The 1990s were undoubtedly the era of grunge and hip-hop. That didn’t stop people, however, from rediscovering the great music of yesteryear. In fact, there were quite a few rock/punk/metal bands that found a resurgence in the 90s. Let’s take a look at a few.
KISS
KISS ruled rock ‘n’ roll in the 70s. Then came the 80s. They took off the makeup, and it was clear from the charts that the band had fallen from its former glory. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 90s, KISS struggled to find the spotlight again. (I will say that I personally believe their 1992 album Revenge deserves more credit.)
That changed in 1997, though. KISS unleashed their 18th studio album, Psycho Circus. The album’s title track gave them their first number one in decades. With this album, KISS set off on a trajectory that brought them into the rock conversation yet again, leading all the way to their final tour, The End of the Road.
Misfits
If it wasn’t for the Misfits, there is no telling where hardcore and punk would be today. The band was groundbreaking in the late 70s and early 80s, but then went their separate ways around 1983.
More than a decade later, original members Jerry Only (bass) and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (lead guitar) revived the Misfits. They brought in Dr. Chud (David Calabrese) on drums and Michale Graves on lead vocals. In 97, they put out American Psycho, which was well received.
Then, riding their reclaimed notoriety, the band dropped Famous Monsters in 1999. It matched the energy of the mainstream punk sound on the rise at that time, but raised the stakes with hardcore sensibility and macabre subject matter. It remains one of the band’s most praised albums.
Ozzy Osbourne
We all know the story. After leaving Black Sabbath in the 70s, Ozzy went solo. He then spent the 80s igniting one of the greatest rock/metal careers the world has ever seen. After dropping an iconic album in 1991’s No More Tears, the Prince of Darkness started to lose some steam.
Enter: Sharon Osbourne and her brilliantly petty personality. Ozzy’s adoring wife and shrewd manager got p***ed off at the folks behind Lollapalooza (so the story goes) because they would not entertain the notion of Ozzy performing at the travelking festival. So, she decided to make their own. This was the birth of Ozzfest.
Not only did it spark a resurgence in Ozzy’s popularity, but it also reenergized heavy metal as a whole. The effects of which can still be felt in the genre today.
Aerosmith
Similar to KISS, Aerosmith were kings of rock in the 70s, but the 80s were not quite as kind to them. They had a handful of big songs near the end of the decade, but then the 90s came along. Arguably, the band actually experienced what I think you could define as two resurgences across the Gay Nineties (that’s a real nickname, look it up).
First, the band had a No. 1 hit on their hands with “Livin’ on the Edge”, from 1993’s Get a Grip. (Yes, they also had a couple of top songs in 1990. But, those were from their 89 album Pump, so we are not counting it.) Get a Grip would go on to spawn two more classic Aerosmith tunes: “Cryin’” and “Amazing”, as well as one of my personal favorites, “Eat The Rich”.
Now we jump ahead to the late 1990s. In 97, Aerosmith dropped Nine Lives, their 12th studio album. The record featured a couple more huge ’90s tunes: “Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)” and “Pink”.
Finally, the band essentially embedded a classic-rock obelisk in the earth in 1998 with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. The song was from the Armageddon soundtrack, an iconic global disaster film starring Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv Tyler. To this day, the track is still one of the biggest songs of the 90s.
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