---
title: "Pop Metal"
type: "MusicGenre"
url: "https://themetalnet.com/genre/pop-metal"
parent: "Metal"
bands: 24
era: "early 1980s"
---

# Pop Metal

**Pop Metal** is a metal sub-genre, formative in the early 1980s. TheMetalNet maps 24 bands and 20 albums under it.

Pop metal fuses heavy metal’s distorted guitars with pop’s emphasis on hooks, gloss, and accessibility — anthemic sing-along choruses, polished production, and melody over aggression. Critics coined the term in the early 1980s for the radio-friendly hard rock of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and Europe, closely tied to glam and hair metal. Modern acts like Amaranthe and Beast in Black revive the idea, blending melodic metal with electronic and pop sheen. It is metal built for the widest possible audience.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Genre | Pop Metal |
| Level | Sub-genre |
| Parent genre | Metal |
| Formative era | early 1980s |
| Bands | 24 |
| Albums | 20 |
| Formation span | 1971 to 2024 |

## Bands

- [Russell Allen](https://themetalnet.com/band/russell-allen) (United States, 1971)
- [Scene Queen](https://themetalnet.com/band/scene-queen) (United States, 1997)
- [Memoremains](https://themetalnet.com/band/memoremains) (Finland, 2016)
- [Vana](https://themetalnet.com/band/vana)
- [SUN](https://themetalnet.com/band/sun) (2017)
- [Cartographer](https://themetalnet.com/band/cartographer) (2012)
- [Arctis](https://themetalnet.com/band/arctis) (Finland, 2017)
- [Dead Now](https://themetalnet.com/band/dead-now)
- [نور الزين](https://themetalnet.com/band/band-a745b52d) (Iraq, 1986)
- [3velyxn](https://themetalnet.com/band/3velyxn) (2008)
- [Scarlet Bandit](https://themetalnet.com/band/scarlet-bandit) (2023)
- [Rabbit Cult](https://themetalnet.com/band/rabbit-cult) (Finland)
- [Tidal Rave](https://themetalnet.com/band/tidal-rave) (United Kingdom, 2012)
- [Delfín Tu Salsero](https://themetalnet.com/band/delfin-tu-salsero) (Dominican Republic, 1981)
- [ExxoStack](https://themetalnet.com/band/exxostack) (2016)
- [Corbin Forester](https://themetalnet.com/band/corbin-forester) (2005)
- [Ikirouta](https://themetalnet.com/band/ikirouta) (Finland, 2020)
- [GTIsaac](https://themetalnet.com/band/gtisaac) (Nigeria, 2002)
- [Mhelyssa](https://themetalnet.com/band/mhelyssa) (Mexico)
- [Defying Decay](https://themetalnet.com/band/defying-decay) (2011)
- [Azzarok](https://themetalnet.com/band/azzarok) (2012)
- [Popper Ladies](https://themetalnet.com/band/popper-ladies) (Spain, 2024)
- [lifewaves](https://themetalnet.com/band/lifewaves) (2024)
- [ちぃたん☆KISS～愛のROCK BAND～](https://themetalnet.com/band/kiss-rock-band) (2023)

## Where it is played

- [Finland](https://themetalnet.com/country/fi): 4 bands
- [United States](https://themetalnet.com/country/us): 2 bands
- [United Kingdom](https://themetalnet.com/country/gb): 1 bands
- [Dominican Republic](https://themetalnet.com/country/do): 1 bands
- [Mexico](https://themetalnet.com/country/mx): 1 bands
- [Nigeria](https://themetalnet.com/country/ng): 1 bands
- [Iraq](https://themetalnet.com/country/iq): 1 bands
- [Spain](https://themetalnet.com/country/es): 1 bands

## Bands formed by decade

| Decade | Bands formed |
| --- | --- |
| 1970s | 1 |
| 1980s | 2 |
| 1990s | 1 |
| 2000s | 3 |
| 2010s | 8 |
| 2020s | 5 |

---

Source: [TheMetalNet https://themetalnet.com/genre/pop-metal](https://themetalnet.com/genre/pop-metal). Catalog data from MusicBrainz and Metal Archives. Full site index: https://themetalnet.com/llms.txt