In 79 A.D., thousands in Pompeii were killed when Mount Vesuvius erupted and crisped citizens in clouds of white-hot ash.

It was almost instantaneous — but that’s not near as creepy or fast as the complete vaporization of a whole genre of music — metal — at the precise instant that grunge appeared.

Among the musical victims of the Seattle-based, flannel-shirt-wearing grungers were Kix, a Baltimore-born hard rock group fronted by charismatic vocalist Steven Whiteman. Over the course of several years, Kix had slowly built a platinum-status following through relentless touring and albums like “Midnite Dynamite,” “Blow My Fuse” and “Hot Wire.” Their aggressive, hook-happy paeans to fun, babes and the art of decadence appealed to a wide demographic of fans, from Van Halen-style hard rock to the so-called glam/hair metal folks. But, after the tsunami of grunge hit, Kix released one more studio album, 1995’s “$how Bu$ine$$,” then disbanded.

“Grunge just completely flushed out an entire scene. It was amazing,” says Whiteman by phone from his home in Maryland. “Overnight, we went from playing arenas with Ratt and Whitesnake to the whole thing just disappearing.”

What’s reassuring about art, fashion and music is that styles do seem to be cyclical, and Kix, on the strength of a hearty new CD called “Rock Your Face Off,” is indeed experience a resurgence that lands them Friday in the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den.

To Whiteman, this return to national awareness was a total surprise. He’d never stopped writing and performing in the Baltimore area, doing well with a band called Funny Money. At the same time, other than founding bassist/songwriter Donnie Purnell, original Kixxers Whiteman, guitarists Ronnie Younkins and Brian Forsythe and drummer Jimmy Chalfant stayed in convivial touch. About 10 years ago, those members, along with Funny Money bassist Mark Schenker, began playing loose Kix reunion shows in the Baltimore area — six to eight annually.

“It was just something fun to do,” Whiteman says. “We enjoyed reliving the songs and being with each other, and the old hometown fans clearly liked it.”

When an agent caught wind of the casual reunions, he approached Kix and said he was convinced there would be a national audience if they were up for a tour.

“He booked us at the Rocklahoma festival and we had 20,000 people standing up and screaming. We looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, this has legs again. Maybe we should get out beyond our comfort zone,’” Whiteman remembers.

Newly energized, Kix recorded a 2012 in-concert CD/DVD at their hometown bar, the Ram’s Head. “Live in Baltimore” got an international distribution deal, and the Loud and Proud record label signed the band to do a new studio album.

“Rock Your Face Off” was released last August.

“It was a slow evolution that led us to where we are,” Whiteman says. “We met the right people and discovered we could write good songs without Donnie. And when we brought in producer Taylor Rose to work with us on the new album, it all just came together wonderfully.”

And as for what Whiteman calls “the elephant in the room” — Purnell — Kix has moved on as diplomatically as possible.

“Donnie was a great songwriter and a vital part of our earlier success,” Whiteman says. “But when he was in the band, he had a ‘my way or the highway’ attitude. And, to put it kindly, he wasn’t easy on the band, the label, the crew or the fans. Now, we’re enjoying it more than ever. It’s much more relaxed and easier for everyone to contribute and feel part of the band.”

Of course, the Kix renaissance has occurred in the context that the entire music business platform has changed. Whiteman takes a philosophical approach.

“Let’s face it, the business has lost a lot of its charm,” he says. “No one cares about albums anymore, no one buys physical product and looks at the jacket or the liner notes or listens to the record as an entire work. I miss that. At the same time, you don’t have to sell a million records to stay competitive. Twenty-thousand is good. And we’re doing okay.”

Whiteman says that he still loves peforming the old songs and that it’s gratifying to see how well “Rock Your Face Off” resonates with fans. He remains adamant that rock ‘n’ roll is still a great lifestyle — within context.

“We’ve certainly aged,” he laughs, “and none of us want to be out pounding the pavement night after night. We do fly-out dates on weekends — one or two shows — and then it’s back home again. I don’t miss life in a van or a bus at all. Other than that, this is all unexpected and great.”