The Hair Metal Guru

What happens when lifelong hair metal fans sit down and revisit the biggest pop songs of 1988? Chaos… nostalgia… and a few shocking admissions. 🤣In this episode, Patrick and I react to the Top 20 songs of 1988 — from massive MTV hits and guilty pleasures to songs we probably made fun of back in the day. But do these songs still hold up today? And were some of them actually better than we remember...

Dee Snider is catching serious backlash after calling tribute bands “non-creative garbage” and saying he hates them. In this video, I break down Dee’s comments, explain why so many fans and musicians are upset, and give my honest reaction to the controversy. I also share a great response to Dee written by Derek Fuller, the guitarist from a Van Halen tribute band called Fan Halen. So... are tribute...

Michael Lean returns for his first major interview in decades. The Stevie Rachelle interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymgTLJ76_9s&t=165sBest known as the drummer and driving force behind TUFF during the band’s rise on the Sunset Strip, Michael opens up about the glory days of the Hollywood rock scene, the highs and lows of the music business, why he walked away from the band in 1993, a...

Britny Fox is one of the underrated bands on the scene that most of us on the channel love, and today the 1988 debut album gets our focus. In this episode of The Hair Metal Guru, Ryan and I take a deep dive into the self-titled Britny Fox album and rank every song from best to worst. From the hits everyone knows to the deeper cuts that don’t get enough love, we break down what still holds up—and w...

Mötley Crüe joined Carrie Underwood on American Idol tonight, and honestly… it wasn’t terrible. But after watching the performance, one big question remains: are they really ready for the upcoming summer tour with Tesla and Extreme? In this video, Ryan and I break down the performance, Vince Neil’s vocals, the overall energy of the band, and whether this appearance should give fans confidence head...

Whitesnake was on top of the world in 1987. The self-titled album sold over 8 million copies, launched massive MTV hits like “Here I Go Again,” “Still of the Night,” and “Is This Love,” and turned David Coverdale into one of the biggest stars of the hair metal era. But just two years later, Slip of the Tongue arrived... and something had changed. In this video, we review the 1989 Whitesnake album...

What happens when Geoff Tate continues the legendary Operation: Mindcrime story… without Queensrÿche? In this episode of The Hair Metal Guru, Patrick and I dive into Geoff Tate’s brand-new album Operation: Mindcrime 3 and the new single “The Answer.” We talk about:🔥 Geoff Tate continuing the Mindcrime legacy🔥 Our review of the new single “The Answer”🔥 The controversial $30 CD price🔥 Whether th...

Bret Michaels just took the stage at the 2026 NFL Draft — and for fans of 80s rock and hair metal, it was a pretty surreal moment. In this video, Patrick and I break down Bret’s performance, what it says about his current level of success as a solo artist, and why that success might actually raise some serious questions about the future of Poison. With Bret continuing to land major opportunities l...

Gene Simmons recently opened up about one of KISS’s biggest regrets — failing to intervene when Ace Frehley was spiraling during the band’s peak years. In this video, Ryan and I react to Gene’s emotional comments, discuss the “stupid and shameful” quote that has fans talking, and look back at the complicated history between Ace and the rest of KISS. We also talk about our own experience dealing wi...

In this video, I take a look at newly surfaced footage involving BulletBoys frontman Marq Torien during a tense confrontation at a property he owns. The situation appears to involve renters, with law enforcement and paramedics reportedly being called as the incident escalated. Check out the Metal Sludge story on the incident:https://metalsludge.tv/bulletboys-marq-torien-has-been-involved-in-a-disp...

What really happened inside Slash’s Snakepit? In this exclusive interview, former Slash’s Snakepit vocalist Rod Jackson opens up about his time in the band and the reality behind the Ain’t Life Grand era. Rod speaks candidly about the challenges the band faced, his struggles with addiction, and what was really going on during one of the most turbulent periods in Slash’s post-Guns N’ Roses career....

Eclipse have officially cancelled their Australian tour—and it may be part of a much bigger issue. In this video, I brought my Australian buddy Nik on to break down what happened with the cancellation, the growing concerns surrounding Silverback Touring, and why multiple artists are now speaking out. Is this just bad luck, or is there a deeper problem behind the scenes? In fact, I covered some ear...

In this video, Ryan and I take a deep dive into Europe’s brand-new song and video “One on One”… and honestly, we didn’t expect this. Gone is the catchy, melodic ‘80s sound that made Europe legendary—and in its place is something much darker, heavier, and… strange. Even more surprising? The music video doesn’t feature the band at all. Instead, it centers around a single mysterious character that le...

