172-537: Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California , in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee , with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. They have also achieved seven platinum or multi-platinum certifications, nine Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart (including 1989's Dr. Feelgood , which
344-558: A staccato attack created by using a palm-muted technique on the rhythm guitar. Brief, abrupt and detached rhythmic cells are joined into rhythmic phrases with a distinctive, often jerky texture. These phrases are used to create rhythmic accompaniment and melodic figures called riffs , which help to establish thematic hooks . Heavy metal songs also use longer rhythmic figures such as whole note - or dotted quarter note-length chords in slow-tempo power ballads . The tempos in early heavy metal music tended to be "slow, even ponderous". By
516-481: A Liar (and That's the Truth)". Red, White & Crüe charted at No. 6 and has since gone platinum. On New Year's Eve 2004 the band appeared on a live episode of The Tonight Show . Neil yelled an obscenity during the performance, leading to an FCC investigation. The NBC network responded by banning the band, leading to the band subsequently suing the network, claiming they were being unfairly punished. The lawsuit
688-457: A bright-orange outfit with rhinestones all over the place, and a big white Stetson hat . I went, 'I'm doing that. That's what I want to do.'" His parents bought him his first guitar at age 12 and he began a relentless practice routine, thinking only of becoming a successful musician. He began at age 14 as bassist in a Beatles cover group called The Jades before switching to lead guitar. He dropped out of high school and began playing guitar in
860-683: A car. The condition led to hip-replacement surgery at the end of 2004. In spite of the pain, Mars refuses to use a cane or a wheelchair, saying "If I can't get up there myself, I'm not doing it." Mainly influenced by the Blues rock music of the 1960s, he has pointed out the likes of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix as influences: When I started out on the guitar, I was influenced by people like Michael Bloomfield , Jeff Beck , Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix . Those guys sort of taught me how to play 'real' guitar. But again, with riffs, you have to look into your soul and see what comes out. Mars also claims that
1032-487: A cover of the Rolling Stones ' " Street Fighting Man ". A small controversy was caused when it was suggested that neither Lee nor Mars played on the new tracks (duties were supposedly handled by Vandals drummer Josh Freese ). However, a VH1 documentary of the band's reunion later showed that Lee did indeed play on some of the tracks. The Japanese release of Red, White & Crüe includes an extra new track titled "I'm
1204-548: A decade of frustration on the California club circuit, he made the decision to reinvent himself. He shaved off his trademark mustache, changed his legal name from Bob Deal to Mick Mars, and dyed his hair jet black, hoping for a fresh start. In April 1980 he placed an ad in the LA newspaper The Recycler , describing himself as "a loud, rude and aggressive guitar player" in need of a band. Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee , who were putting together
1376-489: A drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist. Keyboard instruments are sometimes used to enhance the fullness of the sound. Deep Purple 's Jon Lord played an overdriven Hammond organ . In 1970, John Paul Jones used a Moog synthesizer on Led Zeppelin III ; by the 1990s, synthesizers were used in "almost every subgenre of heavy metal". The electric guitar and
1548-531: A friend of Mars's driver. The band's first release was the single "Stick to Your Guns/Toast of the Town", which was released on its own record label, Leathür Records , which had a pressing and distribution deal with Greenworld Distribution in Torrance, California . On November 10, 1981, its debut album Too Fast for Love was self-produced and released on Leathür, selling 20,000 copies. Coffman's assistant Eric Greif set up
1720-473: A heavy metal direction. A few commentators – mainly American – argue for other groups, including Iron Butterfly , Steppenwolf , Blue Cheer , or Vanilla Fudge , as the first to play heavy metal. In 1968, the sound that would become known as heavy metal began to coalesce. That January, San Francisco band Blue Cheer released a cover of Eddie Cochran 's classic " Summertime Blues " as a part of their debut album, Vincebus Eruptum , and many consider it to be
1892-517: A heavy-metals blues sound". In January 1970, Lucian K. Truscott IV , reviewing Led Zeppelin II for the Village Voice , described the sound as "heavy" and made comparisons with Blue Cheer and Vanilla Fudge . Other early documented uses of the phrase are from reviews by critic Metal Mike Saunders . In the 12 November 1970 issue of Rolling Stone , he commented on an album put out the previous year by
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#17328906749762064-435: A hereditary form of arthritis which causes extensive spinal pain called ankylosing spondylitis , went into seclusion in 2001 dealing with health issues. Lee went on to form Methods of Mayhem and also performed as a solo artist during this time. A 2001 autobiography titled The Dirt , co-authored by all four of the band members and Neil Strauss , presented Mötley Crüe as "the world's most notorious rock band". The book made
2236-482: A later release. Mars co-wrote and appears in the music video of the song " Boss's Daughter " by Pop Evil on their 2011 album War of Angels . In November 2019, Mars released a new song, "The Way I'm Wired", with Black Smoke Trigger . Mars was also featured on the hit single " Outlaws & Outsiders " by Cory Marks . In 2024, Mars was featured on another Cory Marks single titled "(Make My) Country Rock". Mars in his early career used guitars that were popular at
2408-428: A major influence on heavy metal since the genre's earliest days, and that metal's "most influential musicians have been guitar players who have also studied classical music. Their appropriation and adaptation of classical models sparked the development of a new kind of guitar virtuosity [and] changes in the harmonic and melodic language of heavy metal." In an article written for Grove Music Online , Walser stated that
2580-491: A massive, heavy sound from unison riffing between guitarist Eric Clapton and bassist Jack Bruce , as well as Ginger Baker 's double bass drumming. Their first two LPs – Fresh Cream (1966) and Disraeli Gears (1967) – are regarded as essential prototypes for the future style of heavy metal. The Jimi Hendrix Experience 's debut album, Are You Experienced (1967), was also highly influential. Hendrix 's virtuosic technique would be emulated by many metal guitarists, and
2752-467: A movie, but the production was delayed for several years and the deal eventually fell through. In June 2007, Mötley Crüe set out on a small European tour. A lawsuit was filed by Neil, Mars and Sixx against Carl Stubner , Lee's manager. The three sued him for contracting for Lee to appear on two unsuccessful reality shows the band claim hurt its image. It was later reported on Motley.com that the lawsuit had been settled. In 2007, Sixx published his diaries as
2924-477: A new glam metal phase in the band's style. Theatre of Pain was commercially successful, reaching number 6 on the Billboard album charts and eventually being certified quadruple platinum. However, the recording of the album was fraught with tension in the wake of Neil's accident and Sixx's growing addiction, and members of the band have said that they consider it a creative disappointment. Mötley Crüe spent most of
3096-473: A new band which would soon become Mötley Crüe, contacted him and hired him after hearing him play. Lee opened the door and recalled "he's standing there looking like Cousin Itt from The Addams Family " and immediately turned to Sixx and said "This is our guy, he's perfect, he's disgusting and scary". The name Mötley Crüe came about at the suggestion of Mars. In the early days of White Horse, someone had referred to
3268-659: A party without limits ... [T]he bulk of the music is stylized and formulaic." Music critics have often deemed metal lyrics juvenile and banal, and others have objected to what they see as advocacy of misogyny and the occult. During the 1980s, the Parents Music Resource Center petitioned the U.S. Congress to regulate the popular music industry due to what the group asserted were objectionable lyrics, particularly those in heavy metal songs. Andrew Cope stated that claims that heavy metal lyrics are misogynistic are "clearly misguided" as these critics have "overlook[ed]
3440-523: A rival club band named Mammoth. "Mick Mars and Eddie Van Halen were the two hottest guitar players in LA. There probably weren't two better guitar players on the planet," said Valentine. Mars eventually left White Horse when the band decided to play disco music in the hopes of achieving greater success. He then joined a pop group called Video Nu-R and released the singles "Gypsy Woman/You Drive Me Crazy" in 1978 and "Work, Work/Decadence Plus" in 1979. These singles marked Mars' recording debut. After nearly
3612-718: A series of unsuccessful blues -based rock bands throughout the 1970s. In his early 20s, he took a job in an industrial laundromat operating heavy machinery while moonlighting with his band Wahtoshi in the local club circuit. After recovering from a serious injury to one of his hands suffered in a workplace accident, he quit to focus on music full time. In 1973, he joined a cover band called White Horse and soon began to be recognized as an accomplished guitarist. "He could copy parts note for note. You give him " Highway Star " and he could nail Ritchie Blackmore 's riffs," said ex-White Horse bassist Harry Clay. Former White Horse drummer Jack Valentine says that Mars began using various aliases in
