Love/Hate, the heavy metal outfit, traces its origins to Data Clan, established in 1984 by Jizzy Pearl on vocals, Jon E. Love handling guitar, Skid Rose on bass, and Joey Gold behind the drums. They put out a single record prior to Pearl’s departure for vocal duties with L.A. Rocks, at which point Jim Wilkinson stepped in as replacement and the group adopted the Love/Hate moniker. Pearl rejoined the fold by 1987, and following a year of local performances throughout Los Angeles, the band inked a deal with Columbia. March 1990 marked the arrival of their first full-length effort, Blackout in the Red Room. Airplay on commercial radio and MTV came the way of a pair of tracks from that set, namely the title song and “Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?” Heavy metal’s commercial viability had waned by the time Wasted in America surfaced in 1992, prompting Columbia to part ways with the act shortly thereafter. A shift to the Caliber imprint brought about the May 1994 issuance of Let’s Rumble, whose sound exhibited greater rawness compared to earlier releases. The subsequent move to Mayhem Records yielded I’m Not Happy in October 1995. Let’s Eat came out in 1999.
