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Top 100 Heavy Metal and glam rock acts from the MTV era - it's still real to me (2 Viewers)

Faster #####cat was one of my favorites. The songs are generally worse on the second because they had a different producer and apparently their first producer, Ric Browde, had a lot to do with the songwriting. 

That first album is rollicking and bluesy and trashy and Dollsy and good. The second one, not so much, though "Arizona Indian Doll" is a decent song. "You're So Vain" is an awesome hair metal cover, again subsumed by the date it was released and its context (the Red, Hot, +Blue album, IIRC).

Greg Steele, Brent Muscat, Mark Matthews or something and, Taime Downe, and some bass player that wasn't Kelly Nickels were their lineup for the first album.

Good stuff from the #####cats on their first. 

 
Faster #####cat was one of my favorites. The songs are generally worse on the second because they had a different producer and apparently their first producer, Ric Browde, had a lot to do with the songwriting. 

That first album is rollicking and bluesy and trashy and Dollsy and good. The second one, not so much, though "Arizona Indian Doll" is a decent song. "You're So Vain" is an awesome hair metal cover, again subsumed by the date it was released and its context (the Red, Hot, +Blue album, IIRC).

Greg Steele, Brent Muscat, Mark Matthews or something and, Taime Downe, and some bass player that wasn't Kelly Nickels were their lineup for the first album.

Good stuff from the #####cats on their first. 


Rubaiyat

 
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I listened to Wake Me When It's Over in its entirely for the first time in thirty years or so.  As it went on, I kept thinking, oh this song sounds pretty good... then they'd get to the chorus and it would just sound like a boring, uninspired Faster #####cat chorus.

 
Over “pour some sugar on me in the name of love”?

After this countdown ends, I look forward to the top 100 cheeseball hair metal lyrics.
Written by eighth graders -- Cherry Pie, Pour Some Sugar On Me, and every 80s KISS song 

 
Ah, good catch. Totally confused. They were on Elektra. Red, Hot, +Blue was an AIDS benefit record, IIRC. (Again.)


Without looking, I'm not sure, you might be thinking of No Alternative.  I remember RH+B being a big thing but I never got into it, seemed like boomer stuff at the time

 
35.  Vinnie Vincent Invasion / Slaughter

So Gene and Paul fire Vinnie Vincent, and he starts his own band.  He gets with bassist Dana Strum, who had been working in LA in some sort of talent arrangement capacity, having hooked Ozzy Osbourne up with not only Randy Rhoads but Jake E. Lee as well.  When KISS got rid of Vinnie, Strum thought it might be a good idea to hitch himself to that Vinnie wagon.  They brought in Bobby Rock (nee "Brock") and spent some energy looking for a singer.

Robert Fleischmann had bounced around, done some work with Journey in the 70's , pre-Perry, as well as a brief stint with Asia.  He got hooked up with Vinnie Vincent's new project, and sang on their first record.  

My understanding of this situation comes from Bobby Rock's book, because I had heard/read a lot of rumours of how Mark Slaughter had come to replace Robert Fleischmann right after the album was recorded.  Fleischmann had short hair and just wore regular clothes, and had no desire whatsoever to get into the hot look.  Also wasn't keen on touring.  They parted amicably and the band found Mark Slaughter via an ad.

Listening to that debut album (and it isn't streaming anymore for some reason) ..  you'd really never know it's not Mark Slaughter, and in the video, he's the guy.

Boyz Are Gonna Rock   epic metal mayhem, wish it was better quality

Making of the video - part 1 (starts around 2:45), part 2  - what this is from, I have no idea, boring and interesting all at once.  Vinnie seems fun and affable here.  One of these commenters is correct, Vinnie had a natural manager and friend in Dana Strum but he insisted on running things his own messed up way, with himself in the center. 

Next record, All Systems Go.. I loved it, one of my favorites of the whole genre, I don't know why, but interestingly from a personal standpoint, one of my favorite metal bands of more recent years was also called All Systems Go (ASG)

Vinnie's solos, while unique, sound forced and out of place, maybe that's part of the magic.  Sounds like he was no joy to work with in the studio, either.

Ashes to Ashes
Love Kills   Freddy, stop killing teenagers
  If I had to take one hair metal ballad to a desert island..

That Time of Year

Things are objectively going well.  There are stories of bands hating to tour with the VVI, because Vinnie thinks everyone in the crowd is there to watch him noodle.  The live shows are a cluster ####.  The band QUITS.. finds another guitarist and strikes out on their own.

