JOE ELLIOT BLAMES DEF LEPPARD WANNABES FOR THE DEMISE OF HEAVY METAL’S POPULARITY IN THE AWESOME EIGHTIES  

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliot gives his theory on what led to the demise in popularity of heavy metal in the late ’80s/early ’90s in an interview with Vanity Fair.

“When Kurt Cobain came along and tried to kill off the ’80s, he wasn’t trying to kill off Def Leppard. He could have lived with Def Leppard. What he couldn’t deal with was the hundred of other sound-alikes. And that was the problem. And that’s why the ’80s imploded and started eating itself. There were bands that sounded like GN’R, bands that sounded like Bon Jovi, [and bands that sounded like us] — it was one of those three, copied maybe 20, 30 times. It was just a weaker version. And the novelty wore off pretty quick.”