Glam metal
The glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a musical subgenre of heavy metal that combines sonic aspects of traditional heavy metal, hard rock, punk and pop, with the visual appearance of of glam rock. Influenced mostly by the American hard rock bands of the 1970s, the first glam artists appeared in the late 1970s and early 1970s in nightclubs around the world. Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, United States.
In the 1980s, glam metal positioned itself as one of the best-selling musical styles in the main world markets. The visual appearance of the musicians, the melodic hooks of the songs and, above all, the power ballads, helped several productions get to the top of the music charts and obtain some record certifications. However, in the early 1990s the subgenre unexpectedly lost its popularity due to the excesses of musicians and new musical styles that broke into the American media. An important factor in the decline of glam metal was the appearance of grunge, which with a simple aesthetic and lyrics oriented towards social discontent, conquered the public's musical tastes.
Since the late 1990s glam metal has experienced a resurgence in some countries, but without achieving the success of yesteryear. In addition, at the beginning of the 2000s, new bands with the main characteristics of the subgenre have appeared, both American and European, which have kept the subgenre current.
Features and terminology
Glam metal combines the sound of traditional heavy metal with elements of hard rock, punk, and pop genre influences. Many of the main bands of the subgenre emphasized the riff (repetitive melodic phrasing) and shred (complex style of instrumental playing) of electric guitar typical of heavy metal. metal, but the biggest attraction of glam was the catchy melodic hook borrowed from arena rock. He saw this notably in the power ballads: slow, emotional songs that had a soft introduction, but gradually picked up the pace to end with a heavy sound. These became the most commercially successful singles of the subgenre, because drew the attention of an audience that had not previously found any attraction to heavy metal, due in part to its lyrics about love and lust and because they were often directed at to a particular woman. On the other hand, aesthetically he was influenced by the glam rock of the 1970s such as the use of long and voluminous hair; Colorful clothing such as skintight leopard shirts and vests, tight-fitting cowboy boots, spandex or leather pants, and accessories such as jewelry and headbands, all accompanied by elaborate makeup. The visual appearance of the women Bandas caught the attention of MTV television producers, whose establishment coincided with the development of the subgenre. In turn, several musicians became quite famous in the 1980s due to their riotous lifestyle: surrounded by drugs, alcohol, prostitutes and massive late-night parties, which was widely covered by the tabloid press.
The sociologist Deena Weinstein in her book Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture points out the various terms used to refer to this more commercial form of heavy metal, which she groups as lite metal, something like soft metal in Spanish. These include, in addition to glam metal, hair metal, melodic metal, fake metal, bands poodle, nerf metal, pop metal or metal pop, the latter being dubbed in 1983 by critic and writer Philip Bashe for describe the style of bands like Van Halen and Def Leppard. According to the Allmusic website there is a difference between pop metal and hair metal, since the former refers to the hard rock and heavy metal bands that oriented their sound to the commercial circuit in the 1980s such as Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Europe, while the The second refers to the groups that had ostentatious clothing and heavy makeup, such as Poison and Mötley Crüe.
Sunset Strip
The glam metal scene was born in a strip located on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, north of Los Angeles, known as the Sunset Strip. Since the 1920s this sector of the city has been filled with bars, restaurants and casinos, which attracted the attention of an adult public mainly because they could consume alcoholic beverages in the back rooms of the venues during the period of dry law, popularly known as "prohibition". 1960 was a meeting point for the counterculture and folk rock artists, as it was also the scene of the riots that occurred in November 1966 that pitted the police against the hippies. At that same time and until the middle of the following decade, several rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Frank Zappa, The Doors or Love played in the various clubs on the Sunset Strip such as the Whiskey a Go Go, The Roxy, Pandora's Box, London Fog, Rodney's English Disc or, Gazzari's, Troubadour, The Starwood and Rainbow Bar and Grill, attracting a younger audience and wanting to have a good time. By the late 1970s, hardcore punk It was gaining popularity in Los Angeles, but club owners were afraid to book bands like Black Flag and Circle Jerks because of the riots they attracted and instead gave more space to the nascent subgenre, using a pay-per-play system.
