Tag: Hard Rock
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Narrow Head ‘Satisfaction’ (2016)
I’ve been on a bit of a shoegaze and all of its offshoots kick lately and I stumbled upon Narrow Head during my exploration of that genre. The band draws plenty of inspiration from Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins with those fuzzy, layered guitars and a warm wall of sound that walks that fine line between…
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Velvet Revolver ‘Contraband’ (2004)
The early 2000’s were an incredible time for hard rock supergroups. You had Audioslave, which combined the musical talents of Rage Against the Machine and the vocal prowess of Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) who is easily my favorite rock vocalist of all-time and it’s not even close. So it was probably no coincidence that their debut…
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MC5 ‘Kick Out The Jams’ (1969)
Released in 1969 Kick Out the Jams by MC5 is one of the most controversial debut albums in rock history, and one of the rare cases where a band introduced itself to the world with a debut album that was also a live record. Captured at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom the album distills the chaos, energy,…
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Muse ‘Absolution’ (2003)
In the pantheon of great alternative rock bands in my generation there’s few who come close to Muse in my book. This is a band who simply isn’t just fun to listen to (although they most certainly are) but also frankly a band who made me recognize the transformative nature of what rock music can…
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Stone Temple Pilots ‘Core’ (1992)
Stone Temple Pilots came together in San Diego in the late 1980s when soon-to-be legendary rock vocalist Scott Weiland and bassist Robert DeLeo bonded over a shared love of bands like Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and Aerosmith. Along with Robert’s brother Dean and Eric Kretz they began refining a sound that combined heavy riff-driven rock…
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Daughtry ‘Daughtry’ (2006)
I used to watch American Idol pretty consistently with my mom when I was growing up and remember Daughtry being a pretty awesome edition to one of the earlier seasons of the show. He was (is) an incredible rock singer on a show that didn’t have many of them which always stuck out to me.…
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The Quireboys ‘A Bit Of What You Fancy’ (1990)
Originally known as the “Queerboys” (a name the band abandoned when it led to challenges getting booked for shows), The Quireboys had a pretty fun take on 80’s inspired hair metal. As I’ve mentioned before I’ve been binging the HBO show Peacemaker a lot lately and listening to the corresponding soundtrack as a result. The…
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Modern Color ‘From The Leaves of Your Garden’ (2020)
I’m seeing Thrice live for the first time in like 20 odd years later this year (November 21st, circle the date) and stumbled upon Modern Color since they’ll be opening the show for them. And hot damn did Thrice ever pick a banger of a young band to open up for them in Modern Color.…
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Mammoth ‘Mammoth WVH’ (2021)
If you’ve played guitar somewhat regularly at any point in your life you’ve 100% got Eddie Van Halen’s solo from “Eruption” saved somewhere on a guitar inspiration playlist somewhere. So when I remembered that his song Wolfgang had a band of his own it dawned on me I hadn’t given his debut album a full…
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Fuzz ‘Fuzz’ (2013)
Fuzz is a heavy, garage-inflected alternative rock band that channels the raw power of early Black Sabbath, the scuzzy lo-fi energy of Ty Segall’s solo work (unsurprising, since he drums and sings for the band), the sludgy psych tendencies and weirdness of Primus, and ultimately sounds like a dirtier and more unhinged cousin of Wolfmother…
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Skid Row ‘Skid Row’ (1989)
If you name your band Skid Row in 1989 you better be fully ready to bring the glam metal heat front to back, especially if you’re an East Coast based band. It’s a bold stake to smash into the ground considering the history of how Skid Row in Los Angeles basically defined that era of…
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Ozzy Osbourne ‘No More Tears’ (1991)
If you’re like me this weekend you’ve been binging clips from “Back To The Beginning”, the all-day heavy metal festival in Birmingham England that served as the final show of Ozzy Osbourne and his original band Black Sabbath’s career. The fact that all members of that band have made it into their mid-70’s is nothing…
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Wolfmother ‘Wolfmother’ (2005)
