View source for Hard rock

{{Short description|Music genre}}
{{Other uses|Hard Rock (disambiguation)}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Hard rock
| other_names       = Heavy rock
| image             = Epiphone SG Muse Scarlet Red.jpg
| caption           = [[Epiphone]] [[Gibson SG|SGs]] are commonly associated with Hard Rock. This was popularised by [[Jimmy Page]], [[Angus Young]], and [[Frank Zappa]].
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Blues rock]]|[[psychedelic rock]]|[[acid rock]]|[[garage rock]]||[[rock and roll]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Mid-1960s, United States and United Kingdom
| derivatives       = {{hlist|[[Glam metal]]|[[glam rock]]|[[NWOBHM]]|[[power pop]]}}
| other_topics      = {{hlist|[[Acid rock]]|[[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]]|[[progressive rock]]|[[soft rock]]}}
}}

'''Hard rock''' or '''heavy rock'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Philo |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqiDBQAAQBAJ&q=%22rock+had+become+hard+or+heavy%22 |title=British Invasion: The Crosscurrents of Musical Influence |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-8108-8626-1 |location=Lanham, MD |page=129}}</ref> is a heavier subgenre of [[rock music]] typified by aggressive vocals and [[Distortion (music)|distorted]] [[electric guitar]]s. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the [[Garage rock|garage]], [[Psychedelic rock|psychedelic]] and [[blues rock]] movements. Some of the earliest hard rock music was produced by [[the Kinks]], [[the Who]], [[the Beatles]], [[the Rolling Stones]], [[Cream (band)|Cream]], [[Vanilla Fudge]], and [[the Jimi Hendrix Experience]]. In the late 1960s, bands such as [[Blue Cheer]], [[the Jeff Beck Group]], [[Iron Butterfly]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]], [[Golden Earring]], [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]], [[Grand Funk Railroad]], [[Free (band)|Free]], and [[Deep Purple]] also produced hard rock.

The genre developed into a major form of [[popular music]] in the 1970s, with the Who, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple being joined by [[Black Sabbath]], [[Alice Cooper]], [[Aerosmith]], [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]], [[AC/DC]], [[Thin Lizzy]] and [[Van Halen]]. During the 1980s, some hard rock bands moved away from their hard rock roots and more towards [[pop rock]].<ref name=AMQueen/><ref name="Bogdanov2002Queen">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 903–905.</ref> 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 [[Mötley Crüe]], [[Bon Jovi]] and [[Def Leppard]] as well as the rawer sounds of [[Guns N' Roses]] which followed with great success in the later part of that decade.

Hard rock began losing popularity with the commercial success of [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]], [[Urban contemporary music|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. In the 2000s, only a few hard rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers.
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==Definitions==
[[File:Backbeat chop.png|thumb|left|300px|Drum notation for a [[backbeat]]<ref>D. Anger, "Introduction to the '[[Backbeat chop|Chop]]'", ''Strad'' (0039–2049), 10 January 2006, vol. 117, issue 1398, pp. 72–7.</ref>]]
Hard rock is a form of loud, aggressive rock music. The electric guitar is often emphasised, used with [[Distortion (music)|distortion]] and other effects, both as a rhythm instrument using repetitive [[riff]]s with a varying degree of complexity, and as a solo [[Lead guitar|lead]] instrument.<ref name=AllMusicHard/> Drumming characteristically focuses on driving rhythms, strong bass drum and a [[beat (music)#Backbeat|backbeat]] on snare, sometimes using cymbals for emphasis.<ref name="Shuker2005">R. Shuker, ''Popular Music: the Key Concepts'', (Abingdon: Routledge, 2nd end., 2005), {{ISBN|0-415-34770-X}}, pp. 130–1.</ref> The bass guitar works in conjunction with the drums, occasionally playing riffs, but usually providing a backing for the rhythm and lead guitars.<ref name=Allmusicheavymetal/> Vocals are often growling, raspy, or involve screaming or wailing, sometimes in a high range, or even [[falsetto]] voice.<ref>E. Macan, ''Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), {{ISBN|0-19-509887-0}}, p. 39.</ref>

In the late-1960s, the term [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] was used interchangeably with hard rock, but gradually began to be used to describe music played with even more volume and intensity.<ref>P. Du Noyer, ed., ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music'' (Flame Tree, 2003), {{ISBN|1-904041-70-1}}, p. 96.</ref> While hard rock maintained a bluesy [[rock and roll]] identity, including some [[swing (music)|swing]] in the back beat and riffs that tended to outline [[chord progression]]s in their hooks, heavy metal's riffs often functioned as stand-alone melodies and had no swing in them.<ref name="AllMusicHard">{{Citation |title=Hard Rock|work=Allmusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/hard-rock-ma0000002636}}.</ref> 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.<ref name="Allmusicheavymetal">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1332–1333.</ref> Despite this differentiation, hard rock and heavy metal have coexisted with one another, with bands frequently flirting with the boundaries of, or hybridizing the genres.<ref>R. Walser, ''Running With the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music'' (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1993), {{ISBN|0-8195-6260-2}}, p. 7.</ref>

==History==
The roots of hard rock can be traced back to the mid-to-late 1950s, particularly [[electric blues]],<ref>Simon Frith, Will Straw. The hard rock genre is originally from Glasgow. John Street, ''[[Cambridge Companions to Music|The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock]]'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=5pxTb3YtB-gC&pg=PA119 page 19], [[Cambridge University Press]]</ref> which laid the foundations for key elements such as a rough declamatory vocal style, heavy guitar riffs, [[String bending|string-bending]] blues-scale [[guitar solo]]s, strong [[Beat (music)|beat]], thick riff-laden [[Texture (music)|texture]], and posturing performances.<ref name="campbell201">Michael Campbell & James Brody (2007), ''Rock and Roll: An Introduction'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=XTo8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 page 201]</ref> Electric blues [[guitarist]]s began experimenting with hard rock elements such as driving rhythms, distorted guitar solos and [[power chord]]s in the 1950s, evident in the work of [[Memphis blues]] guitarists such as [[Joe Hill Louis]], [[Willie Johnson (guitarist)|Willie Johnson]], and particularly [[Pat Hare]],<ref name="rolling_memphis">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Jim |url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneillu00mill |title=The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll |publisher=[[Rolling Stone]] |year=1980 |isbn=0394513223 |location=New York |quote=Black country bluesmen made raw, heavily amplified boogie records of their own, especially in Memphis, where guitarists like Joe Hill Louis, Willie Johnson (with the early Howlin' Wolf band) and Pat Hare (with Little Junior Parker) played driving rhythms and scorching, distorted solos that might be counted the distant ancestors of heavy metal. |access-date=5 July 2012 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="palmer" /> who captured a "grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound" on records such as [[James Cotton]]'s "[[Cotton Crop Blues]]" (1954).<ref name="palmer">[[Robert Palmer (American writer)|Robert Palmer]], "Church of the Sonic Guitar", pp. 13–38 in Anthony DeCurtis, ''Present Tense'' (Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1992), {{ISBN|0-8223-1265-4}}, pp. 24–27.</ref> Other antecedents include [[Link Wray]]'s instrumental "[[Rumble (instrumental)|Rumble]]" in 1958,<ref>J. Simmonds, ''The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches'' (Chicago Il: Chicago Review Press, 2008), {{ISBN|1-55652-754-3}}, p. 559.</ref> and the [[surf rock]] instrumentals of [[Dick Dale]], such as "[[Let's Go Trippin']]{{-"}} (1961) and "[[Misirlou]]" (1962).