Writer Ryan Moore in his book Sells Like Teen Spirit: Music, Youth Culture, and Social Crisis states that Van Halen was the first band of this new wave of artists to play on the Sunset Strip Little by little, an indefinite number of groups moved to that sector of the city to be able to play in the venues and thus achieve fame, as did Mötley Crüe, W.A.S.P., Mickey Ratt (later called Ratt) or Roxx Regime (later called Stryper). In this regard, Bret Michaels from Poison —a band founded in Pennsylvania— recounted how his reaction was when he arrived on the Sunset Strip in 1984: «When we finally got to the Strip it was Oh shit! we're going past the Rainbow, the Gazzari's, the Roxy, the Whiskey and there must be 100,000 people walking by." Stevie Rachelle of Tuff stated that: "Within one to three square miles on a Friday, Saturday by the night, there were probably 50 to 75 bands playing." The promotion of the concerts was essential for each band and therefore they printed lots of flyers that were distributed among the fans or were stuck on the poles, according to George Lynch of Dokken it was a competitive scene: «We put our posters on the telephone poles, [ and] the next band would come a couple of hours later, tear ours apart and put theirs on." Much of the music scene in Los Angeles during those years was recorded in the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years from 1988, directed by Penelope Spheeris.
History
Origins and predecessors
According to journalist and music historian Stephen Davis, the influences of glam metal go back to the American hard rock bands of the 1970s: Aerosmith, Kiss, Boston, Cheap Trick, New York Dolls, and to a lesser extent Alice Cooper and traditional European heavy metal. Two of the most influential aspects of the movement were the skills of guitarist Eddie Van Halen—who popularized the technique of tapping— and the histrionic presentation of singer David Lee Roth, both from the band Van Halen that debuted in 1978 in Los Angeles clubs. For its part, the Finnish group Hanoi Rocks, heavily influenced by the New York Dolls, it is considered to be the prototype for the visual appearance of the subgenre. While the 1981 album High 'n' Dry from the band Def Leppard —belonging to the new wave of British heavy metal— is, according to the book Allmusic Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop and Soul, the production which helped define the sound of hard rock developed in the 1980s.
First wave (1981-1985)
Although there is no exact date to define the beginning of glam metal, several critics state that it began between the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, writer Ryan Moore mentions that the vast majority of them agree that it began in 1981 when the first records related to the subgenre were released: Too Fast for Love by Mötley Crüe, Kix's self-titled album and the third production by Y&T, Earthshaker. Slowly glam metal attracted the attention of the American public, since from 1983 several artists entered the local count. Mötley Crüe's Too Fast for Love peaked at number 77 on the Billboard 200, while their second album Shout at the Devil from 1983 peaked at number 17. According to David Jeffries of the Allmusic site, the band increased their popularity in the rest of the country thanks to the constant rotation of the music video for "Looks That Kill" on MTV, because it allowed them to attract the attention of an audience that was not familiar with his career in Los Angeles clubs. Dawn Patrol, Night Ranger's debut album released in 1982, also entered the United States best-seller list (position 38), while "Don& #39;t Tell Me You Love Me" was until then the band's most successful single, reaching number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mean Streak by Y&T, Dokken's Breaking the Chains and Kix's Cool Kids also charted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 103, 136 and 177 respectively.
For its part, the third production of Quiet Riot, Metal Health, was the first heavy metal album to reach the first place of the most important musical chart of the United States. Supported by the singles "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)", which reached places 5 and 31 on the US singles chart, the album sold only in 1983 more of one million copies and until 1995 it was certified six times platinum by the American certifying body for selling more than six million copies. In that same year the British band Def Leppard released Pyromania, an album with a more melodic approach and accessible to radio stations, compared to the more aggressive sound of his previous productions. This change in style helped the album reach second place in just a couple of weeks in the Billboard 200 list and in just over a year sold more than six million copies only in the United States. The particular sound of Pyromania was especially emulated by emerging California bands, and its commercial success induced other existing bands to follow Def Leppard's example. Other artists who released productions related to glam in 1983 were Lita Ford with her first solo album, Out for Blood; Kiss with Lick It Up, the first production without her trademark facial makeup; and Pantera, who debuted with Metal Magic, with a very different sound from the one that made them popular in the following decade.
