Hair Metal Memories

The first part of a 3-part series focusing on mega-platinum rock stars Van Halen, and the influence they've had on the hair metal genre! Part one covers the first four albums, and a brief history of the band, as well as Aaron and Bryon tackling the question: Is Van Halen hair metal?

Aaron and Bryon discuss this much requested multi-platinum debut album, Stick It To Ya, by Slaughter! Discover the incredible influence bassist/songwriter Dana Strum has had on the genre, the band's connections to Michael Bay and Leisure Suit Larry, and more, as they fly to the angels in this latest episode of HMM!

Aaron and Bryon delve into Alice Cooper's pop-oriented "comeback" album, 1986's "Constrictor"! Learn about machine gun guitars, a production dream team, and hear from our special guest, Alice Cooper's eye doctor!

Aaron and Bryon tackle the much-requested debut album from the Ted Templeman-produced bad asses BulletBoys! Learn about the band's connections to superstar drummer Carmen Appice, Ratt, Motley Crue, and Hot Tub Time Machine! Delve into the band drama, learn about the stroboscope, and discover why this one's so hard to find on vinyl, in this latest and greatest episode of HMM!

Aaron and Bryon hit the road and record live from the 10th annual Rocktemberfest in Hinckley, Minnesota! They chat with concert goers, attend an amazing array of hair metal artists, and just generally have a great time in this gonzo journalism themed episode of HMM.

Aaron and Bryon do an extra deep dive on the multi-platinum debut album from one of our most requested bands, FireHouse! Learn about the band's long gestation but immediate rise to stardom! Be shocked at what a vinyl version of this thing would cost you! All this plus extra special editions of Vinyl History Lesson and Gear Talk!

In our latest episode, Aaron and Bryon do a deep dive on Poison's multi-platinum, hit-spawning debut album! Learn about the band's rapid ascent in the hair metal world, leading to them being one of the architects, as well as their connections to Motorhead, Slash, Charlie Sheen, and Stryper! Plus the guys talk about their recent trip to see Tesla and BulletBoys!

Aaron and Bryon do a dusting off of one of the bizarrely influential (but lesser known) hair metal bands of all time, London, and their overlooked nugget of a debut album, "Non-Stop Rock"! With at least 33 members throughout their lifespan, former London band members went on to form bands like Cinderella, Motley Crue, and W.A.S.P. So why aren't they a household name? Tune in for the entire history!

Aaron and Bryon delve into the inner secrets of Lita Ford's platinum-selling hair metal classic, "Lita." From her early days with The Runaways to her duet with Ozzy to her stint on Howie Mandel's show, no stone is unturned as you discover why Lita is a certified living legend!

We celebrate 25k listens! Thank you for listening!!! To celebrate, Aaron and Bryon cover the much-requested multiplatinum and just Plain badass debut album from Warrant, one of the hair metal classics. Discover the hidden connection to Fleetwood Mac and Prince! What the hell is a Minidisc or Laserdisc? All of this and more on the very next episode of HMM.

In this latest and greatest episode, Aaron and Bryon deconstruct the swinging, rocking, over-the-top self-titled debut album from Dangerous Toys! Discover the influential technical speed metal band whose imminent demise lead to the band's creation! Revel in the hidden connections to Wes Craven, Pantera, and Skid Row! And be startled by Circus magazine's less than stellar review of one of the band's shows! All this and more in your favorite hair metal podcast! 

Aaron and Bryon dig into this platinum-selling, yet not-often-talked-about hair metal classic, Kix's glammy and very rocking Blow My Fuse! Discover the hidden connection between Kix, Cher, and Celine Dion! And why A & R people seriously didn't know what they were doing! And which member of the band auditioned for The Wallflowers! All this and more, in the latest and/or greatest episode of Hair Metal Memories!

Aaron and Bryon set up shop in the back of their favorite watering hole, London Underground in Ames, IA, and record a live episode while drinking beverages. Patrons share their hair metal memories, thoughts, opinions, and stories, in this special bonus episode of HMM.