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#17328906749763784-419: A spirit of "affectionate rivalry". Heavy metal "demands the subordination of the voice" to the overall sound of the band. Reflecting metal's roots in the 1960s counterculture, an "explicit display of emotion" is required from the vocals as a sign of authenticity. Critic Simon Frith claims that the metal singer's "tone of voice" is more important than the lyrics. The prominent role of the bass is also key to
3956-521: A spurious "bomb threat" against the band made the front page of the Edmonton Journal on June 9, 1982; Lee and assistant band manager Greif were interviewed by police as a result. This too ended up being a staged PR stunt perpetrated by Greif. Lastly, Lee threw a television set from an upper story window of the Sheraton Caravan Hotel. Canadian rock magazine Music Express noted that the band
4128-413: A suitable name, Mars remembered an incident that occurred when he was playing with a band called White Horse, when one of the other band members called the group "a motley looking crew". He had remembered the phrase and later copied it down as 'Mottley Cru'. After slight modification of the spelling, "Mötley Crüe" was eventually selected as the band's name, with the stylistic decision suggested by Neil to add
4300-415: A thick, monumental sound characterized by distorted guitars, extended guitar solos , emphatic beats and loudness . In 1968, three of the genre's most famous pioneers – British bands Led Zeppelin , Black Sabbath and Deep Purple – were founded. Though they came to attract wide audiences, they were often derided by critics. Several American bands modified heavy metal into more accessible forms during
4472-479: A tour of Canada, while Coffman and Greif used Mötley Crüe's success in the Los Angeles club scene to negotiate with several record labels, eventually signing a recording contract with Elektra Records in early 1982. The debut album was then remixed by producer Roy Thomas Baker and re-released on August 20, 1982—two months after its Canadian Warner Music Group release using the original Leathür mixes—to coincide with
4644-789: A trippy, distorted haze". During the late 1960s, many psychedelic singers, such as Arthur Brown , began to create outlandish, theatrical, and often macabre performances that influenced many metal acts. The American psychedelic rock band Coven , who opened for early heavy metal influencers such as Vanilla Fudge and the Yardbirds, portrayed themselves as practitioners of witchcraft or black magic , using dark – Satanic or occult – imagery in their lyrics, album art and live performances, which consisted of elaborate, theatrical " Satanic rites ". Coven's 1969 debut album, Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls , featured imagery of skulls, black masses , inverted crosses , and Satan worship, and both
4816-614: A void in Mötley. We weren't even rehearsing, so it was no big deal." Lee was replaced by a longtime friend of the band, former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo . The band released New Tattoo in July 2000. Before the ensuing tour commenced, Castillo became ill with a duodenal ulcer. The band brought in former Hole drummer Samantha Maloney for the Maximum Rock tour with Megadeth as Castillo concentrated on his health. However, while Castillo
4988-464: A well deserved reputation for partying, Mars was never a fan of drugs. "I went, 'Please don't ever, ever do smack. You can't make music when you're falling down'," he told his bandmates when heroin began to enter the picture. He did, however, develop a serious drinking problem after joining the band. During the recording of their Dr. Feelgood album in 1989 Mars reportedly used so many amplifiers on his guitar that sounds of his guitar could be heard on
5160-449: Is Mötley Crüe's only studio album to reach number one), twenty-two Top 40 mainstream rock hits, and six Top 20 pop singles. The members of Mötley Crüe have often been noted for their hedonistic lifestyles and the androgynous personae they maintained. Following the hard rock and heavy metal origins on the band's first two albums, Too Fast for Love (1981) and Shout at the Devil (1983),
5332-503: Is considered vital. In his book, Metalheads , psychologist Jeffrey Arnett refers to heavy metal concerts as "the sensory equivalent of war". Following the lead set by Jimi Hendrix , Cream and the Who , early heavy metal acts such as Blue Cheer set new benchmarks for volume. As Blue Cheer's Dick Peterson put it, "All we knew was we wanted more power." A 1977 review of a Motörhead concert noted how "excessive volume in particular figured into
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5504-426: Is emphatic, with deliberate stresses. Weinstein observes that the wide array of sonic effects available to metal drummers enables the "rhythmic pattern to take on a complexity within its elemental drive and insistency". In many heavy metal songs, the main groove is characterized by short, two- or three-note rhythmic figures – generally made up of eighth or 16th notes . These rhythmic figures are usually performed with
5676-557: Is speculation as to who started the phenomenon. Attendees of metal concerts do not dance in the usual sense. It has been argued that this is due to the music's largely male audience and "extreme heterosexualist ideology". Two primary body movements used are headbanging and an arm thrust that is both a sign of appreciation and a rhythmic gesture. The performance of air guitar is popular among metal fans both at concerts and listening to records at home. According to Deena Weinstein , thrash metal concerts have two elements that are not part of
5848-485: Is traditionally characterized by loud distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound and vigorous vocals. Heavy metal subgenres variously emphasize, alter or omit one or more of these attributes. In a 1988 article, The New York Times critic Jon Pareles wrote, "In the taxonomy of popular music, heavy metal is a major subspecies of hard-rock—the breed with less syncopation , less blues, more showmanship and more brute force." The typical band lineup includes
6020-439: The 13th Floor Elevators epitomized the frenetic, heavier, darker, and more psychotic psychedelic rock sound known as acid rock, a sound characterized by droning guitar riffs, amplified feedback, and guitar distortion, while the 13th Floor Elevators' sound in particular featured yelping vocals and "occasionally demented" lyrics. Frank Hoffman noted that "[Psychedelic rock] was sometimes referred to as 'acid rock'. The latter label
6192-714: The Aeolian and Phrygian modes . Harmonically speaking, this means the genre typically incorporates modal chord progressions such as the Aeolian progressions I-♭VI-♭VII, I-♭VII-(♭VI), or I-♭VI-IV-♭VII and Phrygian progressions implying the relation between I and ♭II (I-♭II-I, I-♭II-III, or I-♭II-VII for example). Tense-sounding chromatic or tritone relationships are used in a number of metal chord progressions. In addition to using modal harmonic relationships, heavy metal also uses " pentatonic and blues-derived features". The tritone, an interval spanning three whole tones – such as C to F# –
6364-464: The Generation Swine era as his only regret as a member of Mötley Crüe, as the band erased much of what he recorded in the studio and hired session guitarists instead. Mars also claims that he had little involvement in 2000's New Tattoo , saying "I didn't write any of those songs, since I wasn't invited. I think I got one lick on that album." Sixx has denied this claim, saying that "This is during
6536-458: The minor third , major third , perfect fourth , diminished fifth or minor sixth . Most power chords are also played with a consistent finger arrangement that can be slid easily up and down the fretboard . Heavy metal is usually based on riffs created with three main harmonic traits: modal scale progressions, tritone and chromatic progressions, and the use of pedal points . Traditional heavy metal tends to employ modal scales, in particular
6708-443: The perfect fifth , though an octave may be added as a doubling of the root . When power chords are played on the lower strings at high volumes and with distortion, additional low-frequency sounds are created, which add to the "weight of the sound" and create an effect of "overwhelming power". Although the perfect fifth interval is the most common basis for the power chord, power chords are also based on different intervals such as
6880-485: The "1980s brought on ... the widespread adaptation of chord progressions and virtuosic practices from 18th-century European models, especially Bach and Antonio Vivaldi , by influential guitarists such as Ritchie Blackmore , Marty Friedman , Jason Becker , Uli Jon Roth , Eddie Van Halen , Randy Rhoads and Yngwie Malmsteen ." Kurt Bachmann of Believer has stated that "if done correctly, metal and classical fit quite well together. Classical and metal are probably
7052-410: The "heavy crunch sound in heavy metal ... [is created by] palm muting " the strings with the picking hand and using distortion. Palm muting creates a tighter, more precise sound and it emphasizes the low end. The lead role of the guitar in heavy metal often collides with the traditional "frontman" or bandleader role of the vocalist, creating a musical tension as the two "contend for dominance" in
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7224-434: The "holiest of heavy metal communions". The metal scene has been characterized as a "subculture of alienation" with its own code of authenticity. This code puts several demands on performers: they must appear both completely devoted to their music and loyal to the subculture that supports it; they must appear uninterested in mainstream appeal and radio hits; and they must never " sell out ". Deena Weinstein stated that for