Up All Night  
Fly To The Angels  

Vinnie does some more stuff with Robert Fleischmann later.  Nobody cares anymore.  

I'm fascinated by the Vinnie saga.. I guess maybe I'm fascinated by willfully self destructive behavior.. can't imagine why

 
I have always liked Fly to the Angels--don't know why. Good song!! 
I wasn’t a huge fan of the record, but dude had almost the perfect pipes for this

The model on the cover, Laurie Carr..  insanely hot and was married to Ratt’s Robbin Crosby

 
Glad you compartmentalized them between the ‘70s and ‘80s, because obviously they were a markedly different band in the two decades. As mentioned way upthread, I like the old days and really don’t like anything they did after Alive II, but it’s all personal taste.

 
36. KISS

1980.. Peter Criss is gone, Ace Frehley is leaving.  Anton Fig bangs the skins for a while, but he's just a session guy.  They bring in Eric Carr, and then in Ozzy-like fashion, they find a young virtuoso to play guitar.  Turns out he's insane.. what say let's make today a Vinnie day.

So, no grey area here, their "MTV period" is marked clearly by all these big dumb gobstoppers--

I Love It Loud  Vinnie Vincent wrote and played on Creatures but Ace appears on the cover and in the video

The makeup comes off.  These dudes are ugly.

Lick It Up

Vinnie Vincent is fired because like a feral dog he cannot be told to stop playing solos.  No ####.  This would continue to be a problem for Vin.

Heaven's on Fire
 This is KISS's third most popular song on Spotify.  Not sure how that is possible

Mark St. John is their guitarist for an album but he gets arthritis and has to leave.  Which sucks.  Enter Bruce Kulick, who had played with Meat Loaf - his name was Robert Paulson :banned: - and Michael Bolton, not the Office Space guy.

Tears Are Falling  I like this one best I guess.  Finger-cheek move is primo shtick
Crazy Crazy Nights from the short lived US version of Top of the Pops
Let's the X in Sex
 Smashes Thrashes and Hits also included a re-recording of their biggest hit ever - their old drummer's love song Beth, sung by their new drummer.  Only KISS would do this.

Forever - big dumb ballad co-written by the Big Bolton himself.
God Gave Rock and Roll to You II - Argent cover.  Around this time Eric Carr gets cancer and passes away :(

Meanwhile, Ace had his own adventures with the bottle but got his act together for a late eighties run with Frehley's Comet .. Anton Fig makes another appearance here.. my Fig boner comes from being a big Letterman dork..
Rock Soldiers

In the aftermath of all this, the original KISS members would reunite.. for a short while, and the saga would carry forward into the new millennium.  Their drummer has been former Badlander Eric Singer, for some time now.
I probably like KISS more than most here but that was the 70s era, not the MTV KISS.   I liked creatures of the Night but the rest of KISS songs listed in the post are just awful.   There were a lot of stupid, immature, and cheesy lyrics from hair bands but KISS had horrible lyrics with some really bad songs.  

 
I love the whole idea of 70's KISS, but the music is just so bad.
Actually, watching old YouTube videos of Gene Simmons at some arena in New Jersey in the seventies, spitting blood and looking demonic to the chants of "Go Gene!" always makes me think of the death of God in the general public. An ominous sight, really, because even though it was all effects it just seemed like something was awry when a segment of society publicly adored that display. And it may come home to roost soon. 

 
  • Thinking
Reactions: J R
I listened to Wake Me When It's Over in its entirely for the first time in thirty years or so.  As it went on, I kept thinking, oh this song sounds pretty good... then they'd get to the chorus and it would just sound like a boring, uninspired Faster #####cat chorus.
Interesting. You're saying they could never write a hook, huh? That actually sounds like something that I never heard pointed out, but I think you might be correct. 

Their best moments off of Faster #####cat were in the verses and bridges. Huh. That's really interesting. 

And Wake Me...may have exacerbated the problem. 

Poison Ivy/Baby you're right behind me
You make me itch and baby you're so unkind
Poison ivy/You come creepin' up right behind me
You make me itch and I'm out of calomine 


I guess that's not too bad. But you're on to something with that. Because their lyrics were actually rather clever for a band heavy on the glam machismo. 

