Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music
typified by a heavy use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric
guitars, bass guitar, and drums, sometimes accompanied with keyboards.
It began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock
movements. Hard rock developed into a major form of popular music in
the 1970s, with bands such as the Who, Boston, Led Zeppelin, Deep
Purple, Aerosmith, Kiss, Queen, AC/DC and Van Halen. During the 1980s,
some hard-rock bands moved away from their hard rock roots and more
towards pop rock. Established bands made a comeback in the mid-1980s
and hard rock reached a commercial peak in the 1980s, with glam metal
bands such as Bon Jovi and Def Leppard and the rawer sounds of Guns N'
Roses which followed up with great success in the later part of that
decade.Hard rock began losing popularity with the commercial success
of R&B, hip-hop, urban pop, grunge and later Britpop in the 1990s.
Despite this, many post-grunge bands adopted a hard rock sound and the
2000s saw a renewed interest in established bands, attempts at a
revival, and new hard-rock bands that emerged from the garage rock and
post-punk revival scenes. Out of this movement came garage rock bands
like the White Stripes, the Strokes, Interpol and later the Black
Keys. In the 2000s, only a few hard-rock bands from the 1970s and
1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers.Hard rock
is a form of loud, aggressive rock music. The electric guitar is often
emphasised, used with distortion and other effects, both as a rhythm
instrument using repetitive riffs with a varying degree of complexity,
and as a solo lead instrument. Drumming characteristically focuses on
driving rhythms, strong bass drum and a backbeat on snare, sometimes
using cymbals for emphasis. The bass guitar works in conjunction with
the drums, occasionally playing riffs, but usually providing a backing
for the rhythm and lead guitars. Vocals are often growling, raspy, or
involve screaming or wailing, sometimes in a high range, or even
falsetto voice.In the late 1960s, the term heavy metal was used
interchangeably with hard rock, but gradually began to be used to
describe music played with even more volume and intensity. While hard
rock maintained a bluesy rock and roll identity, including some swing
in the back beat and riffs that tended to outline chord progressions
in their hooks, heavy metal's riffs often functioned as stand-alone
melodies and had no swing in them. In the 1980s heavy metal developed
a number of subgenres, often termed extreme metal, some of which were
influenced by hardcore punk, and which further differentiated the two
styles. Despite this differentiation, hard rock and heavy metal have
existed side by side, with bands frequently standing on the boundary
of, or crossing between, the genres.
typified by a heavy use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric
guitars, bass guitar, and drums, sometimes accompanied with keyboards.
It began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock
movements. Hard rock developed into a major form of popular music in
the 1970s, with bands such as the Who, Boston, Led Zeppelin, Deep
Purple, Aerosmith, Kiss, Queen, AC/DC and Van Halen. During the 1980s,
some hard-rock bands moved away from their hard rock roots and more
towards pop rock. Established bands made a comeback in the mid-1980s
and hard rock reached a commercial peak in the 1980s, with glam metal
bands such as Bon Jovi and Def Leppard and the rawer sounds of Guns N'
Roses which followed up with great success in the later part of that
decade.Hard rock began losing popularity with the commercial success
of R&B, hip-hop, urban pop, grunge and later Britpop in the 1990s.
Despite this, many post-grunge bands adopted a hard rock sound and the
2000s saw a renewed interest in established bands, attempts at a
revival, and new hard-rock bands that emerged from the garage rock and
post-punk revival scenes. Out of this movement came garage rock bands
like the White Stripes, the Strokes, Interpol and later the Black
Keys. In the 2000s, only a few hard-rock bands from the 1970s and
1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers.Hard rock
is a form of loud, aggressive rock music. The electric guitar is often
emphasised, used with distortion and other effects, both as a rhythm
instrument using repetitive riffs with a varying degree of complexity,
and as a solo lead instrument. Drumming characteristically focuses on
driving rhythms, strong bass drum and a backbeat on snare, sometimes
using cymbals for emphasis. The bass guitar works in conjunction with
the drums, occasionally playing riffs, but usually providing a backing
for the rhythm and lead guitars. Vocals are often growling, raspy, or
involve screaming or wailing, sometimes in a high range, or even
falsetto voice.In the late 1960s, the term heavy metal was used
interchangeably with hard rock, but gradually began to be used to
describe music played with even more volume and intensity. While hard
rock maintained a bluesy rock and roll identity, including some swing
in the back beat and riffs that tended to outline chord progressions
in their hooks, heavy metal's riffs often functioned as stand-alone
melodies and had no swing in them. In the 1980s heavy metal developed
a number of subgenres, often termed extreme metal, some of which were
influenced by hardcore punk, and which further differentiated the two
styles. Despite this differentiation, hard rock and heavy metal have
existed side by side, with bands frequently standing on the boundary
of, or crossing between, the genres.
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