Things You Just Don't Say To Metalheads

Let's face it- we live in a world where everybody talks about how open-minded they are, and how they don't believe in stereotypes, but metalheads are still mocked and are still prejudiced against by a good percentage of ignorant people. Such is hypocrisy at the finest, and I hear statements like the following far too often than I should for a world where everybody allegedly respects the tastes and beliefs of others.

1. "Are you drunk or stoned?"

Everybody has bad days or days when they are not feeling well and this is not a nice thing to say to anybody, even somebody who has a reputation for being this way. It is a harsh character judgement and implies you abuse substances to avoid coping with reality. Especially to a metalhead, this is a tremendous insult because it implies that you are a directionless degenerate just because of the music you listen to. Let me just say this, Kanye West is more likely to provide the soundtrack to a teenager's dropping out of high school than Black Sabbath.

2. "It's only metal. It doesn't mean anything."

Music is a source of inspiration and guidance to everybody to some degree. Just because somebody listens to metal doesn't mean that they aren't getting as many morals out of their music as somebody who listens to gospel music. It's all in your interpretation of things. 

3. "This song was written a long time ago. It's content is obsolete."

Many challenges faced by humanity nowadays were the same ones faces by humans a long time ago. The song might be old but the issues addressed remain the same. Why is the speakers voice any less important just because it occurred some time ago?

4. "Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a dove/bit the head off a bat/urinated on the Alamo/etc."

Freaking get over it. Did it hurt YOU in any way?

5. "This music is terribly satanic."

Nobody took satanism seriously. It was all a part of an image and of publicity stunts. Many metal musicians come from strictly religious and proper households and maintained that lifestyle in their free time.

"I don't wear a pentagram because I worship the devil. I wear a pentagram to piss people off." -Nikki Sixx

6. "Rock stars exploit women."

It isn't exploitation if it's voluntary. Don't judge the whole sex of females by the actions of these women, look at them as individuals whose actions are only affecting themselves.

7. "I don't understand the makeup/hair/costumes."

I don't understand Lady Gaga's meat dress or why all of One Direction dress the same way.

8. "Musicians make more money than they deserve."

A large percentage of musicians donate money to charity or even run their own organizations. Tons of them are spokespeople for important causes. Not to mention they work their asses off touring and making a name out of themselves and that they deserve any penny they get, and not to mention the fact that not all of them have as much money as you'd think they do.

9. "Pop music is better."

Playing good heavy metal requires skill, talent and effort. Pop music requires computer and some geek who knows how to use one. Any questions?

10. "You must not be all too smart because you listen to this kind of music."

I have no idea how metal fans became associated with stupidity because, I can assure you, the grand majority are not. Ones taste in music does not necessarily reflect their IQ.

Metalhead prejudice still an issue

     I don't mean to sound like yet another teenage metal fan who is convinced the world disrespects them because they are young, listen to heavy metal and wear a lot of black, by saying that adults in the world do not understand us and think we're a problem when we're really not, but well, it's true- the world does have a terribly unfair paradigm of metalheads as being bad news, and I'm really sick of it.

     I fall victim to this kind of prejudice every day. When I go out with my parents, they tell me to look respectable and to act well behaved and like a good girl. Especially when meeting people for the first time, they always yell at me to take my makeup off before we leave the house. The makeup in question here is not even heavy black eye makeup, but fun and goofy stuff like say, silver or gold eyeliner. Harmless. Yet even my own parents think that the way I appear on the outside and come across superficially is more important than my right to express myself and my individuality by the way I dress.

     Sorry for the rant here, but after all, this blog is called Rock and Roll Ramblings, and was named that for a reason! And this is hardly a personal rant either because I know a lot of people go through the same thing. I am far from being alone. 

     Beyond my parents, the teachers hate it too. As can be expected from people who have such little life experience and brain power as teachers, they're practically afraid of anything that moves, and the idea of an independently thinking individual human being in the public school system is enough to positively drive them up the wall. One of my teachers laughs outright at my outfits when she passes me in the halls, she marks my papers with an air of contempt, and tries to cut me down whenever she can- all her efforts are wasted because she never got to my head, and all her behaviour is made even more senseless because I am the top student in her class, and my grade is so much higher than everybody else's that I'm keeping the whole class average way up. She raises her eyebrows at the Mötley Crüe shirts and holds it against me, even though I am not a troublemaker, and I never started the problems in her classroom. She just always looks at me first when things go wrong.

