Most people seemingly love glam metal or find it fruitless. Maybe there is a bit too much fluff for some music lovers. The trick to great glam metal, just as there was with glam, is that there was always more substance than what might first appear.
There is also a thin line between what is called glam metal versus what is not. For instance, hair metal bands such as Ratt are glam metal, but Guns N' Roses is not. Why?
There is also a lot more variety in the subgenre than one might assume. The bands below have little in common other than they ultimately play rock music. And they all have done it well from time to time.
Four glam metal albums that should not be missed
The Cult - Love
Early Cult is the best. The album that followed this one, Electric, is an extremely great record, but a bit divisive. Some don't like Rick Rubin's production or how the band decided to nix the more acoustic original and re-record the album has stream-lined heavy rock. Still, that album is worth many listens as well.
Love is more like the band's earlier sound with an air of mysticism and great melodies. It's not as heavy as their future albums would be, but it doesn't need to be. Plus, "She Sells Sanctuary" is among the best songs ever created.
Kiss - Destroyer
This album is not just a great one for glam metal fans but should be for music fans everywhere. There are a large number of excellent anthemic blasts, but there is also the saccharine feel of "Beth," a song that has no business being as good as it is. But how can anyone not love an album that includes "Detroit Rock City," "God of Thunder," and "Shout It Out Loud," among other bangers?
Kiss might have decided to put on their makeup in the early 1970s to help separate themselves from most other New York bands at the time, but their sound would eventually do that on its own. There are several albums by the band worthy of lots of listens, but Destroyer is arguably their best.
Quiet Riot - Metal Health
Quiet Riot had a weird career. They released two albums in Japan in 1978 and then they disappeared. In many ways, Metal Health is their debut record. And it fits a lot better in the early 1980s than it would have in the late 1970s. Perfect timing met with a record full of silly and catchy tunes and the band was set.
The album also had a bit more depth than it might seem at first glance. The brilliant cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize" was balanced with record closer "Thunderbird," which is about Randy Rhoads, who formed the band in 1973. Rhoads died in a plane crash in March of 1982 after he had left Quiet Riot, but he gave his blessing to the band to be reborn a couple of months prior to his passing.
Cinderella - Night Songs
When this album was released in 1986, many critics panned the record because it seemed overly derivative of other metal bands at the time. What those doubters could not understand was that no matter if Cinderella's debut was groundbreaking, it was full of really good songs. Ultimately, that is all that matters. (The band seemed to take what the critics sad to heart, unfortunately, as their next album was more bluesy-rock.)
"Nobody's Fool" would be fitting on today's radio (OK, whatever you stream music on), and you might want to dare a good friend to not sing along to the chorus of "Somebody Save Me." The entire album can be heard on a car ride from your house to the next town over, and it will make for a great ride.