In 1984, the movement continued to rise in the United States with Night Ranger's second album, Midnight Madness—released in 1983 and #15 on the chart—and the single "Sister Christian" peaked at number 5 on the local singles chart; Y&T's In Rock We Trust peaked at number 46; Tooth and Nail by Dokken peaked at number 49 on the Billboard 200, while his power ballad "Alone Again" peaked at number 64 on the Billboard > Hot 100; and Quiet Riot's fourth production Condition Critical also entered the United States best-seller list, at number 15. Due to the success of these bands, various record labels They were motivated to sign with other glam metal groups, not only from Los Angeles and other cities in the United States, but also from other countries, such as Ratt, Bon Jovi, Great White, Black No. Blue, Autograph, W.A.S.P., Icon, Keel, Madam X, Lizzy Borden, Kick Axe, Pretty Maids or TNT. On the other hand, the second album by Lita Ford Dancin' on the Edge also entered the Billboard 200 at number 66, while Kiss's Animalize, cited by Allmusic's Greg Prato as the first album by the band to possess the aesthetics and lyrics of glam, reached position 19. Likewise, Stay Hungry by Twisted Sister was located in box 15 of the main US chart, helped by the comedic music videos for "I Wanna Rock" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" which had a positive reception on MTV. Finally, on the album 1984, Van Halen included a massive use of synthesizers, melodic hooks and more commercial themes that allowed their sixth production to reach number 2 on the Billboard 200 list. Promoted by four singles, including "Jump », which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the album sold more than four million copies in the United States alone in 1984.
In 1985 various bands continued to release studio albums which, in some cases, fared better on the US pop charts. Mötley Crüe's Theatre of Pain, Night Ranger's Seven Wishes and Ratt's Invasion of Your Privacy all made the top ten; Under Lock and Key by Dokken, Asylum by Kiss, 7800° Fahrenheit by Bon Jovi and The Last Command by W.A.S.P. ranked among the fifty best sellers; while Y&T's Down for the Count, Twisted Sister's Come Out and Play, That&# Autograph's 39;s the Stuff and Keel's The Right to Rock entered the top 100 best sellers. For his part, that same year Stryper released his second production Soldiers Under Command which peaked at number 84 on the Billboard 200. Despite having a similar visual aspect to other glam bands > and had a positive reputation on MTV, they stood out from the rest with their religiously and Christian-oriented lyrics, making Christian metal popular around the same period. 1985 was also the year they debuted King Kobra, Hurricane, Rough Cutt, White Lion, Halloween and London, the latter founded in 1978 and through which various glam metal musicians passed during its early years, such as Nikki Sixx, Fred Coury, Blackie Lawless or Izzy Stradlin. Likewise, in the same year the Japanese band Loudness made their debut in the US market with Thunder in the East —after four albums released in their own country—, which reached position 74 on the local count.
Second Wave (1986-1989)
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In the mid-1980s, glam metal was one of the most successful musical styles in the United States, Canada, and some European countries. of the main American media, since their songs played constantly on the radio and their music videos were frequently rotated on MTV, many of them even appeared at the top of the daily tally made by the television station. The popularity of glam metal forced record labels to require established bands to adopt some of the movement's styling, such as voluminous hair and more commercial lyrics, in order to monopolize their sales with the new groups. For this reason, in the second half of the eighties several of them published studio albums with a different sound from their previous productions, some achieved greater success and good reviews, but others did not do well at all. Kiss was a one of the first established bands to adopt elements of glam metal, first on Lick It Up (1983), Animalize (1984) and Asylum (1985) and which continued later with Crazy Nights (1987) and Hot in the Shade (1989). Other bands that included some elements of the subgenre to approach the mainstream of those years were Whitesnake (1987's self-titled album and 1989's Slip of the Tongue), Aerosmith (1987's Permanent Vacation and Pump from 1989), Alice Cooper (Constrictor from 1986, Raise Your Fist and Yell from 1987 and Trash > from 1989), Scorpions (Savage Amusement from 1988), Judas Priest (Turbo from 1986), Accept (Eat the Heatd e 1989), Saxon (Rock the Nations from 1986 and Destiny from 1988), David Lee Roth (Skyscraper from 1988), Bad Company (1990's Holy Water), Celtic Frost (1988's Cold Lake), Discharge (1986's Grave New World), Sammy Hagar (1987's I Never Said Goodbye), Krokus (1986's Change of Address and 1988's Heart Attack), Montrose (1987's Mean), Ozzy Osbourne (1986's The Ultimate Sin), Tokyo Blade (Ain't Misbehavin' from 1987), TSOL (Revenge from 1986 and Hit and Run from 1987), Uriah Heep (Equator from 1985), and Vanadium (Corruption of Innocence, 1987).
