POLYGRAM: It’s the House That Metal Built....

POLYGRAM: It’s the House That Metal Built. A stream of huge headbanger hits has transformed this perennial also-ran into a major industry force. The label’s biggest blockbuster was Def Leppard’s “Hysteria,” which sold 8 million copies (6 million this year alone) tying Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” as the best-selling metal album ever. Speaking of Bon Jovi--the rock pin-ups are back in the Top 5, having sold a quick 3 million with their “New Jersey” follow-up, while Cinderella went double-platinum with “Long Cold Winter.” Other hard-rock heavyweights: the Scorpions, whose “Savage Amusement” went Top 5, Kiss and Kingdom Come, a Zep knock-off which outsold Jimmy Page’s solo album. And from outside the Metal World come a pair of critic’s faves: Michelle Shocked and Hothouse Flowers.