As if the album cover didn’t give it away, Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish glam rock band from the 80’s that encapsulated all of the excess of that era unironically. Two Steps From The Move was their breakthrough album in the United States, and with the production guidance of the legendary Bob Ezrin (who worked with bands like Pink Floyd, Kiss and Alice Cooper) managed to capture that signature sound which defined the genre. You can certainly hear a heavy dose of punk rock influence throughout the record, from their pretty solid cover of Credence Clearwater Revival’s iconic “Up Around The Bend” (which was a late edition to the LP after the band had recorded every song of the album due to the crowd reaction when they played the song live) to the pub rock anthem “Boiler”. Perhaps it’s unsurprising that Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns N’ Roses, took significant inspiration from the band and used it as a template for Guns N’ Roses similarly punk rock meets glam metal influenced sound. And that wasn’t the only inspiration Axl took– Hanoi Rocks’ song “Underwater World” features the line “Welcome to the jungle” which would of course be borrowed by Axl and Guns N’ Roses later in the decade and end up on their iconic 1987 album Appetite For Destruction as the opening track.
Standout Songs: “Underwater World”, “Up Around The Bend”, “Million Miles Away”
