WashYourHands
Cat Malogen
Aye but proto-hair could include Iron Maiden and nwbhm (or whatever it was called) too
G'n'R definitely hair metallic at this point - Axl's blow-dried hair and eye-make-up
i think we come at this stuff from the wrong angle sometimes. some segment of america has some kind of need for massive distorted sounds. the exact genre twists and turns. but 70s neil young, hair metal, thrash metal, linkin park, tool, skrillex and EDM are all fulfilling the same role. filling up stadiums and smashing people in the face with a beat and distortion. everyone facing the gods at the front.
I could be wrong, but think the 'hair metal' tag came about as a perjorative in the '90s, when retro programmes would tell you that the entire world was into Poison and Vixen until Nirvana blew everyone's minds by releasing Teen Spirit, burying the hair metallers overnight, etc etc. But I can't remember anyone giving a shit at the time, except one friend at school who was into Bathory and Slayer and considered all this stuff 'gay' (in terms of not thrashing hard enough, rather than the hair metallers' actual sexuality).I don't remember any of those bands drawing any real flack for their look.