3 Underrated Hair Metal Bands

2025-04-23

Autograph the band.

In honor of lesser-known hair metal bands, here is Audio Ink Radio’s tally of three underrated hair metal bands. – Author: Cat Badra, Courtesy photo of Autograph

Hair metal was simply a fun musical genre and it made the guitar the star of the 1980s. Seriously, it doesn’t get much better than ripping, soaring guitar solos, pounding rhythms and exciting lyrics, all blended into hair metal anthem. There is no denying that hair metal had some of the biggest bands of the 1980s, from Warrant to Ratt to Motley Crue. But, there were plenty of hair metal bands that never got to that level, and they deserve to be heard. In honor of lesser-known hair metal bands, here is Audio Ink Radio’s tally of three underrated hair metal bands.

Underrated Hair Metal Bands

Autograph

Los Angeles hair metal titans Autograph did have a major hit in 1984’s “Turn up the Radio,” and that song made them a popular face on MTV for a long time. But, the band never became as big as bands such as Motley Crue or Poison, and they really deserved the shot. Today, Autograph still rocks hard, and they released their latest album, “Beyond,” in 2022 via Frontiers Records. New lead vocalist Simon Daniels spoke with Audio Ink Radio about how “Beyond” was their last to feature late bass player and founding member Randy Rand.

“He was my best friend for the past nine years,” he said. “We were really close together. We’d talk on the phone every other day. It’s a void that’s not only as a band member, but to me as a friend. But, in terms of the band, obviously, he was actually the only member that was in the band the longest of all. So, it’s bittersweet. But, we focus and carry it on and put the music out and dedicate it to him, so we can also utilize all the work that we did together.”

Hurricane

Singer Kelly Hansen became famous for singing in Foreigner following Lou Gramm’s reign, but by the time he started fronting Foreigner, he was also known for heading up Hurricane. The band brought together some major players in hair metal at the time, including guitarist Robert Sarzo, bass player Tony Cavazo and drummer Jay Schellen.

Hurricane released their debut album, 1985’s “Take What You Want,” and scored some hits. They followed that up with their first Enigma Records release, 1988’s “Over the Edge” and 1990’s “Slave to the Thrill,” with guitarist Doug Aldrich replacing Robert Sarzo. The band went through more lineup changes, and while they always had some success, they never became the household name of some of the big hair metal bands. It’s a shame, because no matter their lineup, they always rocked.

Loudness

Loudness had a solid fanbase, so some might reject them being on this tally, but they could have, and perhaps should have, been a lot bigger. The Japanese metal band released their major-label debut in 1985 with “Thunder in the East,” and it showed the world that they knew how to rock. “Thunder in the East and the band’s follow-up, 1986’s “Lightning Strikes,” did very well and got into the top 100 of the Billboard 200 chart, and songs like “Let It Go” and “Crazy Nights” became classics. But, there are a ton of hair metal bands who still haven’t heard Loudness, and they really need to give them a chance.

Cat Badra
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Posted by Cat Badra | Features, Metal, Music