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With "Theatre of Pain," The Crue estabished the template for late-eighties rock. How did they do it without imploding? Watch the whole story here.

AFTER THE EXPLOSIVE SUCCESS OF MOTLEY CRUE’S SECOND ALBUM, 1983's “SHOUT AT THE DEVIL”, FAME BEGAN TO TAKE A SERIOUS TOLL ON THE BAND.

SONGWRITER NIKKI SIXX’S DRUG ADDICTION, AS WELL AS LEGAL TROUBLES SURROUNDING A VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE AGAINST LEAD SINGER, VINCE NEIL, SET THE STAGE FOR MOTLEY CRUE TO BE SEEN AS A LEGITIMATELY DANGEROUS GROUP THAT MIGHT IMPLODE AT ANY MOMENT. THEIR SKY-ROCKETING FAME AND MENACING PERSONA LED THEM TO NAME THEIR THIRD ALBUM, “THEATRE OF PAIN”. AND, IN 1985, WITH THEIR RECKLESS ABANDON ON FULL DISPLAY, THE CRUE WAS READY TO START RECORDING.

THE SESSIONS FOR THE ALBUM TOOK PLACE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY AT CHEROKEE STUDIOS AND RECORD PLANT WEST, BOTH IN HOLLYWOOD. TOM WERMAN RETURNED TO THE PRODUCER'S CHAIR FOR THE JANUARY RECORDINGS. HOWEVER, NIKKI SIXX CLAIMED--IN RETROSPECT--THAT HE DID MOST OF THE WORK ON THE ALBUM, SINCE WERMAN DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO CONTROL THE BAND OR HOW TO BUILD UPON THEIR PREVIOUS SUCCESS.

DESPITE THE CONTROVERSIES AND IN-FIGHTING SURROUNDING THE CRUE CAMP, “THEATRE OF PAIN” CAME OUT ON JUNE 21st, 1985, PEAKING AT NUMBER SIX ON THE U.S. BILLBOARD TOP TWO HUNDRED--THEIR HIGHEST CHARTING ALBUM THUS FAR.

THE ALBUM’S RELEASE WAS FOLLOWED BY TWO SINGLES: “HOME SWEET HOME” AND “SMOKIN’ IN THE BOY’S ROOM”. THE LATTER WAS A COVER OF THE HIT NINETEEN-SEVENTY-THREE SINGLE BY BROWNSVILLE STATION AND, WITH “HOME SWEET HOME” MOTLEY CRUE SET THE METAL “POWER BALLAD” TEMPLATE THAT WAS LATER ADOPTED BY THE LIKES OF POISON AND OZZY OSBOURNE.

THESE TWO SINGLES ALSO MARKED THE BAND’S EVOLUTION AWAY FROM THE TYPICAL HAIR-METAL SOUND OF THE EIGHTIES, AND FOUND THEM PLANTING THE “GLAM METAL” FLAG, AND ESTABLISHING A NEW WAVE OF POP-INFLUENCED ROCK’N ROLL THAT WAS STILL HEAVY ENOUGH TO STRIKE FEAR INTO EVERY PARENT IN AMERICA,

WHILE NIKKI SIXX AND VINCE NEIL HAVE BOTH EXPRESSED DISDAIN FOR THE ALBUM, THERE’S NO DENYING ITS SUCCESS AND INFLUENCE, BEING THE GATEWAY FOR MANY MOTLEY CRUE FANS AND LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR BANDS LIKE BON JOVI, DEF LEPPARD AND GUNS ‘N’ ROSES.

EVENTUALLY CERTIFIED QUADRUPLE PLATINUM BY THE RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, ITS BOMBASTIC GLAM METAL, TUMULTUOUS BACKSTORY, AND UNDENIABLE REBELLIOUS SPIRIT ALL ADD UP TO WHY MOTLEY CRUE’S “THEATRE OF PAIN” IS THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.

