Hard rock
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Hard rock is a form of rock and roll music which finds its closest roots in early-1960s garage rock and 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, alternative metal 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. 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 guitars, drums and electric bass. A notable departure from traditional blues forms is that hard rock is seldom restricted to the I, IV, and V chords prevalent in 12- or 16-bar blues, but includes other chords, typically major chords rooted on tones of the Hypodorian mode.
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 (often using power chords, as pioneered by Link Wray).
The predominant instruments in hard rock are the electric guitar, bass, and drums. Virtuoso guitarists are very prevalent in hard rock, examples of which include Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Brian May of Queen, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow, Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen, and Slash of Guns N' Roses. Bassists are also very important in the structure of hard rock music, as the bass line outlines the harmony of the music being performed whilst simultaneously indicating the rhythmic pulse. Famous hard rock bassists include John Entwhistle of The Who, Cliff Williams of AC/DC, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, John Deacon of Queen, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy and Gene Simmons of KISS. Drums are also a basis of hard rock because they sustain the rhythm of the music, and create an energetic drive which keeps the music flowing. Some famous hard rock drummers include John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Keith Moon of The Who, Neil Peart of Rush, Cesar Zuiderwijk of Golden Earring, Lars Ulrich of Metallica and Eric Carr of KISS.
Singers are also a very important part of any hard rock band. They define the band as a whole and give it its overall image and sound. Famous hard rock singers include; Axl Rose of Guns 'N' Roses, Freddie Mercury of Queen and Bon Scott (now deceased) and Brian Johnson, both of AC/DC.
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". As with any art form, music has many examples of genre mixes, crossovers, or works which may be classified into more than one category. However, the distinctions between hard rock and heavy metal are usually subtle, and often as a result of a band's image rather than their music.
The two genres have some crossover for example; the pioneers of heavy metal, such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin are often considered both "Heavy Metal" and "Hard Rock". Whereas, bands such as AC/DC, Aerosmith, Nazareth and KISS, are normally referred to as just "Hard Rock" and not "Heavy Metal".
To further the confusion, the most popular heavy 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 Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Aerosmith amongst other things. Both Kiss and Aerosmith subsequently went on to experiment with Glam metal stylings.
History
Early days (1960s)
As previously said, one of the major influences of hard rock is blues music, especially the meeting of blues with rock and roll in the 1960s that produced British blues. British rockers like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, The Who and The Kinks modified rock and roll, adding to the standard genre; harder sounds, heavy guitar riffs, often bombastic drumming and harder vocals. This sound created the basis for hard rock. Early forms of hard rock can be heard in the songs Helter Skelter by the Beatles, I Can See for Miles by The Who, and You really got me by The Kinks.
At the same time, guitarist Jimi Hendrix, produced a novel strain of blues-inflected Psychedelic rock, which combined elements of jazz, blues and rock and roll, creating a unique genre. He was one of the first guitarists to experiment with new guitar effects like phasing, feedback and distortion. Another important group in blues-rock was Cream, (especially their guitarist, Eric Clapton).
Hard rock emerged from British groups of the late 1960s such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, who mixed the music of early British rockers with a more hard-edged strain of blues-rock. Led Zeppelin's eponymous first album, released in 1969, is a good example of heavy blues-rock which represents the true beginning of the hard rock genre. The blues origins of their album are clear and a few songs by well known blues artists are adapted or covered within the album.
Later, Deep Purple, entered the hard rock scene with the albums Shades of Deep Purple, The Book of Taliesyn, and Deep Purple. Together, with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple is usually considered one of the first hard rock bands.
The First Era (1970s)
In the 1970s, hard rock attained its identity. Led Zeppelin's third album, Led Zeppelin III was more progressive rock-oriented than their second, but the heavy aspects of their music remained. In 1970 another important UK group, Black Sabbath, released what is often considered the first heavy metal album, Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath's music was revolutionary even in hard rock; it was typified by dark lyrics, hard riffs and a heavy atmosphere, transforming the current hard rock into to an early variety of heavy metal.
Deep Purple's transformation of hard rock continued with their album Machine Head, considered (along with Black Sabbath) as one of the first proto-metal albums. The Machine Head song "Highway Star" is considered the first speed metal song in the history (speed metal is the progenitor of the more extreme thrash metal). Deep Purple's music lacks the darker and more gothic elements of Black Sabbath, and is generally considered hard rock rather than metal. Their contemporary band, Nazareth, provided a blend of hard rock that commercialised the genre further with their best selling album, Hair of the Dog, which in turn would influence numerous later bands including Guns N' Roses.
During the 1970s, hard rock developed a variety of sub-genres. In 1972, Alice Cooper made the first shock rock album, School's Out. The following year, Aerosmith and Queen released their eponymous debut albums, demonstrating the broadening directions of hard rock. In 1974, Bad Company released their debut album, which was another major influence on the hard rock genre. Also in 1974, Queen released their third album, Sheer Heart Attack, with the track Stone Cold Crazy being one of the earliest examples of speed metal and thrash metal. It influenced later artists such as Metallica and Megadeth. Queen used layered vocals and guitars and mixed hard rock with arena rock, glam rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, and even opera. Additionally, KISS furthered the shock rock concept, when they released their first three albums KISS (album), Hotter Than Hell and Dressed To Kill, in a little over a year. They achieved their commericial breakthrough with the double live album Alive!, which is regarded as one of the earliest examples of a live metal album.
