The 90s was a tough time to be an AOR band. The giants of the 70s had found themselves lumped in with the so-called ‘hair metal’ movement, which in turn had been usurped by grunge. The smart melodic rock acts changed with the times – most notably Bon Jovi, whose Keep The Faith album found them ditching the Desmond Child anthems in favour of a more contemporary sound. They were the exception, though: most groups struggled in the face of an unforgiving music industry, and there were countless casualties.
But melodic rock didn’t die: it just went underground. While the likes of Def Leppard kept it in the charts for a while (before themselves taking an alt-rock detour with the poorly-received Slang), bands such as Crown Of Thorns and Unruly Child, and devoutly independent labels like Escape Music and Now & Then, kept the flame burning, albeit away from the public eye.
The genre was still capable of producing some great music during that barren decade, as these 10 essential albums prove.
- Van Halen: The Debut Album That Saved Rock
- This is Charles Manson's letter to Marilyn Manson
- The 10 Worst Guns N' Roses Songs
- Corey Taylor: Stone Sour's new material will eat people
