born hard rock and heavy metal circus affectionately known as Hair Metal. Spotlighting bands such as Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, and many others, prepare for an electrifying journey of enormous highs, unspeakable lows, and the improbable comeback of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most extraordinary and influential eras. Rising from the gutters of Los Angeles in the early ‘80s, an explosive new style of music was unrelentingly thrust upon the world. Fusing the rebellious aggression of traditional heavy metal with upbeat hooks and melodies, “Hair Metal” would emerge over the coming decade as one of the most successful and dominant forces the music industry had ever seen. Defined by shredding guitars, flamboyant frontmen, fist-pumping anthems, and an extravagant fashion sense, bands like Def Leppard and Guns N’ Roses dominated the landscape, selling millions of albums and playing to sold-out arenas of frenzied fans across the globe. “Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” was taken to new extremes as excess in all forms ruled supreme in one gloriously outrageous celebration. Then, seemingly out of nowhere in the early ‘90s, Hair Metal violently imploded in a stunningly mind-blowing fall from grace. The genre struggled with near-extinction for the better part of the decade as Grunge served as a new God to worship, representing the complete antithesis of everything ‘80s rock had come to symbolize. Many hair bands futility attempted to change with the times; most simply disintegrated. Finally, at the turn of the century, Hair Metal miraculously sprung back to a renewed lease on life, rising from the ashes and establishing a stable platform upon which it has proudly stood to service its legion of devoted followers for the past twenty years. Strap in for Hair Metal’s thrilling ride, with an in-depth look at the music, artists, and behind-the-scenes stories comprising an extraordinary era that impacted millions of lives. A time when real-life rock ‘n’ roll was truly more remarkable than fiction.  “Truly spectacular!...A healthy dose of trivia, stories, and statistical information, with many fine features that add to the overall impact. For fans of this music, I cannot recommend this book enough, not only for true fans of the genre, but also more casual observers. It is fun, engaging, and very well done—it is about time someone wrote this fine tribute to Hair Metal!” —Metal-Rules website “Well-written, featuring a ton of bands and albums from a much maligned yet important genre of music. If you want to gain some extra knowledge or find some band to (re)discover…this is the book for you!” — FocusOnMetal.blogspot website “Some great elements…a fun, strong read!” —SleazeRoxx website

448 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2020

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book. It was a great journey from the beginning of “hair metal” in the 1980s through the dark days of the 1990s to its return in the 2000s and continued existence up to 2019. The author delivering a very readable, easily digested and quite informative overview of the entire genre and while he spends most of his time focused on the big name artists (which is understandable) and the most important releases ( in his opinion) of each year, less well known artists get their time in the spotlight or at least a mention.

For me personally (as an unapologetic Gen Xer, 80s teenager and hair metal fan)this book was not only a great trip down memory lane but also a journey of discovery, as I’ve now found old and new hair metal bands I was unfamiliar with and can now check out on my favorite streaming service or YouTube. Definitely recommend this one for fans of the music genre.

[Greg Van Vorhis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This dude speaks my language. I don’t understand the fascination with Enuff Z’Nuff, but holy crap, he reminded me of some amazing bands and turned me on to some new stuff I didn’t know existed. I had to make a list of albums to listen to. Check this out. It’s a great - though not complete - history of arena rock/hair metal.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay it was fun to relive some of the music, and the coverage of each 'hair metal" band's path from the early 80s until now was informative. I would like to know more about the author, what makes him an expert on the genre. Early in the book he says he's interviewed several of these musicians and is not just some extreme glam fan, but I never got a feel for what his credentials are. (At first Google all that comes up is this book). He expresses some strong opinions about albums, recording styles, guitar chops...all this makes me more curious as to his background. I was distracted by some blatant errors (not a Poison myself, but come on, you can't write a hair metal book and misspell Rikki Rockett). It's pretty apparent that the author has his favorite bands from the era and is quite loyal to them. I would recommend this to my rocker friends for the trip down musical memory lane, but to take it with a grain of salt.