Judas Priest introduced a new element in the genre, the dual rhythm, where two guitarists (instead of the usual single guitarist) play the rhythmic riffs. This element became common in heavy metal music. Judas Priest went on to become a major influence on hard rock and power metal music.
Judas Priest and Rainbow (formed by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore) created the basis for power metal, especially thanks to Ritchie Blackmore's guitar virtuosity. Meanwhile, following the heavy metal direction of Judas Priest and Rainbow, Black Sabbath moved away from the darkness of their early work with albums such as Technical Ecstasy.
Van Halen, another important group in the hard rock scene, showed up in 1978. Van Halen's music, different from KISS, Aerosmith and Queen, was based mostly on the guitar skills of Eddie Van Halen, the lead guitarist. The song, "Eruption" from the album Van Halen, demonstrated Eddie Van Halen's technique and was very influential.
In 1979, the differences between the classical hard rock movement and the rising heavy metal movement was highlighted when the Australian band, AC/DC, released their second biggest album, Highway to Hell. AC/DC's music was based mostly on rhythm & blues and early 1970s hard rock, with the group explicitly repudiating the "heavy metal" tag. Conversely the British band, Motörhead, provided the basis for the rise of thrash metal with their 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, replaced him.
The Second Era (1980s)
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 after the sudden death of drummer John Bonham, who choked on his own vomit after a binge of heavy drinking. Bon Scott, the lead singer of AC/DC had also died from acute alcohol poisoning earlier that year. With this and the disbanding of Zeppelin, the first wave of "classic" rock bands ended. 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 influential 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 successful albums such as Van Halen II and Women and Children First, which opened the road for what later became glam metal.
On the other side, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Angel Witch, Motörhead and a now solo Ozzy Osbourne kick-started a surge of interest in heavy metal. Iron Maiden and Angel Witch's music took great influences from Black Sabbath's legendary album Paranoid: dark sounds, heavy riffs and dark lyrics. Their style also featured fantasy-based elements, which differenced them from Black Sabbath's classic metal: together with Judas Priest, they are considered to be the mainstays of New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
In 1981, the American band Mötley Crüe released a massively influential album called Too Fast For Love, which set the basis for the rising genre Glam Metal. A year later the genre exploded, especially thanks to Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot: Twisted Sister's Under The Blade is considered one of the best Classic metal albums, and Quiet Riot's Metal Health is the first heavy metal 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.
Def Leppard, a Sheffield-based post-punk band showed up in the scene with the album Pyromania, which reached #2 in the American charts: Their music was a mix of glam rock, heavy metal, classic rock and Album Oriented Rock, which influenced many 80s hard rock and glam rock bands.
In 1983 Mötley Crüe released their most famous album, Shout at the Devil, which became a huge hit; for this reason the album is often considered to be "The Breakthrough Metal album". Van Halen'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. 1984 was a key year. KISS returned on the scene unmasked with the album Animalize: with their unmasking, they officially entered in the glam metal movement. Judas Priest's Defenders of the Faith achieved RIAA Gold and Platinum certifications. Other important acts in 1984's glam scene were Ratt and W.A.S.P..
At the same time, Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Steve Vai, two virtuoso guitarists, released their respective debut albums, Rising Force and Flex-Able. Their unique style didn't feature vocals, with both albums showcasing the guitar-playing talents of the artists instead; this was the birth of Instrumental Rock. There were differences between Malmsteen and Vai; while Malmsteen's music was greatly influenced by classical music, Vai was more of a hard rock purist whose hero was Frank Zappa.
In 1986, 1980s hard rock finally 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.
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. True success for him arrived a year later, with the release of Surfing with the Alien, a milestone in the history of Instrumental Rock.
1987 was another big year. The most notable successes in the charts were Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses and Hysteria by Def Leppard, which hit #1 in Billboard album chart, Mötley Crüe's Girls, Girls, Girls and Whitesnake's 1987. In 1988, a band mixing hard rock and some metal and influenced by such artists as Bon Jovi appeared: Skid Row. Their first album was called the same way Skid Row and was released in 1989. Next Skid Row's albums appeared during the 1990s. Thrash metal was strongly transformed into something called groove metal, which would later evolve, together with KoЯn's music, into the nu metal genre. In the same year, the Seattle band Soundgarden showed up with the EP Screaming Life, giving rise to yet another sub-genre, Grunge.
The Third Era (1990s)
The 1990s was an eventful and often puzzling era for hard rock. In 1991 Freddie Mercury of Queen announced he had AIDS and died a day later. The early 1990s 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 Glam Metal, the bands were hardly antagonistic towards the heavy metal genre in general; Soundgarden and Nirvana were influenced by much 1970s and 1980s metal, while Alice in Chains was arguably a metal band themselves. 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 artists such as Metallica continued from the 1980s into the 1990s (Metallica's albums Load and ReLoad could also be partly described as Hard Rock), 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.
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.
See also
- List of hard rock musicians
- Timeline of hard rock/heavy metal
- History based interviews with hard rock musicians
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