10 Underrated Hair Metal Bands That Deserved to Be Way Bigger

“Hair metal” is not an actual genre. You know it, we know it and the myriad bands that got unfairly lumped into the category know it.

That said, the pejorative phrase serves a purpose here. Critics coined the term “hair metal” as a shorthand dismissal of the countless copycat hard rock bands that cluttered the Sunset Strip and ruled the airwaves throughout much of the ’80s. Broadly speaking, it was not a subgenre that rewarded originality. So it makes sense that many of the artists on our list of 10 Underrated Hair Metal Bands That Deserved to Be Way Bigger were also the ones that went against the grain.

Whatever you want to call it — glam metal, pop-metal, party metal — the hallmarks of hair metal are consistent: massive guitar riffs, blazing solos, debauched lyrics and sticky, radio-friendly hooks. At its best, it could be pure escapist bliss. At its worst, it was garish, contrived, lightweight fluff.

As the ’80s progressed and the L.A. hard rock scene became increasingly saturated, the latter category began to outweigh the former. The writing was on the wall long before Nirvana sounded the hair metal death knell with 1991’s Nevermind. But even as the genre hurtled toward irrelevance, several bands eked out terrific music that failed to get the recognition it deserved.

Some of the bands on this list tried to shake up the hair metal formula with blues, Southern rock or heavy metal elements and floundered for their efforts. Others suffered from mismanagement or general lack of support when they needed it most. Others, still, had their careers cut tragically short and subsequently watched their acolytes take their sound and aesthetic to staggering commercial heights.

Whatever the case, many of these bands retain cult followings today, and for good reason. Read on to see our list of 10 Underrated Hair Metal Bands That Deserved to Be Way Bigger.