Hard Rock

Hard rock is a form of Rock And Roll music which finds its closest roots in early 1960s Garage Rock and in Jimi Hendrix 's Psychedelic Rock . It is typified by a heavy use of distorted Electric Guitar , Bass Guitar and Drums . The term "hard rock" is often used as an Umbrella Term for genres such as Punk , Grunge , Industrial Rock and Heavy Metal , in order to distinguish them from softer, more radio friendly Pop Rock music.

Characteristics

Hard rock is a variation of Rock And Roll and is strongly influenced by Blues Music ; in fact, the most frequently used scale in hard rock is the Pentatonic , which is a typical blues Scale .
However, unlike traditional rock and roll, which takes elements of the "old" Blues , hard rock borrows elements of the so-called British Blues , a style of blues played with more modern instruments such as Electric Guitar s, Drum s and Electric Bass .

The term hard rock is often applied to many styles of rock, their only common feature being that they deviate from Pop Rock , though this is generally incorrect. Two such examples are Punk Rock and Grunge . Punk rock uses a faster Tempo and fewer Riffs (also known as Power Chords ). Grunge can be classified as being much more extreme than hard rock.

The predominant instrument in hard rock is the Electric Guitar . Virtuoso guitarists are very prevalent in hard rock, examples of which include Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin , Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow , and Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen . Drums are also a basis of hard rock because they sustain the rhythm of the music, and create an energetic drive that keeps the music flowing.

Hard Rock or Heavy Metal?

During the 1970s hard rock spawned a new genre of music, known as Heavy Metal . This genre has created a controversial topic that appears when discussing 1970s hard rock groups. The debates are often centred around whether the bands are "hard rock or heavy metal groups".

The two genres have some crossover for example; the pioneers of Heavy Metal , such as Deep Purple , Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin are often considered both "Heavy Metal" and "Hard Rock"... whereas, bands such as AC/DC , Aerosmith and KISS , are normally referred to as just "Hard Rock" and not "Heavy Metal".

To further the confusion, the most popular Metal subgenre of the 1980s ; Glam Metal , was known to take influence from both the pioneering Heavy Metal acts and other Hard Rock groups, such as KISS , AC/DC and Aerosmith amongst other things. Both KISS and Aerosmith subsequently went on to dabble in Glam Metal stylings.

HISTORY

Early days (1960s)

One of the major influences in hard rock is undoubtedly .

, the first album]]British rockers like , known for sweet sounds, love songs and quiet atmospheres, published a primordial hard rock album called '' The White Album ''.

At the same time, Guitarist Jimi Hendrix produced a particular kind of Blues known as Psychedelic Rock , which combined elements of Jazz , Blues and Rock And Roll creating a unique genre. Also, he was one of the first guitarists to experiment new guitar effects like Phasing , Feedback and Distortion .
Another important group in the Blues-rock is Cream (especially the guitarist, Eric Clapton ).

Hard rock came into existence when British groups of late 1960s like Black Sabbath , Led Zeppelin mixed the music of early British rockers with a particular kind of Blues-rock , typified by an aggressive approach to the blues. Led Zeppelin's first eponymous album, released in 1969 , is a good example of heavy blues-rock which represents the true beginning of the hard rock genre.

Also Deep Purple showed up in the hard rock scene with the albums '' Shades Of Deep Purple , The Book Of Taliesyn , Deep Purple ''. Together with Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple are considered the true "masters" of hard rock.

The First Era (1970s)

In the 1970s , hard rock finally got a true identity.
Led Zeppelin's third album, '' Led Zeppelin III '' was more Progressive Rock -oriented than the second, but the heavy connotations of their music still remained. So, they received several critics from detractors of hard rock, who considered it a senseless music.
Anyway, this didn't stop the expansion of hard rock: young boys liked it a lot, seeing it as a form of rebellion against the fair and quiet music of their fathers.

In 1970 another important group from UK, s and a heavy atmosphere. Black Sabbath transformed the current hard rock in an heavier genre, creating a primordial kind of heavy metal.

In 1972 Deep Purple published their most famous album titled '' Machine Head '' which contains their most famous song, " Smoke On The Water ".