In the latest butane-fueled episode, Aaron and Bryon tear into Tesla's platinum-selling debut album. Learn about the spurious connection to the movie Serpico, which member gives online guitar lessons, and way too much about the band's gear, in this deep dive into a hair metal classic that has stood the test of time!

HMM returns! With the only 80s all-female rock band to sell over a million copies of their albums, Vixen! Learn about Vixen's Midwestern roots, listen to some tasty solos, and take a deep-dive into the First Ladies of Hair Metal!

Aaron and Bryon take a deep-dive into the 1982 breakthrough album Blackout by Scorpions! Learn about the egos of Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth, and the genius of artist Gottfried Helnwein! Revel in the tale of Don Dokken's contributions to this masterpiece, what gear your hosts play, and more!

Veering from the normal HMM format, Aaron and Bryon do a bonus episode, a dive into the catalog of U.F.O., a band who greatly affected the beginnings of hair metal, and hard rock music in general. Discover how U.F.O. went from an average "space rock" band to influencing Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, and countless others! 

Queensrÿche's "Empire" is a classic record worthy of revisiting, one that holds up very well. Aaron and Bryon discuss this progressive metal masterpiece, Geoff Tate's fondness for wine and Roger Waters, and much more in this episode. Plus: Vinyl History Lesson! Gear Talk!

Aaron and Bryon do a deep-dive on Twisted Sister's classic Stay Hungry album. Learn the connections Twisted Sister has with Sevendust, John Denver, and Jesus, which Dee Snider song was recorded by Celine Dion, and more. 

Aaron and Bryon tackle the 1984 self-titled debut from Giuffria! Learn about their connections to Quiet Riot, Dio, the Vegas casino industry, and more, in the latest synth-drenched episode of HMM!

Aaron and Bryon return with Season Three, and some new segments and theme song goodness! Learn about a train crash, cordless electric drills, band connections to Stevie Nicks and Anthrax, and why Paul Gilbert should tune more often as the guys explore the Platinum-selling second album from Mr. Big, Lean Into It, newly re-released on its 30th anniversary! 

In the final episode of season two, Aaron and Bryon discuss the self-titled Blue Murder album, the awesomeness of John Sykes, the consequences of problematic song titles, and how to say Carmine Appice's name. Special guest Ryan Sheeler tells us his memories of this great record, along with some band experiences of his own.

The 1984 hair metal classic, Ratt's "Out Of The Cellar" gets put under the microscope, Aaron and Bryon pay tribute to Tawny Kitaen, and special guest Melissa May tells a Ratt-inspired truth-or-dare story!

Aaron and Bryon discuss the template for the bulk of hair metal as we came to know it, Quiet Riot's 10X Platinum-selling "Metal Health." A bassist plots to kill his singer, heads are banged, and special guest Rachel Dudley earns some hair metal points back. 

Aaron and Bryon tear into Mötley Crüe's raw, stellar debut, and chat with special guest Harvey Warren, who filled in for Tommy Lee at a Crüe show in Canada. Roy Thomas Baker's livelihood is discussed, and hear about a chance encounter with Nuno Bettencourt. 

In this episode, Aaron and Bryon discuss the 20-some million selling platinum juggernaut Hysteria album from Def Leppard, which had a rocky road to its creation, but became a certified hair metal classic. Special guest Adam Lyons joins the boys to talk about his childhood memories of the album, life as a local musician during a pandemic, and what it's like to be a butcher. 

Aaron and Bryon dive deep into the awesome 1991 classic, Skid Row's "Slave To The Grind." Special guest Jordan "Bleujack" Voigt returns to discuss this double platinum opus, which took hair metal to some heavy, serious, and dark places. 

After a short hiatus, Aaron and Bryon return with an episode devoted to that most loved and hated staple of hair metal - the hair metal ballad. 

