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No one knows metal better than Lucas Aykroyd, author of 1984: The Ultimate Van Halen Trivia Book and reviewer for the Georgia Straight, Classic Rock, and Exclaim! Here he picks the five best pop-metal LPs from the decade time forgot Click to view Top 5 Eighties Heavy Metal LPs.
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From Darkness to Light: Metal Goes Pop |
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| Until the 1980s, "heavy metal" and "pop" were rarely mentioned in the same breath among music fans. But today, 80s pop-metal is a fondly remembered sub-genre, and it's easy and affordable to shop for the period's greatest albums on the Internet. |
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 In the early years, heavy metal played up its outsider status. It originated in the 1970s with British groups such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Judas Priest. Those bands produced a dark, crushing sound typified by screamingly high vocals, overdriven guitar riffs, hammering bass lines, and bombastic drums. Lyrical subjects were equally dark, from mental illness (Sabbath's "Paranoid") to Viking invasions (Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song") to infamous murderers (Priest's "The Ripper").
The typical fan of bands like these was a young, long-haired working-class man, wearing denim and leather (the uniform that another British group, Saxon, celebrated in one of its biggest hits). The music appealed to him due to both its primeval power and its escapist flavour, enabling him to transcend his humdrum existence.
But the sound and style changed substantially in the 1980s. Much of the new decade's mainstream heavy metal was, for want of a better term, more "girl-friendly". Production values got slicker and keyboards featured more prominently in the mix. Bands outfitted themselves more flamboyantly on stage. Instead of nodding solemnly to a 10-minute epic about battling orcs from the depths of hell, listeners were more likely to sing along with a 4-minute single written in a "happy" major key about partying on Saturday night at the local beach or bar. You could envision yourself fitting into the scene without requiring a heavily thumbed copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings as an accessory. |
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 The band most responsible for shifting the balance of metal power from England to America was Van Halen, whose self-titled 1978 debut album sold more than 10 million copies. The antics and acrobatics of lead singer David Lee Roth (who pursued a solo career later in the 80s) and the soaring, virtuoso playing of guitarist Eddie Van Halen became models for other metal bands to follow. The California quartet embarked on one sold-out arena tour after another, building a mainstream audience of both men and women, and hit the charts with power-pop numbers like "Dance The Night Away" "Jump" and "Panama."
Def Leppard ("Pour Some Sugar On Me"), Bon Jovi ("You Give Love A Bad Name"), and Guns N' Roses ("Paradise City") all owed significant debts to Van Halen in terms of their sound, stage presentation, and overall image. The same held true for more glammed-up acts like Motley Crue ("Girls, Girls, Girls"), Ratt ("Round And Round"), and Poison ("Every Rose Has Its Thorn").
Pop-metal's commercial peak arrived circa 1987. Subsequently, there was increasing criticism that the scene had become too commercialised, that artists were more concerned about styling their hair and make-up (sometimes to ludicrous degrees) and enjoying the Hollywood lifestyle than continuing to make the explosive, invigorating, and uplifting music that had defined the mid-80s heyday of pop-metal.
The emergence of the Seattle-based grunge movement, led by Nirvana and Pearl Jam in the early 1990s, is generally credited with having killed off the pop-metal genre. But of course, the passage of time has allowed for a nostalgic resurgence. In the new millennium, there's no reason why you should deny yourself the pleasures of pop-metal's oh-so-fun-past. |
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To buy any of these products try one of the following retailers. They are all competitively priced and reliable:
Amazon.co.uk - UK arm of the world’s largest record store
Amazon.com - US arm of the world’s largest record store
UK Shop Search - Click here for more UK retailers
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