     So why is everybody so fast to point their fingers at the kid who listens to metal when things go wrong? Do kids who listen to metal and dress and act the part actually burn down buildings, or worship Satan? Do people honestly still believe that musicians sell their souls for talent and that rock and roll is the devil's music? Can you give me some good examples of times when heavy metal music pursuaded people to do horrible, nasty things? This and so many other questions unanswered are the reason why I'm not asleep right now even though I really ought to be.

     I'm not a bad person. I'm a very, very good person. People who look past my exterior and my lifestyle and who know ME, not my taste in pop culture, well, know that I'm a loyal, happy person who will do anything for a friend and whom has helped out many people in need in her seventeen short years on the planet. People who are able to ignore my love for heavy metal love me. Everybody who actually knows me loves me. But too many people won't have anything to so with me because they find the idea of somebody who listens to metal too intimidating, and they think I'm dangerous. All those people who don't get to know people for being metalheads are truly depriving themselves of wonderful experiences and friendships, because I know what I'm talking about when I say that metalheads are among the best people you'll ever meet in your life, and if you don't believe me, it's your problem, your loss, and not ours.

Why Hair Metal is Better than Thrash Metal

Don't get me wrong, not all hair metal is good music and not all thrash is bad music. I'm a fan of both genres, thrash metal is still newer to me but I love it. And what this article means to say is not really to express a personal opinion stating that hair metal is better than thrash metal, because I do not feel that way, I just wanted to supply some counter-arguments to the belief that hair metal sucks and that thrash should be acclaimed. Cause I hear that too much, hair metal gets too much unnecessary hate, and some thrash metal gets inexplicably high amounts of love in comparison, so I wanted to offer some points that would even out the score a little bit.

     First of all, hair metal songs are much more song oriented and individual songs do a better job of maintaining song individuality and recognizability. For example, if you hear a hair metal song on the radio, most likely the name of the song and band will come to mind instantly if it is a song you are even somewhat familiar with. Thrash metal songs individually are much less distinctive. Listening to a thrash metal album, you may not even be aware when a song ends and when a new one beings. You hear a thrash song on the radio and you may be able to identify the genre or maybe the band if their musicianship is distinctive enough, but the songs don't have a particular sense of individual identity. With the low growling vocals and long guitar solos and lack of any catchy choruses or vocal melodies, it can be hard for any people, music experts to amateurs, to tell the difference. 

     Hair metal generally is also a lot more positive. It tends to focus on the happy, good things in life, it says that life is a nice big fun party and you should go enjoy it to it's maximum. Maybe it preaches some irresponsibility as we'll, but overall it is a kind of music which celebrates the fun and joy of life. It brings out better moods and more optimistic feelings than thrash metal does. Let's face it- thrash metal is not something you would play at a wedding or at a good natured party. Its main themes include death, violence, and pure negativity. That definitely has it's time and place, as anything does, but good feelings are generally a lot healthier than bad ones and that is a major difference between the two bands.

     And now let's get superficial. Visually, hair metal was maybe the greatest genre of music that ever lived. Taking influences from Shock Rock and the early 70s glam rock, hair metal produced a look that was fun, colorful, and exciting. I'm not the only person out there who could watch hair metal videos all day long and not get tired! The musicians were mostly pretty gorgeous and I love the hair- admit it, you do too. The image of these long haired and happy looking musicians making videos that make you laugh and entertain you and being out such positive vibes, the idea of these lucky Californian boys living the dream life, it really is great. It's a great music scene visually, the visual aspect is probably greater than the music, and let's face it, the image does take a large role in a band's success and fan appeal. The whole image of thrash metal was much darker and less inviting. Hair metal said "Come party with us, we'll have a great time," while thrash metal said "Get out of here, we don't care about you." Which reception do you prefer?

      I shall remind you again that in this argument I am neutral and take no side, I love thrash and hair metal, but hearing so much about how hair metal bands are garbage and so much praise for thrash is starting to bug me and I wanted to make sure some good counter arguments on the topic were made. But both genres were great and should be loved. And really, I still don't understand how music as positive as hair metal can be so hated, and as negative as thrash can be so loved. So ironic...     

