The Headless Children

While their fellow Sunset Strippers turned to wimpy bubblegum pop and inauthentic blues authenticity to reach radio heaven towards the end of the ’80s, Blackie Lawless and his fellow carnivores went the opposite direction. A dark, politically charged record (see the murderers’ row of dictators and murderers on the cover), The Headless Children found them living up to their bloody stage show — even as it eschewed the sexual shock tactics of previous releases. Instead, they covered The Who, tackled heroin addiction and nuclear war, and gleefully waved to the apocalypse. Of course, they included the requisite monster ballad and songs about how cool their guitarist and motorcycles are, but even some of those are fun. Definitely worth losing your head over.