The difference, by ear
A later genre solving the same problem - how to write an enormous chorus over distorted guitars - from the punk side rather than the metal side.
Both are sung cleanly, but pop punk is faster: 160 to 200 bpm against 120 to 160. To hear the difference, play Mötley Crüe next to Ramones. Glam metal comes from the metal side of the tree and pop punk from the rock side, and pop punk came first, by four years.
In figures
Glam metal
Where it sits
In short
Hard rock with hairspray, a radio chorus and a mandatory power ballad. It ruled MTV until 1991.
How it sounds
- Simple hard rock riffs with glossy production and gated reverb on the drums.
- Choruses with multiple vocal harmonies, built for radio and MTV.
- A mandatory ballad on every album, usually the hit single.
Key acts
- Mötley Crüe
- Ratt
- Poison
- Skid Row
Start here
The pickSkid Row - Slave to the Grind. The genre's heaviest album, released exactly too late.
Full page →Pop punk
Where it sits
In short
Punk speed, garage-pop choruses and lyrics about suburban boredom.
How it sounds
- Simple major progressions - I-V-vi-IV - played fast and distorted.
- Choruses with vocal harmonies and singalong 'whoa-oh' hooks.
- Clean production, compressed drums, tempos of 160 to 200 bpm.
Key acts
- Ramones
- Green Day
- blink-182
- The Offspring
Start here
The pickThe Descendents - Milo Goes to College. The manual, written twelve years before the boom.
Full page →