===Origins (1960s)===
[[File:Cream Clapton Bruce Baker 1960s.jpg|thumb|[[Ginger Baker|Baker]], [[Jack Bruce|Bruce]] and [[Eric Clapton|Clapton]] of [[Cream (band)|Cream]], whose blues rock improvisation was a major factor in the development of the genre]]
In the 1960s, American and [[British blues]] and rock bands began to modify [[rock and roll]] by adding harder sounds, heavier guitar riffs, bombastic drumming, and louder vocals, from [[electric blues]].<ref name=campbell201/> Early forms of hard rock can be heard in the work of [[Chicago blues]] musicians [[Elmore James]], [[Muddy Waters]], and [[Howlin' Wolf]],<ref>Jane Beethoven, Carman Moore, ''Rock-It'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=0ZcvzQhiK6sC&pg=PA37 page 37], [[Alfred Music]]</ref> [[the Kingsmen]]'s version of "[[Louie Louie]]" (1963) which made it a [[garage rock]] standard,<ref name="P. Buckley, 2003">P. Buckley, ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' (London: Rough Guides, 2003), {{ISBN|1-84353-105-4}}, p. 1144.</ref> and songs of [[rhythm and blues|R&B]]-influenced [[British Invasion]] acts,<ref name="Bogdanov2002BritishR&B">R. Unterberger, "Early British R&B", in V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1315–1316.</ref> such as "[[You Really Got Me]]" by [[the Kinks]] (1964),<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t4750179|pure_url=yes}} "Review of 'You Really Got Me' "], Denise Sullivan, [[AllMusic]], [https://allmusic.com All Music.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221230406/https://www.allmusic.com/ |date=2020-12-21 }}</ref> "[[My Generation]]" by [[the Who]] (1965)<ref name=AllMusicHard/> and "[[(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction]]" (1965) by [[the Rolling Stones]].<ref>P. Prown and HP Newquist, ''Legends of Rock Guitar: the Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists'' (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1997), {{ISBN|0-7935-4042-9}}, p. 29.</ref> [[Soft rock]] was often derived from [[folk rock]], using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies.<ref name="Curtis1987">J. M. Curtis, ''Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society, 1954–1984'' (Madison, WI: Popular Press, 1987), {{ISBN|0-87972-369-6}}, p. 447.</ref> In contrast, hard rock was most often derived from [[blues rock]] and was played louder and with more intensity.<ref name=AllMusicHard/>

Blues rock acts that pioneered the sound included [[Cream (band)|Cream]], [[the Jimi Hendrix Experience]], and [[the Jeff Beck Group]].<ref name=AllMusicHard/> Cream, in songs like "[[I Feel Free]]" (1966), combined blues rock with pop and psychedelia, particularly in the riffs and guitar solos of [[Eric Clapton]].<ref>R. Unterberger, [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1892561|pure_url=yes}} "Song Review: I Feel Free"], ''[[AllMusic]]'', retrieved 22 February 2010.</ref> Cream's best known-song, "[[Sunshine of Your Love]]" (1967), is sometimes considered to be the culmination of the British adaptation of blues into rock and a direct precursor of Led Zeppelin's style of hard rock and heavy metal.<ref>J. Covach and G. M. Boone, ''Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis'' (Oxford, England: University Press, 1997) {{ISBN|978-0195356625}}, P. 85.</ref>  Jimi Hendrix produced a form of blues-influenced psychedelic rock, which combined elements of [[jazz]], blues and rock and roll.<ref>D. Henderson, ''Scuse Me While I kiss the Sky: the Life of Jimi Hendrix'' (London: Omnibus Press, 2002), {{ISBN|0-7119-9432-3}}, p. 112.</ref> From 1967, [[Jeff Beck]] brought lead guitar to new heights of technical virtuosity and moved blues rock in the direction of heavy rock with his band, the Jeff Beck Group.<ref name="Allmusicblues rock">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra, S. T. Erlewine, eds, ''All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues'' (Backbeat, 3rd edn., 2003), {{ISBN|0-87930-736-6}}, pp. 700–2.</ref> [[Dave Davies]] of the Kinks, [[Keith Richards]] of the Rolling Stones, [[Pete Townshend]] of the Who, Hendrix, Clapton and Beck all pioneered the use of new guitar effects like [[phaser (effect)|phasing]], [[Audio feedback|feedback]] and [[Distortion (music)|distortion]].<ref>P. Prown and HP Newquist, ''Legends of Rock Guitar: the Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists'' (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1997), {{ISBN|0-7935-4042-9}}, pp. 59–60.</ref> [[The Doors]]' [[The Doors (album)|debut album]], released in 1967, included songs like "[[Soul Kitchen (song)|Soul Kitchen]]", "Twentieth Century Fox", and a cover version of "[[Back Door Man]]", which were what music journalist [[Stephen Davis (music journalist)|Stephen Davis]] characterized as "enough hard rock tracks".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLzRXcFh4aQC&pg=PA114 |title=Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2004 |isbn=1-59240-064-7 |page=114}}</ref> One track that stands out as especially heavy for its time is the last 1:10 of "[[I Feel Much Better]]" by the [[Small Faces]], recorded in May 1967. The first 2:46 is typical psychedelic fare of the time, but then the song suddenly changes into a hard bass-and-guitar power chord with [[Steve Marriott]]'s rhythm guitar and gut bucket singing, equal to the heaviest rock to be heard later. [[The Beatles]] began producing songs in the new hard rock style beginning with their 1968 double album ''[[The Beatles (album)|The Beatles]]'' (also known as the "White Album") and, with the track "[[Helter Skelter (song)|Helter Skelter]]", attempted to create a greater level of noise than the Who.<ref name=Macdonald2005p2005/> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] has referred to the "proto-metal roar" of "Helter Skelter",<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1523|pure_url=yes}} "Beatles: 'The White Album"], ''AllMusic'', retrieved 3 August 2010.</ref> while [[Ian MacDonald]] called it "ridiculous, with [[Paul McCartney|McCartney]] shrieking weedily against a massively tape-echoed backdrop of out-of-tune thrashing".<ref name="Macdonald2005p2005">I. Macdonald, ''Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records and the Sixties'' (London: Vintage, 3rd edn., 2005), p. 298.</ref>

[[File:LedZeppelinChicago75.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Led Zeppelin]] live at [[Chicago Stadium]], January 1975]]
Groups that emerged from the American psychedelic scene about the same time included [[Iron Butterfly]], [[MC5]], [[Blue Cheer]] and [[Vanilla Fudge]].<ref name="Walser1993pp9-10">R. Walser, ''Running With the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music'' (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1993), {{ISBN|0-8195-6260-2}}, pp. 9–10.</ref> San Francisco band Blue Cheer released a crude and distorted cover of [[Eddie Cochran]]'s classic "[[Summertime Blues]]", from their 1968 debut album ''[[Vincebus Eruptum]]'', that outlined much of the later hard rock and heavy metal sound.<ref name="Walser1993pp9-10" /> The same month, [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]] released its [[Steppenwolf (Steppenwolf album)|self-titled debut album]], including "[[Born to Be Wild]]", which contained the first lyrical reference to heavy metal and helped popularise the style when it was used in the film ''[[Easy Rider]]'' (1969).<ref name="Walser1993pp9-10" /> Iron Butterfly's ''[[In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (album)|In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida]]'' (1968), with its 17-minute-long [[In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida|title track]], using organs and with a lengthy drum solo, also prefigured later elements of the sound.<ref name="Walser1993pp9-10" />

By the end of the decade a distinct genre of hard rock was emerging with bands like [[Led Zeppelin]], who mixed the music of early rock bands with a more hard-edged form of blues rock and acid rock on their first two albums ''[[Led Zeppelin (album)|Led Zeppelin]]'' (1969) and ''[[Led Zeppelin II]]'' (1969), and [[Deep Purple]], who began as a [[progressive rock]] group in 1968 but achieved their commercial breakthrough with their fourth and distinctively heavier album, ''[[Deep Purple in Rock]]'' (1970). Also significant was Black Sabbath's ''[[Paranoid (album)|Paranoid]]'' (1970), which combined guitar riffs with dissonance and more explicit references to the occult and elements of [[Gothic rock|Gothic horror]].<ref name="Walser1993pp9-10" /> All three of these bands have been seen as pivotal in the development of heavy metal, but where metal further accentuated the intensity of the music, with bands like [[Judas Priest]] following Sabbath's lead into territory that was often "darker and more menacing", hard rock tended to continue to remain the more exuberant, good-time music.<ref name=AllMusicHard/>

