IoMP 137: Motley Crue - Are They Rock or Metal?
Few bands embody the excess, chaos, and spectacle of the 1980s quite like Mötley Crüe.
In this episode of the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom tackle a deceptively simple question: Are Mötley Crüe rock or metal?
What starts as a genre debate quickly turns into a deep dive into the band’s outrageous history, their influence on hair metal, and why they became one of the most recognizable acts in heavy music. From the early shock of Shout at the Devil to the polished arena dominance of Dr. Feelgood, the band helped shape the sound, attitude, and spectacle of the late ’80s metal scene.
Naturally, the discussion goes completely off the rails at several points—leading to an unexpected conversation about strip clubs, hair metal culture, and why half the songs from the era sound like they were designed specifically for questionable nightlife venues.
If you enjoy metal debates, classic bands, and wildly off-topic tangents, this episode is pure Influencers of Metal chaos.
Listen now and decide for yourself: Is Mötley Crüe rock or metal?
DISCLAIMER: Copyright Exceptions under the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42), allowance is made for "fair dealing" for the purposes of criticism or review.
Check out more from the Influencers of Metal Podcast!
The Influencers of Metal Podcast heads to Cambodia to uncover a small but fiercely underground metal scene.
What if you could book ANY five bands for your own metal festival? Also, I thought we escaped the island by now?
Is Pizza Thrash actually a metal subgenre... or did somebody just slap a stupid name on 2000s thrash and call it a day?
We're halfway through 2026, so our duo are joined by Chris Thrash to rank their Top 5 albums of the year so far!
Van Halen helped revolutionize guitar playing, inspired generations of metal musicians and laid some of the groundwork for the hair metal explosion — but does that make Van Halen a metal band?
It’s Van Halen Week on the Influencers of Metal Podcast! Collin and Tom continue their quest to find the most metal Guitar Hero game by diving into Guitar Hero: Van Halen.
Hear which records from Galneryus, Haserot, Protest the Hero, Left to Die, Motionless In White, and more survived the chaos on this month’s edition of “What Have You Been Listening To?”
Few bands have disrupted heavy music quite like The Hu. But does that make them rock... or metal?
Festival season has arrived, and so it’s time for us to explore some of the biggest festivals in the world.
Is Sleep Token one of modern metal's greatest success stories—or one of its most overhyped bands?
Collin, Tom and the Pumpkin Queen break down their June listens, listener recommendations, and the albums dominating their playlists — featuring everything from doom metal and hardcore to metalcore madness
Heavy metal didn’t appear overnight. It crawled out of the blues, turned up the distortion, and terrified everyone’s grandparents.
Collin and Tom are travelling to Uzbekistan to uncover one of the world’s lesser-known metal scenes.
Collin and Tom launch their new series “Is It Really a Subgenre?” by diving headfirst into the legendary meme known as Crabcore.
August may have been an underwhelming month for new metal, but Collin and Tom still found plenty to keep their playlists busy.