In 1986, one of the movement's most successful albums, Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, was released. The New Jersey band's third production reached the top of the Billboard 200 and two of its singles —"You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin'; on a Prayer"—reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. This became the best-selling album of 1987 in the United States and as of 2008 had sold twenty-eight million copies worldwide. Another album that achieved positive success that year was The Final Countdown, the third studio album by the Swedish band Europe, which climbed to eighth place on the US chart. released to promote the album, the power ballad "Carrie" and "The Final Countdown" were among the top ten best-sellers in the US singles count, even the latter was number one in twenty-five countries. Unlike the artists mentioned, in that same year the other productions achieved less success on the Billboard list; Ratt's Dancing Undercover, Quiet Riot's QRIII and Stryper's To Hell with the Devil all ranked among the top fifty sellers; i>Inside the Electric Circus by W.A.S.P., The Final Frontier by Keel, Lightning Strikes by Loudness and Shot in the Dark by Great White in the top 100; while Black 'n Blue's Nasty Nasty reached position 110 and Menace to Society only reached number 144. Similarly, in 1986 more bands from the subgenre made their debut such as Poison, Cinderella, Tesla, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, White Tiger and Shark Island.
The production of albums continued in 1987, the year in which three of the most successful records associated with the subgenre were released. In May, Mötley Crüe released their fourth album Girls, Girls, Girls which reached number two on the Billboard chart, the highest position for any of their albums to date. Supported by the self-titled single—number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100—and the constant rotation of the music video for "Wild Side" on MTV, the album sold more than two million copies that year. year in the United States and in 1995 the RIAA certified it quadruple platinum. Two months later, Guns N' Roses made his debut with Appetite for Destruction, which entered at number 182 on the Billboard 200 with fairly slow sales in its first year. No. 1 on the US chart, supported by its three singles — "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Paradise City"—which were among the ten best sellers of the respective count. With a sound more charged to the hard rock of the 1970s and with a less glamorous image than another band born in Los Angeles in those years, the debut album by Guns N' Roses sold more than eight million copies in the United States until 1989 and in 2008 the RIAA certified it eighteen times platinum after exceeding eighteen million copies in that country alone. For that reason, in 2008 Billboard magazine cited Appetite for Destruction as the best-selling debut album on the market. Lastly, in August Def Leppard released Hysteria considered by Phil Collen as the rock version of Michael Jackson's Thriller, since each song could be a successful single. its twelve songs entered the Billboard Hot 100, including the rockers "Armageddon It," "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and the power ballad "Love Bites" placed in slots three, two, and one respectively. Cited by Allmusic critic Steve Huey as the best pop metal album ever recorded, h Until 1998 Hysteria had sold more than twelve million copies in the United States alone. Other productions that entered the Billboard 200 that year were Big Life by Night Ranger, Back for the Attack by Dokken, Crazy Nights by Kiss, Once Bitten by Great White and White Lion's Pride which reached the top fifty sellers; Y&T's Contagious, Keel's self-titled album and Tell No Tales by TNT made the top 100; Twisted Sister's Love Is for Suckers, Lizzy Borden's Visual Lies and Loud and Clear > by Autograph in the top 150; while Loudness's Hurricane Eyes only reached box 190. For its part, 1987 was also the year in which debuted the Los Angeles band Faster Pussycat, the Japanese EZO, the Welsh Tigertailz and the groups McAuley Schenker Group and Frehley's Comet, by the already established guitarists Michael Schenker and Ace Frehley respectively.
In 1988 New Jersey by Bon Jovi was released, reaching number one in several countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, among others. singles charted in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, of which "Bad Medicine" and the power ballad "I'll Be There for You" reached No. first place on the list. In May of the same year, Poison released its second production Open Up and Say... Ahh! which reached the second position on the main American list, supported primarily by the power ballad "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", his only number one in the United States. Other productions that entered the US chart were G N' R Lies by Guns N' Roses and Cinderella's Long Cold Winter which made the top ten; Ratt's Reach for the Sky, Lita Ford's Lita, Stryper's In God We Trust, Europe's Out of This World and Kix's Blow My Fuse Top 50 Best Sellers; Night Ranger's Man in Motion, Frehley's Comet's Second Sighting and Hurricane's Over the Edge made the top 100; while Quiet Riot's QR and Black 'n Blue's In Heat only peaked at number 119 and number 133 respectively. On the other hand, in the same year the bands Britny Fox, Kingdom Come, Circus of Power, BulletBoys, Femme Fatale, L.A. Guns, Roxx Gang, Rock City Angels, Lillian Axe, Vixen and Winger.
