Top 10 Favorite Bands - #'s 8 and 7

#8 - King Kobra

Band logo

Current lineup of King Kobra

In the mid 80's, everyone was getting into the whole "hair metal" scene. Rock and roll had turned into a hedonistic form of Los Angeles riot partying, complete with the three big things that rock and roll represents: Sex, drugs, and of course, rock and roll. Mötley Crüe was by far the kings of debauchery in the music scene, and the 80's were labeled because of them. However, in the later years, King Kobra came along and changed things up a little. With vocalist Mark Free, and musicians David Michael Phillips, Mick Sweda, Johnny Rod, and Carmine Appice on the drums, the band released Ready to Strike in 1985. The album was popular and a good sale for the group. Following their second album, Thrill of a Lifetime in 1986, Mark Free left the band a midst disagreements with the entire band. The third album, King Kobra III in 1988, was a failure commercially and financially. Along with Free, Sweda and Rod left the band too; only Carmine and David Michael Philips remained. The band disbanded after the failure of KKIII. It wasn't until 2001 that Carmine and Mick Sweda reunited to do a fourth Kobra album, later titled Hollywood Trash. In 2011, Carmine, Sweda, Philips, Rod, and new vocalist Paul Shortino recorded the band's latest album, which was a high seller, titled King Kobra. Today, the band continues to record a follow-up to the album King Kobra, the same lineup. Hopefully this band will remain for quite some time, they rock and they're one of my favorites...

King Kobra circa 80's

Songs to get you started:
"Hunger"
"Shake Up"
"Second Thoughts"
"Iron Eagle (Never Say Die)"
"Thrill of a Lifetime"












#7 - Def Leppard

Logo

The band

In the mid 70's, a group by the name of Def Leppard came to music fruition when guitarist Rick Savage formed with Tom Kenning and Pete Willis in 1978. When the band joined with Joe Elliot in 1979, their popularity began growing and growing until they struck a deal with Vertigo Records (Mercury in the US). When their first two albums, On Through the Night and High 'n' Dry debuted, they were only modestly successful. The band had a high enough fan base, but the album High 'n' Dry brought about their first big hit, which was "Bringin' on the Heartbreak". When the 80's continued on, Pyromania and Hysteria were released, with Leppard staples like "Photograph", "Rock of Ages", and especially their signature song "Pour Some Sugar On Me". Def Leppard continues to be one of the biggest glam metal bands in history, and have sold far more than the majority of other bands from that era, or the following era of grunge music. Today, Def Leppard is on tour with Poison, with opening act Lita Ford, and continue to be one of the highest selling bands in history...

Songs to get you started:
"Bringin' on the Heartbreak"
"Rock of Ages"
"Photograph"
"Love Bites"
"Pour Some Sugar On Me"


Keep in touch, next time is #6 (VAN HALEN) and #5 (POISON)...