''Machine Head'' continued Deep Purple's transformation of hard rock, and it's considered along with ''Paranoid'' one of the first proto-metal albums. In particular, the song " Highway Star " is considered the first Speed Metal song in the history (Speed Metal is the progenitor of the more extreme Thrash Metal ). Anyway, Deep Purple's music is very different from Black Sabbath's, so Deep Purple are still considered an hard rock group, not a metal group.

From 1973 , hard rock evolved to another stadium. New artists such Queen , KISS and Aerosmith introduced heavier elements in the genre, which from this point on lost the blues influences to become more heavy metal-oriented. Aerosmith and Queen published their respective eponymous debut albums, which shown perfectly the new evolution of hard rock. Even Led Zeppelin took this direction with the album '' Houses Of The Holy ''.

Differently from the past, from this moment on every group created his own style: Aerosmith , Queen and KISS moved on a style that will evolve in 1980s to the so-called Glam Rock , one of the most popular rock subgenres; on the contrary, the proto-metal frontier, formed by Judas Priest , Rainbow and Van Halen , took a more "alternative" direction.

Judas Priest introduced a new element in the genre, the dual rhythm, which is the fact that two guitarists instead of one play the rhythmic and Power Metal .
Rainbow, formed by the former guitarist of Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore , created the basis for power metal together with Judas Priest, especially thanks to Ritchie Blackmore's great technique.
Meanwhile, Black Sabbath took off the darkness of the beginning with albums such as '' Technical Ecstasy '', following the heavy metal direction of Judas Priest and Rainbow.

Another important group in the hard rock scene showed up in 1978, Van Halen . Van Halen's music, differently from KISS, Aerosmith and Queen, was based mostly on the guitar skills of Eddie Van Halen , the lead guitarist. In the album '' Van Halen '' there's a massively influential song, " Eruption ", which demonstrates all the technique Eddie owns.

In 1979, the differences between the classical hard rock movement and the rising heavy metal movement got truly highlighted. The Australian band AC/DC , after three Australian only albums, published their first international album titled '' Highway To Hell .'' Despite the current heavy metal direction, AC/DC's music is based mostly on the Rhythm & Blues and the early 1970s hard rock.
On the other side, the British band Motörhead put on the basis for the rise of Thrash Metal with the album '' Overkill .''

The year closed with Ozzy Osbourne 's firing from Black Sabbath due to his alcohol and drugs problems. Ronnie James Dio , vocalist of Rainbow , came to replace him.

The Second Era (1980s)

'', another classic by the Australian band AC/DC]]In the 1980s a new wave of rockers pushed the envelope of the old frontier. Heavy metal got a separate identity from hard rock.

In 1980 Led Zeppelin disbanded because of the tragic death of Drummer John Bonham after a binge of heavy drinking. With their disbanding, the first wave of "classic" rockers ends.
Also the lead singer of AC/DC , Bon Scott died in the same way of John Bonham . AC/DC still remained on the scene, and published the album '' Back In Black '', which is the second biggest selling album of all time: this album is probably the most influcencial one of the 1980s for later rockers.
By selling so much, AC/DC proved to the public that hard rock could sell and made possible the rise of a radio-friendly hard rock and heavy metal. Van Halen too released successuful albums such as '' Van Halen II '' and '' Women And Children First '', which opened the road for what will later become Glam Metal .

On the other side, , they are considered the main representers of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal .

In '' is considered one of the best Classic Metal albums, and Quiet Riot's '' Metal Health '' is the first album ever which reached #1 in the Billboard United States Chart .On the other side of the ocean, Iron Maiden's '' The Number Of The Beast '' reached #1 in United Kingdom charts.

'' by .

's album '' 1984 '' became a huge success, hitting #2 on Billboard album charts; in particular, the song " Jump " hit #1 in the single chart and is considered one of the most popular rock songs ever written. Judas Priest's '' Defenders Of The Faith '' achieved RIAA Gold and Platinum certifications. Other important acts in 1984's glam scene are Ratt and W.A.S.P. .

At the same time, another style got born. . There are differences between Yngwie and Steve: while Malmsteen's music is greatly influcenced by classical music, Vai prefers the pure hard rock.

