Hair Metal
Sub-genre of popular music that reached peak visibility in the mid/late 1980's
characterized with
Satanist
undertones, subversive
androgyny, and a fascination with German culture as evidenced by the (often
grammatically incorrect) diacritic use of the "metal umlaut"1.
Prominent acts include
Def Leppard, Whitesnake,
Cinderella, and Mötley Crüe. Categorization of Hair Metal acts is decidedly
non-binary, with notable groups embracing certain tenets and rejecting others
(see:
Queensrÿche, W.A.S.P. (We Are Satan's People), AC/DC
(After Christ/Death Conquerors), and Blue Öyster Cult
2. Prior to its rapid decline in the early 1990's, hair metal featured prominently in popular culture discourse and was thought by the Christian Family Research Council to be morally destructive and exhibit qualities of subliminal mind control
3
.
1 A practice often seen as having Nazi-sympathist undertones.
2 A band who's most well known song "Don't Fear the Reaper" deals directly with various forms of Apeirophobia. Guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser stated that the band's use of the metal umlaut was meant to reference the Wagnerian aspects of Metal.
3 See: Cold Slither.