Your single favorite 'hard rock' album?

[The Walrus]

Tough question.  I'll list some of my top contenders:

Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction
Guns N' Roses: Lies
Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion I
Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion II
Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy

It's REALLY hard to pick one favorite from the list.

This is also a very good take!

[Elite]

Yay, a green arrow for jazz

[Anguyen92]

Well, I will always go with my default answer to virtually any question about a rock album.  Alter Bridge's Blackbird album.

Even if it didn't get them huge album sales, this album was a major factor in changing people's perception of Alter Bridge.  This album helped turned them from being a Creed spin-off band to being a legit standalone modern hard rock band.  The songs itself on that album was solid and it has everything from catchy radio tunes, to ballads, to heavy fast paced songs, to an epic song that made the band.

[Peter Mc]

I would say that the middle three of those are metal (although there might be an argument that Empire isn't).

Well then, you'll have to enlighten us as to what your bizarro definition of what "hard rock" is.   

Honestly, I just don't see a need to parse those terms that thinly.  For all but the heavier subgenres of rock/metal, they're virtually interchangeable, and have been since the early/mid '80s.

The OP did clearly say no Maiden or Queensr˙che as they are metal bands. Def Leppard are a hard rock band though and I would argue that Empire is the moment that Queensr˙che stopped being a metal band. Maiden though are the ultimate flag bearers for Heavy Metal.

[bosk1]

Tough question.  I'll list some of my top contenders:

Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction
Guns N' Roses: Lies
Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion I
Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion II
Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy

It's REALLY hard to pick one favorite from the list.

This is also a very good take!

The OP did clearly say no Maiden or Queensr˙che as they are metal bands.

Yes.  But his definitions of "metal" and "hard rock" are incorrect and worthy of being ignored, as others have pointed out.

[KevShmev]

Agreed.

Queensrcyhe was always more art rock or hard rock than metal, if you ask me.  Tate's vocals in the 80's were similar to other metal vocalists, but the music wasn't really that metal at all.

[gazinwales]

Therapy? - Troublegum

It's not quite Metal. It's not quite Grunge. It's not quite Punk.

But it's all three. I always imagine it as if Nirvana made Metallica's Black Album.

I loved that album as a youngster! Going Nowhere, Screamager ...

I’m a bit surprised someone else knows it around here. Cheers.

I used to be really into them quite a lot, an ex girlfriend of mine got me hooked.
Haven't bothered with them for many years now.

[WildRanger]

It's not a hard rock album. Only two tracks Limelight and Red Barchetta could be qualified as hard rock.

And I would say (as I think most everyone else here would) that every song on that album, with the possible exception of Vital Signs, is a hard rock song.  If you don't think MP is hard rock, then you're going to have to enlighten us as to your bizarro definition of what "hard rock" is.

[/quote]

YYZ has some hard rock elements, but I wouldn't call it a hard rock song. What is exactly hard rock about Tom Sawyer, The Camera Eye and Witch Hunt?  I don't hear hard rock guitar riffs in those songs.

[TAC]

I would say that the middle three of those are metal (although there might be an argument that Empire isn't).

Well then, you'll have to enlighten us as to what your bizarro definition of what "hard rock" is.   

Honestly, I just don't see a need to parse those terms that thinly.  For all but the heavier subgenres of rock/metal, they're virtually interchangeable, and have been since the early/mid '80s.

The OP did clearly say no Maiden or Queensr˙che as they are metal bands. Def Leppard are a hard rock band though and I would argue that Empire is the moment that Queensr˙che stopped being a metal band. Maiden though are the ultimate flag bearers for Heavy Metal.

I would say RFO was the moment QR stopped being a metal band.

[WildRanger]

I would say that the middle three of those are metal (although there might be an argument that Empire isn't).

Well then, you'll have to enlighten us as to what your bizarro definition of what "hard rock" is.   

Honestly, I just don't see a need to parse those terms that thinly.  For all but the heavier subgenres of rock/metal, they're virtually interchangeable, and have been since the early/mid '80s.

The OP did clearly say no Maiden or Queensr˙che as they are metal bands. Def Leppard are a hard rock band though and I would argue that Empire is the moment that Queensr˙che stopped being a metal band. Maiden though are the ultimate flag bearers for Heavy Metal.

