History



Cream, one of the first
bands of Hard rock.

In the mid-1960s, American and British rock bands started modification rock n´ roll, adding greater blues influence, harder sounds, heavier guitar riffs, faster drums rhythms and louder vocals. The first bands that started adding this elements were Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Rolling Stones.

The first hard rock song was "Helter Skelter" by the British rock band "The Beatles":

Judas Priest, followed Black Sabbath and added important
elements to heavy metal.

In the late 1960s, bands started to include new guitar effects, faster riffs and a darker sound. Black Sabbath emphasized on a dark and heavy sound, playing lyrics related to hell, using loud guitar effects and screaming vocals. This created a new genre: heavy metal. However bands like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin maintained a bluesy rock n´ roll identity. 

Eddie Van Halen, was the first
guitarist that used tapping on
guitar solos. 


In the 1070s, hard rock expanded and became very important. In the early 1970s Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling stones released their most succesfully albums, and new hard rock bands, such as Kiss, Rush, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Queen and Judas Priest, started appearing. Also, new guitar techniques, such as tapping and sweet picking, were released.

In the 1980s, heavy metal got more attention than hard rock due to the appearance of the NWBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal). Also, pioneer hard rock bands like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin separated. However, Aerosmith, Van Halen and Bon Jovi continued playing classic hard rock. 

 

In the 1990s, the appearance of Guns and Roses and Skid Row influenced a lot of bands to mix heavy metal with some hard rock elements. also, AC/DC and Aerosmith regained a bluesy rock and roll sound with albums like "The razors edge" and "A little south of sanity".