Van Halen III… what happened? Released in 1998, this was the first (and only) Van Halen album featuring Gary Cherone on vocals—and the first time the band didn’t dominate the charts the way fans had come to expect. No multi-platinum success. No #1 peak. And for many fans, no connection at all. So… why did this album bomb? In this video, we take a deep dive into Van Halen III—our personal memories...

If you're a fan of hair metal and love discovering songs you’ve never heard before… this one’s for you. In this episode of The Hair Metal Guru, Ryan and I dive into some hidden hair metal gems—tracks we’ve been spinning lately that deserve WAY more attention. Some are newer releases keeping the spirit alive, and others are deep cuts from back in the day that somehow slipped through the cracks....

We did the unthinkable… we BANNED hair metal 😱On a channel built around glam, we flipped the script and went FULL HEAVY. No hairspray. No ballads. Just pure, crushing metal. In this episode of The Hair Metal Guru, Ryan, Patrick, The Guru and special guest star, Chris Sheridan from the band Sweet Savage share our favorite HEAVY METAL songs—from legends to deep cuts—that hit harder than anything fr...

The Monsters of Rock Cruise has been full of drama lately—and I've covered the heck out of it in these videos:BREAKING: Ted Poley Calls Out Sebastian Bach After Cruise Incidenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJZcuwV9djQ&t=7sTed Poley Apologizes… I DON’T Agree (Sebastian Bach Drama)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjl--UVuy-U&t=134sSebastian Bach’s Cruise Blowup: Stevie Rachelle Breaks H...

🔥 In this in-depth interview, Andrew Elt — best known as the voice of Sleeze Beez — shares the untold stories behind one of hard rock’s most underrated bands, and talks about his band 7 Miles to Pittsburgh and their upcoming album, Beyond Repair, which will be out in September. 👇 Check out 7 Miles to Pittsburgh here:https://www.facebook.com/7mtp.nlFrom the rise of Sleeze Beez in the late ’80s an...

The Metal Sludge story by Stevie Rachelle that inspired this video:https://metalsludge.tv/drinking-screaming-my-face-to-face-meet-greet-with-sebastian-bach-35-years-later-by-stevie-rachelle/The first video I put out on the incident:BREAKING: Ted Poley Calls Out Sebastian Bach After Cruise Incidenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJZcuwV9djQ&t=6sThe followup video after Ted Poley apologized:Ted...

KISS went heavy in 1992 with Revenge… but was it really their last GREAT album? In this episode of The Hair Metal Guru, we take a deep dive into Revenge—sharing our personal history with the album, what we thought when it first dropped, and how it holds up 30+ years later. But here’s the twist… not all of us agree. Some of us think Revenge was the last true classic KISS record. Others? Not so much...

What really happened to hair metal in the ‘90s? Between 1993 and 1998, the genre that once dominated MTV, arenas, and rock radio suddenly found itself fighting to survive. In this episode of The Hair Metal Guru, Patrick, Jones, Jeremy, Matt and I dive headfirst into the dark years of hair metal—and break it all down by tackling 15 key questions that every fan has wondered about. Was it grunge that...

The Scorpions have cancelled multiple shows—and fans are starting to ask a serious question… is this the end? In this video, Patrick and I break discuss the recent cancellations, what’s really going on behind the scenes, and the growing concern surrounding Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker—both now 77 years old. Klaus, in particular, has been visibly struggling in recent performances, raising questi...

What happens when shock rock meets grunge?!In this episode of The Hair Metal Guru, Ryan and I dive into one of the most unexpected moments in recent rock history—Alice Cooper performing a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana… yes, THAT song. For decades, “Teen Spirit” has been seen as the anthem that helped bring down the dominance of ‘80s hair metal, and say what you will, but Alice was ab...

What happens when one of the most over-the-top voices in rock history sits down for a real conversation? Purchase Jim's Proud To Be Loud Vinyl Reissue at METAL SLUDGE!https://rlsrecords.bigcartel.com/In this exclusive interview, Jim Gillette—the powerhouse vocalist of Nitro—joins The Hair Metal Guru to talk about his wild career, how he started the Vocal Power series, and how he found out he c...

🎉 WE DID IT! The Hair Metal Guru just hit 15,000 subscribers! We (Charlie and I) wanted to say thank you to every single one of you — whether you've been here since day one or just subscribed today. From landing interviews with legends like Rikki Rockett (Poison), Bobbie Brown, Brent Muscat (Faster Pussycat), and more, to posting fresh hair metal content every Monday through Friday, this mile...