I would say RFO was the moment QR stopped being a metal band.

How is Operation Mincrime not heavy metal? It's very melodic, but it's heavy metal nonetheless.
If you say O:M is not heavy metal then you could say that Iron Maiden's SSOASS is not heavy metal either.

[Dublagent66]

Difficult to pick just one (so I won't) and even more so without wondering if someone will question if it's actually hard rock are not.  Rock genres can intersect and sometimes do so on the same album.  In fact, it happens a lot.

[jjrock88]

I get a headache when the discussion of what constitutes hard rock as compared to heavy metal, hair metal, classic rock, speed metal, glam metal, pop metal, arena rock, progressive metal, progressive rock, thrash metal, etc.  It can be a bit too much sometimes lol.

[TheCountOfNYC]

So many choices, but I’m gonna actually go a bit more modern and say Halestorm-Strange Case Of.

[Elite]

Next thread idea for WildRanger: when is something heavy metal instead of hard rock? Where do we draw the line?



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Honest answer to the question in the OP is frankly: I don't know, but the first thing that comes to mind is Argus by Wishbone Ash.
If that, or Rush, doesn't count then probably an album by this band called Queen, which I doubt many people will know, but another contender could be an album called Boston by a band called Boston from, you got it, Boston. But I don't think I really listen to a lot of 'hard rock'.

[Peter Mc]

The line I think is probably this. If you played the album in a public place would most people say “what the fuck is this? It’s giving me a headache” if so, it’s heavy metal.  Operation Mindcrime definitely falls into that category, so does any Iron Maiden album.

[WildRanger]

Next thread idea for WildRanger: when is something heavy metal instead of hard rock? Where do we draw the line?



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Honest answer to the question in the OP is frankly: I don't know, but the first thing that comes to mind is Argus by Wishbone Ash.
If that, or Rush, doesn't count then probably an album by this band called Queen, which I doubt many people will know, but another contender could be an album called Boston by a band called Boston from, you got it, Boston. But I don't think I really listen to a lot of 'hard rock'.

Notable hard rock bands: Led Zeppelin (but they were more than just hard rock), AC/DC, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Aerosmith (esp. 70's stuff), Scorpions, Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Uriah Heep, Blue Oyster Cult, 70's Rush and early Queen could also fall into that category (although Rush is primarily prog rock and Queen are very eclectic), Alice Cooper, early Boston, Whitesnake, UFO, Grand Funk, early Def Leppard, most 80's 'hair' or glam metal bands, Pearl Jam.

[Cool Chris]

I get a headache when the discussion of what constitutes hard rock as compared to heavy metal, hair metal, classic rock, speed metal, glam metal, pop metal, arena rock, progressive metal, progressive rock, thrash metal, etc.  It can be a bit too much sometimes lol.

Was going to post but then this very thought hit me.

[Elite]

Next thread idea for WildRanger: when is something heavy metal instead of hard rock? Where do we draw the line?



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Honest answer to the question in the OP is frankly: I don't know, but the first thing that comes to mind is Argus by Wishbone Ash.
If that, or Rush, doesn't count then probably an album by this band called Queen, which I doubt many people will know, but another contender could be an album called Boston by a band called Boston from, you got it, Boston. But I don't think I really listen to a lot of 'hard rock'.

Notable hard rock bands: Led Zeppelin (but they were more than just hard rock), AC/DC, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Aerosmith (esp. 70's stuff), Scorpions, Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Uriah Heep, Blue Oyster Cult, 70's Rush and early Queen could also fall into that category (although Rush is primarily prog rock and Queen are very eclectic), Alice Cooper, early Boston, Whitesnake, UFO, Grand Funk, early Def Leppard, most 80's 'hair' or glam metal bands, Pearl Jam.

I don't really think I need schooling on music genres, but thanks for the effort

[Northern Lion]

I don't generally listen to a lot of hard rock, and I don't know if this counts, but I pick Down on the Upside by Sound Garden.  That is one of my favorite albums from the 90's.

[The Walrus]

Is good metal objectively Led Zeppelin?

[KevShmev]

Is good metal objectively Led Zeppelin?

Is Led Zeppelin objectively good metal?