===Expansion (1970s)===
[[File:Who - 1975.jpg|thumb|right|[[The Who]] on stage in 1975]]
In the early 1970s the Rolling Stones further developed their hard rock sound with ''[[Exile on Main St.]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exile On Main St. {{!}} The Rolling Stones |url=http://www.rollingstones.com/release/exile-on-main-st/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022151946/http://www.rollingstones.com/release/exile-on-main-st/ |archive-date=2012-10-22 |access-date=2019-01-19 |website=rollingstones.com}}</ref> (1972). Initially receiving mixed reviews, according to critic Steve Erlewine it is now "generally regarded as the Rolling Stones' finest album".<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r16834|pure_url=yes}} "Rolling Stones: Exile on Mainstreet"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 3 August 2010.</ref> They continued to pursue the riff-heavy sound on albums including ''[[It's Only Rock 'n' Roll]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=It's Only Rock 'N' Roll – The Rolling Stones |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/its-only-rock-n-roll-mw0000195496 |access-date=2019-01-19 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> (1974) and ''[[Black and Blue]]'' (1976).<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5298|pure_url=yes}} "The Rolling Stones"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 3 August 2010.</ref> Led Zeppelin began to mix elements of [[world music|world]] and folk music into their hard rock from ''[[Led Zeppelin III]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Led Zeppelin III – Led Zeppelin |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/led-zeppelin-iii-mw0000650405 |access-date=2019-01-19 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> (1970) and ''[[Led Zeppelin IV]]'' (1971). The latter included the track "[[Stairway to Heaven]]",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sold on Song – Song Library – Stairway To Heaven |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/indepth/stairway.shtml |access-date=2019-01-19 |website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> which would become the most played song in the history of album-oriented radio.<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4739|pure_url=yes}} "Led Zeppelin"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 27 September 2010.</ref> Deep Purple continued to define their unique brand of hard rock, particularly with their album ''[[Machine Head (album)|Machine Head]]'' (1972), which included the tracks "[[Highway Star (song)|Highway Star]]" and "[[Smoke on the Water]]".<ref>R. Walser, ''Running With the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music'' (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1993), {{ISBN|0-8195-6260-2}}, p. 64.</ref> In 1975 guitarist [[Ritchie Blackmore]] left, going on to form [[Rainbow (rock band)|Rainbow]] and after the break-up of the band the next year, vocalist [[David Coverdale]] formed [[Whitesnake]].<ref name="AllmusicDeepPurple">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 292–293.</ref> 1970 saw the Who release ''[[Live at Leeds]]'', often seen as the archetypal hard rock live album, and the following year they released their highly acclaimed album ''[[Who's Next]]'', which mixed heavy rock with extensive use of synthesizers.<ref>C. Charlesworth and E. Hanel, ''The Who: the Complete Guide to Their Music'' (London: Omnibus Press, 2nd edn., 2004), {{ISBN|1-84449-428-4}}, p. 52.</ref> Subsequent albums, including ''[[Quadrophenia]]'' (1973), built on this sound before ''[[Who Are You]]'' (1978), their last album before the death of pioneering rock drummer [[Keith Moon]] later that year.<ref name="AllmusicTheWho">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1220–1222.</ref>

Emerging British acts included [[Free (band)|Free]], who released their signature song "[[All Right Now]]" (1970), which has received extensive radio airplay in both the UK and US.<ref>[https://music.apple.com/us/artist/paul-rodgers/163444 Paul Rodgers: Biography], ''[[iTunes]]''</ref> After the breakup of the band in 1973, vocalist [[Paul Rodgers]] joined [[Supergroup (music)|supergroup]] [[Bad Company (band)|Bad Company]], whose [[Bad Company (album)|eponymous first album]] (1974) was an international hit.<ref name="AllmusicNazareth">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 52–53.</ref> UK band [[Foghat]] also found success throughout the decade with their boogie and blues style. The mixture of hard rock and progressive rock, evident in the works of Deep Purple, was pursued more directly by bands like [[Uriah Heep (band)|Uriah Heep]] and [[Argent (band)|Argent]].<ref>E. Macan, ''Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), {{ISBN|0-19-509887-0}}, pp. 138.</ref> Scottish band [[Nazareth (band)|Nazareth]] released their [[Nazareth (album)|self-titled début]] album in 1971, producing a blend of hard rock and pop that would culminate in their best selling, ''[[Hair of the Dog (album)|Hair of the Dog]]'' (1975), which contained the proto-[[power ballad]] "[[Love Hurts]]".<ref>V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 783–784.</ref> Having enjoyed some national success in the early 1970s, [[Queen (band)|Queen]], after the release of ''[[Sheer Heart Attack]]'' (1974) and ''[[A Night at the Opera (Queen album)|A Night at the Opera]]'' (1975), gained international recognition with a sound that used layered vocals and guitars and mixed hard rock with heavy metal, progressive rock, and even [[opera]].<ref name="AMQueen">{{Citation |last=S. T. Erlewine |title=Queen |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=queen-p5205/biography|pure_url=yes}} |work=Allmusic |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5wS5t2gXT?url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/queen-p5205/biography |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 February 2011}}.</ref> The latter featured the hit single "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Queen&nbsp;— Bohemian Rhapsody |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/Show%20Me%20The%20Way |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]}}</ref>

[[File:KISS in concert Boston 2004.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] on stage in Boston in 2004]]
In the United States, [[Shock rock|shock-rock]] pioneer [[Alice Cooper (band)|Alice Cooper]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alice Cooper |url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/alice-cooper |access-date=2019-01-19 |website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame}}</ref> achieved mainstream success with ''[[School's Out (album)|School's Out]]'' (1972), and followed up with ''[[Billion Dollar Babies]]'', which reached the No. 1 position on the ''Billboard 200'' albums chart in 1973.<ref>R. Harris and J. D. Peters, ''Motor City Rock and Roll:: The 1960s and 1970s'' (Charleston CL., Arcadia Publishing, 2008), {{ISBN|0-7385-5236-4}}, p. 114.</ref> Also in 1973, blues rockers [[ZZ Top]] released their classic album ''[[Tres Hombres]]'' and [[Aerosmith]] produced their [[Aerosmith (album)|eponymous début]], as did [[Southern rock]]ers [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]] and [[proto-punk]] outfit [[New York Dolls]], demonstrating the diverse directions being pursued in the genre.<ref name="AllmusicBands">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 9–11, 681–682, 794 and 1271–1272.</ref> [[Montrose (band)|Montrose]], including the instrumental talent of [[Ronnie Montrose]] and vocals of [[Sammy Hagar]] released their [[Montrose (album)|first album]] in 1973.<ref>E. Rivadavia, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4946|pure_url=yes}} "Montrose"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 2 August 2010.</ref> Former bubblegum-pop family act [[the Osmonds]] recorded two hard rock albums in 1972 and had their breakthrough in the UK with the hard rock hit "[[Crazy Horses]]."<ref name="guard">[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jan/23/how-we-made-crazy-horses-the-osmonds "The Osmonds: how we made Crazy Horses" The Guardian 23 January 2017]</ref><ref>Eddy, Chuck. ''[https://www.amazon.com/Stairway-To-Hell-Albums-Universe/dp/0517575418 Stairway to Hell: The Five Hundred Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe]''</ref> [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] built on the theatrics of Alice Cooper and the look of the New York Dolls to produce a unique band persona, achieving their commercial breakthrough with the double live album ''[[Alive! (Kiss album)|Alive!]]'' in 1975 and helping to take hard rock into the [[Arena rock|stadium rock]] era.<ref name="P. Buckley, 2003" /> In the mid-1970s Aerosmith achieved their commercial and artistic breakthrough with ''[[Toys in the Attic (album)|Toys in the Attic]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Toys in the Attic – Aerosmith |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/toys-in-the-attic-mw0000189017 |access-date=2019-01-19 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> (1975) and ''[[Rocks (Aerosmith album)|Rocks]]'' (1976),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giles |first=Jeff |date=3 May 2016 |title=That Time Aerosmith Hit Their Stride on 'Rocks' |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/aerosmith-rocks/ |access-date=2019-01-19 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref> [[Blue Öyster Cult]], formed in the late 1960s, picked up on some of the elements introduced by Black Sabbath with their breakthrough live gold album ''[[On Your Feet or on Your Knees]]'' (1975), followed by their first platinum album, ''[[Agents of Fortune]]'' (1976), containing the hit single "[[(Don't Fear) The Reaper]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of BÖC |url=http://www.blueoystercult.com/History/history6.html |access-date=2008-09-14 |publisher=Blue Oyster Cult.com |archive-date=2023-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610172512/http://www.blueoystercult.com/History/history6.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Journey (band)|Journey]] released their [[Journey (Journey album)|eponymous debut]] in 1975<ref name="AllmusicJourney">W. Ruhlmann, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4643|pure_url=yes}} "Journey"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> and the next year [[Boston (band)|Boston]] released their highly successful [[Boston (album)|début album]].<ref name="AllmusicBoston">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, p. 132.</ref> In the same year, hard rock bands featuring women saw commercial success as [[Heart (band)|Heart]] released ''[[Dreamboat Annie]]'' and [[the Runaways]] débuted with their [[The Runaways (album)|self-titled album]]. While Heart had a more [[folk rock|folk-oriented]] hard rock sound, the Runaways leaned more towards a mix of [[Punk rock|punk-influenced music]] and hard rock.<ref>M. J. Carson, T. Lewis and S. M. Shaw, ''Girls Rock!: Fifty Years of Women Making Music'' (University Press of Kentucky, 2004), {{ISBN|0-8131-2310-0}}, pp. 86–9.</ref> [[The Amboy Dukes (band)|The Amboy Dukes]], having emerged from the Detroit garage rock scene and most famous for their psychedelic hit "Journey to the Center of the Mind" (1968), were dissolved by their guitarist [[Ted Nugent]], who embarked on a solo career that resulted in four successive multi-platinum albums between ''[[Ted Nugent (album)|Ted Nugent]]'' (1975) and his best selling ''[[Double Live Gonzo!]]'' (1978).<ref name="TedNugentASearch">[https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Ted%20Nugent&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50 RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Ted Nugent]</ref> "[[Goodbye to Love]]" by [[the Carpenters]], a duo whose music was otherwise almost exclusively soft rock, drew [[hate mail]] for its incorporation of a hard rock [[fuzz guitar]] solo by [[Tony Peluso]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Randy |url=https://archive.org/details/littlegirlblueli00schm/page/88 |title=Little Girl Blue: The Life Of Karen Carpenter |publisher=Chicago Review Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-556-52976-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/littlegirlblueli00schm/page/88 88] |url-access=registration}}</ref>

