Most cock rock still sucks. Hair bands were never real metal. People seem to forget that just because the 80s are back in style for now.
I’m not a purist or anything. I believe in mixing different styles when it works. But I think a lot of people forgot or never realized that Metallica fans used to hate the Bon Jovi fans. Nowadays, a lot of people categorize them into the same thing and it’s not accurate nor fair.
And yes, I am an 80s fan. But I think if I were a teenager back then, I’d hate the pop metal (a.k.a hair metal) scene. I think I would be way more into the “alt-pop” scene since I love that music today. (Depeche Mode, The Cure, Duran Duran, etc).
I see a lot of similarities between emo and hair metal. I know it isn’t obvious but think about it. Both have ridiculous hair and fashion that “real” rock people hate. Emo is going to get looked back upon and laughed at in a couple years the same way hair metal was ridiculed in the 90s.