      

The Hair Metal Hierarchy: 80s Bands From Best To Worst

Hair metal is most certainly a genre of music which arouses some very mixed emotions from people. It is both a very well-loved.and very well hated category, called everything from fun to cheesy and plastic and irrelevant. Overall, I really did like it... Some of it. It's definite though, that not all hair metal bands were created equally, and so, in my humble opinion, I rank them as follows, from great to... Not so much.
1. Def Leppard
Besides being pretty boys, these guys made great albums, awesome songs, and a great live act. It wasn't just hair metal. It was good. Gods Of War one of the most underrated rock songs ever in my opinion.
2. Guns N' Roses
They didn't last long or do many albums, but what they gave us was goldwn, high energy, and very substantial. I'd say it really is a toss-up between them and Def Leppard for first, but I gave Lep the nod because they lasted longer and survived some of the worst hardships to ever hit a rock band.
3. Whitesnake
Whitesnake only really went Hair Metal after 1987. In 1978 they were formed as a blues rock band, and although they never lost their blues roots entirely, they drifted farther and farther away from them as each album grew poppier.and poppier. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing though. In the late 80s, they gave us songs like Now You're Gone, Is This Love, Still of the Night, and, of course, Here I Go Again.
4. Motley Crue
I don't know where to begin here. Motley Crue, in my opinion, were quite an amazing band in many ways. They wrote really, really good songs and put out five of the best albums. They were gritty and real, (Dr. Feelgood) but happy and fun (Girls, Girls, Girls) and sometimes even terribly sad and insightful (You're All I Need.) It's been said that they were incompetent musicians (not true), that they were all wasted (true) assholes (not true) and that everybody who knows Vince Neil has a problem with him, but I can't find anything in my heart for these guys except for love, respect, and absolute admiration.
5. Cinderella
Don't laugh because I put them so high. Cinderella were good. Really, really good. Tom Keifer had an awesome voice, and their music always stayed original.
6.Dokken
My top 5 are the bands who I say are "more than just hair metal" as a general thing. After that, there is a decline in quality and more cheesiness associated to the bands here, but there are still quite a few very good bands here. Dokken had lots and lots of good songs, very talented members, and some of the greatest, most colorful videos I've ever seen. I love It's Not Love, In My Dreams, Burning Like A Flame and Alone Again especially.
7. Tesla
Band featuring two of the most underrated guitarists ever, Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, this group  from Sacramento made music which really wasn't hair metal so much as it was rock and roll. Modern Day Cowboy is one of the sickest rock tunes from the 80s, as Love Song was one of, if not the, greatest ballads.
8. Poison
The Kings of the Sunset Strip had a sound that was very reminiscent of the early 70s glam rock scene. The songwriting ability wasn't always all there, but the sound and the spirit sure was.
9. Skid Row
Fronted by one of rock and roll's most exciting characters, Sebastian Bach, Skid Row could be a bit noisy at times, and a bit sappy at others, but always kept a great attitude and sense of humour about life and about themselves.
10. Hanoi Rocks
Bad boys from Finland who started it all... And never got the credit. Favorite band of Guns N' Roses, particularly Izzy Stradlin'.
11. Bon Jovi
Most people would rank them higher than I did, probably, I put them here because they just did so many bad songs and too many ballads.
12. RATT
Sense of humor for miles, these guys had. Attitude and swagger to the 11 level and their tough-but-fun image made them well-loved stars. Very distinguishable sound and some terrific anthems like "I Want a Woman" and "Round and Round."
13.Quiet Riot
A good example of a "launching-pad" kind of band (QR produced Rudy Sarzo and Randy Rhoads), QR were sometimes flawed and didn't see the spotlight long (one huge album, Metal Health, and then completely forgotten about) but they were definitely one of the founding fathers of their genre. Fabulous guitar work from Randy Rhoads and, in turn, Carlos Cavazo, and some great songs, like the classic Bang Your Head.
14.Warrant
Possibly the cheesiest of the bands of their time, Warrant did seem to be in it, more or less, for the money. However, they were very talented musicians and performers, and some of their songs, like Down Boys, are ACTUALLY pretty good.
15.Great White
Another good example of a hair metal band with a strong blues influence, Great White had to work very hard for a long time to make some recognition, and from there it didn't last long. A shame that they're now best known for a crappy cover of Ian Hunter's Once Bitten Twice Shy and the bar fire incident, when they were quite talented. House of Broken Love is.easily one of the best guitar songs ever.
16.Danger Danger