In 1989 Mötley Crüe's fifth studio production Dr. Feelgood reached the top of the Billboard 200, being their only album to achieve that position. Supported by four singles, among which the eponymous song and the power ballad "Without You", the album sold more than six million copies in the United States until 1997. Other productions that entered the main American count were ...Twice Shy by Great White which was ranked ninth; while Tesla's The Great Radio Controversy, White Lion's Big Game, Hot in the Shade by Kiss, Cooked & Loaded by L.A. Guns, W.A.S.P.'s The Headless Children, Faster Pussycat's Wake Me When It's Over and Kingdom Come's In Your Face ranked among the fifty best sellers; Britny Fox's Boys in Heat and McAuley Schenker Group's Save Yourself were among the top hundred; and Finally, Lizzy Borden's Master of Disguise and TNT's Intuition reached positions 133 and 115 respectively. On the other hand, Babylon A.D. debuted that same year, Bad English, Badlands, Bang Tango, Blue Murder, Bonham, Danger Danger, Dangerous Toys, Enuff Z'Nuff, Extreme, Giant, Gorky Park, Mr. Big, Nitro, Pretty Boy Floyd, Saraya, Shotgun Messiah, Skid Row, Tora Tora, Vain, Warrant and XYZ.
At the end of the decade, glam metal was still one of the most successful musical subgenres of those years. However, in the last part of the decade it underwent several changes that in a certain way paved the way to its demise. One of them was that, from 1987 onwards, many of the new bands that emerged eliminated much of the characteristic make-up and colorful clothing, assimilating a dirtier and streetier image, as well as included elements of blues rock and from southern rock to its sound. This new visual image and musical style motivated the press to create the subgenre sleaze rock —also called sleaze metal— in order to differentiate these groups from the first ones. the writer Luca Signorelli, not all critics agree with this category, since they affirm that the bands cataloged in it do not have any element that makes them special, other than being hard rock bands from the eighties. For their part, several bands dissolved or separated before the beginning of the following decade, such as Rough Cutt in 1987; Twisted Sister, Madam X, Frehley's Comet and Vinnie Vincent Invasion in 1988; and Autograph, Dokken, Quiet Riot, Black 'n Blue, Keel, King Kobra and Night Ranger in 1989.
Last Wave (1990-1992)
At the beginning of the nineties, glam metal did not undergo major changes and remained one of the most successful musical subgenres at that time. However, the separation of several bands at the end of the previous decade reduced the production of new albums in this last stage. Despite that, in 1990 some studio albums entered the main US chart, among them, Flesh & Poison's Blood, which managed to peak at No. 2, of which five of its songs entered the local singles chart, including "Unskinny Bop" and "Something to Believe In" at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. For its part, Warrant's second production Cherry Pie reached seventh position and Extreme II: Pornograffitti by Extreme ranked tenth, supported mainly by power ballad "More Than Words", his only number one in the United States. Other productions that entered the Billboard 200 were Heartbreak Station by Cinderella, Ratt's Detonator, Stryper's Against the Law and Winger's In the Heart of the Young among the fifty best sellers; Lita Ford's Stiletto and Vixen's Rev It Up both reached number 52, while Y&T's Ten and Slave to the Thrill by Hurricane reached positions 110 and 125 respectively. or side, that same year they also debuted Alias, Damn Yankees, Firehouse, Love/Hate, Lynch Mob, Nelson, The Quireboys, Slaughter, Steelheart and Trixter.
In 1991, Skid Row's Slave to the Grind was released, reaching number one on the US chart, becoming the first record to debut at number one since Billboard began using data from Nielsen SoundScan, marking a milestone in the history of the American magazine. Other productions to obtain good positions in the United States were Psychotic Supper by Tesla (#13), Mr. Big's Lean into It (#15) and Great White's Hooked (#18). other albums released that same year were less successful on the local charts: White Lion's Mane Attraction, Kix's Hot Wire, Hellacious Acres from Dangerous Toys, Hollywood Vampires from L.A. Guns, Bad English's Backlash and BulletBoys' Freakshow were among the top 100 sellers; Lita Ford's Dangerous Curves, Dancin' on Coals by Bang Tango, Screw It! by Danger Danger, Voodoo Highway by Badlands and Strength by Enuff Z' Nuff managed to reach the top 150 best sellers; while Second Coming by Shotgun Messiah only reached position 199. For their part, that same year they also debuted Contraband, Harem Scarem, Saigon Kick and Tuff.
