Best Hair Metal albums of all time-Honorable mentions

As I announced the other day I will be tackling a top 25 hair metal albums of time list. Over the last few days I listened to albums and made the list. However I decided to put out some honorable mentions first and then tomorrow and I'll begin the countdown with numbers 25-21.Here in no order are the honorable mentions.

Spread Eagle-s/t (1990)
Generally I think hair metal was getting weaker in the 90's, but these guys were one of the exceptions.

Black-n-Blue-s/t (1984)
Now they may have made the top 25 list had their debut album been more like their demo. Still a very good effort even if some of the lyrics are really bad.

Wrathchild-Stakk Attack- Do you want my love- twelve inch (1983) and s/t (1984)
Both the single and their debut LP were rough and simple. However these guys don't always get the credit they deserve for being very influential on this style.

Kix-s/t (1981)
Usually this band gets far more credit than they deserve, but their debut was fun. Also because I grew up in Maryland the local radio stations played songs off this album like every hour or so in the 80's.

Dangerous Toys-s/t (1989)
As much just straight out ass kicking rock and roll as it is hair metal.

Pretty Boy Floyd-Leather boys with electric toys (1989)
Totally unoriginal album. However it's catchy and slick, which is why it still holds well today.

Alleycat Scratch-Dead Boys in trash city (1993)
Kind of like Poison done by guys that could play their instruments.

Bastardz-Jungle Outlawz(2008)
Wait, a hair band with a decent rhythm section? How'd that happen? Oh, I see, it wasn't done in the 1980's.

Cowboy Prostitutes-Swingin' at the gates (2008)
So much attention has been given to the Swedish glam explosion in recent years. Yet some fine glam bands have come out of Italy too. This is the best one I have heard. This album came so close to making my top 25. Any young band wanting to play glam should really hear this album.

Crashdiet-Rest in sleaze (2005)
The best of the bands from the Swedish glam explosion.

***I'll begin the countdown of the top 25 hair metal albums of all time tomorrow.

Spread Eagle-s/t

1990/2006/2008
Lovember


The debut from New York's Spread Eagle was originally released back in 1990, then it was re-issued in 2006 and when I saw being distributed again in September so I decided to get a copy to check it out. I remember seeing a few half-page ads for it in the metal magazines back in 1990. I don't know if I read negative reviews or if I just couldn't find it at my local record stores back, but for whatever reason I never got around to hearing it back then. In more recent years I began to see a lot of very positive reviews on it so I decided to check it out and see what all of the fuss was about. "Broken City" comes bursting on with more guitar changes in the first thirty seconds than many of their peers had in a whole four minute song. The groove is undeniable as they just ride this one out of the gate and hang on as it bucks and kicks all the way. Tracks like "Back on the bitch" and "Switchblade Serenade" are a bit more typical of the times, but just active enough to rise up and stand out. My two biggest complaints about hard rock back then and in general would be that they settle for bland rhythm sections and that the guitarists either can't or won't just rip loose on the rhythms enough. The rhythm section of Rob Deluca on bass and Tommi Gallo on drums are certainly well above the average and not afraid to step up and be heard. Guitarist Paul Di Bartolo is a monster just peeling off riff after riff with plenty of skill and precision with everything focused towards making the songs stronger as a whole. Vocalist Ray West is right in there screaming all the way and leading the charge. As a whole they remind me some of Skid Row, but more groove oriented and maybe a bit more versatile. Should Spread Eagle have been big? I wouldn't say that necessarily, but they probably should have gotten more notice than they did. Yet it was a crowded time with so many acts being signed at one point, it was inevitable that not everyone was going to emerge successful and sometimes it was just luck of the draw or having your single or video hit at the right time. However Spread Eagle debut stands out as an example of enjoyable hard rock of the time and it has aged rather well to boot.