These days music fans don’t necessarily care about what genre the music they enjoy falls into but this wasn’t always the case. There was a time where much of your identity was tied to the music you listened to. Case in point: the rock vs. disco debate that dominated the late 1970s. Throughout the past 50 years of music, it seems that every genre has its counter-reaction, such as the case of 90s grunge being a reaction to the excess of 80s glam rock. There are some genres of music that will never die; rock, hip-hop, R&B, reggae are here to stay but others have come and gone, often in a short period of time. Here are 12 genres of music that have essentially become extinct over the past five decades.
12. Glam Metal
The glam metal genre is known for flashy clothing, heavy makeup, and large teased hair, and in a post-MTV era, bands were often more concerned with their image than their sound. This led to the demise of glam metal, with its short-lived time in the spotlight lasting from around 1983-1990. A subgenre of heavy metal, glam metal has a distinct sound that featured pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, borrowing its aesthetic from 1970s glam rock.
After bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam brought grunge and alternative to the forefront in the early 90s and popularized counterculture, the excess of glam metal quickly fell out of favor. Bands like Poison, Skid Row, Cinderella, and Warrant were synonymous with the genre, though a few survived into the decade by adopting a harder sound then they had in the 80s. Glam metal saw a resurgence in the mid-2000s with bands like The Darkness and Steel Panther having a few years of success between them.
Via Vulture