In 1992 the production of studio albums kept glam metal current in world markets, however, the change in musical tastes of young people forced several groups to leave behind some main characteristics of the subgenre such as the exaggerated image and the funny lyrics in order to assimilate to the new times. For that reason, according to critic Luca Signorelli, 1992 is considered the last year that glam metal achieved notoriety. The most successful album of that year was Adrenalize by Def Leppard, since it reached the first place of the Billboard list, being their second consecutive production to reach that position. Similarly, Keep the Faith by Bon Jovi, Kiss's Revenge and Slaughter's The Wild Life were among the top ten sellers; Damn Yankees, Firehouse's Hold Your Fire, Saigon Kick's The Lyzard, Faster Pussycat's Whipped! and Lynch Mob's self-titled album all achieved the top hundred; Great White's Psycho City, Trixter's Hear!, Wild America by Tora Tora and Steelheart's Tangled in Reins made the top 150, while McAuley Schenker Group's M.S.G. only made it to number 180. part, in that same That year the latest bands related to the subgenre Jackyl, T-Ride and Ugly Kid Joe debuted.
Decadence (1992-1999)
By the middle of 1992 glam metal unexpectedly lost its popularity, as the introduction of new musical styles in the American media, the new tastes of the public and the overexploitation and excesses of it led to its decline. In this last aspect, the 1988 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years unintentionally helped create a backlash against him, as it exposed the excesses of the musicians and their fans.. However, one of the significant reasons for the end of glam metal was the emergence of grunge, a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in Seattle around the same time as the scene. angelina had the media attention. With a simple aesthetic and lyrics oriented towards social discontent, bands like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Nirvana conquered the public's tastes. Little by little, glam lost popularity to these new groups, to the point that the power ballads, one of the most successful formulas in the 1980s and early 90s, no longer attracted the attention of young people.
The success of Nirvana's album Nevermind, with sales exceeding four million records in the United States alone through the end of 1992, influenced the media's focus on the grunge, relegating the glam to small spaces during the night. As a result, the MTV show Headbangers Ball, one of those that helped propel the subgenre with more than 1.3 million viewers a week, was abruptly canceled in 1994. Even Los Angeles radio station KNAC replaced all its metal programs with content in Spanish. The unexpected success of grunge and rock artists > alternative, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction, caused many bands to break up after failing to get record deals, while many others continued to release albums through the rest of the '90s, but sounding very different from the original and without the success of yesteryear.
The return of glam and the new groups
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, glam metal experienced a resurgence in the United States, thanks to various events promoted by the music industry. In 1998 the VH1 television channel sponsored the Rock Never Stops Tour, which brought together the main bands of the subgenre for a series of presentations throughout the United States and which ran consecutively until 2005. The following year the Razor label & Tie released the first edition of Monsters Ballads, an album that compiled the main power ballads of the subgenre and that sold more than a million copies in 1999 in the United States. In 2006 the glam scene of the Sunset Strip was the main theme of the musical Rock of Ages, which after achieving success in Los Angeles opened on the Broadway circuit in New York in 2008 and four years later it was adapted to the cinema. For its part, in 2007 the Rocklahoma festival was inaugurated in Pryor Creek (Oklahoma), which according to Billboard has helped to revive the movement. As a consequence, several bands reunited and released new studio albums over the years, although not with the image and sound of the 1980s, but rather with a style tied to hard rock and pop rock.
According to critic and writer Martin Popoff, glam metal has returned to the music industry thanks to constant touring, support from music festivals, and the public's need to remember the movement, but it has not achieved the massive success of yesteryear. Additionally, at the beginning of the 2000s new bands emerged that have taken some characteristics of the subgenre such as the British The Darkness, the Americans Steel Panther and Beautiful Creatures, the French Black Rain, and the Scandinavian Vains of Jenna, Crashdïet, H.E.A.T, Hardcore Superstar and Reckless Love. In turn, the metalcore groups Blessed by a Broken Heart and Black Veil Brides modified their image and music towards glam, even the latter added gothic characteristics to the traditional image of the subgenre.