Glam Metal / Hard Rock · 1980s Career
Poison became one of late-1980s glam metal’s biggest commercial acts through bright hooks, colorful image and a highly accessible version of Sunset Strip hard rock.
Breakthrough
Look What the Cat Dragged In established the band with a rawer club energy, while Open Up and Say… Ahh! delivered the major hits.
Hooks and image
“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and “Nothin’ but a Good Time” showed the two sides of the band: power-ballad vulnerability and party-rock exuberance.
Why they matter
Poison captured the commercial peak of glam metal just before alternative rock transformed the mainstream.