Aaron and Bryon get down into the weeds with the classic full-length debut solo album from David Lee Roth! Learn about the Spanish version of this great record, and one of the all time great bands that play on it. Special guest Bobby Beagz Lucero of the band Slvthammer calls in from El Paso with the best rock stories yet, and everyone disses 5150, because it's not very good.

Aaron and Bryon publish a hilarious viewer video to the HMM Facebook page and dedicate this episode to her, then talk about her requested album, Cinderella's 1988 blues-drenched masterpiece, Long Cold Winter. Special guest Blake Delaney talks about his first CD, screwing up an expensive vinyl box set right when you open it, and screwing over Columbia Record Club. Also: the secret connection between Cinderella and Debbie Gibson.

Aaron and Bryon are back, with the season two kickoff! New theme music is unveiled, hair metal's definition is once again discussed, and King's X's masterpiece gets a good shakedown. Special Guest David Nantais calls in from Detroit to talk about the album, and the complicated history of Christian Rock that gets intertwined with King's X's history.

Part 2 of our all call-in show! This time, Aaron and Bryon speak with soundman Evan Taylor, guitarist Ryan Sheeler, our old friend Bleujack, and Matt Dake, who works in a local record store. A wide variety of topics is covered indeed, as we polish off Season One!

Thanks for listening, and we'll be back with Season Two very soon!!!

To close out our first season of HMM, Aaron and Bryon decided to host an all call-in show. Our callers were too interesting, though, and we didn't want to have an enormous podcast that went for hours, so we're breaking it up into two parts!

In Part 1, return guest Skotty B. Good discusses what hair metal is with the lads, and gets offended on behalf of Van Halen. Then the lads talk extensively with guitarist Greg DiPasquale of Fatal Curse about Vito Bratta, death metal, and what the metal scene in New York is like. 

It's our longest episode yet, for the longest album we've talked about so far! Aaron and Bryon do a deep dive on Extreme's third album, their magnum opus, Three Sides To Every Story! Special guest Jordan Bleujack Voigt calls us from the countryside in Iowa to talk about this complex slab of hair metal history, and we announce our first-ever contest!

In the second "lockdown" episode, Aaron and Bryon give their take on the debut Winger album from 1988, and why this band is way better than you remembered. Tangents include the incestuous inner circle of the band, Kip Winger's classical music career, Beavis and Butthead, and an accidental Adam Schlesinger tribute. 

Aaron and Bryon do their first episode in the Age of the Virus! Using untested remote technology, they discuss the 1987 debut album from glam and punk influenced hair metal provocateurs Faster Pussycat. 

In this episode, Aaron and Bryon talk about the mega-selling and mega-awesome Guns n' Roses masterpiece, Appetite For Destruction, and special guest Shawna Corbin tells us about getting kicked out of second grade and why there's recorded sex on this album. 

Aaron and Bryon dissect the mega-platinum hair metal behemoth that is Bon Jovi, connecting the dots to Yes, Cher, and atheism, and special guest Chad Watkins hits us with a killer high school metal band name and tales of the best BBQ sauce ever. 

Aaron and Bryon discuss one of the albums that helped launch this podcast, the debut self-titled album by Badlands! This short-lived but well-loved Jake E. Lee project is an underrated gem. Special guest Skotty B. Good talks about his experience with the album, and how he came to it via being in a Christian rock band! And much more!

Aaron and Bryon discuss the self-titled 1987 Whitesnake album, answer a listener question, and talk about the strange connection between Whitesnake and the Grateful Dead with their special guest Greg Bruna.

Aaron and Bryon discuss the history of White Lion, the guitar genius of Vito Bratta, and are joined by special guest Dean Erickson, who wasn't sure about being on the show but became a convert of this underrated hair metal gem.

In our first episode, Aaron and Bryon discuss Dokken's seminal album, Under Lock and Key, with special guest Rachel Dudley!