[[File:Rush-in-concert.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Rush (band)|Rush]] on stage in Milan, Italy, 2004]]
From outside the United Kingdom and the United States, the Canadian trio [[Rush (band)|Rush]] released three distinctively hard rock albums in 1974–75 (''[[Rush (Rush album)|Rush]]'', ''[[Fly by Night (album)|Fly by Night]]'' and ''[[Caress of Steel]]'') before moving toward a more progressive sound with the 1976 album ''[[2112 (album)|2112]]''.<ref name="AllmusicRush">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, p. 966.</ref><ref>AllMusic [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r17109|pure_url=yes}} Greg Prato on ''All the World's a Stage'']. Retrieved December 14, 2007.</ref> Also from Canada, [[Triumph (band)|Triumph]] released their [[Triumph (Triumph album)|debut album]] in 1976 before their breakthrough came in the form of the ''[[Just a Game (album)|Just a Game]]'' album in 1979. Later, the band's streak of popularity continued with the ''[[Allied Forces (album)|Allied Forces]]'' album in 1981. The Irish band [[Thin Lizzy]], which had formed in the late 1960s, made their most substantial commercial breakthrough in 1976 with the hard rock album ''[[Jailbreak (album)|Jailbreak]]'' and their worldwide hit "[[The Boys Are Back in Town]]". Their style, consisting of two duelling guitarists often playing leads in harmony, proved itself to be a large influence on later bands. They reached their commercial, and arguably their artistic peak with ''[[Black Rose: A Rock Legend]]'' (1979).<ref name="AllmusicThinLizy">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1333–1334.</ref> The arrival of the [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]] from Germany marked the geographical expansion of the subgenre.<ref name="Walser1993pp9-10" /> Australian-formed [[AC/DC]], with a stripped back, riff heavy and abrasive style that also appealed to the punk generation, began to gain international attention from 1976, culminating in the release of their multi-platinum albums ''[[Let There Be Rock]]'' (1977) and ''[[Highway to Hell]]'' (1979).<ref name="AllmusicAC/DC">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 3–5.</ref> Also influenced by a punk ethos were heavy metal bands like [[Motörhead]], while Judas Priest abandoned the remaining elements of the blues in their music,<ref name="Bogdanov2002JudasPriest">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 605–606.</ref> further differentiating the hard rock and heavy metal styles and helping to create the [[new wave of British heavy metal]] which was pursued by bands like [[Iron Maiden]], [[Saxon (band)|Saxon]], and [[Venom (band)|Venom]].<ref>S. Waksman, ''This Ain't the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk'' (Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-520-25310-8}}, pp. 146–71.</ref>

[[File:Gouden platen voor Golden Earring uitgereikt te Hilversum Vlnr Barry Hay, Rinu, Bestanddeelnr 924-0244.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Golden Earring]] receives a gold record in 1970.]]
With the rise of [[disco]] in the US and [[punk rock]] in the UK, hard rock's mainstream dominance was rivalled toward the later part of the decade. Disco appealed to a more diverse group of people and punk seemed to take over the rebellious role that hard rock once held.<ref>R. Walser, ''Running With the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music'' (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1993), {{ISBN|0-8195-6260-2}}, p. 11.</ref> Early punk bands like the [[Ramones]] explicitly rebelled against the drum solos and extended guitar solos that characterised stadium rock, with almost all of their songs clocking in under three minutes with no guitar solos.<ref>{{Cite web |title=End of the Century:The Ramones |url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/endofthecentury/ramones.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050427115131/http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/endofthecentury/ramones.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 27, 2005 |access-date=7 November 2009 |website=Independent Lens |publisher=PBS}}</ref> However, new rock acts continued to emerge and record sales remained high into the 1980s. 1977 saw the début and rise to stardom of [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]], who went on to release several platinum albums through to the mid-1980s.<ref name="AllmusicForeigner">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 425–426.</ref> [[American Midwest|Midwestern]] groups like [[Kansas (band)|Kansas]], [[REO Speedwagon]] and [[Styx (band)|Styx]] helped further cement heavy rock in the Midwest as a form of stadium rock.<ref>R. Kirkpatrick, ''The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007), {{ISBN|0-275-98938-0}}, p. 51.</ref> In 1978, [[Van Halen]] emerged from the Los Angeles music scene with a sound based around the skills of lead guitarist [[Eddie Van Halen]]. He popularised a guitar-playing technique of two-handed hammer-ons and pull-offs called [[tapping]], showcased on the song "[[Eruption (song)|Eruption]]" from the album ''[[Van Halen (album)|Van Halen]]'', which was highly influential in re-establishing hard rock as a popular genre after the punk and disco explosion, while also redefining and elevating the role of electric guitar.<ref name="AllmusicVanHalen">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1182–1183.</ref> In the 1970s and 80s, several European bands, including the German [[Michael Schenker Group]], the Swedish band [[Europe (band)|Europe]], and Dutch bands [[Golden Earring]], [[Vandenberg (band)|Vandenberg]] and [[Vengeance (band)|Vengeance]] experienced success in Europe and internationally.

===Glam metal era (1980s)===
{{main|Glam metal}}
The opening years of the 1980s saw a number of changes in personnel and direction of established hard rock acts, including the deaths of [[Bon Scott]], the lead singer of AC/DC, and [[John Bonham]], drummer with Led Zeppelin.<ref>C. Smith, ''101 Albums That Changed Popular Music'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-19-537371-5}}, p. 135.</ref> Whereas Zeppelin broke up almost immediately afterwards, AC/DC pressed on, recording the album ''[[Back in Black]]'' (1980) with their new lead singer, [[Brian Johnson]]. It became the fifth-highest-selling album of all time in the US and the second-highest-selling album in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gold & Platinum – Top 100 Albums |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=tblTop100&action= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816001255/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=tblTop100&action= |archive-date=2013-08-16 |access-date=2009-05-28 |website=RIAA}}</ref> Black Sabbath had split with original singer [[Ozzy Osbourne]] in 1979 and replaced him with [[Ronnie James Dio]], formerly of Rainbow, giving the band a new sound and a period of creativity and popularity beginning with ''[[Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath album)|Heaven and Hell]]'' (1980). Osbourne embarked on a solo career with ''[[Blizzard of Ozz]]'' (1980), featuring American guitarist [[Randy Rhoads]].<ref name="Bogdanov2002BlackSabbath">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 105–106.</ref> Some bands, such as [[Queen (Band)|Queen]], moved away from their hard rock roots and more towards [[pop rock]],<ref name=AMQueen/><ref name="Bogdanov2002Queen" /> while others, including Rush with ''[[Moving Pictures (Rush album)|Moving Pictures]]'' (1981), began to return to a hard rock sound.<ref name=AllmusicRush/> The creation of [[thrash metal]], which mixed heavy metal with elements of [[hardcore punk]] from about 1982, particularly by [[Metallica]], [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]], [[Megadeth]] and [[Slayer]], helped to create extreme metal and further remove the style from hard rock, although a number of these bands or their members would continue to record some songs closer to a hard rock sound.<ref name="Allmusicheavymetal" /><ref name="Walser2003">R. Walser, ''Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music'' (Wesleyan University Press, 2003), {{ISBN|0-8195-6260-2}}, pp. 11–14.</ref> [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] moved away from their hard rock roots toward pop metal: firstly removing their makeup in 1983 for their ''[[Lick It Up]]'' album,<ref>S. T. Erlewine and G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4692|pure_url=yes}} "Kiss"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 18 September 2010.</ref> and then adopting the visual and sound of glam metal for their 1984 release, ''[[Animalize]]'', both of which marked a return to commercial success.<ref>G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r86539|pure_url=yes}} "Kiss: Animalize"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 18 September 2010.</ref> [[Pat Benatar]] was one of the first women to achieve commercial success in hard rock, releasing four consecutive US Top Five albums between 1980 and 1983.<ref name="AUS">{{Cite book |last=David Kent |title=Australian Chart Book 1970 – 1992 |publisher=Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>

