Ladies and gentlemen if you've read my blog before you may have already picked up my affinity for classic metal, especially that of the 80's glam variety. But what about the 90s glam, you may ask? If you didn't ask then you've come to the wrong blog. If you did ask, chances are that we'd be pretty good friends if we knew each other in person.
Many people do not realize that there was actually some residual glitter sprinkling over the 90s. Much of it came from the already existing leopard-print and make-up clad metal groups that established themselves throughout the 80s. Bands such as Motley Crue, Cinderella, Poison, etc were still putting out albums in the early 90s. But for every glam band adding to their catalogue, there was another group, equally as hungry, rising from the torn spandex and fishnets.
For many glam fans out there, we look upon the 80s as the golden age of hard rock and metal. We then look upon the mid 90s as the fall of an empire; The Day The Music Died. While many fans and musicians alike may disagree the best term for the subgenre, whether you prefer hair, glam, sleaze, etc. does not matter here. What does matter here, is acknowledging that whatever you call it, I'll stick to glam for now, for the most part, died in the mid-90s. And why? Here's a free history lesson: many fans (myself included for a while) blamed it on the rise of grunge. And to some degree, that may be true, but hair metal's real tragic end was a result of its own misstep. The market simply became oversaturated with glitter and hairspray. Radio companies essentially started piecing together bands with no real talent. If you had big hair and could even hold a guitar, you got a record deal. Not only that, fans were getting tired of the same old formula: hard-rocking opener, maybe another, power ballad, metal anthem, filler... Take ANY glam record from the 80s to early 90s and you'll find that it fits this formula. Maybe with some minor tweaks, but for the most part the formula sticks. This was great at first, revolutionary some might say, but it wasn't to last. People were getting bored with it, and desperate for something new. Enter the torn denim and flannel shirts of the 90s grunge wave, or the final nail in the bedazzled coffin.
I know, I know, this is a SUPER long intro to this week's spotlight. I know. But I swear, I'm getting to the end.
Anyway, to jump to the end, grunge will completely take over the airwaves and for the most part snuff out the last flame that glam had. As a result of this, there are many talented and fantastic glam metal groups who first came together in the early 90's that are often overlooked. Well if grunge can generate the sub-subgenre of post-grunge, then I can dub these 90s glam groups as post-glam. Why not, right? Some of the fantastic groups (there are too many to name, so I'll just stick with a few) include Vixen, Warrant, and today's subject: Firehouse. All of these groups are tremendous talents, and while some of them did actually make it as big as they deserve, others may have been mostly overlooked and generated only one or two radio hits, when the reality is that if they had debuted 5-6 years earlier, they would have been massive.
If your immediate response when I mentioned Firehouse was "...who?" Then allow me to apologize for the tragically sheltered life you have lived up until now. Well your old pal Synic is here to help. Real quick: if you had ever been to a wedding between the years of 1990 and 2020 then you know Firehouse's biggest ballad hit "Love of a Lifetime." If you have SIRIUS XM radio and you frequent the Hair Nation channel, keep it tuned there for a couple hours and you will likely hear "Don't Treat Me Bad," or "All She Wrote." What these three tracks have in common, besides the band that recorded them, is the record they were released on. All three tracks appear on the band's self titled debut record. In fact, to this day the band's setlist is very heavily comprised of songs from this record. Well the group certainly has more in their catalogue than just their debut album, and ignoring that fact is a true travesty. So today's spotlight will correct that.
Their sophomore record, Hold Your Fire, is every bit as strong as the debut. So why does it not get quite as much recognition as the debut? Well that remains to be seen. The truth is, I don't know. Maybe it is due to the fact that it's release fell closer to the mid 90s, where as I said before, grunge was coming, fans were sick of the same tired glam formula, etc. Whatever the story is, the fact that this record isn't widely loved by rock and metal fans truly saddens me. It's one of those records where even the filler tracks are just crazy fun to listen to. I truly don't believe that there is a skippable track on either side of the disc. When I first introduce my friends to the band, I always tell them "Yeah, listen to 'Don't Treat Me Bad' first, cause that's their biggest hit, but also listen to this!" and I show them "Reach For The Sky." and a small stack of other tracks from their first two records. I also throw in "Prime Time" from a much later record, but that's a song for another day.
I'm never that big into love songs/ballads, my readers are probably tired of reading that statement by now, but I always include it in case there's anyone new here. That said, "When I Look Into Your Eyes" is every bit as strong of a love ballad as "Love of a Lifetime." Actually, I would argue that vocalist CJ Snare gives a more passionate performance on this track, and wrote even stronger and more beautiful lyrics for it. When I see them live during non-pandemic summer tours, I will smile when they play "When I Look..." and I will roll my eyes when they play "Love of a Lifetime." I think that tells you everything you need to know.
I could delve deeper into each and every track on this record, but really I think I could sum it up by reiterating what I've already said. The album features a very strong opening rocker, plenty of fun and definitely not-skippable filler tracks, and a lovely and memorable ballad in "When I Look Into Your Eyes." Some essential tracks deserving of a shout out are "Reach For The Sky," "Hold Your Fire," "Mama Didn't Raise No Fool," "Sleeping With You," "Get In Touch," and, who am I kidding? Just do yourself a favor and listen to the whole damn thing. If you're looking to get into the last flickers of light in the dying flame of the glam-metal movement. Firehouse and their first two records Firehouse and Hold Your Fire is a great place to start.
Hold Your Fire - Firehouse
6 - 16 - 1992
1. Reach For The Sky
2. Rock You Tonight
3. Sleeping With You
4. You're Too Bad
5. When I Look Into Your Eyes
6. Get In Touch
7. Hold Your Fire
8. Meaning Of Love
9. Talk Of The Town
10. Life In The Real World
11. Mama Didn't Raise No Fool
12. Hold The Dream
Favorite Track: Reach For The Sky
Least Favorite Track: Hold The Dream
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