 
36. KISS

1980.. Peter Criss is gone, Ace Frehley is leaving.  Anton Fig bangs the skins for a while, but he's just a session guy.  They bring in Eric Carr, and then in Ozzy-like fashion, they find a young virtuoso to play guitar.  Turns out he's insane.. what say let's make today a Vinnie day.

So, no grey area here, their "MTV period" is marked clearly by all these big dumb gobstoppers--

I Love It Loud  Vinnie Vincent wrote and played on Creatures but Ace appears on the cover and in the video
What a bizarre video.  It looks like they filmed it with a stand-in on for Ace, then had Ace do exactly 2 close-ups in a separate shoot, then had Paul mime to Vinnie's guitar solo.

Also, is this video the inspiration for every "teenager rebels against authority" video from the '80s?

 
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I was never a big fan of KISS but I must admit that Ace Frehley is a guilty pleasure. His 1978 solo album is better than anything KISS released since 1977. The unplugged version of "2000 Man" and this live version of "New York Groove" are both in my regular YouTube rotation.

Oh, and while Gene's version of "Cold Gin" is just fine......Ace now owns the song as far as I'm concerned.
I remember sitting in my brother's friend's room listening to the Ace solo album. I remember not being impressed. I think "Speeding Back To My Baby" was the song playing, and it had, just like Faster #####cat upthread, a terrible chorus. 

Speeding back to my baby
And I don't mean maybe


Or maybe my memory fails me. I think that's what happened. I was five years old. 

But in retrospect, Ace's solo album was the best of the lot, and the best of anything Kiss released for a long time afterward. I believe their next album was the disco album they cut in '79 or so. Yeah, those were the last rock albums before Dynasty. Then they became a lesser band. 

 
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#1 Any mention of Faster 'Cat without bringing up Loose Booty is an absolute travesty.  A TRAVESTY, I SAY!  Easily the best thing they ever birthed.  Fight me.

#2 Black Diamond is far, far, faaaaar and away the best thing KISS (whom I dearly love/loved) has ever touched.

#3 I recall hearing Mark Slaughter do an impersonation of Wayne Newton...somewhere...20-25 years ago.  Spot. Freaking. On. 

 
Without looking, I'm not sure, you might be thinking of No Alternative.  I remember RH+B being a big thing but I never got into it, seemed like boomer stuff at the time
Very much how I remember it, so what would Faster #####cat be doing on it? I don't know. My critical reasoning was faulty there. Red, Hot + Blue was a Cole Porter tribute album for AIDS. No Alternative was 1993, so that would have been too late. That wasn't what I was thinking of. I was thinking of RH+B because it was 1990, much like Rubaiyat. I think I got my comps switched. Anyway, it was a great cover. I think I had the cassingle, IIRC .  

 
#1 Any mention of Faster 'Cat without bringing up Loose Booty is an absolute travesty.  A TRAVESTY, I SAY!  Easily the best thing they ever birthed.  Fight me.

#2 Black Diamond is far, far, faaaaar and away the best thing KISS (whom I dearly love/loved) has ever touched.

#3 I recall hearing Mark Slaughter do an impersonation of Wayne Newton...somewhere...20-25 years ago.  Spot. Freaking. On. 
If it was off of Whipped!, I'll throw down. :) That's the album that gave us the "cleverness" of "Big Dictionary," a song doomed to stupidity before the initial guitar strains. 

The best thing #####cat threw down was "No Room For Emotion" and the riffs to "Smash Alley," "Don't You Change That Song," and the beginning drum intro (which was poor but well-conceived, if not great in performance) and the two guitarists exchanging blues leads while the bass and drum kicked in during "Bathroom Wall." In fact, that little interlude is the #####cat moment, and tells you whether or not you'll like the first album. 

Narrator: He loved that first album

 
The best thing #####cat threw down was "No Room For Emotion" and the riffs to "Smash Alley," "Don't You Change That Song," and the beginning drum intro (which was poor but well-conceived, if not great in performance) and the two guitarists exchanging blues leads while the bass and drum kicked in during "Bathroom Wall."
You're wrong.  Good day, sir.

(eta: I have probably heard exactly two Faster 'cat songs in my life.  I'll stand by my assessment though.  It's Loose Booty or nothin').

 
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You're wrong.  Good day, sir.

(eta: I have probably heard exactly two Faster 'cat songs in my life.  I'll stand by my assessment though.  It's Loose Booty or nothin').
I can now trust you. You sound like a man unfettered by campy and bad taste. Good on ya! 

