# Help me convince my friend that American hard rock didn't die in 1990 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179 "2008-09-25T17:36:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/21 "2008-09-25T19:39:21Z")
Post 1990 rock that I think holds up for the “good old days” are gone set. Cock Rock- **Death From Above 1979** _Your a Woman I’m a Machine_ Japanese mind-fuckity Goodness that makes you go go “Holy Shit”- **Boris** any album will do, but _Akuma No Uta_ and _Amplifier Workshop_ are my faves. All round guitary goodness- **Eagles of Death Metal** _Peace Love Death Metal_ Springsteen just out of rehab rock- **The Hold Steady** especially _Seperation Sunday_ Classic rock throwback- **Kings of Leon** _Youth and Young Manhood_ Spacey Guitars with hardly any of those silly words to get in the way- **Mogwai** especially _Come On Die Young_ Creepy Moody and yet somehow bombastic- **A Place To Bury Strangers** album of the same killer name Itunes lovingly catagorizes as drug music- **Suntan** _Send You Home_ More cock rock- **Witch** _Witch_ has a Sabbath vibe to me…but others might disagree, guitar wise at least Chick with a throat bliistering howl that might not fit this category but worth a mention- **Yeah Yeah Yeahs** _Forever To Tell_ ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/22 "2008-09-25T19:50:14Z")
American hard rock meaning made by American’s or with that classic sound? Heck much of the hard rock of that era was made by Brit bands. What about **Wolfmother**? Listen to Woman or **Supagroup**? listen to Ready to Go. Heck the \*\*Foos \*\*rock just fine, and the Aussie band \*\*Jet \*\*(along with Wolfmother) are great on their rockin’ tunes… ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/23 "2008-09-25T20:42:57Z")
Primus? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/24 "2008-09-25T20:50:56Z")
Okay, ignore the “American” part of the OP. I must have had an attack of patriotism. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/25 "2008-09-25T22:16:15Z")
Try some of these: The Black Keys The Cult The Black Angels Orange Goblin Clutch Tad Sebadoh ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/26 "2008-09-25T22:37:27Z")
If your friend is into progressive rock and hard rock maybe you should try another Tool song besides Aenima, like Stinkfist or Vicarious. And he doesn’t like grunge? I’m dumbfounded as to exactly what constitutes Hard Rock to him if he doesn’t like grunge, all of which came about in the early 90’s. ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/27 "2008-09-25T22:51:57Z")
if he might dig some of the sludgy, stoner-rock type metal, check out Electric Wizard. or more schizoid, freaked out, Japanese noise-rock, try Mainliner, Fushitshusha, Acid Mothers Temple, or nearly any of the PSF bands. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/28 "2008-09-25T22:53:12Z")
> [@akrako1](#): > > if he might dig some of the sludgy, stoner-rock type metal, check out Electric Wizard. > > or more schizoid, freaked out, Japanese noise-rock, try Mainliner, Fushitshusha, Acid Mothers Temple, or nearly any of the PSF bands. Oh hey, Japanese got me thinking, if he doesn’t mind not understanding the words Thee Michelle Gun Elephant rock solidly. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/29 "2008-09-26T01:32:08Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > If he likes artsier stuff, I recommend Savatage: _Dead Winter Dead_, _The Wake of Magellan_, and _Poets and Madmen_. All three are concept albums, and all three have some really good hard-rocking stuff. I"m going to second this. I love me some Savatage. One of my personal favorites is [Rage](http://www.rage-on.de/). I must have something for German metal as I like so much of it. He might like to check out Gamma Ray and Iron Saviour. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/30 "2008-09-26T02:57:57Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > In the vein of Pink Floyd, I’d recommend **Porcupine Tree**. Much of their earlier stuff is highly influenced by **Pink Floyd**. Their last 3-4 albums though have been distinctly more modern rock and metal influenced, but still very artsy and psychadelic. For their more psychadelic stuff, check out an album like Up the Downstair, Lightbulb Sun, or The Sky Moves Sideways. For their more modern rock sound, check out Recordings, In Absentia, or Fear of a Blank Planet. Exactly what I wanted to say. _In Absentia_ and _The Sky Moves Sideways_ are where I’d start if you want to convince someone that good music isn’t dead. (FWIW, I’m a big Genesis/Floyd fan myself.) For a strong, relatively recent release by a rock dinosaur, I highly recommend 2003’s _The Power to Believe_ by King Crimson. ---
**Author:** ![mrcheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@mrcheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrcheese)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/31 "2008-09-26T11:12:04Z")
If he likes Dream Theater then he’s got to listen to **Rush** - the last album Snakes & Arrows rocks and they still absolutely kick ass live. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/32 "2008-09-26T15:15:13Z")