'', successful album by Slayer 's album '' Hell Awaits '', which precedes their famous '' Reign In Blood '', put on the basis for the rise of Death Metal . Slayer , Anthrax , Megadeth and Metallica are often called the Big Four Of Thrash .
In the same year Aerosmith returned on the scene with the album '' Done With Mirrors ''.

It's in 1986 that hard rock really went ''mainstream''. The Swedish band Europe released '' The Final Countdown '', maybe the most popular and radio-friendly album together with Van Halen 's '' 1984 ''. In particular, the title track " The Final Countdown " became a huge success, hitting number 1 in 26 countries.
On the thrash side, Metallica and Megadeth released two landmark albums, '' Master Of Puppets '' and '' Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? '', which are the most notable alternative to the mainstream.
In the same year the Virtuoso guitarist Joe Satriani , teacher and great friend of Steve Vai , released his first full album, '' Not Of This Earth ''. The true success for him arrived a year later, with the release of '' Surfing With The Alien '', a miliarstone in the history of Instrumental Rock .

1987 was a key year. The most notable successes in the charts are Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses , '' Hysteria '' by Def Leppard , which hit #1 in Billboard album chart, and Mötley Crüe 's '' Girls, Girls, Girls ''
Thrash metal was strongly transformed in something called genre was starting its story.

The Third Era (1990s)

The 1990s was an eventful and often puzzling era for hard rock. The early 90s were marked by the rise of Grunge bands in Seattle, who provided one of the earliest scenes of Alternative Rock . Some of these bands met with much commercial success, such as Nirvana , Pearl Jam , Soundgarden , and Alice In Chains . While their success was often pitched in the media as a Punk Rock reaction to Arena Rock and Hair Metal , the bands were hardly antagonistic towards the Heavy Metal genre in general; Soundgarden and Nirvana were influenced by much 70s and 80s metal, while Alice in Chains was arguably a metal band themselves (often touring with Thrash Metal artists). Several other notable bands included The Screaming Trees , Mother Love Bone , Mudhoney , and a few non-Seattle bands such as Stone Temple Pilots (who were very popular with fans but not with critics).

As the popularity of Thrash Metal artists such as Metallica and Slayer continued from the 80s into the 90s, some other bands had begun to fuse metal with a range of eclectic influences. These bands came to be known as Alternative Metal artists, another subset of alternative rock. Some, such as Primus and Red Hot Chili Peppers fused Funk with metal styles. Tool was a popular band, drawing from early progressive acts such as King Crimson for influence. Jane's Addiction adopted a somewhat bohemian aesthetic, while Faith No More referenced many genres ranging from Rap to Soul . The Deftones and Helmet were also popular, especially among Skateboarders .
With the rise of Pantera the original Thrash Metal genre transformed in Groove Metal , a subgenre which includes also Sepultura and Napalm Death and will later evolve in the so called Nu Metal . This new genre showed up with Korn 's '' Eponymous Debut Album '' in 1994 .

Sublime was a Skacore band, whose lead singer Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose just before their Debut Album met with much popularity. Their music mixed Jamaican Ska and Reggae influences with Nirvana -influenced rock as well as some Rap production styles (Sublime would often use a Sampler , sometimes even sequencing their drum patterns with samples).

The Smashing Pumpkins was another band of the mid 1990s, whose albums '' Siamese Dream '' and '' Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness '' sold many millions of copies.

Punk Rock went through several interesting phases in the 1990s, while many Epitaph Records artists such as Rancid , NOFX , Bad Religion , and The Offspring met with some success. The late 1990s brought the rise of Emo , which emerged mostly from the New Jersey punk rock scene with bands such as Saves The Day and Midtown . Although many of these emo bands emerged from legitimate punk rock scenes, they grew to be despised by veteran fans of punk who considered the genre to be fake.

Stoner Rock

Post-Grunge

Nu-Metal

SEE ALSO

List Of Hard Rock Musicians

Timeline Of Hard Rock/heavy Metal

Metallian The hard rock and heavy metal encyclopedia

Information About

Hard Rock