Overall Top 40

Rank	Artist Name	Song Name	EQ Score	Change
1	Khalid	Up All Night	100	2
2	The Weeknd	Blinding Lights	99.579501432839	-1
3	Justin Bieber	Intentions	99.278385109065	-1
4	Dua Lipa	Don't Start Now	98.662222816137	0
5	Khalid & Disclosure	Know Your Worth	98.492450594261	1
6	OneRepublic	Better Days	98.290791444755	-1
7	Ava Max	Salt	97.330345140107	1
8	Ava Max	Kings & Queens	97.160573065446	1
9	Niall Horan	No Judgement	96.107115151289	-2
10	Dua Lipa	Break My Heart	95.800732995667	1
11	twenty one pilots	Level of Concern	95.339175991038	2
12	Maroon 5	Memories	95.110436950715	4
13	Major Lazer	Lay Your Head On Me	95.063259574408	-3
14	Lennon Stella	Summer Feelings	94.987624465696	6
15	Niall Horan	Nice To Meet Ya	94.625737510831	9
16	Alec Benjamin	Oh My God	94.455904735815	-4
17	SZA & Justin Timberlake	The Other Side	94.390921682968	14
18	Harry Styles	Watermelon Sugar	94.312421748258	5
19	Tones And I	Dance Monkey	94.258631339341	3
20	Kygo, Zara Larsson, Tyga	Like It Is	93.840531616936	-3
21	Doja Cat	Say So	93.67681225802	-2
22	BENEE	Supalonely	93.491828180416	5
23	The Weeknd	In Your Eyes	93.092509643551	3
24	Kelly Clarkson	I Dare You	92.659578104622	-3
25	Regard	Ride It	92.615743971272	7
26	Sean Paul, Tove Lo	Calling On Me	92.485740858484	-8
27	Lennon Stella	Jealous	92.480417305373	-12
28	Demi Lovato	I Love Me	91.73069987251	-14
29	Lee Brice	One Of Them Girls	91.482436152046	14
30	Harry Styles	Adore You	91.181078542749	-6
31	Kygo, OneRepublic	Lose Somebody	91.151216446978	139
32	Thomas Rhett	Beer Can't Fix	90.690920691693	5
33	Camila Cabello	My Oh My	90.615743262199	3
34	Selena Gomez	Feel Me	90.370556830191	0
35	Sia	Saved My Life	90.086556054548	-7
36	Bazzi	Young & Alive	90.086010506371	4
37	FLETCHER	Forever	89.608626067927	2
38	Maddie & Tae	Bathroom Floor	89.126973728787	10
39	Luke Bryan	One Margarita	89.0904576012	20
40	Cole Swindell	Single Saturday Night	89.013587733587	15

