# Which band best typifies "hard rock"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 7, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397 "2021-03-07T18:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Drsunflower1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drsunflower1/32/12711_2.png) [@Drsunflower1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drsunflower1)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/101 "2021-03-09T17:06:22Z")
AC/DC Motörhead Van Halen Bon Jovi in their earlier days Of course, the Who, Cream and Deep Purple. Sabbath in there somewhere as well, as are Led Zeppelin and the Small Faces. Rammstein is metal, according to the band itself. Love them, but not hardrock. ---
**Author:** ![tavaritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/102 "2021-03-09T18:02:22Z")
Laibach! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/103 "2021-03-09T19:09:32Z")
> [@Drsunflower1](#): > > Rammstein is metal, according to the band itself. Love them, but not hardrock. Yes, you could a make a case for “Links,2,3,4” being a really good _example_ of a straightforward hard rock song…however, I think that is because it is the closest to an AC/DC style and so we are back where we started. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/104 "2021-03-09T21:34:01Z")
It’s easy for me to miss things when a thread gets this long; has anyone mentioned Foghat? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/105 "2021-03-09T22:27:25Z")
I think the difference is perspective here; in that if metal is a subset of hard rock, then what would put the first two bands in the “metal” subset, but not AC/DC? They’re all three hard rock, but what distinguishes Judas Priest into metal that AC/DC doesn’t have? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/106 "2021-03-09T22:34:47Z")
I’m happy to see that people who know so more about music than I do can’t exactly explain the difference between hard rock and metal. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/107 "2021-03-09T22:40:08Z")
I think it’s one of those “know it when I hear it” kind of things, but at the edges, it’s hard to make out. Just like the edge between rock and pop is pretty indistinct as well. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/108 "2021-03-09T22:40:37Z")
AC/DC has much more a blues base to it; the drumming isn’t as frenetic as heavy metal. Like listen to this Judas Priest album, this is very much defining of heavy metal to me: the opener, “Exciter” starts of with a wicked double-kick drum groove, crashes all over the place. The singing has a lot of falsettos in it. The general beat is more driving with less syncopations. The guitar solos are still fairly blues based, but you start hearing stuff like harmonization in fifths, which is kind of important in this genre (or at least for a spell). As metal progresses, it gets farther and farther away from blues and explores more modal approaches to solos. So, first the power, rhythm, and tempo. Also important is the lyrical subject matter. Heavy metal lyrics tend to be darker and more expansive thematically. AC/DC and Judas Priest just don’t sound all that similar to me at all, genre-wise. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mcuoB5xS-FI/maxresdefault.jpg "Judas Priest - Stained Class (Full Album 1978)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcuoB5xS-FI) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/109 "2021-03-09T23:19:26Z")
While not the defining differences, and recognizing that exceptions exist everywhere, I’d say that heavy metal is more influenced by classical music, and tends to have faster beats and a focus on heavy, fast drumming and bass playing. Hard Rock tends to be more based in older rock forms, blues, and even country. It tends to be a little more melodic and focuses more on melodic solos on guitar as opposed to speed riffing. Even guitar gods like Eddie Van Halen tended to show their speed by doing arpeggios or otherwise going through scales. They don’t tend to strum at lightning speed the way many metal guitarists do. Metal seems to have a lot more speed strumming and double/triple kicks on drums to add to the rhythmic intensity. Hard rock can have everything from a traditional backbeat to crazy drumming, but it seems more common to have speed drums and speed strumming and such in Metal. Another major difference: I hate playing most metal in Rock Band. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/110 "2021-03-09T23:27:42Z")
> [@bump](#): > > They’re all three hard rock, but what distinguishes Judas Priest into metal that AC/DC doesn’t have? The dog collar, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/111 "2021-03-09T23:41:38Z")
There are lots of good ones but the OP says “represents”. My top 3 would be (in this order): Led Zeppelin Humble pie ZZ Top Even though everything in their oeuvre is not 100% hard rock. > [@silenus](#): > > Let’s confuse things a bit by tossing out the first band to use the term “heavy metal,” but were definitely hard rock: Steppenwolf. Can I take exception to this? I’ve seen this sentiment so many times and it just seem wrong to me. Nothing about the lyrics suggest the singer is referring to music. If fact it’s always seemed clear to me the singer was referring to the sound of his car or motorcycle. Lyrics: "_Get your motor runnin’_ _Head out on the highway_ _Looking for adventure_ _In whatever comes our way_ _I like smoke and lightnin’_ _ **Heavy metal thunder** _ _ **Racing in the wind** _ _And the feeling that I’m under_" And it was chosen for Easy Rider. I just looked it up, Mars Bonfire himself said [on how he came up with the song]: "I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard one day and saw a poster in a window saying ‘Born to Ride’ with a picture of a motorcycle erupting out of the earth like a volcano with all this fire around it. Plus the song is not heavy metal. Can we please let this notion go? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/112 "2021-03-09T23:43:00Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > They did nuance. Is “Big Balls” about well-attended parties or well-endowed genitalia? It’s impossible to know! Sure! And Let’s Get It Up is about sailing. or kites. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/113 "2021-03-09T23:50:48Z")
Actually, the band that most typifies (or more accurately, stereotypifies) Hard Rock is the only one that formed with the sole intention of doing so: **Spinal Tap**. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/114 "2021-03-10T00:21:11Z")
My head hurts… Just reread the whole thread, and I’m even less certain of the labels and dividing lines than I was before. I’m just glad that when I drop the needle down on Sunshine Of Your Love or Manic Depression or Enter Sandman or Kashmir, I don’t have to decide “Am I listening to Blues, or Blues Rock or Heavy Metal or Medium Metal or PowerProgGlamRootsFusion?” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/115 "2021-03-10T00:36:00Z")
Damn it! We’re going to label all the artforms that rebel against labels even if it kills us! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/116 "2021-03-10T07:06:41Z")
More blues rock than hard rock, surely? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/117 "2021-03-10T13:14:06Z")
Except for Ann and Nancy Wilson in Heart, have any women been mentioned in this thread? Are there any all-women or female led bands that deserve consideration, or at least are representative of the genre? I would say Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and possibly her first band The Runaways. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/118 "2021-03-10T14:10:12Z")
I’m in the “it can be both” camp. AC/DC is influenced by the blues as well; “Highway to Hell” being a prime example. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/119 "2021-03-10T14:37:26Z")
Sure, there’s obviously a huge blues component to hard rock. But blues rock itself is a separate thing. It’s ancestral to hard rock, but is not itself , IMO, _hard_ enough. Also, relatively high amounts of slide usage say blues rather than hard, to me. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397/120 "2021-03-10T15:21:12Z")
I do see your point. I don’t agree, but great minds can differ. I imagine fans will be having this debate a generation from now. I remember reading a book that had AC/DC squarely in the blues tradition; it was probably 30 years, so I don’t recall the title. Anyway, I don’t think being in a book necessarily means it’s “right”. Also, I wish my keyboard would allow me to use the lightning bolt instead of the slash in “AC\DC”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-band-best-typifies-hard-rock/937397.md?page=7)