Why I think Rock Music is still King

I love music, it’s one of the things every country in the world has in common. We may not have the same music tastes, but every country on Earth listens to music. The one type of music I think has always been underestimated is Rock (and when I say Rock, I mean all of its sub-genres as well like Metal, Punk, Industrial, Thrash, Glam, Nu-Metal, Symphonic and many more). When a lot of people think of some genres of rock (like Metal) they think of loud, screaming, or devil worshiping and, in some cases, they’d be right, but in a lot of cases they’d be wrong (not about it being loud though). The thing they are missing is that even a lot of the bands that scream have lyrics that are deep and meaningful and just because a song mentions the devil or sounds devilish doesn’t mean it is. Over the past year or so I’ve listened to people react to rock music on YouTube and I was pleasantly surprised that when most people really give it a chance, they appreciate or even love it.

People who love a specific band are in many cases like a family. We can see each other at concerts and become fast friends. Mosh pits can seem really dangerous (and can be), but when a person goes down, the others around help them up and make sure they’re alright. In some cases, the front row can get pretty crowded and if someone seems to be in distress the people around them will pick them up and crowd surf them to the front where security will get them help. I’ve seen this many times and it’s a great sight to see people who look after each other, and care for one another.

I’ve been to concerts where the audience will sing a chorus to a song as loud as the singer. It’s amazing to hear a band play loud and still hear the crowd singing or humming along with the song. People who love Rock music, truly love it. We love the songs as a whole, the sound of the instruments, the singer, and the lyrics make us feel something. People who love other genres of music may say the same thing but, sometimes I wonder. I’ve heard people who listen to hip-hop say (I love this beat.” or “I love the beat of this song.” I don’t hear some say “I love the lyrics” or “I love the music.” I’m not saying all people think this, but I’ve heard many say this.

I love a good guitarist, bassist, and drummer. Hearing them play whether with a singer or just instrumentals make me happy. When you put in a singer with fun or meaningful lyrics, it's magic. Rock bands sing about everything. There are songs about war and anti-war, love and hate, heaven and hell, science fiction and fantasy, graphic novels, history and so much more. Rock music also can mix in other genres like Hip-hop and Rap, Jazz, Classical, Reggae, and Folk to name a few. I think it’s the most well-rounded music genre (that’s my opinion).

Yes, I'm writing this in hope that people who read this will give Rock a chance. Maybe find a reactor on YouTube and listen along with them. Some of my favorites are:

The Charismatic Voice – Elizabeth is an Opera singer who’s becoming a Metal Head. She not only reacts but also gives her expertise in singing to each song, I learn every time I watch one of her reactions. She doesn’t always react to Rock music, but to many different genres. She’s also done some great interviews of bands and recently went to Bloodstock which was her first Metal concert. Elizabeth works with her husband also has a Twich channel where she plays D&D with friends. So, she’s an Opera singing, Metal Headed, Fantasy Geek!

Brad and Lex – I just found these two and they’re fun to watch. Lex is becoming more of a Metal Head than Brad, she really gets into it. They break down some of the lyrics to songs, sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don’t but they’re entertaining.

Julia Nilon – Like The Charismatic Voice, Julia is a classical singer who not only reacts to songs but gives her expertise as a singer to each song. It’s great to hear people explain music because it makes me feel closer to the bands I love.

Maggie Renee – Another Opera singer who gives really good breakdowns and reactions to songs. She has live streams as well where she talks about and listens to music as well as sings.

Chase Carneson – He reacts to mostly Rock music. He also brings his insight as a musician to each song. He’ll talk about the technical aspects of the instruments plus he’s fun to watch.

The Adventures of TNT – T does a lot of the reactions himself, sometimes he brings on his wife or child and sometimes it’s just his wife. They react to different genres and they’re entertaining with their energy and talking about music.

Some bands I really like:

Jinjer – Is from the Ukraine and I’ve been a fan of theirs for about 2 years. The whole band is amazing, from the drummer to bassist, guitar player and singer. Their lyrics are deep and well thought out. You should start out with Pisces the live session, and if after that you want to see a live concert song listen to Perennial from Wacken 2019.

Nightwish - Nightwish is from the Netherlands and they’re another really tight band. They’ve had three singers over the 25 years they’ve been together, but they’ve always been strong. They’re Symphonic Metal meaning they not only have heavy guitar, but also keyboards that sound like a symphony. Tuomas is the keyboardist and songwriting master for this band, and I do mean master, I think he’s one of the best lyricists of our time. Floor the most recent singer is jaw-dropping at 6’1” and has the voice of an angel. She has a range that will blow your socks off. The song you should start out with is Ghost Love Score live at Wacken.

Unleash the Archers – This is a band I just found out about maybe 8 months ago, but they’ve been around a bit. Their albums usually tell a fantasy or sci-fi story. The band is fast and amazing, I’ve become a fan. the singer Brittney Slayes lives up to her name, the range of her belts are mind-blowing. The song you should start out with is Tonight We Ride, and put on a seatbelt because it’ll knock you out of your chair.

Epica – Like the other bands, this one has great instrumentalists and an awesome singer. They’re also a Symphonic Metal band and Simone is friends with Floor from Nightwish. Simone is classically trained and you can tell, her voice is great. The song you should listen to first is Sanca Terra live Retrospect show which features Floor, it’s played with a full symphony and choir.