7396-555: The "punch and grind" characteristic. Thrash metal guitar tone has scooped mid-frequencies and tightly compressed sound with multiple bass frequencies. Guitar solos are "an essential element of the heavy metal code ... that underscores the significance of the guitar" to the genre. Most heavy metal songs "feature at least one guitar solo", which is "a primary means through which the heavy metal performer expresses virtuosity". Some exceptions are nu metal and grindcore bands, which tend to omit guitar solos. With rhythm guitar parts,
7568-513: The 1970s such as Zorky Charlemagne as a means of avoiding the police, as he was behind on child-support payments to ex-girlfriend Sharon, the mother of two of his children. "Any time we got pulled over by the cops for a taillight or whatever, and the cops saw his ID, they’d throw him in jail. We'd have to figure a way to get him out," recalled Valentine. White Horse had a promising future, and Mars (still known as Bob Deal) began drawing comparisons to another young guitarist named Eddie Van Halen of
7740-400: The 1970s: the raw, sleazy sound and shock rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss ; the blues-rooted rock of Aerosmith ; and the flashy guitar leads and party rock of Van Halen . During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence, while Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Beginning in
7912-510: The 1980s and 1990s, heavy metal hair "symbolised the hate, angst and disenchantment of a generation that seemingly never felt at home", according to journalist Nader Rahman. Long hair gave members of the metal community "the power they needed to rebel against nothing in general". The classic uniform of heavy metal fans consists of light-colored, ripped, frayed or torn blue jeans, black T-shirts, boots, and black leather or denim jackets. Deena Weinstein wrote, "T-shirts are generally emblazoned with
8084-527: The Billboard 200. Sixx has said in interviews that he believes the album would have debuted at number 1, if not for behind the scenes maneuvering by Whitney Houston 's record label. The band again changed their look for the album and subsequent tour, trading the glam elements of the previous album for a biker aesthetic. The band faced many of the same personal issues that plagued the recording of Theatre of Pain and Sixx has complained that those issues compromised
8256-461: The British band Humble Pie : " Safe as Yesterday Is , their first American release, proved that Humble Pie could be boring in lots of different ways. Here they were a noisy, unmelodic, heavy metal-leaden shit-rock band with the loud and noisy parts beyond doubt. There were a couple of nice songs ... and one monumental pile of refuse." He described the band's latest, self-titled release as "more of
8428-416: The British bands Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath , with American commentators tending to favour Led Zeppelin and British commentators tending to favour Black Sabbath, though many give equal credit to both. Deep Purple , the third band in what is sometimes considered the "unholy trinity" of heavy metal along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, fluctuated between many rock styles until late 1969 when they took
8600-697: The British record label Earache Records , in an "unsuccessful attempt to prosecute the label for obscenity". In some predominantly Muslim countries, heavy metal has been officially denounced as a threat to traditional values, and in countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Malaysia, there have been incidents of heavy metal musicians and fans being arrested and incarcerated. In 1997, the Egyptian police jailed many young metal fans, and they were accused of "devil worship" and blasphemy after police found metal recordings during searches of their homes. In 2013, Malaysia banned Lamb of God from performing in their country, on
8772-419: The Devil , was released on September 26, 1983. The album represented the band's mainstream breakthrough and would eventually be certified 4× platinum. The album generated controversy for its title track and album imagery, both of which invoked Satanism . They then gained the attention of then-former Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne and found themselves opening for Osbourne on his 1984 tour for Bark at
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#17328906749768944-559: The Limit , and contributed a guitar solo to the song "Into the Light" by Papa Roach , on their 2009 album Metamorphosis . Mars also contributed a guitar solo to the song "The Question" on Rock Star: Supernova runner-up Dilana 's U.S. debut album Inside Out . In 2010 he co-wrote a song with Escape the Fate for the band's self-titled album , which was instead withheld from the album and reserved for
9116-504: The Mainstream U.S. chart, and which was featured on 1989's Dr. Feelgood , their first U.S. number one album. From 1986 to 1987, Sixx kept a daily diary of his heroin addiction and eventually entered rehab in January 1988, prompting the band to cancel their planned tour dates for that year. While 1988 was the first year that Mötley Crüe did not tour, controversy again hit the band that year in
9288-503: The Moon . The band members were well known for their backstage antics, outrageous clothing, extreme high-heeled boots, heavily applied make-up, and seemingly endless abuse of alcohol and drugs. The band members also had their share of run-ins with the law. On December 8, 1984, Neil was driving home from a liquor run in his De Tomaso Pantera , which ended in a head-on collision; his passenger, then- Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley ,
9460-649: The Starwood in Hollywood, California, Lee suggested they have Neil join the band. At first Neil refused the offer. On the same day as Mars, lead vocalist Michael White , who previously played with Nikki Sixx in London, joined the band. But White eventually ended up leaving also. As the other members of Rock Candy started to think about moving in more of a New Wave direction and became involved in outside projects, Vince Neil grew anxious to try something else. Lee asked again; Neil
9632-433: The advent of grunge and alternative music. It remains unclear whether Neil was fired or quit the band. Sixx has long maintained that Neil quit, while Neil insists that he was fired. "Any band has its little spats," Neil observed in 2000, "and this one basically just stemmed from a bunch of 'fuck yous' in a rehearsal studio. It went from 'I quit' to 'You're fired' ... It was handled idiotically. The management just let one of
9804-526: The album A Long Time Comin' by U.S. band Electric Flag : "Nobody who's been listening to Mike Bloomfield —either talking or playing—in the last few years could have expected this. This is the new soul music, the synthesis of white blues and heavy metal rock." In the 7 September 1968 edition of the Seattle Daily Times , reviewer Susan Schwartz wrote that the Jimi Hendrix Experience "has
9976-418: The album artwork and the band's live performances marked the first appearances in rock music of the sign of the horns , which would later become an important gesture in heavy metal culture. Coven's lyrical and thematic influences on heavy metal were quickly overshadowed by the darker and heavier sounds of Black Sabbath . Critics disagree over who can be thought of as the first heavy metal band. Most credit
10148-526: The album's most successful single, " Purple Haze ", is identified by some as the first heavy metal hit. Vanilla Fudge , whose first album also came out in 1967, has been called "one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal," and the band has been cited as an early American heavy metal group. On their self-titled debut album, Vanilla Fudge created "loud, heavy, slowed-down arrangements" of contemporary hit songs, blowing these songs up to "epic proportions" and "bathing them in
10320-419: The album's quality, although he has spoken more positively about the record in subsequent years. On December 23, 1987, Sixx suffered a heroin overdose. He was declared clinically dead on the way to the hospital, but the paramedic, who was a Mötley Crüe fan, revived Sixx with two shots of adrenaline. His two minutes in death were the inspiration for the song " Kickstart My Heart ", which peaked at No. 16 on
10492-476: The album, " Loyal to the Lie ", was released on October 31, 2023. With his girlfriend and later wife Sharon, Mars has a son (Les Paul) and a daughter (Stormy), both born in the 1970s. Sharon would later walk out on him with the children after a workplace accident left him unable to provide for the family or play guitar. He fathered a third child, Erik, with a woman named Marcia Lea Martell (nee Tucker), while playing in
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#173289067497610664-446: The albums: Axis: Bold as Love (1967), Truth (1968), Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds (1965), Disraeli Gears (1967), Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970), Bad Company (1974), Band of Gypsys (1970), Led Zeppelin II (1969), and various songs by Mike Bloomfield helped "change his life". Former Mötley Crüe vocalist John Corabi has said that Mars was a big fan of Leslie West and Jeff Beck; "To Mick, it
10836-434: The audience for whom they're playing – engage in headbanging , which involves rhythmically beating time with the head, often emphasized by long hair. The il cornuto , or "devil horns", hand gesture was popularized by vocalist Ronnie James Dio during his time with the bands Black Sabbath and Dio . Although Gene Simmons of Kiss claims to have been the first to make the gesture on the 1977 Love Gun album cover, there
11008-467: The band White Horse. At one point, with three children and little success as a musician, Mars' well-being suffered. "He was a real sad guy," said ex-White Horse drummer Jack Valentine . "Looking into his eyes, I just saw this world of sorrow. He had such a hard life." Later he was married to Emi Canyn from 1990 to 1994. His current wife since 2013 is former model Seraina Schönenberger. Mars says he's been financially destitute three times in his life. "One