Pop Chart

Rank	Artist Name	Song Name	EQ Score	Change
1	The Weeknd	Blinding Lights	100	0
2	Justin Bieber	Intentions	99.88184065012	0
3	Khalid	Up All Night	99.263207207342	2
4	Dua Lipa	Don't Start Now	99.193401577724	-1
5	Khalid & Disclosure	Know Your Worth	98.838931513734	-1
6	OneRepublic	Better Days	97.916954979298	0
7	Ava Max	Salt	97.478858588857	0
8	Ava Max	Kings & Queens	97.387779795124	0
9	Niall Horan	No Judgement	97.176366429788	0
10	Dua Lipa	Break My Heart	94.970810963292	1
11	Kygo, Zara Larsson, Tyga	Like It Is	94.770831377627	-1
12	Niall Horan	Nice To Meet Ya	94.57057242875	7
13	Maroon 5	Memories	94.468188796717	-1
14	Lennon Stella	Summer Feelings	94.056807077423	-1
15	Major Lazer	Lay Your Head On Me	93.937507318756	1
16	Alec Benjamin	Oh My God	93.852930097308	-2
17	BENEE	Supalonely	93.536179265504	5
18	Doja Cat	Say So	93.316594286968	-1
19	Sean Paul, Tove Lo	Calling On Me	93.114422075529	1
20	Lennon Stella	Jealous	92.978035031699	1
21	Harry Styles	Watermelon Sugar	92.808729848833	4
22	Kelly Clarkson	I Dare You	92.791801841483	-4
23	twenty one pilots	Level of Concern	92.786826279789	0
24	Tones And I	Dance Monkey	92.36326637008	2
25	SZA & Justin Timberlake	The Other Side	92.047821331841	3
26	Demi Lovato	I Love Me	91.824936920298	-12
27	The Weeknd	In Your Eyes	91.514672958306	0
28	Regard	Ride It	91.47553511027	2
29	Harry Styles	Adore You	91.167230055277	-3
30	Kygo, OneRepublic	Lose Somebody	90.921876023957	54
31	Camila Cabello	My Oh My	90.051770164357	1
32	Sia	Saved My Life	89.474445519013	3
33	Bazzi	Young & Alive	89.372331166745	1
34	Taylor Swift	Cruel Summer	89.276337994258	58
35	FLETCHER	Forever	89.102227543503	-2
36	Niall Horan	Black And White	88.448408925212	6
37	Sam Feldt	Post Malone	88.381010405624	-6
38	Selena Gomez	Feel Me	88.309842690457	-2
39	Ellie Goulding, blackbear	Worry About Me	88.174314711722	-10
40	Post Malone	Circles	88.112137154289	-3

Rock Chart

Rank	Artist Name	Song Name	EQ Score	Change
1	A Day to Remember	Resentment	100	6
2	The Blue Stones	Shakin' Off The Rust	99.935475672347	-1
3	Crobot	Low Life	99.528354343924	-1
4	Falling in Reverse	Popular Monster	99.40694463805	-1
5	Fire from the Gods	Right Now	99.097488139989	-1
6	Korn	Can You Hear Me	98.834075299159	-1
7	Killswitch Engage	I Can't Be the Only One	98.243817219997	29
8	Asking Alexandria	Antisocialist	98.232711483356	21
9	Green Day	Oh Yeah!	97.658572142798	-2
10	Volbeat	Leviathan	97.067511477368	36
11	Bad Wolves	Sober	96.471651279085	-2
12	Shinedown	Atlas Falls	95.888651612336	38
13	Breaking Benjamin	Far Away	95.728201050303	-2
14	The HU	Wolf Totem	95.654708979731	-2
15	Theory of a Deadman	World Keeps Spinning	95.195167651152	29
16	Pop Evil	Work	94.949964536867	-2
17	Bring Me the Horizon	Ludens	94.469481936149	-2
18	Five Finger Death Punch	A Little Bit Off	90.695948433377	-1
19	Theory of a Deadman	History of Violence	83.650254684548	-4
20	Pearl Jam	Superblood Wolfmoon	83.266800112684	-13
21	Skillet	Legendary	82.543188438679	-2
22	Ozzy Osbourne	Ordinary Man	81.997652452049	-11
23	Bad Wolves	Killing Me Slowly	81.414687279645	1
24	Five Finger Death Punch	To Be Alone	79.487707973874	-9
25	Cory Marks	Outlaws & Outsiders	79.07649900877	0
26	Five Finger Death Punch	Inside Out	78.319338598342	-10
27	Asking Alexandria	The Violence	77.971578807906	-7
28	Puddle of Mudd	Uh Oh	73.44819631219	-10
29	Motionless in White	Another Life	73.06321125308	1
30	Highly Suspect	16	73.048539658483	-1
31	The Glorious Sons	Panic Attack	72.820611125469	-5
32	Hellyeah	Welcome Home	72.639206981583	-2
33	Starset	TRIALS	70.867423398176	0
34	Bush	Flowers On A Grave	69.518762335965	-1
35	In This Moment	The In-Between	69.192843507666	2
36	From Ashes to New	Scars that I'm Hiding	68.870591464219	-2
37	The Glorious Sons	Closer To The Sky	68.260401096558	2
38	Beyond the Black	Wounded Healer	68.241743510397	-3
39	Johnossi	Wrecking Ball	67.261074771873	-3
40	Highly Suspect	These Days	67.217854163707	1

