Recommended hard rock and heavy metal

Legendary hard rock masterpieces and popular songs etched in the history of music

Live Spot LugHiroyasu Hirata
I’m Hiroyasu Hirata from Live Spot RAG. When I was 15, I was blown away by how cool music—especially rock—was, and I started playing guitar and formed a band. I’m from Kochi Prefecture, where there weren’t many live houses or concert venues, so there were few opportunities to experience live music. Back then, our sources of information were magazines, CDs, and even VHS tapes (!?). Still, I was captivated by the sparkle of music, and I spent my days enjoying guitar and music, mostly neglecting my studies. I moved to Kyoto for university and “graduated” from the light music club, so to speak (laugh). Until then, I mainly listened to Japanese rock and Western hard rock, but thanks to seniors and peers I learned there was so much more music in the world. Now I listen to anything that strikes me as good, regardless of genre. After graduating, I joined RAG. After about six years in the office and about ten years in the music studio, I now work at the long-established Live Spot RAG, which has been around for 39 years, mainly handling promotions. Being exposed to the “real music” performed by Japan’s top musicians and delivering it to our audience lets me feel the brilliance of music anew every day. I still play guitar and keep a band going casually, and in recent years I’ve even started singing—better late than never. I’ve fully become an old guy by now, but I hope we can continue to chase “what lies beyond the dreams I painted with music back then” together.

Hard rock, rooted in blues rock, transformed its sound to become heavier and more dramatic.

The achievements of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Queen, and Aerosmith are nothing short of legendary.

For those who listened in real time, it remains a beloved formative musical experience; for younger generations, it offers chances to discover music they didn’t know and to make new findings.

In this article, we’ve picked out great hard rock bands and classic tracks that will surely be talked about for generations to come.

Even within the hard rock genre, there are songs that head in many different directions, so please enjoy!

Legendary hard rock masterpieces and popular songs etched in the history of music (51–60)

native tonguePoison

Poison – Native Tongue / The Scream

native tonguePoison

From the first album after Richie Kotzen joined on guitar.

They abandoned the typical American style and made a major shift in direction.

It starts with a tribal-sounding drum tone, and the bouncy rhythm makes it a groovy track.

The bluesy, growling guitar is Richie’s true forte, and you can fully appreciate his guitar technique.

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i am iQueensrÿche

Queensryche – I Am I

i am iQueensrÿche

From the 1994 album “Promised Land.” While the album as a whole carries a dark atmosphere, this track blends a throbbing groove with a psychedelic sense of weightlessness.

When I first heard it, it felt so unlike their usual style.

But the more I listened, the more that strange vibe became addictive, and now it’s one of my favorites.

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the searchSIAM

Siam – The Search

the searchSIAM

A British band.

I used to think the vocalist, Tony Mills, had a soaring, clear high register like Tony Harnell from TNT—and then, unbelievably, he actually ended up joining TNT after Harnell left.

It’s orthodox hard rock that makes the most of his vocal timbre.

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can’t believeLionsheart

Lionsheart – Can´t Believe

can't believeLionsheart

A British band that burst onto the scene like a comet and vanished just as quickly.

They made waves when their record first came out, but haven’t they already been forgotten by now? The burly vocalist Steve Grimmett’s powerful and emotive voice is striking—truly a textbook example of a voice made for singing hard rock.

The guitar, subtly pulling off technical feats, is also excellent.

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Legendary hard rock masterpieces and popular songs that have made their mark in music history (61–70)

mama i’m coming homeOzzy Osbourne

OZZY OSBOURNE – “Mama, I’m Coming Home” (Official Video)

mama i'm coming homeOzzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne may often cause a stir, but he can sing gentle ballads too.

This song is from the period when Zakk Wylde played guitar, and it’s a beautiful power ballad that opens with country-style guitar, reflecting Zakk’s roots.

Even the harmonics in the guitar solo—which usually sound noisy—come across like a scream and, for some reason, suit this song perfectly.

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Rockin’ In The Free WorldNeil Young

Rockin’ in the Free World

Rockin' In The Free WorldNeil Young

Canada’s legendary musician Neil Young defies easy categorization, but his style of blasting distorted guitar at high volume is a defining hallmark.

This track is a fan favorite that appears in both acoustic and electric versions on Freedom, the hit album Young released in 1989.

The hard-edged guitar and bass, along with a song structure that alternates between calm and explosive passages, had a major impact on the grunge sound that exploded in popularity from the 1990s onward.

The song was also featured in Michael Moore’s film Fahrenheit 9/11.

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Nobody’s FoolCinderella

Cinderella – Nobody’s Fool (Stereo Version)

Nobody's FoolCinderella

Looking at it again, that’s quite an impressive band name, isn’t it? They debuted with a glamorous look worthy of their name and became popular mainly in the ’80s; they’re a band from Philadelphia.

They’re often labeled as quintessential ’80s hair metal, but their central figure, vocalist and guitarist Tom Keifer, is a musician with a refined, blues-leaning sensibility, and that flavor was woven into their otherwise classic ’80s hard rock sound.

That said, the song they released in 1986, which became a hit, is a hard rock–style ballad featuring a powerful, soaring high-register vocal performance.

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