Types of Hard Rock Music
Headbanging, guitar riffs and big hair might come to mind when you think of hard rock music. While some of this is true, hard rock, like most rock music, has most of its roots in blues. Hard rock is a subgenre and types differentiate and change. Even though hard rock is loosely defined, it did begin in Britain.
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Definition
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Hard rock is a genre of rock music that is a bit heavier. Distortion from electric guitars and a harsh, amplified sound also make up its characteristics. Elements of blues also appear in hard rock, especially a type known as "British blues." British blues is played with instruments such as a keyboard, electric bass and electric guitars. British blues also doesn't use the typical 12- or 16-bar blues scale but does add additional chords.
Bands
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Hard rock bands emerged in places spanning from Britain to Seattle and grew from bluesy-sounding into alternative genres. Bands such as Deep Purple, Cream, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and The Yardbirds launched hard rock in the 1960s. Hard rock bands from the 1970s included Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Van Halen and Kiss. During the 1980s, bands such as Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and Motley Crue were popular. In the 1990s, popular hard rock artists included Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Korn, Tool, Rage Against the Machine and Metallica. From the 2000s until present, hard rock bands that were popular included Velvet Revolver, The White Stripes and a collaborative effort known as Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl on drums, John Paul Jones on bass and Josh Homme as lead singer.
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Grunge
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Grunge came into the music scene in the late 1980s and early '90s and featured Seattle bands such as Nirvana and Pearl primarily leading the way. Other bands from the era include Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. Grunge was a mix of heavy metal and postpunk rock. Distorted guitars and husky vocals by singers such as Kurt Cobain defined the scene. Lyrics tended to center on apathy or dissatisfaction with the world. A fashion wave also accompanied the music during this time with young people wearing baggy clothes and plaid shirts.
Blues
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Bluesy hard rock mixes elements of blues and rock. Led Zeppelin was one of the earlier bands to blur the lines. The band experimented with different sounds on its records, making some songs such as "Whole Lotta Love" lean more toward hard rock with tunes such as "Dazed and Confused" more steeped in the blues. The Black Crowes were a bluesy-band who shone in the late 1980s into the '90s. They were a mix of southern rock and blues, with acoustic compositions and a nod toward classic hard rock songs. The White Stripes are a recent band that gave off a distinctive amplified sound accompanied by Jack White's harsh vocals mired in a bluesy undertone.
Alternative
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Alternative is a term that could be traced to the late 1960s and early 1970s as a definition of artists who didn't really fit into one category. The Stooges were among the first to come into music with a sound that mixed British blues with psychedelic and garage rock. The sound was too different for mainstream radio stations. But the popularity of the genre was aided by Jane's Addiction, who began their conquest of hard rock music in the late 1980s and continued into the '90s. The band mixed metal, jazz, punk and even folk sounds. Nine Inch Nails exploded in the 1990s with a sound that was hard to define and featuring Trent Reznor's harsh, sometimes screaming, vocals and experimental instrumentation.
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References
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