One of the only two  hair metal bands from New York City (White Lion being the other) and possibly the five most gorgeous guys to ever.make music together, Danger Danger lost a lot of respect from critics by calling their first two singles "Bang Bang" and "Naughty.Naughty." Those were good songa though, and the band's premature split due to legal issues was a crying shame. Singer Ted Poley went on to record music for Sega video games, and guitarist Andy Timmons is still very active in the music industry to this day.
17.W.A.S.P.
More of a farce than anything else, W.A.S.P. were never meant to be taken seriously. Neither was everything Chris Holmes did in hid whole life, ever. One of the best stage acts ever.
18.Autograph
"Turn Up The Radio" is definitely a contender for Best Hair Metal Song, and their two records were very good. I'd put them higher if they were around longer.
19. Lizzy Borden
Their music is pretty sick and outrageous. Met Lizzy at a bar in LA a while ago too, he's a fantastic guy. Personal favourite is "Love You To Pieces."
20. Kix
One thing I really like about Kix is that they are extremely non pretentious. They were simply a very good band with a lot of original songs and pretty solid albums. Don't Close Your Eyes is a killer anti-suicide song.
21.LA Guns
Tracii Guns gets some credit from me for being able to look so sexy with such a goofy hairstyle. The band most often known for being the launching pad for Guns N' Roses (Steven Adler, Duff McKagan and Slash were all former members) never became known for much more than the ballad "The Ballad of Jayne," but if you dig a little deeper into their music you'll find some excellent rock tunes. I love the end solo in "Rip and Tear."
22. Faster Pussycat
These guys were a lot of fun, above all else, they were fun. House of Pain is a contended for one of the best hair metal ballads, a touching song about having a poor relationship with your father. Killer chorus in that one.
23.Slaughter
Personally I thought that Mark Slaughter had a very cool voice, a little bit like Jon Bon Jovi and a little bit like Tom Keifer. I remember hearing "Fly to the Angels" for the first time and just thinking to myself, Man, who is that guy singing? "Angels" was a very well-written song and I'm glad for them that they had a shining moment, but sadly they didn't really have much else going for them. Some of the opening tracks on "The Wild Life" had a good bite to them though.
24. Stryper
I won't start going on about Stryper now cause I have been talking about them a lot lately, so if you want to read something about them, scroll down and find my article "God Bless Stryper."
25.Mr. Big
All the songs you probably know by Mr. Big- "To Be With You," "Just Take My Heart," and a cover of "Wild World," suck pretty hard. I'm sorry. So why are they occupying a decent spot still on this list? Because they were really quite good, again, underneath the surface. "Daddy, Lover, Brother, Little Boy" and "The Whole World Is Gonna Know" were half decent. Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert were undeniable masters of their instruments, and although Eric Martin's voice is not to everyone's liking, it does justice to their style.
26. Vinny Vincent Invasion
What I have to say about VVI is a little bit like my opinion on Autograph, they were good, they just didn't last long and have many good songs. Bassist Dana Strum and Mark Slaughter went on to form, of course, Slaughter, and guitarist Vinny played for KISS for a while.
27.White Lion
White Lion weren't all bad... Mike Tramp wasn't bad at all... But they just wasted a lot of time being sappy to new levels. "Lights and Thunder" and "Little Fighter" were cool enough, and Vito Bratta was an exceptionally talented guitarist, but "When the Children Cry" and "Till Death Do Us Part" are the kind of thing that make me run from the room screaming.
28.Wildside
Wildside weren't bad at all, but they blew what would have been success with bad timing. Their first album came out in 1992, when hair metal was practically dead, and they never really saw the limelight despite working with Andy Johns and Jim Valance. Singer Drew Hanna was slightly reminiscent of Sebastian Bach, and came up with some decent hooks, but overall his voice had a bit of an annoying quality.
29.Van Hagar
I didn't include Van Halen in this list because although they definitely helped define the sound of hair metal, they really are a straightforward rock band to me. When David Lee Roth quit and wad replaced by *choke, gag* Sammy Hagar, they became an entirely different band. I can't call the music they made Van Halen because it was so far removed from their classic sound. So this new band I call Van Hagar, who were, ultimately, forgettable enough to make them the second lowest-ranking band on this list. So who's at the bottom then?...
30.Extreme
The fact that there is a hair metal band ranked below Van Hagar is cause for great alarm. As a musician and lover of musicians, I strongly dislike it when musicians trash-talk other musicians. So it is with no regret that I trash-talk Extreme, because I do not consider these rude, boring bozos to be musicians so much as they are disgraces. Get The Funk Out is rude and annoying, Hole Hearted gives lame a whole new meaning, and More Than Words can put Keith Richards and Ron Woods to sleep in the middle of a joking session while snorting exceptionnally large amounts of coke.