Doing the whole “turn back the clock to 1973 and sound like Led Zeppelin” thing was very much in vogue during the mid-2000’s, but few bands did it better and with more chutzpah than Wolfmother. Their debut album was an absolute banger that not only put them on the map but also solidified vintage classic…
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Them Crooked Vultures ‘Them Crooked Vultures’ (2009)
Them Crooked Vultures is the holiest of holy rock alliances, bringing together some of rock and roll’s most legendary figures over the five decades. Any time you have Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) in the same room together playing some good old fashioned…
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Nickelback ‘All The Right Reasons’ (2005)
Nickelback is often tied to “butt rock”, a perjorative slang for the subgenre of post-grunge and hard rock that is known for it’s mainstream success while lacking artistic merit. Critics slammed them for being formulaic and the name itself became shorthand for rock that plays on stations with “nothing but rock.” Alongside bands like Creed…
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KISS ‘Kiss’ (1974)
KISS’ career has seen its fair share of twists and turns, from the bizarre pop metal and grunge era in the 80’s and 90’s respectively, and the band has never really gotten the respect for hardcore music fans that they deserved. But whether you’ve seen them as a Halloween-esque caricature or one of the early…
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L.A. Guns ‘Cocked and Loaded’ (1989)
L.A. guns came up in the grimey glam metal scene of 1980’s Los Angeles and has an interesting family tree connection with Axl Rose and hard rock heavyweight Guns N’ Roses. Cocked and Loaded is their magnum opus.
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Boston ‘Don’t Look Back’ (1978)
Don’t Look Back isn’t nearly as good as the pretty-much-perfect debut album from Boston they dropped in 1976, due in part to how quickly the band churned this record out due to pressure from their label to write a quick follow up. There’s an old adage in the music business that you spend your entire…
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Foreigner ‘4’ (1981)
Foreigner’s magnum opus 4 is the kind of album that doesn’t pick a lane. Instead it swerves across the whole damn highway like someone who’s maybe had a few too many bourbons. It’s packed with arena-sized rockers like “Juke Box Hero” (a personal favorite of mine as a kid) and “Urgent”, all big massive riffs…
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Cactus ‘Cactus’ (1970)
Along with having a pretty bad ass name for a classic rock band (seriously this is a great one) Cactus was known in the early 70’s for effectively being the American version of Led Zeppelin. Hard rock and blues, an all-time combination, and a raw sound filled with powerful guitar riffs and improvisational jams that…
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Aerosmith ‘Aerosmith’ (1973)
Aerosmith hadn’t yet reached their commercial and creative peak when they released their debut album 1973 (that would come in 1975 when they released the immaculate Toys in the Attic), but they did showcase a bit of what was to come with their muscular and stripped down version of blues rock. Their debut album is…
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Rush ‘Moving Pictures’ (1981)
I have never been the biggest Rush fan but goddamn have I always been a Neil Peart fan. When Peart joined Rush in 1974 the band transformed from a blues rock trio into a progressive rock powerhouse largely due to Peart’s intricate rhythms, polyrhythmic mastery and unmatched precision behind the kit. He was a professor…
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The Unband ‘Retarder’ (2000)
Known for their wild live shows that featured on-stage antics like vomiting, lighting fires, and stripping on stage, The Unband are certainly a chip off the ol’ block when it comes to good ol’ fashioned rock and roll. Their music embraces the same reckless hedonism that their live shows celebrated, taking a page out of…
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Free ‘Fire and Water’ (1970)
Free’s Fire and Water is a perfect example of British blues rock at its rawest and most soulful. The album is built on gritty, stripped-down guitar riffs, steady grooves, and an undeniable sense of space that lets every note breathe. At the heart of it all is Paul Rodgers, whose smoky, powerful voice carries every…
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Avenged Sevenfold ‘Waking The Fallen’ (2003)
Waking the Fallen sits alongside Killswitch Engage’s The End of Heartache as a massively influential album in my love for contemporary metal music. As I’ve detailed endlessly over the past few years I was a huge punk rocker during my formative years. Avenged Sevenfold was one of those bands that, despite being a heavy metal…
