Hard Rock - Bands You Recommend

[JesseVader08]

I'm pretty flexible when it comes to listening to music, but my favourite is definitely hard rock.  I seem to be getting tired of my current faves and am interested in what you guys like. 

Simply put - what are some lesser known bands that you recommend trying out?

[Jim]

Jesse, im with you.  Hard Rock is the only place to actually still hear guitar solos.  Something that became extinct with the intro of Grundge in the late 80's early 90's.  That is probably my biggest disappointment nowadays.  Where are all the great new guitarists of our age   As for new bands.  I listen to alot of stuff and have not found any group in the last 10-15 years that shows any promise.  Godsmack is the only band that comes to mind that I really enjoy.  Along with alot of older bands such as Maiden which alot of people dont realize are still around and pumping out albums.  Zakk Wylde, Audioslave and Velvet Revolver come to mind but they are all pretty well known.  You may want to check out a band called Avenged Sevenfold.  I havent bought the album yet but what I have heard sounds promising. 

[JohnH]

I guess it depends on your definition "hard rock".  I listen to a lot of stuff that is pretty heavy and abrasive, but wouldn't necessarily be considered hard rock. 

What kind of stuff are you listening to now?

John

[sfg]

Agree with the others that "hard rock" is a vague category, but I'll give it a go anyway.

First if you haven't already, check out Velvet Revolver.  They have one album ("Contraband") and it's not the greatest record you ever heard, but it's a pretty decent straight-ahead rock and roll album.

Second, check out L.A. Guns' first record ("L.A. Guns").  It's very raw and not like their later, more "hair band-ish" records.  Like AC/DC, all the songs on the record sound the same, but it works because it happens to be one great ******' song.

As for something truly "lesser known," check out the first album by Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction ("Tattooed Beat Messiah").  These guys were moderately successful in the UK for about 2 weeks in the 80s before dropping off the face of the earth, but this record really rocks.

Finally, and this is really hard to admit, but I absolutely love the debut albums of both Faster Pussycat and the Bulletboys.  In both cases, you have to get past the hair spray and the lipstick, but if you can do that they're both great, extremely simple, three-chord rock and roll parties.

I'll let you know if you think of any more.  Do tell what you're currently listening to that you're getting sick of.  If you like AC/DC, Guns N Roses or any 1980s pop "metal" (using that word very loosely), I think you would like all of the above.

 

[JesseVader08]

I think I chose the vague term "hard rock" so as not to limit people's recommendations.  I enjoy a wide variety of stuff from AC/DC to Linkin Park, so I try to keep an open mind when it comes to new stuff.

There's already some great ideas being listed, it's great to see what others have "discovered".

[JohnH]

OK, here’s some heavy, rock-oriented stuff I like:

A Perfect Circle
Alice in Chains
Anthrax
Audioslave (some of the first disc anyway)
Danzig
Dillinger Escape Plan
Disturbed
Dog Fashion Disco
Down
Earshot (first disc only)
Failure
Faith No More
Fantomas
Foxy Shazam!
Godsmack
Helmet
Hum
Iron Maiden
Megadeth
Metallica
Ministry
Molly McGuire
Mr. Bungle
Mudvayne
Orange 9mm
Pantera
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Soundgarden
System of a Down
Tomahawk
Tool
Tub Ring (particularly “Drake Equation”)
Year of the Rabbit

This is just a start – just a few off the top of my head.  I listen to a lot of stuff that’s heavy-ish that I might add later.  Depending on how bizarre you like your music, take caution with Dillinger, Sleepytime, and Foxy Shazam. 

John

[Darth_Anton]

John, being that you and I are of like mind in our love of prog rock, I'd like to turn you onto Porcupine Tree. They are very heavy in tone and sound, but are considered to be on the fring of prog. I went to a show on a recommendation having never heard a note and was blown away.

[jokabofe]

Porcupine Tree rock. Stephen Wilson is a genius, pure and simple. I've seen these guys quite a few times, and they never disappoint. Check out the newest album (Deadwing) if you want to be blown away.  He also produces records for another band - Opeth. A little more on the "metal" side, but awesome none the less.

My musical taste is all over the map. For some good "hard rock" check out some bands like Our Lady Peace (they are from Canada, so you may know them already), 30 Seconds to Mars, Coheed and Cambria, A Perfect Circle.... I could go on and on.

[JohnH]

Thanks fellas.    I just downloaded an album from each of those two bands, and hope to listen to them tomorrow.  I'm in a "must have new music" mode myself, so I'm trying to pick up as much new stuff as I can.

I had my MP3 library stuck onto some data CDs for listening in my car, since I have a CD player that will read them.  I could stick 120-ish songs on each CD, so I could stick in a CD, put it on random, and not take it out for a week.  Well, my daughter conveniently spilled a bottle of chocolate milk all over the lot.  I was going to make some more, but thought I'd add some songs first.  Right now I'm sitting at 2746 songs (plus whatever I take off of the CDs I've just bought and downloaded), and don't plan on making the new compilation CDs until I hit 3000 tunes.  Won't be long at the rate I'm going. 

John

[Scott]

I've been really digging Muse lately, I call them a mix betwixt Radiohead and Queen

Not sure if I'd consider them to be Hard Rock though...but I wanted to add something

Audioslave and Velvet Revolver would be my other suggestions

[JesseVader08]

Some great stuff in here!

One band I stumbled across is Lucid Blue.  Great stuff.

[Darth_Anton]

I've been really digging Muse lately, I call them a mix betwixt Radiohead and Queen

It's hard to get me onto a new band sometimes, but this is just the right ingredients to make me want to listen. Thanks.

[Nathan]

The first one is probably the only one here that's true Hard Rock, but I wanted to contribute so I'm just tossing this stuff out there....

--The Darkness -- has been described as "the gay AC/DC or the straight Queen". You're perhaps familiar with them already.

--George Thorogood & The Destroyers -- best known for "Bad to the Bone" and "Who Do You Love?". Blues-rock, heavily influenced by Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, etc.

--Jethro Tull -- OK, not so lesser known, but everybody seems to have forgotten about them since the '70s. Blend of hard(ish) rock and pretentious English prog/folk rock. Good ****!

--Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble -- mostly blues-rock and straight-up blues, but still rocks. One of my Top Five fave guitarists.

--Robert Randolph and the Family Band -- hard to categorize. Live/jam band. Their lead singer and guitarist plays pedal steel and I like to describe his playing style as a cross between Duane Allman (of the Allman Brothers) and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

[Angry Ewok]

Not a hard rock band, but definately rock... My Morning Jacket - get their It Still Moves album, or at least download 'One Big Holiday' or 'Run Thru' to know what I'm talking about.

[Diddly]

Funny, I was just going to make a thread like this. Thanks for all the suggestions, they're great!