I fight like wet noodles, you know? 

 
Like I said, that first FP record is killer, hooks a-plenty, and the reason they are this high

And now for something completely different

34. Pantera 

I think the first song I heard by them was This Love and I wasn't feeling the whole gruff angry thing.  Seemed like around then, everybody BUT me was listening to these dudes.  There was plenty to listen to, anyway.  So I was a little late to the party but I appreciate their place and style.  These cowboys bridge the gap between 80s metal and, for better or worse, where metal was going.

The brothers Abbott, surely partying down with Meat Loaf this very second

DIME  :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned:
VINNIE  :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned:

Cemetery Gates
Walk

TIMES THEY WERE A-CHANGIN'.  I felt they deserved a spot.
 

ETA - I meant to throw a shout-out to fellow "groove metal" pioneers Sepultura .. funny, of all people, my girlfriend said the other day "Is Sepultura on your list?"  Uhhh...

 
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zamboni said:
Glad you compartmentalized them between the ‘70s and ‘80s, because obviously they were a markedly different band in the two decades. As mentioned way upthread, I like the old days and really don’t like anything they did after Alive II, but it’s all personal taste.


Safe to say, I think, that without their seventies success they would have been nothing in the eighties, because their #### was awful.  But there they were, pretty much all decade long, one crap sack after another

 
34. Pantera 

I think the first song I heard by them was This Love and I wasn't feeling the whole gruff angry thing.  Seemed like around then, everybody BUT me was listening to these dudes.  There was plenty to listen to, anyway.
I said it upthread. There was a time when liking Pantera wasn't so complicated and was just the typical act of a seventeen year-old boy before any worldly complications with their worldview collided with the just and good. 

They rocked faces off for a while. From Cowboys From Hell to Vulgar Display Of Power to Far Beyond Driven, they were absolute monsters of thrash metal and metal qua metal. 

eta* I can still remember my sophomore year of college, the year after some twee listening prior, where I was rocking out to "By Demons Be Driven" and just going nuts to the freaking thing. They had a hold on me even then. Rock! 

 
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I said it upthread. There was a time when liking Pantera wasn't so complicated and was just the typical act of a seventeen year-old boy before any worldly complications with their worldview collided with the just and good. 

They rocked faces off for a while. From Cowboys From Hell to Vulgar Display Of Power to Far Beyond Driven, they were absolute monsters of thrash metal and metal qua metal. 

eta* I can still remember my sophomore year of college, the year after some twee listening prior, where I was rocking out to "By Demons Be Driven" and just going nuts to the freaking thing. They had a hold on me even then. Rock! 


####### HOSTIIIILLLLLLEEEEEE

Could one argue that maybe they tapped a vein that turned out to be a little .. dangerous?

 
Could one argue that maybe they tapped a vein that turned out to be a little .. dangerous?
I think there were tapped veins, yes. Two fingers and a patting motion right about on the elbow. Yes sir, I do. 

I just had a flashback to Requiem For A Dream and Jared Leto's infected skin. Oh my is that ever painful. I used to watch that movie rather frequently. Why? 

 
33. Metal Church

I like this blurb from allmusic ---

Much like the English punk movement before it, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal invaded hundreds of American garages in the early '80s and launched countless bands across the nation. It is interesting to note, however, that while in major cities with thriving punk rock this phenomenon manifested itself in the form of thrash metal (for example, L.A.'s Metallica, New York's Anthrax), in secondary capitals, up-and-coming bands generally boasted a more mainstream metal approach. Such was the case with Phoenix's Armored Saint, Connecticut's Fates Warning, and Seattle's Queensryche, but Metal Church (also from Seattle) seemed determined to cover both angles on their powerful 1985 debut. But while the complex songwriting and aggressive riffing seen on trad metal epics like "Beyond the Black," "Gods of Wrath," and "Metal Church" are about as good as it gets, thrashier moments like "My Favorite Nightmare," "Battalions," and the appropriately named instrumental "Merciless Onslaught" still needed a little work. In fact, the band's incredibly tight musicianship is a highlight all on its own, and vocalist David Wayne's piercing screech (similar to Accept's Udo Dirkschneider) was considered very hip at the time, believe it or not. Concluding with a full-throttle cover of the Deep Purple standard "Highway Star," this album remains an overlooked classic of straight-ahead American-bred heavy metal.
Metal Church the rare band-song-album name trifecta
Highway Star  eh, I'll take the orig

Kurt Cobain would often informally spell his name "Kurdt".  Metal Church's Kurdt Vanderhoof is also from Aberdeen, WA  🧐

My first exposure to Metal Church was their second album, The Dark.  Monster energy..