11180-515: The band as a "motley looking crew" and Motley Crew was a name they had initially considered using. Sixx liked the name and subsequently altered it to Mötley Crüe. One of the most influential heavy metal groups of the 1980s, Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. They have also achieved seven multiplatinum and five platinum US certifications, nine Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, twenty-two Top 40 mainstream rock hits, and six Top 20 pop singles. While Mötley Crüe gained
11352-420: The band bring back Neil, believing the latter would always be seen as the voice of the band. This eventually resulted in his own firing in 1996. Corabi spoke about his time with the band and his thoughts on the first record with Mötley Crüe. Corabi said: "my record was the first record that they had done that didn't go platinum, didn't make some sort of crazy noise, and everybody panicked". During his time away from
11524-416: The band had convinced Mars that he never wanted to tour again. He made it clear to his bandmates that he was open to recording again but could not handle another world tour, as he could no longer move his head from side to side and was permanently hunched over. Mars says he has never had a close offstage relationship with any of his Mötley Crüe bandmates. "(Sixx) has only ever visited me two or three times at
11696-399: The band in 2004. In October 2022, after 41 years of service, Mars announced his retirement from touring with the band, with John 5 (formerly of David Lee Roth , Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie ) replacing him. The nucleus of the group first came together in early 1981, when former Suite 19 guitarist/lead vocalist Greg Leon and drummer Tommy Lee decided to form a new band. They attended
11868-495: The band lawsuit, Mars began work on a solo album again, titled The Other Side of Mars , produced by Cory Marks in Los Angeles . Marks has described the album, saying: The rock world is in for something weird, special, great and loud. Mars stated that plans surrounding a solo album had previously been discussed since 2014. The album, titled The Other Side of Mars , was released on February 23, 2024. The first single from
12040-589: The band recorded the album in Vancouver , with the band members recording their parts separately for the first time to reduce infighting and to focus on individual performance. Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler , who was recording the album Pump at the same studio, provided backing vocals. On October 14 of that year, it became a No. 1 album and stayed on the charts for 114 weeks after its release. The band members each stated in interviews that, due in no small part to their collective push for sobriety, Dr. Feelgood
12212-465: The band rereleased all their albums, dubbed as "Crücial Crüe". These limited-edition digital remasters included demos, plus live, instrumental, and previously unreleased tracks. In 1999 the band also released Supersonic and Demonic Relics , an updated version of Decade of Decadence featuring the original songs from that album and several previously unreleased B-sides and remixes, as well as their first official live album Entertainment or Death (which
12384-563: The band until managers Thaler and McGhee pulled an intervention and refused to allow the band to tour in Europe, fearing that "some [of them] would come back in bodybags". Shortly after, all the band members jointly entered drug rehabilitation in an effort to move forward as a band. After finding sobriety, Mötley Crüe reached its peak popularity with the release of their fifth album, the Bob Rock -produced Dr. Feelgood , on September 1, 1989. Rock and
12556-458: The band was arrested and then released at Edmonton International Airport for wearing their spiked stage wardrobe (considered "dangerous weapons") through customs, and for Neil arriving with a small carry-on filled with porn magazines (considered "indecent material"); both were staged PR stunts. Customs eventually had the confiscated items destroyed. Second, while playing Scandals Disco in Edmonton ,
12728-628: The band's New York Times best-selling autobiography of the same name . The soundtrack went to number one on the iTunes All Genres Album Chart, number 3 on the Billboard Top Album and Digital Album sales charts, number 10 on the Billboard 200, and Top 10 worldwide. The autobiography returned to the New York Times Best Seller list at number 6 on Nonfiction Print and number 8 on Nonfiction Combined Print & E-Book. Mötley Crüe embarked on its first major tour in seven years in
12900-426: The band's impact". Weinstein makes the case that in the same way that melody is the main element of pop and rhythm is the main focus of house music , powerful sound, timbre and volume are the key elements of metal. She argues that the loudness is designed to "sweep the listener into the sound" and to provide a "shot of youthful vitality". Heavy metal performers tended to be almost exclusively male until at least
13072-520: The band, supporting his decision, with John 5 taking his place starting with the 2023's The World Tour with Def Leppard . On April 6, 2023, Mars sued the band, alleging that the group were trying to "unilaterally" get Mars removed from the lineup. Later that day, the band released a statement stating that, whilst Mars hadn't been fired, he isn't touring with the group. Mars would state: Those guys have been hammering on me since '87, trying to replace me, they haven't been able to do that, because I'm
13244-479: The band, Neil released a moderately successful solo album, Exposed in 1993, and a less commercially successful follow-up, Carved in Stone in 1995. After Rolling Stone magazine broke out the news in their November 26, 1996 issue, the band reunited with Neil in 1997, after their current manager, Allen Kovac, and Neil's manager, Bert Stein, set up a meeting between Neil, Lee, and Sixx. Agreeing to "leave their egos at
13416-572: The bass as a lead instrument, an approach popularized by Metallica 's Cliff Burton with his heavy emphasis on bass solos and use of chords while playing the bass in the early 1980s. Lemmy of Motörhead often played overdriven power chords in his bass lines. The essence of heavy metal drumming is creating a loud, constant beat for the band using the "trifecta of speed, power, and precision". Heavy metal drumming "requires an exceptional amount of endurance", and drummers have to develop "considerable speed, coordination, and dexterity ... to play
13588-717: The bestselling autobiography The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star , covering the band's Girls, Girls, Girls world tour and his 1987 overdose, and Sixx's side project band Sixx:A.M. released The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack as a musical parallel to the novel. The band hosted the Motley Cruise from January 24 to 28 in 2008; this featured Ratt , Skid Row and Slaughter . On June 11, 2008, Mötley Crüe and manager Burt Stein filed suit against each other. Stein
13760-500: The biggest bands in the world break up." In the running for the vacant frontman position was Kik Tracee vocalist Stephen Shareaux . Ultimately Neil was replaced by John Corabi (formerly of Angora and the Scream ). Although Mötley's self-titled March 1994 release made the Billboard top ten (#7), the album was a commercial failure. It also prompted negative reactions from many fans due to Neil's absence and its sound. Corabi suggested
13932-466: The blues rock drumming style started out largely as simple shuffle beats on small kits, drummers began using a more muscular, complex and amplified approach to match and be heard against the increasingly loud guitar. Vocalists similarly modified their technique and increased their reliance on amplification, often becoming more stylized and dramatic. In terms of sheer volume, especially in live performance, The Who's "bigger-louder-wall-of- Marshalls " approach
14104-505: The boy despite their son's desires. Mars has nine grandchildren and at least one great-grandchild, though he doesn't know the exact number. Mars currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee with Schönenberger. He has a relationship with his son, Les Paul, but is estranged from his other children. For all of his professional career, Mars has struggled with ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic, inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects
14276-429: The components of the term mean in " hippiespeak ": "heavy" is roughly synonymous with "potent" or "profound", and "metal" designates a certain type of mood, grinding and weighted as with metal. The word "heavy" in this sense was a basic element of beatnik and later countercultural hippie slang , and references to "heavy music" – typically slower, more amplified variations of standard pop fare – were already common by
14448-502: The door", the band released Generation Swine . Although it debuted at No. 4, and in spite of a live performance at the American Music Awards, the album was a commercial failure, due in part to lack of support from their label. In 1998, Mötley Crüe's contractual ties with Elektra had expired, putting the band in total control of their future, including the ownership of the master recordings of all of their albums. Announcing
14620-536: The emergence of an intense, exclusionary and strongly masculine subculture. While the metal fan base is largely young, white, male and blue-collar, the group is "tolerant of those outside its core demographic base who follow its codes of dress, appearance, and behavior". Identification with the subculture is strengthened not only by the group experience of concert-going and shared elements of fashion, but also by contributing to metal magazines and, more recently, websites. Attending live concerts in particular has been called
