Is Hard Rock About To Roar Back Into The Mainstream Hard rock is not dead it has merely retreated to the range to plot its comeback. Although metal has never been pop the way Madonna, N Sync, or Taylor Swift are pop, for decades the genres most accessible bands maintained a strong presence in the musical mainstream. From genre originators Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath to the n metal bands of the TRL era, hard rock produced some of the most popular, visible, bestselling, and influential bands in the world. And although populist heavy guitar music has spent the past decade plus relegated to a fertile niche market, a grand return to the spotlight might already be in motion. Less than two years after I prematurely predicted the genres extinction, we may need to brace ourselves for a hard rock revival. Before I explain, lets back up for a moment to consider a different critically maligned genre that recently enjoyed its own critical evaluation. A few years ago, when the music press got all worked up about an alleged emo revival, the constant refrain from emo denizens was What revival Weve been here all along. Both sides were correct in their own ways On one hand, emo had never gone away, it had just fallen out of fashion with media tastemakers and trend conscious metropolitan listeners. Watch I Can`T Think Straight Online Hitfix' title='Watch I Can`T Think Straight Online Hitfix' />On the other hand, the scene was now exploding in a way that couldnt be ignored, both in terms of creative vitality and grassroots popularity. And with many of the classic emo bands that influenced this new generation enjoying a fresh evaluation due to the usual 2. The genre that gave us Through Being Cool was suddenly cool again. It was a remarkable turnaround. OK, now back to hard rock Last weekend Columbus hosted the tenth installment of Rock On The Range, billed as the biggest rock festival in the US. Once again promoters Danny Wimmer Productions DWP and Anschutz Entertainment Group AEG assembled a massive pile of modern rock radio favorites headliners included Disturbed, Rob Zombie, and Red Hot Chili Peppers seasoned with a handful of niche stars and curiosities from across the heavy music spectrum. And once again, the soccer centric Mapfre Stadium was sold out all weekend, teeming with loud music lovers in a wide variety of black T shirts. Yeah I agree with both sentiments. I dont want his site to only be about that other guy but I think it shouldnt be completely shut down. I like talking about movies. The third season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network between January 20 and May 19, 2011. A full list of cast and crew, with production details, photographs and a message board. Mashable is a global, multiplatform media and entertainment company. Watch Supernatural Season 9 episodes online with help from SideReel. We connect you to show links, recaps, reviews, news and more. I ventured into the madness on Sunday, when the lineup skewed the closest to my taste with sets by At The Drive In, Deftones, and Death From Above 1. And even with those personal favorites on tap, the culture shock was immediate. Compared to most major US festivals, which have come to be ruled by EDM dance parties, blockbuster reunions, and an assortment of recent critical sensations, Rock On The Range felt like an alternate universe one where mid aughts retro relic Wolfmother plays Woman to tens of thousands where an old skate punk standby like Pennywise, the kind of band thats usually ignored by the Coachella kids, commands a fiercely moving throng of devotees where English metalcore stars Bring Me The Horizon non ironically engage in the kind coordinated headbanging that once made Attack Attack In fact this alternate universe is very much reflective of the real world it just represents a segment of the population whose taste is not often represented in the media. This kind of rock loud, aggressive, boorish headbanging fare unmoored to contemporary notions of cool may not rule the charts anymore, but it remains a mainstream unto itself. And if a new Billboard report is to be believed, the genre could be in for a big summer. Per the report, fests like Rock On The Range, Fort Rock, Carolina Rebellion, Welcome To Rockville, and next weekends Rocklahoma remain a major draw in secondary and tertiary markets. These are cities where people largely dont care about whats hip, a notion Cory Brennan who manages acts including Slipknot, Megadeth, the Misfits, and Lamb Of God humorously communicated to Billboard Sponsors, brands, and media may think that Tame Impala and X Ambassadors are sexy and exciting to talk about, but the rest of the country couldnt give two shits. AEG Lives hard rock guru Joe Litvag put it more diplomatically You get outside of LA and New York, theres a lot of nooks and crannies out there. There are rock fans in every one of those nooks and crannies, and our job is to speak to them. And the nations rock promoters are speaking loud and clear. Ozzy Osbournes scene defining Ozzfest is joining forces with Slipknots popular Knotfest for a one off event this September called Ozzfest Meets Knotfest. Next years annual Ship. Rocked cruise is already sold out with headliners Breaking Benjamin, Papa Roach, and Alter Bridge on deck. Mimicking country musics Megaticket program, which allows fans to purchase passes for a whole seasons worth of concerts, Live Nation just launched its Ticket To Rock program, allowing fans bulk access to for package tours including DisturbedBreaking Benjamin, KornRob Zombie, and SlipkotMarilyn Manson. And, as if this demographics parallels to Donald Trumps flyover country coalition needed to be spelled out, the Make America Rock Again tour will bring together rock veterans Trapt, Saliva, Saving Abel, Alien Ant Farm, Crazytown, 1. Stones, Drowning Pool, and Tantric this fall. Hard rock as a self contained scene is undeniably surging. But more intriguingly, the genre seems to be gaining an audience beyond its longtime partisans. The Guns N Roses and Misfits reunions have been greeted with enthusiasm far and wide. Fashion designer Jerry Lorenzo, whose Fear Of God label has released retro Metallica and Nirvana shirts and supplied metal oriented merch for Kanye West and Justin Bieber, has recently been rocking Slipknot T shirts. Two decades into their career, adventurous hard rock cult favorites Deftones are suddenly gaining positive attention from media outlets that have traditionally ignored them us included while a recent Rolling Stone retrospective assigned n metal originators Ko. Rns self titled debut a level of influence similar to that of the Velvet Underground or the Ramones. The timing seems right for a reevaluation. Writer Steven Hydens smart 2. The Winners History Of Rock And Roll pointed out that from Zeppelin to Bon Jovi to Metallica, populist rock bands that begin as critical pariahs tend to be embraced decades down the line. Yesterday, our own Tom Breihan noted that the same thing is happening in rap Once music becomes old enough to qualify as classic, nostalgia tends to trump critical distance. About 1. 5 2. 0 years since their genesis, could the likes of Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit be the next generation of hard rock bands to experience a reclamation One the more fascinating threads in Billboards report was promoters ambitions to crossbreed a modern rock lineup with more mainstream accepted or critically acclaimed bands. In a Pitchfork feature on the emo revival, Greg Horbal, a former member of ambitious emo collective the World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, bemoaned an invisible wall between the indie rock and emo scenes Andrew Savage from Parquet Courts used to be in Teenage Cool Kids, and we would definitely have played with them at some point. There is no way well ever be put on the same show with Parquet Courts. The same kind of class division bars many Rock On The Range type bands from getting booked alongside acts like Jack White or the aforementioned Tame Impala. Thats why landing a blockbuster general interest band like Red Hot Chili Peppers was such a coup for Rock On The Range. Fest founder Danny Wimmer told Billboard he wants to see the walls come down Nirvana didnt break alternative, there was something already brewing and Nirvana was just the band that you could point out. Go to your grocery store, theres metal imagery everywhere. Foo Fighters are selling out stadiums, thats a rock act. Winnie The Pooh Online Putlocker. Black Keys is a rock act, Jack White is a rock act.