HARD ROCK

Hard rock is a form of loud, aggressive rock music. It has sometimes been labelled “cock rock” for its emphasis on overt masculinity and sexuality and because it has historically been predominantly performed and consumed by men. The audience of hard rock were predominantly white, working-class adolescents or men.

Hard rock is a sub-genre of rock, primarily derived from rock & roll, blues rock, psychedelic rock and garage rock. It was born in the mid-1960s in the United Kingdom and in the USA. It characterized not only the 1970s, but also the 1980s and part of the 1990s music scenes.

Hard Rock is characterized by a strong use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric guitar sounds, hard bass guitar and drums sounds, sometimes accompanied by the keyboard. The electric guitar is often emphasized, used with distortion and other effects or as a solo instrument. There are a lot of riffs. Vocals are often growling or screaming.

Hard rock developed thanks to bands such as the Who, Boston, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, Kiss, Queen, AC/DC, Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses, Black Sabbath, Scorpions and Metallica. Other popular musical genres derive from hard rock: heavy hetal, glam metal, grunge, punk rock.