Electronic/Dance Chart

Rank	Artist Name	Song Name	EQ Score	Change
1	Becky Hill, Goodboys, Meduza	Lose Control	100	0
2	Diplo & SIDEPIECE	On My Mind	96.426431880384	1
3	Jessie Reyez	LOVE IN THE DARK (Dzeko Remix)	96.024966765838	-1
4	Alesso, SUMR CAMP	In The Middle	95.832229769936	1
5	Dua Lipa	Don't Start Now (Purple Disco Machine Remix)	95.671263555279	-1
6	VAVO	Day N' Night	94.303766589827	0
7	Elderbrook & Rudimental	Something About You (Elderbrook VIP)	93.709806245624	0
8	Alesso, DubVision	One Last Time	92.832041573558	1
9	EDX	The Time Is Now	92.63758697168	-1
10	Oliver Heldens	Take A Chance	92.432544448028	4
11	Mabel, Tiësto	God Is A Dancer	92.316916806718	-1
12	Kygo, Sasha Sloan	I'll Wait	92.314615928193	-1
13	VINAI	Rise Up	92.124435364081	-1
14	Galantis & Dolly Parton	Faith	91.888377413534	1
15	Duke Dumont, Zak Abel	The Power	91.79444809478	11
16	Ed Sheeran	South of the Border (Cheat Codes Remix)	91.691910051475	5
17	Afrojack	All Night	91.551780794297	-4
18	Knife Party	Death & Desire	91.535837253977	1
19	Yves V & Ilkay Sencan	Not So Bad	91.524172871622	-1
20	Autograf	Ain't Deep Enough	91.464446807749	0
21	Joel Corry	Lonely	91.244563649871	8
22	Martin Garrix, Clinton Kane	Drown	91.19101341442	-6
23	A7S, Topic	Breaking Me (Riton Remix)	91.167628883455	-6
24	Conro	Fighters	91.08128347971	8
25	Lewis Capaldi	Hold Me While You Wait (Steve Void Remix)	91.070446740368	5
26	Seven Lions	Only Now	91.032761216498	-3
27	Duke Dumont	Therapy	91.018038313501	-5
28	Jonas Blue	I Wanna Dance	90.996882728301	3
29	Elderbrook & Rudimental	Something About You	90.871758105043	9
30	Felix Jaehn, VIZE	Close Your Eyes	90.832145212456	-5
31	Regard & RAYE	Secrets	90.828892481465	-4
32	Armin van Buuren	Unlove You (Club Mix)	90.713177340373	5
33	Gryffin	Body Back	90.598994896848	6
34	Pnau	All Of Us	90.448185594148	-1
35	Breathe Carolina	Too Good	90.444827705729	6
36	Kandy	Let Me Down	90.338234346232	-12
37	Robin Schulz	In Your Eyes	90.300907063426	-9
38	Armin van Buuren	Million Voices (Madison Mars Remix)	90.160064406796	-4
39	Arty	Daydreams	90.004329881311	4
40	Loud Luxury and Bryce Vine	I'm Not Alright	89.840205639368	-4