14792-582: The end of their relationship with Elektra, the band became one of the few groups to own and control their publishing and music catalog. They are one of only a handful of artists to own the masters to their material and reportedly did so by being the biggest pain they could be until Elektra got fed up and handed over the rights in order to get the band off their label. After leaving Elektra the band created their own label, Mötley Records . Mötley Crüe released their compilation Greatest Hits in late 1998, featuring two new songs, "Bitter Pill" and "Enslaved". In 1999,
14964-651: The era. Bands like The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds developed blues rock by recording covers of classic blues songs, often speeding up the tempos . As they experimented with the music, the U.K. blues-based bands – and in turn the U.S. acts they influenced – developed what would become the hallmarks of heavy metal (in particular, the loud, distorted guitar sound). The Kinks played a major role in popularising this sound with their 1964 hit " You Really Got Me ". In addition to The Kinks' Dave Davies , other guitarists such as The Who 's Pete Townshend and The Yardbirds' Jeff Beck were experimenting with feedback. Where
15136-437: The excruciating pain caused by ankylosing spondylitis led to addiction issues with Oxycontin , Vicodin , and Lortab . He was also drinking heavily and taking as many as 45 Advil a day. Mars rarely left his home or even went outside during this period. "I used to see giant reptile aliens at the end of my bed," he says. Sixx claims that Mars eventually moved into his house and that he "actually had to spoon-feed [Mars] since he
15308-560: The fall of 2005 the band re-recorded "Home Sweet Home" as a duet with Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington and donated the proceeds to the victims of Hurricane Katrina . In 2006, Mötley Crüe went on the Route of All Evil Tour , co-headlining with Aerosmith and taking performers from Lucent Dossier Experience on the road with them. 2006 also saw the band sign with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films to adapt their autobiography The Dirt into
15480-418: The fans themselves, the code promotes "opposition to established authority, and separateness from the rest of society". Musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie observed, "Most of the kids who come to my shows seem like really imaginative kids with a lot of creative energy they don't know what to do with" and that metal is "outsider music for outsiders. Nobody wants to be the weird kid; you just somehow end up being
15652-594: The farewell gig of a popular local band called London , and Lee was already impressed by the image and stage presence of their bassist, Nikki Sixx . Even before meeting Sixx, Lee claims he had posters of London on his bedroom walls. "Tommy just loved how Nikki looked", recalled Leon. "He was gung-ho about him, saying, 'This is the guy we should get'." Sixx auditioned twice but Leon felt he was "awful", telling Lee "He looks great. He's great on stage. But he can't play bass at all." Lee subsequently became friends with Sixx and went to his Hollywood home to listen to new material he
15824-864: The first true heavy metal recording. The same month, Steppenwolf released their self-titled debut album , on which the track " Born to Be Wild " refers to "heavy metal thunder" in describing a motorcycle. In July, the Jeff Beck Group , whose leader had preceded Page as The Yardbirds' guitarist, released its debut record, Truth , which featured some of the "most molten, barbed, downright funny noises of all time", breaking ground for generations of metal ax-slingers. In September, Page's new band, Led Zeppelin , made its live debut in Denmark (but were billed as The New Yardbirds). The Beatles ' self-titled double album , released in November, included " Helter Skelter ", then one of
15996-484: The following year, beating out Aerosmith 's Pump and Poison 's Flesh & Blood . Mötley Crüe was also nominated twice for Favorite Hard Rock/Metal Artist. In 1989, McGhee was fired after the band alleged he had broken several promises that he made in relation to the Moscow Music Peace Festival , including giving his other band, Bon Jovi , advantages in terms of slot placement. Thaler then assumed
16168-455: The form of a lawsuit by Matthew Trippe. Trippe claimed that Sixx was hospitalized in 1983 after a car crash involving drugs and that he had been hired as Sixx's doppelgänger . The suit was regarding the loss of royalties from his time in Mötley Crüe and the case was not closed until 1993 when Trippe dropped his charges and disappeared from public view. Their decadent lifestyles almost shattered
16340-403: The foundation of heavy metal and greatly influential in the transformation of acid rock into heavy metal. Mick Mars Robert Alan Deal (born May 4, 1951), known professionally as Mick Mars , is an American musician best known as the former lead guitarist and co-founder of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe . He is known for his aggressive, melodic solos and bluesy riffs . Mars
16512-627: The four original members announced a reunion tour, staging an announcement event in which they arrived at the Hollywood Palladium in a hearse. The tour began on February 14, 2005, in San Juan, Puerto Rico . The resulting compilation album, Red, White & Crüe , was released in February 2005. It features the band members' favorite original songs plus three new tracks, " If I Die Tomorrow ", " Sick Love Song " (co-written by Sixx and James Michael ), and
16684-413: The general population. For many artists and bands, visual imagery plays a large role in heavy metal. In addition to its sound and lyrics, a heavy metal band's image is expressed in album cover art, logos, stage sets, clothing, design of instruments and music videos . Down-the-back long hair is the "most crucial distinguishing feature of metal fashion". Originally adopted from the hippie subculture, by
16856-517: The ground opening up and little dwarves coming out riding dragons! You know, like bad Dio records." Heavy metal's quintessential guitar style, which is built around distortion-heavy riffs and power chords, traces its roots to early 1950s Memphis blues guitarists such as Joe Hill Louis , Willie Johnson and particularly Pat Hare , who captured a "grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound" on records such as James Cotton 's " Cotton Crop Blues " (1954). Other early influences include
17028-429: The grounds that the "band's lyrics could be interpreted as being religiously insensitive" and blasphemous. Some people consider heavy metal music to be a leading factor for mental health disorders, and that heavy metal fans are more likely to suffer poor mental health, but a study from 2009 suggests that this is not true and that fans of heavy metal music suffer from poor mental health at a similar or lower rate compared to
17200-421: The guitar player. I helped form this band. It's my name I came up with, my ideas, my money that I had from a backer to start this band. It wouldn't have gone anywhere. Mars refused to sign a severance agreement that would divest him of those and other future interests, in return for a five percent stake in the group's 2023 tour, which is going on without him. In February 2023, amidst the controversies surrounding
17372-455: The hands and feet; "That meant I could play guitar, and that's what mattered most." Mars said in Mötley Crüe's 2001 autobiography, The Dirt : My hips started hurting so bad every time I turned my body that it felt like someone was igniting fireworks in my bones. I didn't have enough money to see a doctor, so I just kept hoping that I could do what I usually do: will it away, through the power of my mind. But it kept getting worse. By late 2001,
17544-413: The harmonic analysis done by metal players and teachers is "often very sophisticated". In the study of heavy metal chord structures, it has been concluded that "heavy metal music has proved to be far more complicated" than other music researchers had realized. Robert Walser stated that, alongside blues and R&B, the "assemblage of disparate musical styles known ... as ' classical music '" has been
17716-605: The heaviest-sounding songs ever released by a major band. The Pretty Things ' rock opera S.F. Sorrow , released in December, featured "proto heavy metal" songs such as "Old Man Going" and "I See You". Iron Butterfly 's 1968 song " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida " is sometimes described as an example of the transition between acid rock and heavy metal or the turning point in which acid rock became "heavy metal", and both Iron Butterfly's 1968 album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and Blue Cheer's 1968 album Vincebus Eruptum have been described as laying
17888-403: The influence of 'art traditions.' An example is Walser's linkage of heavy metal music with the ideologies and even some of the performance practices of nineteenth-century Romanticism . However, it would be clearly wrong to claim that traditions such as blues, rock, heavy metal, rap or dance music derive primarily from "art music.'" According to David Hatch and Stephen Millward, Black Sabbath and
18060-605: The intricate patterns" used in heavy metal. A characteristic metal drumming technique is the cymbal choke , which consists of striking a cymbal and then immediately silencing it by grabbing it with the other hand (or, in some cases, the same striking hand), producing a burst of sound. The metal drum setup is generally much larger than those employed in other forms of rock music. Black metal, death metal and some "mainstream metal" bands "all depend upon double-kicks and blast beats ". In live performance, loudness – an "onslaught of sound", in sociologist Deena Weinstein 's description –