Often categorised with the new wave of British heavy metal, in 1981 [[Def Leppard]] released their second album ''[[High 'n' Dry]]'', mixing glam-rock with heavy metal, and helping to define the sound of hard rock for the decade.<ref name="Bogdanov2002DefLeppard">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 293–294.</ref> The follow-up ''[[Pyromania (album)|Pyromania]]'' (1983) was a big hit and the singles "[[Photograph (Def Leppard song)|Photograph]]", "[[Rock of Ages (Def Leppard song)|Rock of Ages]]" and "[[Foolin']]", helped by the emergence of [[MTV]], were successful.<ref name=Bogdanov2002DefLeppard/> It was widely emulated, particularly by the emerging Californian [[glam metal]] scene. This was followed by US acts like [[Mötley Crüe]], with their albums ''[[Too Fast for Love]]'' (1981) and ''[[Shout at the Devil]]'' (1983) and, as the style grew, the arrival of bands such as [[Ratt]],<ref name="AllmusicRatt">S. T. Erlewine & G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5231|pure_url=yes}} "Ratt"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> [[White Lion]],<ref name="AllmusicWhiteLion">G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5817|pure_url=yes}} "White Lion"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> [[Twisted Sister]] and [[Quiet Riot]].<ref>R. Moore, ''Sells Like Teen Spirit: Music, Youth Culture, and Social Crisis'' (New York, NY: New York University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-8147-5748-0}}, p. 106.</ref> Quiet Riot's album ''[[Metal Health]]'' (1983) was the first glam metal album, and arguably the first heavy metal album of any kind, to reach number one in the ''Billboard'' music charts and helped open the doors for mainstream success by subsequent bands.<ref>E. Rivadavia, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5209|pure_url=yes}} "Quiet Riot"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 7 July 2010.</ref>

[[File:Poison.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Poison (American band)|Poison]], seen here in 2008, were among the most successful acts of the 1980s glam metal era.]]
Established bands made something of a comeback in the mid-1980s. After an 8-year separation, Deep Purple returned with the classic ''Machine Head'' line-up to produce ''[[Perfect Strangers (Deep Purple album)|Perfect Strangers]]'' (1984) which was a platinum-seller in the US and reached the top ten in nine other countries.<ref>[http://www.planetrock.co.uk/Article.asp?id=380382&spid=14154 Deep Purple Essential Collection – Planet Rock]</ref> After somewhat slower sales of its fourth album, ''[[Fair Warning (Van Halen album)|Fair Warning]]'', [[Van Halen]] rebounded with ''[[Diver Down]]'' in 1982, then reached their commercial pinnacle with ''[[1984 (Van Halen album)|1984]]''. [[Heart (band)|Heart]], after floundering during the first half of the decade, made a comeback with their eponymous ninth studio album which contained four hit singles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heart Discography and Chart Positions |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/heart-mn0000671953/awards |website=Allmusic.com}}</ref> The new medium of video channels was used with considerable success by bands formed in previous decades. Among the first were ZZ Top, who mixed hard-edged blues rock with [[new wave music]] to produce a series of highly successful singles, beginning with "[[Gimme All Your Lovin']]" (1983), which helped their albums ''[[Eliminator (album)|Eliminator]]'' (1983) and ''[[Afterburner (ZZ Top album)|Afterburner]]'' (1985) achieve diamond and multi-platinum status respectively.<ref name="Bogdanov2002ZZTop">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1271–1272.</ref> Others found renewed success in the singles charts with power ballads, including REO Speedwagon with "[[Keep on Loving You (song)|Keep on Loving You]]" (1980) and "[[Can't Fight This Feeling]]" (1984), Journey with "[[Don't Stop Believin'|Don't Stop Believin{{'-}}]]" (1981) and "[[Open Arms (Journey song)|Open Arms]]" (1982),<ref name=AllmusicJourney/> [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]]'s "[[Waiting for a Girl Like You]]" (1981) and "[[I Want to Know What Love Is]]" (1984),<ref name="Frithpop">S. Frith, "Pop Music" in S. Frith, W. Straw and J. Street, eds, ''The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), {{ISBN|0-521-55660-0}}, pp. 100–1.</ref> [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]]' "[[Still Loving You]]" (1984), Heart's "[[What About Love]]" (1985) and [[Boston (band)|Boston]]'s "[[Amanda (Boston song)|Amanda]]" (1986).<ref>P. Buckley, ''The Rough Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to more than 1200 Artists and Bands'' (Rough Guides, 2003), {{ISBN|1-84353-105-4}}.</ref>

[[Bon Jovi]]'s third album, ''[[Slippery When Wet]]'' (1986), mixed hard rock with a pop sensitivity selling 15&nbsp;million copies in the US while becoming the first hard rock album to spawn three hit singles.<ref>L. Flick, "Bon Jovi bounce back from tragedy", ''Billboard'', Sep 28, 2002, vol. 114, No. 39, ISSN 0006-2510, p. 81.</ref> The album has been credited with widening the audiences for the genre, particularly by appealing to women as well as the traditional male dominated audience, and opening the door to MTV and commercial success for other bands at the end of the decade.<ref>D. Nicholls, ''The Cambridge History of American Music'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), {{ISBN|0-521-45429-8}}, p. 378.</ref> The anthemic ''[[The Final Countdown (album)|The Final Countdown]]'' (1986) by Swedish group [[Europe (band)|Europe]] was an international hit.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RIAA – Gold & Platinum |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Europe&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908205333/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Europe&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |archive-date=2015-09-08 |access-date=2008-06-24 |publisher=RIAA}}</ref> This era also saw more glam-infused American hard rock bands come to the forefront, with both [[Poison (American band)|Poison]] and [[Cinderella (band)|Cinderella]] releasing their multi-platinum début albums in 1986.<ref name="AllmusicPoison">B. Weber, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5162|pure_url=yes}} "Poison"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref><ref name="AllmusicCinderella">W. Ruhlmann, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p64591|pure_url=yes}} "Cinderella"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> [[Van Halen]] released ''[[5150 (album)|5150]]'' (1986), their first album with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals, which sold over 6&nbsp;million copies.<ref name=AllmusicVanHalen/> By the second half of the decade, hard rock had become the most reliable form of commercial popular music in the United States.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/27/arts/the-pop-life-940989.html "The Pop Life" – New York Times] By Stephen Holden. Published: Wednesday, December 27, 1989. Retrieved October 25, 2009.</ref>