Country Chart

Rank	Artist Name	Song Name	EQ Score	Change
1	Lee Brice	One Of Them Girls	100	3
2	Thomas Rhett	Beer Can't Fix	99.148883991534	0
3	Maddie & Tae	Bathroom Floor	97.478815420981	4
4	Cole Swindell	Single Saturday Night	96.826286715478	2
5	Miranda Lambert	Bluebird	96.823383993112	-2
6	Luke Bryan	One Margarita	96.786040446202	8
7	Mitchell Tenpenny	Anything She Says	96.480162856224	1
8	Ashley McBryde	One Night Standards	96.273633645393	-3
9	Parmalee & Blanco Brown	Just the Way	95.665209841179	-8
10	Sam Hunt	Hard To Forget	95.308480839342	2
11	Jason Aldean	Got What I Got	95.19888122983	-1
12	Kelsea Ballerini	hole in the bottle	94.311760203627	3
13	Gabby Barrett	The Good Ones	94.304337030408	1
14	Tenille Arts	Somebody Like That	94.212741203577	6
15	Justin Moore	Why We Drink	94.210279254118	-7
16	Florida Georgia Line	I Love My Country	93.073364467056	-6
17	Luke Combs	Does To Me	92.33015585141	12
18	Lindsay Ell	I Don't Love You	92.259872268672	8
19	Lauren Alaina	Getting Good	91.585352034171	1
20	Keith Urban	God Whispered Your Name	90.956416268666	8
21	Kenny Chesney	Here And Now	90.838041643886	-11
22	Carly Pearce	I Hope You're Happy Now	90.794220965357	-9
23	Luke Combs	Even Though I'm Leaving	90.45316744202	-5
24	Runaway June	Head Over Heels	89.85087767485	5
25	Chris Janson	Done	89.717956560543	-1
26	Chase Rice	Forever To Go	89.312125673042	-1
27	Matt Stell	Everywhere But On	89.256858806239	5
28	Kelsea Ballerini	homecoming queen?	89.058748893302	0
29	Ingrid Andress	The Stranger	88.703697545596	2
30	Cam	Till There's Nothing Left	88.670781394413	15
31	Carly Pearce	Finish Your Sentences	88.615204447161	-15
32	Sam Grow	Song About You	87.938687354605	35
33	Mickey Guyton	What Are You Gonna Tell Her?	87.205634692556	24
34	Chris Young	Drowning	87.14790080831	-9
35	Gone West	What Could've Been	87.101510619777	-7
36	Kenny Chesney	Tip of My Tongue	86.909756465118	-1
37	Eli Young Band	Break It In	86.880632196338	-7
38	Kip Moore	She's Mine	86.520266486087	5
39	Little Big Town	Wine, Beer, Whiskey	84.919473236363	31
40	Luke Bryan	What She Wants Tonight	84.57417035592	-7

Hip Hop/ R&B Chart

Rank	Artist Name	Song Name	EQ Score	Change
1	Megan Thee Stallion	Savage (Remix)	100	0
2	The Weeknd	Heartless	99.805549646657	5
3	Jack Harlow	WHATS POPPIN	99.683519380086	-1
4	Lil Mosey	Blueberry Faygo	99.045920077675	0
5	Future	Life Is Good	98.905410061575	-2
6	Travis Scott	HIGHEST IN THE ROOM	98.662474111667	-1
7	Russ	BEST ON EARTH	97.76374276226	1
8	Lil Baby	Woah	97.705688984826	-2
9	Arizona Zervas	ROXANNE	96.410257063071	1
10	Wale	On Chill	96.272366430633	2
11	Roddy Ricch	The Box	95.91642112854	3
12	Young T & Bugsey	Don't Rush	95.256248259387	-3
13	DaBaby	BOP	94.854321740591	3
14	DaBaby	VIBEZ	94.772306148503	1
15	Roddy Ricch	High Fashion	94.134484973403	-2
16	NLE Choppa	Walk Em Down	93.212148325126	1
17	JACKBOYS & Travis Scott	OUT WEST	92.485654351953	2
18	PARTYNEXTDOOR & Rihanna	BELIEVE IT	91.96137331283	2
19	Gucci Mane	Big Booty	91.644167658106	-2
20	Doja Cat	Like That	91.430336853764	0
21	Usher	Don't Waste My Time	91.009780502464	1
22	Mustard	Ballin'	89.49375473042	1
23	PartyNextDoor	LOYAL	88.986309777253	7
24	H.E.R., Skip Marley	Slow Down	88.394299779915	0
25	Drake	Money in the Grave	88.301637979599	2
26	Chris Brown	No Guidance	88.28784513839	-1
27	Summer Walker	Come Thru	87.962580020116	-1
28	Mustard	Pure Water	87.340754752983	-7
29	Lil Tecca	Ransom	87.205137429393	0
30	Trey Songz	Back Home	86.704365513741	10
31	Post Malone	Enemies	86.680055299249	8
32	Wale	Love... (Her Fault)	86.235998650015	0
33	Lil Nas X	Panini	85.949986455085	11
34	Meek Mill	Believe	85.814087105738	-6
35	Mahalia	What You Did	85.21174692794	-2
36	Chris Brown	Heat	84.354200978075	-1
37	Young Thug	Hot	84.025381562498	-6
38	Khalid	Up All Night	83.994857768109	-4
39	H.E.R.	Slide	83.95027105797	-3
40	SAINt JHN	Roses Remix	82.569205437569	14

