Hard rock
Hard rock is a form of loud, aggressive rock music. The electric guitar is often emphasised and used with distortion and other effects. It functions as both a rhythm instrument using repetitive riffs and as a solo lead instrument. Drumming characteristically focuses on driving rhythms with a strong bass drum. A backbeat on the snare sometimes uses cymbals for emphasis. Vocals are often growling, raspy, or involve screaming or wailing. These sounds can appear in a high range or even as falsetto voice. The genre began in the mid-1960s with garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard rock music was produced by the Kinks, the Who, and the Yardbirds.
The roots of hard rock trace back to the mid-to-late 1950s particularly electric blues. Electric blues guitarists began experimenting with hard rock elements such as driving rhythms and distorted guitar solos. Pat Hare captured a grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound on records like James Cotton's Cotton Crop Blues in 1954. Link Wray released his instrumental Rumble in 1958 which laid foundations for key elements. Dick Dale surfed rock instrumentals like Let's Go Trippin' in 1961 also contributed antecedents. In the 1960s American and British blues bands modified rock and roll by adding harder sounds. Early forms of hard rock appear in the work of Chicago blues musicians Elmore James and Muddy Waters. The Kingsmen released their version of Louie Louie in 1963 which made it a garage rock standard. Soft rock often derived from folk rock using acoustic instruments but hard rock came from blues rock played louder. Cream combined blues rock with pop and psychedelia in songs like I Feel Free in 1966. Jimi Hendrix produced a form of blues-influenced psychedelic rock combining jazz and blues elements.
The genre developed into a major form of popular music in the 1970s. Led Zeppelin mixed early rock band music with a hard-edged form of blues rock on albums like Led Zeppelin II in 1969. Deep Purple achieved commercial breakthrough with their fourth album Deep Purple in Rock in 1970. Black Sabbath released Paranoid in 1970 which combined guitar riffs with dissonance and explicit references to the occult. Alice Cooper achieved mainstream success with School's Out in 1972 followed by Billion Dollar Babies reaching number one in 1973. Aerosmith produced their eponymous debut in 1973 alongside Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd. Kiss built on theatrics to produce Alive! in 1975 helping take hard rock into the stadium rock era. Van Halen emerged from Los Angeles in 1978 with Eddie Van Halen popularising tapping technique on Eruption. The Canadian trio Rush released three distinctively hard rock albums between 1974 and 1975 before moving toward progressive sound. Thin Lizzy made substantial commercial breakthrough in 1976 with Jailbreak and hit song The Boys Are Back in Town. AC/DC began gaining international attention from 1976 culminating in multi-platinum albums Let There Be Rock in 1977 and Highway to Hell in 1979.
The 2000s saw renewed interest in established bands attempts at revival and new hard rock bands. A few hard rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers. Bon Jovi achieved commercial hit with It's My Life from Crush in 2000. AC/DC released Black Ice in 2008 which was double platinum-certified. Heart achieved first hit album since early 90s with Red Velvet Car in 2010 becoming first female-led hard rock band to earn Top 10 albums spanning five decades. Reunions occurred from Van Halen in 2004 and then Roth in 2007 and the Who delayed until 2006. Hard rock supergroups like Audioslave and Velvet Revolver emerged but were short-lived ending in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The term retro-metal applied to bands such as Texas based the Sword California's High on Fire Sweden's Witchcraft and Australia's Wolfmother. England's the Darkness released Permission to Land in 2003 described as eerily realistic simulation of 80s metal and 70s glam. Los Angeles band Steel Panther gained following by sending up 80s glam metal. Swedish rock band Ghost became among most successful recent hard-rock
bands nominated four times for Grammy Awards.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
What is hard rock music and how does it function as an instrument?
Hard rock is a form of loud, aggressive rock music that functions as both a rhythm instrument using repetitive riffs and as a solo lead instrument. The electric guitar is often emphasised and used with distortion and other effects to create this sound.
When did the genre begin and which bands produced some of the earliest hard rock music?
The genre began in the mid-1960s with garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard rock music was produced by the Kinks, the Who, and the Yardbirds.
Who are the key artists associated with the development of hard rock in the 1970s?
Led Zeppelin mixed early rock band music with a hard-edged form of blues rock on albums like Led Zeppelin II in 1969. Deep Purple achieved commercial breakthrough with their fourth album Deep Purple in Rock in 1970 while Black Sabbath released Paranoid in 1970.
How has hard rock evolved from the 2000s to recent years regarding new bands and reunions?
The 2000s saw renewed interest in established bands attempts at revival and new hard rock bands. Reunions occurred from Van Halen in 2004 and then Roth in 2007 and the Who delayed until 2006.
What specific musical elements define the sound of hard rock vocals and drumming?
Vocals are often growling, raspy, or involve screaming or wailing that can appear in a high range or even as falsetto voice. Drumming characteristically focuses on driving rhythms with a strong bass drum and sometimes uses cymbals for emphasis on the snare backbeat.