[[File:Download Feastival 2006 -2.jpg|thumb|225px|left|Original member Izzy Stradlin' on stage with [[Guns N' Roses]] in 2006]]
Established acts benefited from the new commercial climate, with [[Whitesnake]]'s [[Whitesnake (album)|self-titled album]] (1987) selling over 17&nbsp;million copies, outperforming anything in Coverdale's or Deep Purple's catalogue before or since. It featured the rock anthem "[[Here I Go Again]] '87" as one of 4 UK top 20 singles. The follow-up ''[[Slip of the Tongue]]'' (1989) went platinum, but according to critics Steve Erlewine and Greg Prato, "it was a considerable disappointment after the across-the-board success of ''Whitesnake''".<ref>S. T. Erlewine and G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5819|pure_url=yes}} "Whitesnake"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 27 September 2010.</ref> Aerosmith's comeback album ''[[Permanent Vacation (Aerosmith album)|Permanent Vacation]]'' (1987) would begin a decade long revival of their popularity.<ref name="AllmusicAerosmith">S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3508|pure_url=yes}} "Aerosmith"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 27 September 2010.</ref> ''[[Crazy Nights]]'' (1987) by Kiss was the band's biggest hit album since 1979 and the highest of their career in the UK.<ref>J. Tobler, M. St. Michael and A. Doe, ''Kiss: Live!'' (London: Omnibus Press, 1996), {{ISBN|0-7119-6008-9}}.</ref> Mötley Crüe with ''[[Girls, Girls, Girls (Mötley Crüe album)|Girls, Girls, Girls]]'' (1987) continued their commercial success<ref name="Bogdanov2002MotleyCrue">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 767–768.</ref> and Def Leppard with ''[[Hysteria (Def Leppard album)|Hysteria]]'' (1987) hit their commercial peak, the latter producing six hit singles (a record for a hard rock act).<ref name=Bogdanov2002DefLeppard/> [[Guns N' Roses]] released the best-selling début of all time, ''[[Appetite for Destruction]]'' (1987). With a "grittier" and "rawer" sound than most glam metal, it produced three hits, including "[[Sweet Child O' Mine]]".<ref name="Bogdanov2002Guns&Roses">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 494–495.</ref> Some of the glam rock bands that formed in the mid-1980s, such as White Lion and Cinderella experienced their biggest success during this period with their respective albums ''[[Pride (White Lion album)|Pride]]'' (1987) and ''[[Long Cold Winter]]'' (1988) both going multi-platinum and launching a series of hit singles.<ref name=AllmusicWhiteLion/><ref name=AllmusicCinderella/> In the last years of the decade, the most notable successes were ''[[New Jersey (album)|New Jersey]]'' (1988) by Bon Jovi,<ref name="AllmusicBonJovi">S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3734|pure_url=yes}} "Bon Jovi"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> ''[[OU812]]'' (1988) by [[Van Halen]],<ref name=AllmusicVanHalen/> ''[[Open Up and Say... Ahh!]]'' (1988) by [[Poison (American band)|Poison]]'',<ref name=AllmusicPoison/> [[Pump (album)|Pump]]'' (1989) by Aerosmith,<ref name=AllmusicAerosmith/> and Mötley Crüe's most commercially successful album ''[[Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood]]'' (1989).<ref name=Bogdanov2002MotleyCrue/> ''New Jersey'' spawned five hit singles. In 1988 from 25 June to 5 November, the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart was held by a hard rock album for 18 out of 20 consecutive weeks; the albums were ''OU812'', ''Hysteria'', ''Appetite for Destruction'', and ''New Jersey''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1988-06-25 |title=The Billboard 200 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/1988-06-25/billboard-200 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc |access-date=2010-03-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1988-07-23 |title=The Billboard 200 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/1988-07-23/billboard-200 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc |access-date=2010-03-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1988-08-06 |title=The Billboard 200 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/1988-08-06/billboard-200 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc |access-date=2010-03-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1988-10-15 |title=The Billboard 200 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/1988-10-15/billboard-200 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc |access-date=2010-03-05}}</ref> A final wave of glam rock bands arrived in the late 1980s, and experienced success with multi-platinum albums and hit singles from 1989 until the early 1990s, among them [[Extreme (band)|Extreme]],<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/extreme-p4215/biography, "Extreme"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 10 February 2011.</ref> [[Warrant (American band)|Warrant]]<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/warrant-p5790/biography "Warrant"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 10 February 2011.</ref> [[Slaughter (band)|Slaughter]]<ref>S. Huey, [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/slaughter-p5451/biography "Slaughter"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 10 February 2011.</ref> and [[FireHouse (band)|FireHouse]].<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/firehouse-p26051/biography "Firehouse"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 10 February 2011.</ref> [[Skid Row (American band)|Skid Row]] also released their [[Skid Row (Skid Row album)|eponymous début]] (1989), but they were to be one of the last major bands that emerged in the glam rock era.<ref name="Bogdanov2002SkidRow">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1018–1019.</ref>

===Grunge and Britpop (1990s)===
{{main|Grunge|Britpop}}
Hard rock entered the 1990s as one of the dominant forms of commercial music. The multi-platinum releases of AC/DC's ''[[The Razors Edge (AC/DC album)|The Razors Edge]]'' (1990), Guns N' Roses' ''[[Use Your Illusion I]]'' and ''[[Use Your Illusion II]]'' (both in 1991),<ref name="Bogdanov2002Guns&Roses" /> Ozzy Osbourne's ''[[No More Tears]]'' (1991),<ref>{{Cite web |title=RIAA Gold & Platinum database |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=no%20more%20tears&artist=&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |access-date=16 February 2009 |website=[[Recording Industry Association of America]]}}</ref> and Van Halen's ''[[For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge]]'' (1991) showcased this popularity.<ref name=AllmusicVanHalen/> Additionally, [[the Black Crowes]] released their debut album, ''[[Shake Your Money Maker (album)|Shake Your Money Maker]]'' (1990), which contained a bluesy classic rock sound and sold five million copies.<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-black-crowes-p3688/biography "The Black Crowes ''Shake Your Money Maker''"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 13 February 2011.</ref><ref name="RIAA">{{Cite web |title=RIAA Certifications |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=The%20Black%20Crowes&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2007&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |access-date=16 January 2010 |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]]}}</ref> In 1992, Def Leppard followed up 1987's ''Hysteria'' with ''[[Adrenalize]]'', which went multi-platinum, spawned four Top 40 singles and held the number one spot on the US album chart for five weeks.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030404100650/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A425828 "Def Leppard – the Band"] BBC h2g2, retrieved 18 June 2010.</ref>

[[File:Nirvana around 1992.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] were at the forefront of the 1990s [[grunge]] era.]]
While these few hard rock bands managed to maintain success and popularity in the early part of the decade, [[Alternative rock|alternative forms]] of hard rock achieved mainstream success in the form of [[grunge]] in the US and [[Britpop]] in the UK. This was particularly evident after the success of [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s ''[[Nevermind]]'' (1991), which combined elements of [[hardcore punk]] and heavy metal into a "dirty" sound that made use of heavy guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback, along with darker lyrical themes than their "hair band" predecessors.<ref name="AllmusicGrunge">[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2679|pure_url=yes}} "Grunge"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 18 June 2010.</ref><ref name=AllmusicHairMetal/><ref name=Bogdanov2002Alternative/> Although most grunge bands had a sound that sharply contrasted mainstream hard rock, several, including [[Pearl Jam]],<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5118|pure_url=yes}} "Pearl Jam"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 23 June 2010.</ref> [[Alice in Chains]], [[Mother Love Bone]] and [[Soundgarden]], were more strongly influenced by 1970s and 1980s rock and metal, while [[Stone Temple Pilots]] managed to turn alternative rock into a form of stadium rock.<ref>A. Budofsky, ''The Drummer: 100 Years of Rhythmic Power and Invention'' (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006), {{ISBN|1-4234-0567-6}}, p. 148.</ref><ref>S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p26075|pure_url=yes}} "Stone Temple Pilots"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> However, all grunge bands shunned the macho, anthemic and fashion-focused aesthetics particularly associated with glam metal.<ref name=AllmusicGrunge/> In the UK, [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] were unusual among the Britpop bands of the mid-1990s in incorporating a hard rock sound.<ref name=AllMusicHard/> Welsh band [[Manic Street Preachers]] emerged in 1991 with a sound [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] proclaimed to be "crunching hard-rock".<ref name="ammanics">{{Cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |title=Manic Street Preachers – Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/manic-street-preachers-mn0000954964/biography |access-date=12 November 2020 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> By 1996, the band enjoyed remarkable vogue throughout much of the world, but were commercially unsuccessful in the U.S.<ref name="ammanics" />