18232-423: The late 1950s instrumentals of Link Wray , particularly " Rumble " (1958); the early 1960s surf rock of Dick Dale , including " Let's Go Trippin' " (1961) and " Misirlou " (1962); and The Kingsmen 's version of " Louie Louie " (1963), which became a garage rock standard. However, the genre's direct lineage begins in the mid-1960s. American blues music was a major influence on the early British rockers of
18404-580: The late 1970s, bands in the new wave of British heavy metal such as Iron Maiden and Saxon followed in a similar vein. By the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as " metalheads " or " headbangers ". The lyrics of some metal genres became associated with aggression and machismo , an issue that has at times led to accusations of misogyny. During the 1980s, glam metal became popular with groups such as Bon Jovi , Mötley Crüe and Poison . Meanwhile, however, underground scenes produced an array of more aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into
18576-438: The late 1970s, however, metal bands were employing a wide variety of tempos, and as recently as the 2000s, metal tempos range from slow ballad tempos (quarter note = 60 beats per minute ) to extremely fast blast beat tempos (quarter note = 350 beats per minute). One of the signatures of the genre is the guitar power chord. In technical terms, the power chord is relatively simple: it involves just one main interval , generally
18748-471: The logos or other visual representations of favorite metal bands." In the 1980s, a range of sources – from punk rock and goth music to horror films – influenced metal fashion. Many metal performers of the 1970s and 1980s used radically shaped and brightly colored instruments to enhance their stage appearance. Fashion and personal style was especially important for glam metal bands of the era. Performers typically wore long, dyed, hairspray-teased hair (hence
18920-414: The mainstream with bands such as Metallica , Slayer , Megadeth and Anthrax , while other extreme subgenres such as death metal and black metal became – and remain – subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles have expanded the definition of the genre. These include groove metal and nu metal , the latter of which often incorporates elements of grunge and hip-hop . Heavy metal
19092-432: The metal sound, and the interplay of bass and guitar is a central element. The bass provides the low-end sound crucial to making the music "heavy". The bass plays a "more important role in heavy metal than in any other genre of rock". Metal basslines vary widely in complexity, from holding down a low pedal point as a foundation to doubling complex riffs and licks along with the lead or rhythm guitars. Some bands feature
19264-485: The mid-1960s, such as in reference to Vanilla Fudge . Iron Butterfly 's debut album, which was released in early 1968, was titled Heavy . The first use of "heavy metal" in a song lyric is in reference to a motorcycle in the Steppenwolf song " Born to Be Wild ", also released that year: "I like smoke and lightning / Heavy metal thunder / Racin' with the wind / And the feelin' that I'm under". An early documented use of
19436-462: The mid-1980s, with some exceptions such as Girlschool . However, by the 2010s, women were making more of an impact, and PopMatters' Craig Hayes argues that metal "clearly empowers women". In the power metal and symphonic metal subgenres, there has been a sizable number of bands that have had women as the lead singers, such as Nightwish , Delain and Within Temptation . The rhythm in metal songs
19608-452: The mid-Seventies". "The term 'heavy metal' is self-defeating," remarked Kiss bassist Gene Simmons . "When I think of heavy metal, I've always thought of elves and evil dwarves and evil princes and princesses. A lot of the Maiden and Priest records were real metal records. I sure as hell don't think Metallica 's metal, or Guns N' Roses is metal, or Kiss is metal. It just doesn't deal with
19780-452: The mix, you'll hear me. When the band made the decision to fire vocalist John Corabi and reunite with original vocalist Vince Neil in 1997 for Generation Swine , Mars was not involved in the decision making process. "They had no respect for Mick," Corabi said. "Mick was just the grumpy old bastard to them. [Sixx and Lee] gave Mick shit about his finances and the girls he dated. He'd been dealing with over 20 years of this." Mars refers to
19952-502: The more extreme side of the psychedelic rock genre, frequently containing a loud, improvised, and heavily distorted, guitar-centered sound. Acid rock has been described as psychedelic rock at its "rawest and most intense", emphasizing the heavier qualities associated with both the positive and negative extremes of the psychedelic experience rather than only the idyllic side of psychedelia. In contrast to more idyllic or whimsical pop psychedelic rock, American acid rock garage bands such as
20124-454: The most," he says. "Tommy came over once, and Vince just came over once, even though he lived just around the corner from me in Venice Beach . It's just the way we worked," he says. On October 26, 2022, Mars announced his retirement from touring with Mötley Crüe. The next day, the band confirmed that John 5 had taken his place. That same week, they announced Mars' complete retirement from
20296-480: The next year on a world tour in support of Theatre of Pain . In February 1986, while in London , England , Sixx suffered a near-fatal heroin overdose, and the person who sold him the drugs dumped his unconscious body in a dumpster . The incident inspired Sixx to write the song "Dancing on Glass" for their next album. The band's fourth album, Girls, Girls, Girls , was released on May 15, 1987, and debuted at number 2 on
20468-530: The nickname "hair metal"); makeup such as lipstick and eyeliner; gaudy clothing, including leopard-skin-printed shirts or vests and tight denim, leather or spandex pants; and accessories such as headbands and jewelry. Pioneered by the heavy metal act X Japan in the late 1980s, bands in the Japanese movement known as visual kei , which includes many non-metal groups, emphasize elaborate costumes, hair and makeup. When performing live, many metal musicians – as well as
20640-456: The numerous heavy metal bands that they inspired have concentrated lyrically "on dark and depressing subject matter to an extent hitherto unprecedented in any form of pop music." They take as an example Black Sabbath's second album, Paranoid (1970), which "included songs dealing with personal trauma—' Paranoid ' and ' Fairies Wear Boots ' (which described the unsavoury side effects of drug-taking)—as well as those confronting wider issues, such as
20812-431: The other metal genres: moshing and stage diving , which "were imported from the punk/hardcore subculture ". Weinstein states that moshing participants bump and jostle each other as they move in a circle in an area called the "pit" near the stage. Stage divers climb onto the stage with the band and then jump "back into the audience". It has been argued that heavy metal has outlasted many other rock genres largely due to
20984-430: The overwhelming evidence that suggests otherwise". Music critic Robert Christgau called metal "an expressive mode [that] it sometimes seems will be with us for as long as ordinary white boys fear girls, pity themselves, and are permitted to rage against a world they'll never beat". Heavy metal artists have had to defend their lyrics in front of the U.S. Senate and in court. In 1985, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider
21156-548: The parties also ensued in Nevada. In July 2009, lawyers for both sides announced that the disputes had been "amicably resolved" through a "global settlement". Mötley Crüe's ninth studio album, titled Saints of Los Angeles , was released in Japan on June 17, 2008, and in America on June 24, 2008. The album was originally titled The Dirt , as it was loosely based on the band's autobiography of
21328-404: The period that [Mars] had disintegrated into opiate addiction." On 2008’s Saints of Los Angeles , guitarist DJ Ashba recorded the vast majority of the guitar parts, though his work was uncredited. Sixx has said that the band had no choice, claiming that "Mick was struggling to play his parts." Mötley Crüe reunited in 2018 and started touring again in 2022. However, several years away from
21500-720: The periodic table organizes elements of both light and heavy metals (e.g., uranium). An early use of the term in modern popular culture was by countercultural writer William S. Burroughs . His 1961 novel The Soft Machine includes a character known as "Uranian Willy, the Heavy Metal Kid". Burroughs' next novel, Nova Express (1964), develops the theme, using "heavy metal" as a metaphor for addictive drugs: "With their diseases and orgasm drugs and their sexless parasite life forms—Heavy Metal People of Uranus wrapped in cool blue mist of vaporized bank notes—And The Insect People of Minraud with metal music." Inspired by Burroughs' novels,
21672-517: The phrase in rock criticism appears in Sandy Pearlman's February 1967 Crawdaddy review of the Rolling Stones ' Got Live If You Want It (1966), albeit as a description of the sound rather than as a genre: "On this album the Stones go metal. Technology is in the saddle—as an ideal and as a method." Another appears in the 11 May 1968 issue of Rolling Stone , in which Barry Gifford wrote about
21844-565: The picture. But they couldn't find a guitar player or singer initially, so they kept calling me. But I refused," Leon has said of his time in the band. Sixx and Lee began a search for new members and soon met guitarists Robin Moore (Jeff Gill) and Bob Deal, better known as Mick Mars , after answering an advertisement that he placed in The Recycler that read: "Loud, rude and aggressive guitar player available". Mars auditioned for Sixx, Moore and Lee, and
