Introducting Hair Metal’s next of kin

Hair Metal was a type of music popular in the late 1980s that saw ugly dudes from New Jersey… Hair Metal was a type of music popular in the late 1980s that saw ugly dudes from New Jersey emptying entire cans of spray on their gravity-defying hairdos while making bad music about malls with big guitar parts and catchy choruses. And they did this all while wearing an odd combination of leather jackets and the spandex pants your mother put on for exercise class.

Unsurprisingly, it quickly died when most of the world realized that it sucked and that band names like Ratt and Twisted Sister were just silly.

This column, however, is not about Hair Metal.

This column is about a newer genre of music and the two things that it shares with Hair Metal. The genre I speak of is called Post-Hardcore, and what it shares with Hair Metal is not musical quality or silly outfits. No, what Post-Hardcore has in common with Hair Metal are the following observances: both feature bands with silly names, and both feature band members who embrace all the debauchery that has forever been fabled to go hand in hand with rock ‘n’ roll.

Before I go on, I need to explain a few things. First, what the heck is Post-Hardcore? Well, this type of music grew out of the fast beats, jagged guitars and hollered vocals of the ’80s’ and ’90s’ hardcore-punk movement but added layered instrumentals to form more complex songs.

In other words, it has all the speed, anger and attitude of a hardcore band like Black Flag but combines it with the dense musical emotion of a band like Joy Division, or a more recent act like Radiohead (though this is a bit of a stretch). Post-Hardcore holds in its ranks bands like At The Drive-In, Thursday and From First to Last.

The lesson to be learned here is that Post-Hardcore could totally be the Hair Metal of today if all its bands played terrible music about cherry pie and pouring sugar on me. Luckily for all of us, this is not the case.

Bands like The Bled (jackhammer guitars playing whirlwind rhythms) and The Blood Brothers (whose music sounds like the soundtrack to a haunted house sung by pissed-off punks who just swallowed helium balloons) have melded countless influences to push Post-Hardcore to a totally new musical art.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Rupert Fisher, guitarist and vocalist of Post-Hardcore freak-out masters Fear Before the March of Flames. This Colorado band plays devastatingly heavy music, with vocals harsher than your last bio-chem exam and guitars that will drill a hole in your skull. And if you dig what he’s saying, you can check out his band, along with Thursday and Murder By Death at Mr. Smalls next Tuesday, Jan. 30.

The Pitt News: What is one story from the road you think you’ll be telling your grandkids?

Adam Rupert Fisher: I don’t really plan on spreading my seed that far, but assuming I do one day plague the world with a little Rupert junior and he continues the spread of Ruperts, I could tell them about going to jail in Texas on our first tour. I think that would equally impress him and put a good fear of man in his heart.

TPN: Tell me about the best and worst shows you’ve ever played.

ARF: This past Halloween we played in San Antonio, and we dressed up as a basketball team. We had our friend dress as the mascot and announce us all as we ran onstage, one by one. We played Jock Jams between our songs and high-fived after every song. You could tell everyone in the crowd was having a good time, too.

The worst shows are when only the front row is paying attention and everyone else is texting or talking – like the show is just an excuse to go out on a weekend. That’s the worst. Oh yea, and that one time Mike (Madruga, bass) ripped a hole in David’s (Marion, vocals) face.

TPN: What is the toughest and most rewarding thing about being on the road?

ARF: The toughest part of touring is growing used to a lifestyle where you’re constantly waking up in a new place, and you’re with six or seven other people who all have equal say and get to dictate what takes place every day. But every day is a reward because you’re constantly being appreciated for what you do. It’s a job where everyday people are applauding your work. It’s not a bad gig.

TPN: Describe your live show in 10 words or less.

ARF: Visually and sonically pleasuring