Ton of Bricks  
Watch the Children Pray

They struggled with many of the same elements as a lot of their peers.  Eventually, they TRADE SINGERS with another band..

After struggling with drug problems within his current band, David Wayne decided to leave Metal Church in the late '80's and find another group to join. Wayne searched around Los Angeles looking for the best band in which he could participate. He met with ex-W.A.S.P. member Randy Piper and considered joining Piper's band Animal, but Wayne decided against it because Animal was experiencing the same problems which caused his departure from Metal Church.

Around this time, Heretic, the band whose singer recently left to replace Wayne in Metal Church, called David Wayne repeatedly and urged him to at least listen to their songs. Despite being reluctant at first, Wayne eventually met with the members of Heretic at a Denny's restaurant where they played him some of their songs on a tape recorder. Wayne was impressed, and decided that they were the right band for him, thus laying the foundation of Reverend. Wayne later described this ironic episode as a "cosmic joke" on everyone involved.
There's always a Denny's.

MC's next record with Mike Howe was solid.  The single Badlands is tight af

SAD NEWS, even posty would flinch at - Mike Howe offed himself last year.  David Wayne was already gone..  :banned:  +  :banned:

 
34. Pantera 


Local band done good. Was always fun as a young punk to visit the clubs and places that the Paul brothers would shout out in interviews and the like. I have visited The Clubhouse, the Paul's local folk-dancing establishment, on a few occasions, to peruse the entertainers working there.

The Death of Dimebag was a WTH moment for sure. Just didn't seem real. For me, was one of the first "celeb deaths" that affected me for a while.

Bringing it back to sports, love that Pantera is played every time the Dallas Stars score a goal (Puck Off), and also love that the Stanley Cup in 1999 will always be dented due to the bottom of one of the Paul's swimming pools. Those guys loved the Stars and the Stars loved them back.

 
Bringing it back to sports, love that Pantera is played every time the Dallas Stars score a goal (Puck Off), and also love that the Stanley Cup in 1999 will always be dented due to the bottom of one of the Paul's swimming pools. Those guys loved the Stars and the Stars loved them back.
Dallas! Stars! Dallas! Stars! 

I've heard that song before, I think. Actually, I kind of know, but memory is tricky. 

 
34. Pantera 

I think the first song I heard by them was This Love and I wasn't feeling the whole gruff angry thing.  Seemed like around then, everybody BUT me was listening to these dudes.  There was plenty to listen to, anyway.  So I was a little late to the party but I appreciate their place and style.  These cowboys bridge the gap between 80s metal and, for better or worse, where metal was going.

The brothers Abbott, surely partying down with Meat Loaf this very second

DIME  :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned:
VINNIE  :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned: :banned:
Was in college when Vulger Display came out. Lived off campus with a bunch of guys and when I'd come home and crank F****** Hostile people would be banging on my door yelling "Hey, everything okay buddy?"

Saw then in concert and one of my friends got banged up pretty bad in the pit (concussion, broken nose.)  People seemed a bit *too* aggressive, like hurting someone was on the agenda. 

 
33. Metal Church

I like this blurb from allmusic ---

Metal Church the rare band-song-album name trifecta
Highway Star  eh, I'll take the orig

Kurt Cobain would often informally spell his name "Kurdt".  Metal Church's Kurdt Vanderhoof is also from Aberdeen, WA  🧐

My first exposure to Metal Church was their second album, The Dark.  Monster energy..

Ton of Bricks  
Watch the Children Pray

They struggled with many of the same elements as a lot of their peers.  Eventually, they TRADE SINGERS with another band..

There's always a Denny's.

MC's next record with Mike Howe was solid.  The single Badlands is tight af

SAD NEWS, even posty would flinch at - Mike Howe offed himself last year.  David Wayne was already gone..  :banned:  +  :banned:
Metal Church was one of my favorites back then. I thought  The Human Factor was their best record, but I loved all of what you listed here.

 
I get the whole Kiss performance thing and how that was a scene back in the day, but as somebody who started listening to music in the 80s I never really understood or liked most of Kiss' catalog.  :shrug:   

 
#1 Any mention of Faster 'Cat without bringing up Loose Booty is an absolute travesty.  A TRAVESTY, I SAY!  Easily the best thing they ever birthed.  Fight me.

