Glam Arena Rock
tagStarted 1983Peak 1986-1990Last big hit 1992
Located in 1 route
Sleaze-and-sparkle arena rock: teased hair, spandex and lip gloss over big riffs, party-anthem and power-ballad choruses, gang vocals and gated drums. The Sunset Strip aesthetic — boys, bars and bravado — rendered at stadium scale with hooks built for MTV. Glossy, hedonistic, theatrical and relentlessly catchy.
History
Exploded out of LA's Sunset Strip after 1983 as Mötley Crüe, Poison and Cinderella fused glam image with arena-rock hooks and MTV ubiquity. Def Leppard and Bon Jovi pushed the polished version to massive sales through the late '80s; the scene crashed hard around 1991-92 as grunge upended rock fashion and values.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glam_metal
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_rock
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/glam-metal-ma0000011921