I recommend this website: [www.melodicrock.com](http://www.melodicrock.com). American or not, you can find tons of great AOR, hard rock and metal. I shall recommend one of my personal favorite artists, Jeff Scott Soto. His new one (Beautiful Mess) is Lenny Kravitz meets the Red Hot Chili Peppers and is awesome. Oh yeah - also have him check out the RHCP and Foo Fighters! ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/33 "2008-09-26T16:06:55Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > You specifically mention American in the title, but don’t say anything about it in the OP and even mention **Pink Floyd** who isn’t American. But, for what it’s worth, there’s TONS of stuff that’s great and new. > > In the vein of Pink Floyd, I’d recommend **Porcupine Tree**. Much of their earlier stuff is highly influenced by **Pink Floyd**. Their last 3-4 albums though have been distinctly more modern rock and metal influenced, but still very artsy and psychadelic. For their more psychadelic stuff, check out an album like Up the Downstair, Lightbulb Sun, or The Sky Moves Sideways. For their more modern rock sound, check out Recordings, In Absentia, or Fear of a Blank Planet. > > In the vein of **Dream Theater** , they’re simply the best of the modern Progressive Metal bands. If he likes them, I would recommend a number of bands. **Spock’s Beard** is from the same area, but they’re a little more rock oriented and just have some bizarre melodies and jams… some of it’s a little too goofy to be taken seriously, but it’s generally pretty solid and a band that a **Dream Theater** fan should like. I’d highly recommend Octane and Snow. > > In general, most **Dream Theater** fans will probably like some or all of these bands as well: **Symphony X** (The Odyssey, Divine Wings of Tragedy), **Ayreon** (Human Equation, Universal Migrator, Into the Electric Castle), and **Pain of Salvation** (The Perfect Element, One Hour by the Concrete Lake, Remedy Lane). Depending on which of those he’d like, I can make more specific recommendations. > > To anyone who is a fan of **Metallica** , it’s really hard to say because metal has become SO incredibly diverse these days that I really don’t know where to go. Would he like more of the modern thrash sound? Would he like Power Metal or Death metal? Either way, I can 100% guarantee that any fan of old school **Metallica** will like **Iced Earth**. He should check out The Dark Saga (a concept album about the comic book character Spawn), Burnt Offerings, or Something Wicked This Way Comes. > I could make a ton more recommendations, but it really depends on what he’d like. If you just want a list of some kick-ass bands, check out my post in the metal fans thread. I came in to mention some of those very bands. I second **Porcupine Tree** and **Spock’s Beard**. A month or so back there was a thread about incestuous band relationships. PT, DT, and SB are all part of an incestuous little family that includes **OSI** , **Transatlantic** , **Fates Warning** , **Chroma Key** , **Gordian Knot** and other bands. In a more metal vein, check out **Opeth**. Steve Wilson, the man behind PT, produces some of their albums. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/34 "2008-09-26T19:42:43Z")
Airborne has a good song called (I think) - Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast Also Jet Set Satellite has a great song - Baby Cool Your Jets Buck Cherry? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/35 "2008-09-26T20:27:42Z")
Maybe he should try some Avenged Sevenfold. Good hard rock with some prog elements. And as was mentioned before Rush did not stop making good music after 1990, they just continue to evolve. Quite a bit of their newer stuff has been quite heavy. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/36 "2008-09-26T20:48:59Z")
Another vote for Mastodon, especailly if he likes metallica. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/37 "2008-09-26T22:30:18Z")
The park named in its honor in Myrtle Beach, SC, died this week. [http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=search01&sNum=0&resultCount=15&source=1&keywords=hard+rock+park+closed&x=21&y=14](http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=search01&sNum=0&resultCount=15&source=1&keywords=hard+rock+park+closed&x=21&y=14) ---
**Author:** ![lexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@lexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/38 "2008-09-26T22:59:43Z")
I see he likes the classic 80s thrash metal bands, so I’ll recommend a few newer bands playing thrash: Municipal Waste, Evil Army, Merciless Death, and Toxic Holocaust. The first three are among my favorites; the last I’m not personally into (mostly because I don’t care for the vocals), but a lot of thrash fans really dig them so I threw the recommendation in. If he’s into metal generally, I’ll second the recommendations for some great stoner/doom metal bands upthread, Witch and Electric Wizard. Other good ones along similar lines include Kyuss (who are no longer around), Crowbar (rumored to be reuniting), Acid King, and The Gates of Slumber (whose new record, _The Conqueror,_ is my favorite album of 2008). Does your friend like any punk rock? Career Suicide, and Los Crudos are amazing hardcore bands who can stand up to any of the 80s hardcore classics. The latter are no longer around. On the more Ramones-ish end of the punk spectrum, The Marked Men and The High Tension wires play some good, basic, three chord punk rock, with great pop hooks. The Exploding Hearts put out one great punky power pop record, _Guitar Romantic,_ in 2003, before a bus accident killed three band members; it’s one of the best pop rock albums ever. One last recommendation for The Reigning Sound, fronted by Greg Cartwright (who’d previously played in bluesy garage punk bands The Compulsive Gamblers and The Oblivians, both of whom are worth checking out). Cartwright’s an outstanding songwriter; their first two albums, _Time Bomb High School_ and _Too Much Guitar_ sound like The Rolling Stones playing punk rock; their most recent, _Break Up Break Down,_ has a strong country influence. One of my favorite bands; they also backed Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las on the record she released last year. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/39 "2008-09-26T23:51:11Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Okay, ignore the “American” part of the OP. I must have had an attack of patriotism. In that case, definately **Wolfmother.** I can’t recommend them enough. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179/40 "2008-09-27T00:09:41Z")
Nice recommendations Lexan, Electric Wizard rules! I need to check out the others too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-convince-my-friend-that-american-hard-rock-didnt-die-in-1990/465179.md?page=3)