Alternative/ Indie Chart

Rank	Artist Name	Song Name	EQ Score	Change
1	Grouplove	Deleter	100	0
2	twenty one pilots	Level of Concern	98.521694895564	2
3	The Killers	Caution	98.441596753074	18
4	Tame Impala	Lost In Yesterday	98.103210425408	-2
5	Major Lazer	Lay Your Head On Me	97.969591415572	4
6	Glass Animals	Your Love (Déjà Vu)	97.883840844858	-3
7	The Black Keys	Shine a Little Light	97.118507007226	-2
8	Of Monsters and Men	Wars	96.823921921878	11
9	Saint Motel	Van Horn	96.694559178006	-3
10	The Strokes	Bad Decisions	96.682527975932	12
11	AJR	Bang!	96.663087588731	-3
12	Beck	Uneventful Days	96.439240619908	-5
13	AWOLNATION	The Best	95.726839869419	-2
14	White Reaper	Might Be Right	94.912061816139	2
15	KALEO	I Want More	94.873424950079	11
16	Foals	The Runner	94.460586269841	-10
17	Neon Trees	Used To Like	94.281884883419	-9
18	Barns Courtney	You and I	93.631814184893	0
19	Incubus	Our Love	93.403847250399	1
20	Silversun Pickups	Don't Know Yet	93.275313788676	4
21	Joywave	Obsession	93.152390540431	2
22	Blue October	Oh My My	93.082411675187	8
23	Billie Eilish	everything i wanted	92.81004394052	-4
24	Cold War Kids	Complainer	92.77175648202	3
25	Coldplay	Orphans	92.766002427284	-4
26	Weezer	Hero	92.75909378476	2
27	lovelytheband	loneliness for love	92.471443225758	3
28	Joywave	Half Your Age	92.428857725815	1
29	Cold War Kids	Who's Gonna Love Me Now	91.889096003569	2
30	Tones And I	Dance Monkey	91.127891197651	-5
31	The Lumineers	Life in the City	90.960041069074	-8
32	White Reaper	Real Long Time	88.605916345788	19
33	Bakar	Hell N Back	86.203238524971	16
34	Bastille	Joy	86.199179825385	0
35	Phantogram	Into Happiness	85.361792008623	-1
36	Walk the Moon	Timebomb	85.265386264554	1
37	KennyHoopla	how will i rest in peace if i'm buried by a highway?/	84.922256219545	1
38	The Black Keys	Go	83.538040567789	-13
39	Rezz & Grabbitz	Someone Else	82.625194510862	3
40	Magic Giant	Disaster Party	82.509463299592	3

LXL CMS

LXL CMS

Monsta X Live

TOMORROW: Shaq vs Gronk

A Message From Monsta X

Rage: DNA

When The Crüe Were Kings

Week of June 24th, 2020