#2 Black Diamond is far, far, faaaaar and away the best thing KISS (whom I dearly love/loved) has ever touched.

#3 I recall hearing Mark Slaughter do an impersonation of Wayne Newton...somewhere...20-25 years ago.  Spot. Freaking. On. 
Black Diamond is what got me hooked on KISS. That and my cousin was a KISS fanatic. She dressed up as Ace, full costume, makeup and went to every show she could. Spent time with backstage so jump to your own conclusions.

Working a KISS show was always fun. The roadies were particularly interested in women that liked to show their wears so while it was typically discouraged to promote such activity, a KISS show was quite the opposite. By the end of the night if hadn't seen 20 pair, you weren't looking. It was pretty insane. 

 
Tears Are Falling is just....bad.   Like, real bad.

Before you know it we're gonna have people in here saying stuff like "You know what KISS track was really their magnum opus?  *Psycho Circus, bruh."

(*Probably still better'n Tears Are Falling though.)

 
32. The Cult

@scorchy probably knows things about this band and their points of origin that I do not.

British band that started out more goth/post-punk but rocked their way into the mid-late eighties American metal mainstream.  In 1983 Southern Death Cult's Ian Astbury joined forces with Billy Duffy, whose resume had included a stint with a young Steven Morrissey in a second iteration of punk rock group the Nosebleeds (no luck finding recordings or videos of this). 

Third album Electric was produced by Rick Rubin...

Lil Devil  
Love Removal Machine  

---

Fire Woman
Edie (Ciao Baby)

Fourth album Sonic Temple was a hit with just about every metalhead I knew.  With seemingly a revolving door at rhythm section - could nobody get along with these two? - they toured with a lot of big metal acts. Also, my #88 band were totally aping them.

 
32. The Cult

With seemingly a revolving door at rhythm section - could nobody get along with these two?


My favorite thing on some of these band's Wikipedia pages is when they list Past Members, they have to link to another page all together.

 
31. Living Colour

Born in London and raised in NYC, Vernon Reid cut his teeth in jazz and rock bands throughout the eighties, solidifying the Living Colour lineup after he met aspiring actor Corey Glover (spoiler- he lives!) at a party.

Cult of Personality
Middle Man  
Glamour Boys 
Open Letter (To A Landlord)

Sophomore effort Time's Up wasn't as successful, but was still damn good, perhaps lacking for a radio hit
Love Rears Its Ugly Head
New Jack Theme Live at the Grammies
Type

Stain had some good stuff too

Leave It Alone
Nothingness

Many years ago, @scorchy and I caught an older (than us, slightly) black rock band one night at the Sidebar, and we determined at the time that they must have been the FOURTH most successful black rock band in the late 80's / early 90's.  But we can no longer remember or figure out what they were called.
 

 
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32. The Cult

@scorchy probably knows things about this band and their points of origin that I do not.

British band that started out more goth/post-punk but rocked their way into the mid-late eighties American metal mainstream.  In 1983 Southern Death Cult's Ian Astbury joined forces with Billy Duffy, whose resume had included a stint with a young Steven Morrissey in a second iteration of punk rock group the Nosebleeds (no luck finding recordings or videos of this). 

Third album Electric was produced by Rick Rubin...

Lil Devil  
Love Removal Machine  

---

Fire Woman
Edie (Ciao Baby)

Fourth album Sonic Temple was a hit with just about every metalhead I knew.  With seemingly a revolving door at rhythm section - could nobody get along with these two? - they toured with a lot of big metal acts. Also, my #88 band were totally aping them.
Not too much to add.  Billy Duffy was good buds with Johnny Marr and introduced him to Morrissey, or so legend has it.  She Sells Sanctuary still packs the floor in goth clubs the world over.  I know they had a rep for genre hopping but I'm not actually sure their sound changed all that much over the years - not sure why metalheads suddenly found them.  Then theirs the obvious thing that Ian Astbury had some weird fascination with Native American culture.  Kind of cringey.

 
@scorchy and I caught an older (than us, slightly) black rock band one night at the Sidebar, and we determined at the time that they must have been the FOURTH most successful black rock band in the late 80's / early 90's.  But we can no longer remember or figure out what they were called.
 
You have no idea how much time I've dedicated to trying to figure this one out.

 

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