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Black Sabbath ‘Black Sabbath’ (1970)
With its ominous, tritone-laden riffs, thunderous rhythms, and dark, foreboding lyrics, Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut album laid the foundation for what would become heavy metal. Tracks like the titular opener, with its haunting bell tolls and Tony Iommi’s crushing guitar work, and the relentless groove of “N.I.B.” (that bass line was legitimately everything to me…
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Nirvana ‘Bleach’ (1989)
Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and an evolving roster of drummers (Dave Grohl wouldn’t join the band until 1991’s Nevermind) came together to distill raw, unpolished essence of the Pac Northwest’s burgeoning grunge scene with their debut album Bleach, setting the stage for a sound that would eventually change a generation. Recorded in a modest session…
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Quiet Riot ‘Metal Health’ (1983)
Quiet Riot’s Metal Health was a milestone for heavy metal music, becoming the first metal album to top the Billboard 200 and selling over 10 million copies worldwide. The album’s explosive success was propelled by their raucous cover of Slade’s “Cum On Feel the Noize,” which turned into an anthem for headbangers everywhere. But beneath…
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The Who ‘Tommy’ (1969)
The Who’s groundbreaking rock opera Tommy emerged in 1969 as a visionary project primarily penned by guitarist Pete Townshend, who basically wrote the whole thing by himself. The double album weaves the fictional tale of Tommy Walker, a boy who becomes deaf, dumb, and blind following childhood trauma, only to rise as a spiritual leader…
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Queen ‘Queen’ (1973)
Queen’s journey began with a chance encounter in London’s dirty rock clubs. Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor were part of a band called Smile when a charismatic fan named Freddie Mercury entered the picture. A visionary with a flair for the dramatic, Freddie suggested the band adopt a more theatrical approach to their…
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Whiskey Myers ‘Firewater’ (2011)
As a huge fan of Taylor Sheridan’s storytelling, I’ve always admired the way his shows like Yellowstone and Landman (which I’m watching right now and absolutely loving) weave authentic, salt-of-the-earth country music into their soundtrack. It’s through his shows I discovered Whiskey Myers. They were featured on an episode of Yellowstone as the house band…
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Led Zeppelin ‘Led Zeppelin II’ (1969)
1969 was a busy ass year for Led Zeppelin. They were proving out their status as rock’s rising titans with a world tour and the release of Led Zeppelin II, which came a mere ten months after their self-titled debut album. This sophomore effort, forged in a patchwork of studios across North America and the…
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Lynyrd Skynrd ‘Pronounced Leh-Nerd-Skin-Nerd’ (1973)
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s story is as quintessentially American as their music. Formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964 by a group of high school friends—Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns—the band began honing their craft in garages and local dives. By the time they released their self-titled debut album in 1973…
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Twisted Sister ‘A Twisted Christmas’ (2006)
A Twisted Christmas is the ultimate holiday mashup of glam metal excess and yuletide cheer, proving that even the wildest rockers can embrace the Christmas spirit—on their own terms. Released in 2006, the album reimagines holiday classics like “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Deck the Halls” with the band’s signature blend of roaring guitars,…
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Bon Jovi ‘Slippery When Wet’ (1986)
Fueled by massive anthems like “You Give Love a Bad Name”, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, and the timeless drunk karaoke favorite “Livin’ on a Prayer”, Slippery When Wet rocketed the New Jersey group to global superstardom. Produced by Bruce Fairbairn and polished to a shimmering, radio-ready perfection, Slippery When Wet bridged the gap between glam…
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The Stooges ‘The Stooges’ (1969)
When The Stooges roared onto the scene in 1969 it was like a Molotov cocktail got tossed into the face of the flower-power era. Feral riffs, primal drums, and Iggy Pop’s unhinged stage presence were the recipe for success here, and by putting it together they waged a ferocious rebellion against rock’s growing polished side…
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