Glam metal ( also known as hair metal ) is a term used to describe the visual style or fashion of certain heavy metal music bands that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States , particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene . Glam metal ( also known as hair metal and often used synonymously with pop metal ) is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States , particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene .