Basically, in late 1991-early 1992, Nirvana and grunge music based in Seattle, had a big surge in popularity soon after the release of the Nirvana album Nevermind in September 1991. Grunge was more internalized, with darker themes, and even when the lyrics were shouty it almost felt like the singer was drawing the words back into himself. Prior to this period, the big genre in rock had been glam metal (sometimes called "hair metal"), the biggest of which were Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, but had more widely panned yet popular bands in the genre like Poison and Motley Crue. Glam metal was all about having fun and a good time, with upbeat lyrics, happy body language and enthusiasm, and that Mutt Lange beat and hooks that Def Leppard popularized on their Pyromania and Hysteria albums in the 1980s. A band close to "glam metal" but not of them was Gunes 'N Roses, who had a much more dangerous edge and feel to them.
After Grunge became mainstream, most of the "hair bands" struggled to make a living in music for some years afterwards, or they self-destructed in spectacular fashion. Many did a grunge album, even Def Leppard with the album Slang. Guns 'N Roses saw Axl Rose fire all the other band members by about 1997, and took over a decade to release the new album "Chinese Democracy".
