Dangerous Toys

When Texas rockers Dangerous Toys released their self-titled debut on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia%22">Columbia</a> in 1989, their raw Southern rock and metal served as an immediate attack on glam metal's reign on MTV and rock radio. Their two hit singles, "Teas'n, Pleas'n" and "Scared," gained the band a rabid following and helped the album go gold. Favorable reviews for 1991's Hellacious Acres weren't enough to keep the band afloat amidst the grunge and alt-rock wave, and after releasing 1995's The R*tist 4*merly Known as Dangerous Toys, Dangerous Toys never returned to the studio, although they have continued to perform live over the decades.

Dangerous Toys was founded in Austin in 1987 by vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:09aFy1G82rpbL6kD2l7goh">Jason McMaster</a>, guitarists Scott Dalhover and Danny Aaron, drummer <a href="spotify:artist:43wqnAZ5wue40BHfHLqlgt">Mark Geary</a>, and bassist Mike Watson. They inked a deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia%22">Columbia</a> in 1988 and released their eponymous debut one year later. The LP reached no. 65 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the hits "Teas'n, Pleas'n" and "Scared," and before long, the band was sharing stages with <a href="spotify:artist:49DW3KvkyjHO35mK1JnSyS">The Cult</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:22TEmHXBBLjTec2LOAuMdS">L.A. Guns</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6lE1ly8K8H7u8k2ej2plvv">Stryper</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1FwGBBwUviGVIeDIByO7u7">Faster Pussycat</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0pRq0U6fqH5r5RzCTskGAR">Bonham</a>. Later that year, they contributed "Demon Bell (The Ballad of Horace Pinker)" to the soundtrack of the Wes Craven-directed thriller, Shocker. 1991 saw the release of the <a href="spotify:artist:5UnZl2Izl86NC6yfVwG0CT">Roy Thomas Baker</a>-produced Hellacious Acres, which featured the singles "Gimme' No Lip" and Line 'Em Up," as well as a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:5AEG63ajney2BoDXi0Vb84">Bad Company</a>'s "Feel Like Makin' Love." The album reached no. 67 on the Billboard 200, but the hard rock/metal scene was beginning to buckle under the weight of the burgeoning grunge scene, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Columbia%22">Columbia</a> dropped the group. Guitarist Danny Aaron departed during the Hellacious Acres tour and was replaced by <a href="spotify:artist:6NKQIkHTjxD5Ovj6znGV1n">Kevin Fowler</a>, who Paul Lidel of <a href="spotify:artist:6mXyqxtu4poGHRrlxmZOLG">Dirty Looks</a> then displaced. Lidel made his studio debut on 1994's aptly-named Pissed. Released via <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMP+Label+Group%22">EMP Label Group</a>, the LP adopted a darker and more aggressive tone. Bassist Mike Watson left before recording the band's fourth full-length effort, 1995's The R'tist 4'merly Known As Dangerous Toys, which featured cover art poking fun at <a href="spotify:artist:5a2EaR3hamoenG9rDuVn8j">Prince</a>'s 1988 album Lovesexy. Like its predecessor, the LP failed to find any chart traction. The 1999 concert album Vitamins and Crash Helmets Tour-Live Greatest Hits would be Dangerous Toys' last recorded output. The band reunited in 2001 for a series of shows and have continued to reunite sporadically into the 2020s. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi