Let's Talk '80s Metal

"Say what you want about the 80's but there will never be another era quite like it. Rock & Metal ruled the charts, arenas, magazines, television - the world. We were a part of that moment in music history. Lord willing, maybe we'll be a part of the next big rock movement. Stryper is alive & well!" -- Michael Sweet, Stryper, FB post 24 March 2018

The colors, the light shows, the hair, the outfits, and of course THE MUSIC! While it is true that I love blues, jazz, country, gospel, hymns, classic rock, hard rock, folk, and the pop songs of the '50s through the '80s, it is '80s metal that will always hold a special place in my heart. It is the first music that was truly my own and that I enjoyed in some of the most formative years of my life.

So let's take a look and a listen with some of the bands whose logos are featured here, starting, in no particular order, with Poison.  These guys were just straight up fun.  They had some of the biggest hair in the business, and "Nothin' But A Good Time" could well have been the anthem for the whole decade.

Although there was some bad blood between Poison and Mötley Crüe back in the day, which undoubtedly bumped record sales for both bands, it seems fitting to put them back-to-back here.  There's a lot to choose from in the Mötley catalog, but 1989's "Dr. Feelgood" has it all...the boys at their best and a video full of flames and plot straight out of Miami Vice.

Another anthem for the era could well have been "Cum On  Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot.  It's a song about loud music.  It's a song about noise.  It's a song about cranking those speakers to 11.  What's not to like?

Readers of this blog know how big a Stryper fan I am, and with a new album coming out on April 20, 2018, these guys are not just keeping the great music of the '80s alive but taking to new heights in the 21st century.  Here's the title track to their 1985 album Soldiers Under Command, a favorite for lead singer Michael Sweet and the album that introduced me to the yellow & black army.

I love that in the graphic above Stryper and Whitesnake are next to each other, since Whitesnake was my other favorite band in the '80s.  Their entire body of work, from 1978 onward, is killer blues-rock and metal, but nothing, and I mean nothing, slays quite like "Still of the Night" from their quintuple platinum 1987 album.

Lots of bands have had color words in their names, and White Lion joined the palette in the '80s.  I was fortunate to seem the open for Stryper in Louisville, Kentucky, and remember being blown away the gymnastic performance of bassist James LoMenzo, who went on to play with Michael Sweet on both Sweet & Lynch albums.

'80s metal may have been something of a boys' club, but Vixen proved that the ladies could rock just as hard.  Following the path paved by Heart and Joan Jett, they also showed why relationships were easier in the '80s...guys and girls could share Aqua Net!

Now, I've had a taste for the blues ever since I first started listening to rock, and no one plays blues-rock/metal better than Cinderella.  Once again I was fortunate to see them live when they opened for Bon Jovi in the spring of '87.  "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" from their sophomore album Long Cold Winter showcases Tom Keifer's unique, gravel-filled vocals at their peak.

Is there any song from the metallic '80s that has been played, sampled, used, and even mocked more than Europe's "The Final Countdown?"  Who cares!  It's a classic, and for some reason I will always connect it with a college visit to Indiana University when I was a senior in high school and was planning what classes I would take.  I must have been listening to it a lot then, and it sure takes me back.

I've always been a big Twisted Sister fan, and "We're Not Gonna Take It" is a straight up metal anthem.  It also connects with a special memory for me.  When I was in high school, some guys from the grade ahead of me had a band called Storm Front and they played this during one of our Latin Club meetings!

There are, of course, countless more great metal and rock songs from the '80s.  Share favorites and leave a link to the videos in the comments below.  As for me, if I ever get around to writing a will, I am going to insist that those who attend my funeral listen to a playlist of my favorites!