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

This is kind of an interesting discussion actually, I think. A band like Led Zeppelin was considered 'heavy metal' at the time, so it seems strange to deny them that genre tag now, but on the other hand, if a band that sounded like Led Zeppelin formed now, we wouldn't consider them anywhere near heavy metal (and in fact there is a band today that sounds exactly like Led Zeppelin, and I don't see anyone calling Greta Van Fleet heavy metal). The genre kind of moved on and left them behind.

[HOF]

This is kind of an interesting discussion actually, I think. A band like Led Zeppelin was considered 'heavy metal' at the time, so it seems strange to deny them that genre tag now, but on the other hand, if a band that sounded like Led Zeppelin formed now, we wouldn't consider them anywhere near heavy metal (and in fact there is a band today that sounds exactly like Led Zeppelin, and I don't see anyone calling Greta Van Fleet heavy metal). The genre kind of moved on and left them behind.

Similarly, Elvis Presley was the King of Rock and Roll, but his music is a lot closer to modern country than it is to what most of us would consider rock.

[lonestar]

The Who- Quadrophenia


All others come in second.

[jjrock88]

I’m 100% cool with anyone calling Led Zeppelin heavy metal, hard rock, classic rock, rock, or whatever. They are the innovators of hard rock no question about it  Chad will agree with me!

[DragonAttack]

Foghat  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foghat_(1973_album)  and Aerosmith  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocks_(Aerosmith_album)   tie for my best 'hard rock' albums.

[Kotowboy]

 


Kotowboy Hot Take Alert !

So i'd never listened to Appetite For Destruction so I finally decided to spin it recently - and I guess you had to be there at the time as I couldn't enjoy it.

But I wonder how i'd feel about Metallica's Black Album if I'd only heard it the first time this year.

[LudwigVan]

This is kind of an interesting discussion actually, I think. A band like Led Zeppelin was considered 'heavy metal' at the time, so it seems strange to deny them that genre tag now, but on the other hand, if a band that sounded like Led Zeppelin formed now, we wouldn't consider them anywhere near heavy metal (and in fact there is a band today that sounds exactly like Led Zeppelin, and I don't see anyone calling Greta Van Fleet heavy metal). The genre kind of moved on and left them behind.

Looking at it from this perspective, Black Sabbath toes the line between hard rock and heavy metal even more closely than Zeppelin does.

[KevShmev]

I’m 100% cool with anyone calling Led Zeppelin heavy metal, hard rock, classic rock, rock, or whatever. They are the innovators of hard rock no question about it  Chad will agree with me!

Somewhere, the head of Pete Townshend, who is still bitter that (in his mind) bands like Zeppelin took what the Who were already doing and were successful, is exploding.

[TAC]

Yeah, well maybe if The Who didn't suck....

[lonestar]

Man, you just got volumes and volumes of issues.

[TAC]

Hah! I was just kidding. It's the first thing that popped into my head after reading Kev's post.

But I'm actually not into The Who.

[Indiscipline]

Those labels shift and have shifted like crazy. I can remember my brother in the 80's laughing at the record store putting albums by acts like Uriah Heep and Blue Oyster Cult in the Heavy Metal Box.

The boundaries between genres are very personal, subjective, and era-related.

As far as I'm concerned, Helter Skelter was the first hard rock tune, Ride in the Sky by Lucifer's Friend the first Heavy Metal one.

[Kotowboy]

I'm very sceptical of anything thats labelled "classic" or "must see/hear" as most of the time it falls way short of expectation.

I remember critics saying Y Tu Mama Tambien was a must-see film.

I watched it and thought it was complete cack.

I also reject the idea that guitarists / bands from the 70s cannot be beaten ever ever.

Or the idea that there was never or never will be a bass player better than Cliff Burton ( for example ) - when people like Les Claypool and Victor Wooten run circles around him. ***

It seems like if something is 'old' and 'classic' then nobody is

a. ) Allowed to dislike the thing

or

b.) Suggest anything from modern times is better - because it can't be.

Hogwash.






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*** Even Rob Trujillo is technically superior to Burton.

[Stadler]

I don't generally listen to a lot of hard rock, and I don't know if this counts, but I pick Down on the Upside by Sound Garden.  That is one of my favorite albums from the 90's.

That is a fantastic record.