Album Of The Week: Kix Rock Your Face Off

What was the best hair-metal band of the '80s? Guns N' Roses is the obvious answer, and Axl Rose did have some impressively big hair in the "Welcome To The Jungle" video, but that band (smartly) distanced themselves from their Sunset Strip peers as quickly as they possibly could, effectively and consciously transcending the genre that birthed them. Def Leppard, similarly, flew the hair-metal flag at a few key moments, and they released at least two absolutely bulletproof albums in the '80s. But Def Lep were hair-metal the same way the early Killers were indie rock; their association with the genre was glancing at best and opportunistic at worst. Mötley Crüe and Poison and Twisted Sister and Skid Row all had classics, as did lesser-knowns like Faster Pussycat and Girlschool. But none of them was as good as Kix. There's a very good chance you've never heard of Kix, but they are my pick for best hair-metal band ever, and it's not close.