In the new commercial climate glam metal bands like Europe, Ratt,<ref name=AllmusicRatt/> White Lion<ref name=AllmusicWhiteLion/> and Cinderella<ref name=AllmusicCinderella/> broke up, Whitesnake went on hiatus in 1991, and while many of these bands would re-unite again in the late 1990s or early 2000s, they never reached the commercial success they saw in the 1980s or early 1990s.<ref name="AllmusicHairMetal">[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2693|pure_url=yes}} "Hair metal"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 14 June 2010.</ref> Other bands such as Mötley Crüe<ref name=Bogdanov2002MotleyCrue/> and Poison<ref name=AllmusicPoison/> saw personnel changes which impacted those bands' commercial viability during the decade. In 1995 Van Halen released ''[[Balance (Van Halen album)|Balance]]'', a multi-platinum seller that would be the band's last with Sammy Hagar on vocals. In 1996 [[David Lee Roth]] returned briefly and his replacement, former [[Extreme (band)|Extreme]] singer [[Gary Cherone]], was fired soon after the release of the commercially unsuccessful 1998 album ''[[Van Halen III]]'' and Van Halen would not tour or record again until 2004.<ref name=AllmusicVanHalen/> Guns N' Roses' original lineup was whittled away throughout the decade. Drummer [[Steven Adler]] was fired in 1990, guitarist [[Izzy Stradlin]] left in late 1991 after recording ''Use Your Illusion I and II'' with the band. Tensions between the other band members and lead singer [[Axl Rose]] continued after the release of the 1993 covers album ''[[The Spaghetti Incident?]]''<!-- Don't add a period; see MOS:CONSECUTIVE --> Guitarist [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] left in 1996, followed by bassist [[Duff McKagan]] in 1997. Axl Rose, the only original member, worked with a constantly changing lineup in recording an album that would take over fifteen years to complete.<ref name="AllmusicGn">S. T. Erlewine and G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4416|pure_url=yes}} "Guns N' Roses"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> Slash and McKagan eventually rejoined the band in 2016 and went on the [[Not in this Lifetime... Tour]] with them.

[[File:Foo Fighters Live 29.jpg|thumb|250px|left|[[Foo Fighters]] performing an acoustic show in 2007]]
Some established acts continued to enjoy commercial success, such as Aerosmith, with their number one multi-platinum albums: ''[[Get a Grip]]'' (1993), which produced four hit singles and became the band's best-selling album worldwide (going on to sell over 10&nbsp;million copies), and ''[[Nine Lives (Aerosmith album)|Nine Lives]]'' (1997). In 1998, Aerosmith released the hit "[[I Don't Want to Miss a Thing]]".<ref name=AllmusicAerosmith/> AC/DC produced the double platinum ''[[Ballbreaker]]'' (1995).<ref name="AllmusicAC/DCOnline">S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3496|pure_url=yes}} "AC/DC"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 July 2010.</ref> Bon Jovi appealed to their hard rock audience with songs such as "[[Keep the Faith (Bon Jovi song)|Keep the Faith]]" (1992), but also achieved success in [[adult contemporary]] radio, with the hit ballads "[[Bed of Roses (Bon Jovi song)|Bed of Roses]]" (1993) and "[[Always (Bon Jovi song)|Always]]" (1994).<ref name=AllmusicBonJovi/> Bon Jovi's 1995 album ''[[These Days (Bon Jovi album)|These Days]]'' was a bigger hit in Europe than it was in the United States,<ref>{{Cite web |title=the biography of Bon Jovi – singer life story |url=http://www.poemhunter.com/lyrics/bon-jovi/biography/ |access-date=2013-04-18}}</ref> spawning four hit singles in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bon Jovi Songs (Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography) |url=http://www.rockvf.com/Bon+Jovi.art |access-date=2013-04-18}}</ref> Metallica's ''[[Load (album)|Load]]'' (1996) and ''[[Reload (Metallica album)|ReLoad]]'' (1997) each sold in excess of 4&nbsp;million copies in the US and saw the band develop a more melodic and blues rock sound.<ref name="AllmusicMetallica">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 729–730.</ref> As the initial impetus of grunge bands faltered in the middle years of the decade, [[post-grunge]] bands emerged. They emulated the attitudes and music of grunge, particularly thick, distorted guitars, but with a more radio-friendly commercially oriented sound that drew more directly on traditional hard rock.<ref name="AllmusicPostGrunge">[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2771|pure_url=yes}} "Post-grunge"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 17 January 2010.</ref> Among the most successful acts were the [[Foo Fighters]], [[Candlebox]], [[Live (band)|Live]], [[Collective Soul]], Australia's [[Silverchair]] and England's [[Bush (British band)|Bush]], who all cemented post-grunge as one of the most commercially viable subgenres by the late 1990s.<ref name="Bogdanov2002Alternative">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1344–1347.</ref><ref name=AllmusicPostGrunge/> Similarly, some [[post-Britpop]] bands that followed in the wake of Oasis, including [[Feeder (band)|Feeder]] and [[Stereophonics]], adopted a hard rock or "pop-metal" sound.<ref>J. Ankeny, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p224868|pure_url=yes}} "Feeder"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref><ref>J. Damas, [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r415693|pure_url=yes}} "Stereophonics: Performance and Cocktails"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref>{{clear}}

===Survivals and revivals (2000s)===
[[File:Aerosmith2007.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Aerosmith performing at [[Quilmes Rock]] in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on April 15, 2007]]
A few hard rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers. Bon Jovi were still able to achieve a commercial hit with "[[It's My Life (Bon Jovi song)|It's My Life]]" from their double platinum-certified album ''[[Crush (Bon Jovi album)|Crush]]'' (2000).<ref name=AllmusicBonJovi/> and AC/DC released the platinum-certified ''[[Stiff Upper Lip (album)|Stiff Upper Lip]]'' (2000)<ref name="AllmusicAC/DCOnline"/> Aerosmith released a platinum album, ''[[Just Push Play]]'' (2001), which saw the band foray further into pop with the hit "[[Jaded (Aerosmith song)|Jaded]]", and a blues cover album, ''[[Honkin' on Bobo]]''.<ref name=AllmusicAerosmith/> [[Heart (band)|Heart]] achieved their first hit album since the early 90s with ''[[Red Velvet Car]]'' in 2010,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heart Discography and Chart Positions |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/heart-mn0000671953/awards |website=allmusic.com}}</ref> becoming the first female-led hard rock band to earn Top 10 albums spanning five decades.  There were reunions and subsequent tours from Van Halen (with Hagar in 2004 and then Roth in 2007),<ref name="AllmusicVanHalenOnline">S. T. Erlewine and G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p133911|pure_url=yes}} "Van Halen"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> the Who (delayed in 2002 by the death of bassist [[John Entwistle]] until 2006)<ref>B. Eder and S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5822|pure_url=yes}} "The Who"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> and Black Sabbath (with Osbourne 1997–2006 and Dio 2006–2010)<ref>W. Ruhlmann, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3693|pure_url=yes}} "Black Sabbath"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> and even a one-off performance by Led Zeppelin (2007),<ref>H. MacBain, [https://www.nme.com/news/led-zeppelin/33079 "Led Zeppelin reunion: the review"] ''New Musical Express'', 10 December 2007, retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> renewing the interest in previous eras. Additionally, hard rock supergroups, such as [[Audioslave]] (with former members of [[Rage Against the Machine]] and Soundgarden) and [[Velvet Revolver]] (with former members of Guns N' Roses, punk band [[Wasted Youth (American band)|Wasted Youth]] and Stone Temple Pilots singer [[Scott Weiland]]), emerged and experienced some success. However, these bands were short-lived, ending in 2007 and 2008, respectively.<ref>M. Wilson, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p543386|pure_url=yes}} "Audioslave"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref><ref>J. Loftus, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p651389|pure_url=yes}} "Velvet Revolver"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> The long-awaited Guns N' Roses album ''[[Chinese Democracy]]'' was finally released in 2008, but only went platinum and failed to come close to the success of the band's late 1980s and early 1990s material.<ref name="Certification">{{Cite web |title=Gold and Platinum Database Search |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Chinese%20Democracy&artist=Guns%20N%20Roses&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908205333/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Chinese%20Democracy&artist=Guns%20N%20Roses&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |archive-date=2015-09-08 |access-date=2009-11-25 |website=[[Recording Industry Association of America]]}}</ref> More successfully, AC/DC released the double platinum-certified ''[[Black Ice (album)|Black Ice]]'' (2008).<ref name="AllmusicAC/DCOnline"/> Bon Jovi continued to enjoy success, branching into [[country music]] with "[[Who Says You Can't Go Home]]", and the rock/country album ''[[Lost Highway (Bon Jovi album)|Lost Highway]]'' (2007). In 2009, Bon Jovi released ''[[The Circle (Bon Jovi album)|The Circle]]'', which marked a return to their hard rock sound.<ref name=AllmusicBonJovi/>