22016-576: The popular Crüe Fest music festival, which included opening acts Buckcherry , Papa Roach , Trapt , and Sixx:A.M. They then spent the fall and winter of that year on tour with Hinder , Theory of a Deadman and The Last Vegas . Heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal ) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock , psychedelic rock and acid rock , heavy metal bands developed
22188-435: The recordings of Aerosmith 's album Pump , which was being recorded in the same studio at the time: Steven Tyler was doing vocals with producer Bruce Fairbairn next door, and I remember them yelling at me, 'You've gotta turn your stuff down, Mick! It's leaking into our vocals.' I didn't turn down, though. I just told them, 'Hey, that's the way I play – loud, so yeah, I'm all over the record they were doing. Somewhere in
22360-416: The release of its third album Theatre of Pain (1985) saw Mötley Crüe joining the first wave of glam metal . The band is also known for their elaborate live performances, which feature flame thrower guitars, roller coaster drum kits, and heavy use of pyrotechnics such as fireworks and lighting Sixx on fire. Mötley Crüe's most recent studio album, Saints of Los Angeles , was released on June 24, 2008. What
22532-499: The role of sole band manager. Mötley Crüe spent the fall of 1989 and most of 1990 on a massive world tour, the band's biggest to that point. It was a major financial success but left the band feeling burnt out. In April 1990, Lee suffered a concussion during a mishap involving a rappelling drum kit stunt during a live concert in New Haven, Connecticut . On October 1, 1991, the band's first compilation album, Decade of Decadence 81–91 ,
22704-470: The same 27th-rate heavy metal crap". In a review of Sir Lord Baltimore 's Kingdom Come in the May 1971 edition of Creem , Saunders wrote, "Sir Lord Baltimore seems to have down pat most all the best heavy metal tricks in the book." Creem critic Lester Bangs is credited with popularizing the term via his early 1970s essays on bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Through the decade, "heavy metal"
22876-529: The same name, but the title was later changed. In the US, the album was released by Eleven Seven Music . Eleven Seven also took over US distribution of their back catalog. iTunes picked " Saints of Los Angeles " in their "Best of 2008" in the Rock category as the number one song. The song was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Hard Rock Performance" category, but lost to " Wax Simulacra " by The Mars Volta . The song
23048-499: The self-explanatory ' War Pigs ' and ' Hand of Doom .'" Deriving from the genre's roots in blues music, sex is another important topic – a thread running from Led Zeppelin's suggestive lyrics to the more explicit references of glam metal and nu metal bands. The thematic content of heavy metal has long been a target of criticism. According to Jon Pareles , "Heavy metal's main subject matter is simple and virtually universal. With grunts, moans and subliterary lyrics, it celebrates ...
23220-421: The sonic power that it projects through amplification has historically been the key element in heavy metal. The heavy metal guitar sound comes from a combined use of high volumes and heavy fuzz . For classic heavy metal guitar tone, guitarists maintain gain at moderate levels, without excessive preamp or pedal distortion, to retain open spaces and air in the music; the guitar amplifier is turned up loud to produce
23392-401: The spine and pelvis. He says the pain began when he was 14 years old, with sharp pain at the top of his tailbone. He did not get a proper diagnosis until he was 27, and the condition has caused him a great deal of pain and increasingly impaired his movement throughout his life. He has said that although the condition can be quite painful, he is grateful that ankylosing spondylitis rarely affects
23564-452: The summer and fall of 2022, co-headlining a North American tour with Def Leppard . The band has experienced several lineup changes over the years, leaving Sixx as the only constant member; these included the introduction of lead vocalist John Corabi (who was Neil's replacement from 1992 to 1996) and drummers Randy Castillo and Samantha Maloney , both of whom filled in for Lee following his departure from Mötley Crüe in 1999; he returned to
23736-689: The term was used in the title of the 1967 album Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids by Hapshash and the Coloured Coat , which has been claimed to be its first use in the context of music. The phrase was later lifted by Sandy Pearlman , who used the term to describe the Byrds for their supposed "aluminium style of context and effect", particularly on their album The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968). Metal historian Ian Christe describes what
23908-467: The terms "heavy metal" and "hard rock" have often been used interchangeably, particularly in discussing bands of the 1970s, a period when the terms were largely synonymous. For example, the 1983 edition of the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll includes the following passage: "Known for its aggressive blues-based hard-rock style, Aerosmith was the top American heavy-metal band of
24080-488: The time: Kramer, and other Superstrats ; on occasion he used a black Gibson Les Paul , and sometimes a B.C. Rich . However, according to an interview published in September 2009, Mars' main stage guitars for that tour were Fender Stratocasters with an "HSH" ( humbucker , single coil , humbucker) configuration. He frequently used a Stratocaster modified from components of 1963, 1964, and 1965 models with J.M. Rolph pickups and
24252-523: The top ten on The New York Times Best Seller list and spent ten weeks there, and would return to the list after the film adaptation was released in spring 2019. In 2003, the band released two box sets entitled Music to Crash Your Car To: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 , featuring the music from their entire career. The titles of the collections were heavily criticized by Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe , among others, due to their possible reference to Neil and Razzle's fatal automobile accident, and that Neil
24424-440: The tour. Listening to Queen inspired Mötley Crüe to work with Roy Thomas Baker on Too Fast for Love . He would come in, "Hello Darlings ..." and listen for maybe thirty minutes or so and leave. And we're like, "What?! Where's he going?". But he produced Queen, so, man, we had to have him produce us, too. —Tommy Lee During the "Crüesing Through Canada Tour '82", there were several widely publicized incidents. First,
24596-434: The two genres that have the most in common when it comes to feel, texture, creativity." Although a number of metal musicians cite classical composers as inspiration, classical and metal are rooted in different cultural traditions and practices – classical in the art music tradition, metal in the popular music tradition. As musicologists Nicolas Cook and Nicola Dibben note: "Analyses of popular music also sometimes reveal
24768-454: The two sets of metal umlauts , supposedly inspired by the German beer Löwenbräu , which the members were drinking at the time. Other than the periods of February 1992 to September 1996 and of March 1999 to September 2004, and until October 2022, the lineup of Neil, Sixx, Lee, and Mars remained the same. The band soon met its first manager, Allan Coffman, the thirty-eight-year-old brother-in-law of
24940-475: The weird kid. It's kind of like that, but with metal you have all the weird kids in one place." Scholars of metal have noted the tendency of fans to classify and reject some performers (and some other fans) as " poseurs " "who pretended to be part of the subculture, but who were deemed to lack authenticity and sincerity". The origin of the term "heavy metal" in a musical context is uncertain. The phrase has been used for centuries in chemistry and metallurgy, where
25112-550: Was "banned for life" from the city. Despite the tour ending prematurely in financial disaster, it was the basis for the band's first international press. In 1983, the band changed management from Coffman to Doug Thaler and Doc McGhee . McGhee is best known for managing Bon Jovi and later Kiss , starting with their reunion tour in 1996. Greif subsequently sued all parties in a Los Angeles Superior Court action that dragged on for several years, and coincidentally later resurfaced as manager of Sixx's former band, London. Coffman himself
25284-527: Was Neil's personal manager and also, according to the band and rival manager Kovac, served as the band's manager at one time. The band and Kovac sued in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming Stein was not entitled to a cut of Mötley Crüe's earnings. Stein sued the same day in Nashville's federal court, saying he was entitled to 1.875 percent of what the band makes. Other litigation between
25456-489: Was about kicking you in the chest and having this ungodly sound." Mars has contributed songwriting to John LeCompt , a former member of Evanescence and the other band members of Machina , and to the Swedish band Crashdïet . Their second album, The Unattractive Revolution , was released on October 3, 2007, and featured two songs co-written by Mars. Mars played guitar on the title track of Hinder 's 2008 album Take It to
25628-406: Was applied to a pounding, hard rock variant that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage-punk movement. ... When rock began turning back to softer, roots-oriented sounds in late 1968, acid-rock bands mutated into heavy metal acts." One of the most influential bands in forging the merger of psychedelic rock and acid rock with the blues rock genre was the British power trio Cream , who derived