Queensryche – I've been a fan of theirs for over 20 years and I’m going to see them in April of next 2022. With great songwriting and singing, this band has always been one of my favorites. The best album of theirs is Operation: Mindcrime and you have to listen to the album as a whole because it tells a story.

The Scorpions – A classic metal band that has some really great songs. Klaus Meine has a very powerful voice and from what I hear even at 73 he hasn’t lost a beat. They’re going to be playing at the concert with Queensryche and I’m excited to see them again (I saw them at the 1986 Monsters of Rock tour).

Megadeth – They're a thrash metal band, one of the big 4 (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer). Dave Mustaine is a little weird, but he writes some great lyrics and he’s a really good guitar player. The band has gone through several changes in its time and I’ve been listening to them since high school. Since they’re thrash, they won’t be everyone's cup of tea, but give them a chance, you might like them.

Metallica – How can I not mention them? Dave Mustaine used to be in Metallica but was kicked out, and that’s not a bad thing because now we have two great bands. Metallica’s older music is better than their newer stuff (in my opinion), but their newer stuff is still pretty rockin’.

Foo Fighters – Another really talented band who’s fronted by Dave Grohl who is one of the nicest guys (no never met him but I’ll get to why I think he’s so great later on). This band writes great songs that a lot of people have probably heard, songs like Everlong and The Pretender, make Foo Fighters one of my favorites. Also, Dave Grohl is multi-talented. If you listen to his solo song “Play” you’ll see he can play the drums, guitar, bass, percussions, and keyboards. It’s amazing to watch and a great song to listen to.

Lenny Kravitz – This guy not only doesn’t age, but he’s a great guitarist and singer/songwriter. If you haven’t heard of him, you must live under a rock, in a cave that collapsed. He’s an Icon in the music industry!

Ayreon – This is a supergroup that has 13 singers and seven instrumentalists from other bands. Most of their songs are Sci-fi or medieval themed. The song “The Day That the World Breaks Down” is a masterpiece that has 11 singers, each one playing a different role. The version to listen to is “The Day the World Breaks Down – The Source” which has written along with the song telling the story of how the song came to be and it’s very interesting.

I’ve also gotten into some, what may have been called obscure bands, but with YouTube, they’ve become pretty popular.

The Hu – This band is a Mongolian Folk-Rock band. They play with some traditional Mongolian instruments and use Mongolian throat singing in their songs. They don’t sing in English, but that doesn’t matter because this band will knock your socks off (also most songs you can get English translation of the lyrics). They also wrote a song for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the lyrics are sung in a language written for Star Wars.

Igorrr – They're a very strange band from France. They also don’t sing in English but their very strange music blew me away. They not only have a singer who screams but another who sings Opera. They’re hard to really pin down because songs like Very Noise which is a techno-like instrumental with a very strange video and Cheval is a hard song but with an accordion, then they have Chicken Sonata and My Chicken’s Symphony which have a chicken playing the piano.

Leo Moracchioli (Leap Frog Studios – This man doesn’t write his own songs; he does covers but that’s ok because he’s amazing. He plays the guitar, drums, bass, and many other instruments, he also sings and produces his own videos. He’s so talented and he’s done covers for over 400 songs so far, from the newest “Welcome to the Jungle from Guns n’ Roses” to “Toto - Africa”. He’ll sometimes have other talented singers and musicians join him, sometimes he has his daughter join in as well, but a lot of the songs are just him. He’s funny and talented, and his outros to his songs are worth a watch/listen as well because even though they’re just telling you to buy his music on different services, he does each in a unique and creative way.

Eskimo Callboy – This is another very strange band, that I just found not to long ago. The song I think you should listen to first is either MC Thunder II (Dancing like a Ninja) or Hypa Hypa. They’re funny and very entertaining.

We Butter the Bread with Butter – Yes, that’s the name of the band. They’re a German band and I think of them as the German Eskimo Callboy. They don’t sing in English but as you’ve seen I don’t care if the band is good.

I could go on naming other bands. Maybe I’ll do some special mentions of bands I just learned about like Band-Maid (a Japanese female metal band), Skindred (a metal reggae band), Lutharo (a Canadian Death Metal band with a great female singer), God is an Astronaut (which is a four-piece Irish band), Cellar Darling (a three-piece swiss folk band. The lead singer also plays a strange instrument called a Hurdy Gurdy. She also used to play in another really good band called Eluveitie.

This last artist is very special because she’s only 11 years old.

Nandi Bushell – What can I say about this girl. She plays the drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, and a couple of other instruments. She also has written songs and sings. At her young age, she just played a song with “The Foo Fighters in Los Angeles at the Forum, which a couple of months before, she and Dave Grohl had a drum-off and they each wrote a song for the other (told you I’d get back to why I think Dave Grohl is a great guy). She played a song on the David Bowie Celebration tour and jammed with Lenny Kravitz and more recently Matt Helder’s from Arctic Monkeys. She’s also gotten guitars from famous musicians and she’s the youngest person to be on Modern Drummer magazine. In her short life, she’s done so much and she'll just become a bigger star when she gets older (because there is no doubt, she is a star now). Nandi has a nice following on YouTube where she plays drums, guitar, bass and synth to songs along with videos of the things I’ve mentioned above. Her channel deserves a visit, you won’t be disappointed.

So, go out, listen to some Rock music and let me know what you think.