10 Underrated Hard Rock Songs Of The '80s

Hair metal may have felt dangerous at the start of the decade, but it really needed to die by its midpoint. With only the most polished bands rising to the forefront, it felt like rock had lost touch with why it energized audiences in the first place. Guns N' Roses may have brought the raw energy back into rock and roll, but their journey actually begins long before Appetite for Destruction.

Without so much as a major label to their name, Guns brought their music to the people directly with the EP Live! Like a Suicide, which showed them at their most uninhibited. Though most of the track list is filled with covers from bands like Rose Tattoo, the original "Reckless Life" is exactly the kind of music you would have expected to hear coming off the Strip in the early days.

For as much as Slash dominates this track with his lead lines, the unsung hero here is Izzy Stradlin, whose relentless riff stabs inject some life into every single second. Even at this early stage, Axl Rose has his madman persona fully dialed in, sounding like he's a rabid dog ready to pounce on any prey he sees in front of him. Guns N' Roses may have the reputation as a down and dirty rock band, but Reckless Life was the closest thing to punk the band would ever touch.