[[File:Wolfmother closeup.JPG|thumb|250px|left|[[Wolfmother]], 2007]]
The term "retro-metal" has been applied to such bands as Texas based [[the Sword]], California's [[High on Fire]], Sweden's [[Witchcraft (band)|Witchcraft]] and Australia's [[Wolfmother]].<ref name="AgeofWinters">E. Rivadavia, [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r820095|pure_url=yes}} "The Sword: 'Age of Winters'"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 11 June 2007.</ref> Wolfmother's [[Wolfmother (album)|self-titled 2005 debut album]] combined elements of the sounds of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.<ref>E. Rivadavia, [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1643518|pure_url=yes}} "'Wolfmother: 'Cosmic Egg'"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 11 June 2007.</ref> Fellow Australians [[Airbourne (band)|Airbourne]]'s début album ''[[Runnin' Wild (Airbourne album)|Runnin' Wild]]'' (2007) followed in the hard riffing tradition of AC/DC.<ref>J. Macgregor, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p183569|pure_url=yes}} "Airbourne"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> England's [[The Darkness (band)|the Darkness]]' ''[[Permission to Land]]'' (2003), described as an "eerily realistic simulation of '80s metal and '70s glam",<ref name="AllmusicTheDarkness">H. Phares, [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r653401|pure_url=yes}} The Darkness], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 11 June 2007.</ref> went quintuple platinum in the UK. The follow-up, ''[[One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back]]'' (2005) was also a hit, but the band broke up in 2006,<ref>[https://www.officialcharts.com/artists/ "Chart Stats: The Darkness"], ''Chart Stats'', retrieved 17 June 2008.</ref> becoming active again in 2011. Los Angeles band [[Steel Panther]] managed to gain a following by sending up 80s glam metal.<ref name="AllmusicSteelPanther">J. Lymangrover, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p1123733|pure_url=yes}} "Steel Panther"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> A more serious attempt to revive glam metal was made by bands of the sleaze metal movement in Sweden, including [[Vains of Jenna]],<ref name="AllmusicVainsofJenna">M. Brown, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p847945|pure_url=yes}} "Vains of Jenna"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> [[Hardcore Superstar]]<ref name="AllmusicHardcoreSuperstar">S. Huey, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p372991|pure_url=yes}} "Hardcore Superstar"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> and [[Crashdïet]].<ref>K. R. Hoffman, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p748845|pure_url=yes}} "Crashdïet"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> The Swedish rock band [[Ghost (Swedish band)|Ghost]] is among the most successful recent hard-rock bands, being nominated 4 times for the [[Grammy Awards]], winning 1 award in the [[Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance|Best Metal Performance]] category for the song [[Cirice]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jurek |first=Thom |title=Ghost Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More {{!}} All... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ghost-mn0002616588 |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=AllMusic}}</ref>

Although Foo Fighters continued to be one of the most successful rock acts, with albums like ''[[In Your Honor]]'' (2005), many of the first wave of post-grunge bands began to fade in popularity. Acts like [[Creed (band)|Creed]], [[Staind]], [[Puddle of Mudd]] and [[Nickelback]] took the genre into the 2000s with considerable commercial success, abandoning most of the angst and anger of the original movement for more conventional anthems, narratives and romantic songs. They were followed in this vein by new acts including [[Shinedown]] and [[Seether]].<ref name="Grierson">T. Grierson, [http://rock.about.com/od/rockmusic101/a/PostGrunge.htm "Post-Grunge: A History of Post-Grunge Rock"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530111043/http://rock.about.com/od/rockmusic101/a/PostGrunge.htm |date=2016-05-30 }}, ''About.com'', retrieved 1 January 2010.</ref> Acts with more conventional hard rock sounds included [[Andrew W.K.]],<ref>H. Phares, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p434089|pure_url=yes}} "Andrew W.K."], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> [[Beautiful Creatures (band)|Beautiful Creatures]]<ref>J. Loftus, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p483976|pure_url=yes}} "Beautiful Creatures"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> and [[Buckcherry]], whose breakthrough album ''[[15 (Buckcherry album)|15]]'' (2006) went platinum and spawned the single "[[Sorry (Buckcherry song)|Sorry]]" (2007).<ref>J. Loftus, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p366452|pure_url=yes}} "Buckcherry"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> These were joined by bands with hard rock leanings that emerged in the mid-2000s from the [[garage rock]], [[Southern Rock]], or [[post punk revival]], including [[Black Rebel Motorcycle Club]] and [[Kings of Leon]],<ref>S. J. Blackman, ''Chilling out: the Cultural Politics of Substance Consumption, Youth and Drug Policy'' (McGraw-Hill International, 2004), {{ISBN|0-335-20072-9}}, p. 90.</ref> and [[Queens of the Stone Age]]<ref>J. Ankeny and G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p296068|pure_url=yes}} "Queens of the Stone Age"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> from the US, [[Three Days Grace]] from Canada,<ref>M. Sutton, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p561754|pure_url=yes}} "Three Days Grace"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> [[Jet (band)|Jet]] from Australia<ref>P. Smitz, C. Bain, S. Bao, S. Farfor, ''Australia'' (Footscray Victoria: Lonely Planet, 14th edn., 2005), {{ISBN|1-74059-740-0}}, p. 58.</ref> and [[The Datsuns]] from New Zealand.<ref>C. Rawlings-Way, ''Lonely Planet New Zealand'' (Footscray Victoria: Lonely Planet, 14th edn., 2008), {{ISBN|1-74104-816-8}}, p. 52.</ref> In 2009 [[Them Crooked Vultures]], a supergroup that brought together Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin bass player [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]] attracted attention as a live act and released a [[Them Crooked Vultures (album)|self-titled debut album]] that was a hit in the US and UK.<ref>H. Phares, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p1170106|pure_url=yes}} "Them Crooked Vultures"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 2 October 2010.</ref><ref>[http://acharts.us/album/51934 "Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures"], Acharts.us, retrieved 2 October 2010.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Rock music}}
* [[Female performers of hard rock music]]
* [[Active rock]] – a radio format emphasizing hard rock
* [[List of hard rock bands (A–M)]]
* [[List of hard rock bands (N–Z)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Nicolas Bénard, ''La culture Hard Rock'', Paris, Dilecta, 2008.
* Nicolas Bénard, ''Métalorama, ethnologie d'une culture contemporaine, 1983–2010'', Rosières-en-Haye, [[Camion Blanc]], 2011.
* Fast, Susan (2001). ''In the Houses of the Holy: Led Zeppelin and the Power of Rock Music''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-511756-5}}
* Fast, Susan (2005). "Led Zeppelin and the Construction of Masculinity," in ''Music Cultures in the United States'', ed. Ellen Koskoff. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-96588-8}}
* Guibert, Gérôme, and Fabien Hein (ed.) (2007), "Les Scènes Metal. Sciences sociales et pratiques culturelles radicales", ''Volume! La revue des musiques populaires'', n°5-2, Bordeaux: Éditions Mélanie Seteun. {{ISBN|978-2-913169-24-1}}
* Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', Oxford: Berg, 2007, {{ISBN|1-84520-399-2}}
* Kahn-Harris, Keith and Fabien Hein (2007), "Metal studies: a bibliography", ''Volume! La revue des musiques populaires'', n°5-2, Bordeaux: Éditions Mélanie Seteun. {{ISBN|978-2-913169-24-1}} [http://volume.revues.org/467 Downloadable here]
* Weinstein, Deena (1991). ''Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology''. Lexington. {{ISBN|0-669-21837-5}}. Revised edition: (2000). ''Heavy Metal: The Music and its Culture''. Da Capo. {{ISBN|0-306-80970-2}}.

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Hard rock|lcfirst=yes}}

{{Rock}}
{{Heavy metal}}
{{Timeline of heavy metal and hard rock music}}

[[Category:Hard rock| ]]
[[Category:History of rock music]]
[[Category:1960s in music]]
[[Category:Rock music genres]]