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BY WILLIAM RESTREPO | |
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 HISTORY OF HAIR METAL | ||
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 Hair
Metal is a derisive term applied to the slick, pretty, and
pop-oriented heavy metal and hard-rock bands of the late '80s. These
bands expanded the approach of the loud but safe arena-rock bands,
only they had a more distinctive visual image because they were
living in the post-MTV era. Wearing flashy clothing, heavy makeup,
and large, teased hair, the bands had an appearance that was more
distinctive than their music, though both their look and their sound
became a curse in the early '90s. After Nirvana
brought grunge and alternative music to the top of the charts in
1991, hair metal bands quickly died, losing all of their popular
support. Some tried to change their sound, while others struggled on
with their trademark sound to no avail. Though some bands still
survived in the mid-'90s, they had adopted a harder sound than they
had in the '80s, but their fondness for pop hooks and melodies had
not faded away.
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