25800-578: Was asked to defend his song " Under the Blade " at a U.S. Senate hearing. At the hearing, the PMRC alleged that the song was about sadomasochism and rape ; Snider stated that the song was about his bandmate's throat surgery. In 1986, Ozzy Osbourne was sued over the lyrics of his song " Suicide Solution ". A lawsuit against Osbourne was filed by the parents of John McCollum, a depressed teenager who committed suicide allegedly after listening to Osbourne's song. Osbourne
25972-495: Was before (Mötley Crüe) formed. Two was the first wife, and three was the second wife. They drained my bank accounts. I lost my house. I lost cars. I lost guitars. I lost everything," he remembers. In 1989 Martell filed a "Complaint For Breach of Oral Agreement, Injunctive Relief, and Negligent and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress" against Mars, claiming that he intentionally and maliciously neglected their son's emotional needs due to his refusal to meet or communicate with
26144-504: Was born Robert Alan Deal, in Terre Haute, Indiana , in 1951. Soon after, his family moved to Huntington, Indiana . Before he was nine years old, his family relocated again, this time to Garden Grove, California . He realized he wanted to become a musician at only three years of age, when his parents took him to see country singer Skeeter Bonn at a local 4-H Fair in Indiana. "He was wearing
26316-493: Was considered extremely dissonant and unstable by medieval and Renaissance music theorists. It was nicknamed the diabolus in musica – "the devil in music". Heavy metal songs often make extensive use of pedal point as a harmonic basis. A pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass range, during which at least one foreign (i.e., dissonant) harmony is sounded in the other parts. According to Robert Walser, heavy metal harmonic relationships are "often quite complex" and
26488-429: Was eventually settled out of court and the band made several subsequent appearances on the network. In 2005, Mötley Crüe was involved in an animation-comedy spoof Disaster! , which was written by Paul Benson and Matt Sullivan and which was used as the introduction film to concerts on their Carnival of Sins tour. That tour continued throughout 2005 and was commemorated with the release of a live album and DVD in 2006. In
26660-451: Was found guilty of manslaughter for the incident. A promoter in England, Mags Revell, began clamoring for a Mötley Crüe reunion, ostensibly presenting himself as the voice of anxious fans waiting for more from the band. After meeting with management several times, in September 2004, Sixx announced that he and Neil had returned to the studio and had begun recording new material. In December 2004,
26832-522: Was hired on April 1, 1981, and the band played its first gig at the Starwood nightclub on April 24. I wanted a band that would be like David Bowie and the Sex Pistols thrown in a blender with Black Sabbath . —Nikki Sixx The newly formed band did not yet have a name. Neil has said that he told his bandmates that he was "thinking about calling the band Christmas". The other members were not very receptive to that idea. Then, while trying to find
27004-451: Was killed. Neil, charged with a DUI and vehicular manslaughter , was sentenced to 30 days in jail (although he served only 18 days) and subsequently was sued for $ 2,500,000. The short jail term was negotiated by his lawyers, enabling Neil to tour and pay the civil suit. The band's third album, Theatre of Pain , was released on June 21, 1985, and dedicated in Dingley's honor, and it started
27176-496: Was not found to be responsible for the teen's death. In 1990, Judas Priest was sued in American court by the parents of two young men who had shot themselves five years earlier, allegedly after hearing the subliminal statement "do it" in the band's cover of the song " Better by You, Better than Me ". While the case attracted a great deal of media attention, it was ultimately dismissed. In 1991, U.K. police seized death metal records from
27348-410: Was often used interchangeably with "heavy metal" and " hard rock ". "Acid rock" generally describes heavy, hard or raw psychedelic rock. Musicologist Steve Waksman stated that "the distinction between acid rock, hard rock, and heavy metal can at some point never be more than tenuous", while percussionist John Beck defined "acid rock" as synonymous with hard rock and heavy metal. Apart from "acid rock",
27520-419: Was one of the earliest terms used to describe this style of music and was applied to acts such as Sabbath and Bloodrock . Classic Rock magazine described the downer rock culture revolving around the use of Quaaludes and the drinking of wine. The term would later be replaced by "heavy metal". Earlier on, as "heavy metal" emerged partially from heavy psychedelic rock, also known as acid rock , "acid rock"
27692-419: Was planned to be the band's final show took place on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2015. The concert was filmed for a theatrical and Blu-ray release in 2016. After two-and-a-half years of inactivity, Neil announced in September 2018 that Mötley Crüe had reunited and was working on new material. On March 22, 2019, the band released four new songs on the soundtrack for its Netflix biopic The Dirt , based on
27864-517: Was recovering from stomach surgery, he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma after finding a tumor on his jaw. He died on March 26, 2002. Soon afterward, the band went on hiatus. While the band was on hiatus, Sixx played in side projects 58 and Brides of Destruction . Neil was featured on the first season of VH1's reality show The Surreal Life , and had his own special titled "Remaking Vince Neil", which focused on his solo career and attempts to get in better physical shape. Mars, who suffers from
28036-583: Was released in the music game series Rock Band as downloadable content the day the single was released. It was briefly sold as a Rock Band exclusive, making Mötley Crüe the first band to release a single exclusively through a video game . The song sold more units via Rock Band than it did via traditional streaming sites. Additionally, the entire Dr. Feelgood album was released as downloadable content in Rock Band , excluding "T.n.T. (Terror 'n Tinseltown)". From July 1 to August 31, 2008, Mötley Crüe headlined
28208-431: Was released. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It was reportedly designed as "just something for the fans" while the band worked on the next "all new" album. Neil left the band in February 1992 following the release of Decade of Decadence , during a period in which most other prominent glam metal bands of the 1980s were breaking up or otherwise seeing their popularity decline significantly amid
28380-435: Was seminal to the development of the later heavy metal sound. The combination of this loud and heavy blues rock with psychedelic rock and acid rock formed much of the original basis for heavy metal. The variant or subgenre of psychedelic rock often known as "acid rock" was particularly influential on heavy metal and its development; acid rock is often defined as a heavier, louder, or harder variant of psychedelic rock, or
28552-399: Was so fucked up." Over the years, the illness has caused his lower spine to seize up and freeze completely solid, "... causing scoliosis in [his] back and squashing [him] further down and forward until [he] was a full three inches (7.6 cm) shorter than [he] was in high school." Mars reported in 2013 that his neck is so stiff he could not even turn his head, preventing him from driving
28724-459: Was subsequently hired while Moore was fired at the same session according to the band's biography The Dirt . Although a lead vocalist named O'Dean Peterson was auditioned, Lee had known Vince Neil from their high school days at Charter Oak High School in Covina, California , and the two had performed in different bands on the garage band circuit. Upon seeing him perform with the band Rock Candy at
28896-524: Was sued by several investors to whom he had sold "stock in the band", including Michigan -based Bill Larson. Coffman eventually declared bankruptcy, as he had mortgaged his home at least three times to cover band expenses. The band became rapidly successful in the United States after playing at the US Festival on May 29, 1983, and also with the aid of the new medium of MTV . Their second album, Shout at
29068-411: Was the original working title for the studio album Theatre of Pain ). The band then went on a co-headlining tour with The Scorpions . In 1999, Lee quit to pursue a solo career, due to increasing tensions with Neil. "All we got was a call from his attorney saying he wasn't coming back," recalled the singer. "He wasn't into rock 'n' roll anymore. He even said that rock is dead ... It all happened during
29240-576: Was their most solid album musically to that point. The title track and "Kickstart My Heart" were both nominated for Grammys in the Best Hard Rock Category in 1990 and 1991, respectively, but lost both years to songs by Living Colour . The band did find some success at the American Music Awards , as Dr. Feelgood was nominated twice for Favorite Hard Rock/Metal Award, losing once to Guns N' Roses ' Appetite for Destruction , but winning
29412-413: Was used by certain critics as a virtually automatic putdown. In 1979, lead New York Times popular music critic John Rockwell described what he called "heavy-metal rock" as "brutally aggressive music played mostly for minds clouded by drugs" and, in a different article, as "a crude exaggeration of rock basics that appeals to white teenagers". Coined by Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward , "downer rock"
29584-424: Was working on. The music had been rejected by his London bandmates for being too heavy, and Lee says he immediately began banging on the table in time with the music and "everything just seemed to mesh". Lee subsequently hired Sixx for the new band, prompting guitarist/vocalist Leon to quit in protest. "I never played a show with Nikki Sixx. Tommy and I played together many times, but I was gone as soon as Nikki entered
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