Best of Modern Rock

Attention!!!

Rock could be soft, alternative or hard as well as pop, punk and metal. After the golden era of rock music, which witnessed the likes of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Survivor and Black Sabbath the genre began to fade with the advent of pop into mainstream. With the demise of Disco in the late 80s we see Pop and Eurodance taking over in the 90s. There was however a resurfacing of rock music as well. Alternative Rock joined the mainstream with bands such as Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 gaining popularity. Therefore, I have listed the bands/artistes, which have contributed significantly for the revival and development of rock music in the recent past.

1.      U2

Formed in 1976 the group initially was rooted in post-punk but eventually entered mainstream rock music. By the mid 1980s they became a top global act with their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. They are among the all time best-selling music bands having sold more than 150 million records and winning 22 Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone ranked they at 22 in its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and labeled them the Biggest Band in the World. Their successful albums include – Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby, Pop, All That You Can’t Leave Behind and How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb. Their 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.   Desire

                ii.     Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me

              iii.     Vertigo

              iv.     Beautiful Day

                v.     With or Without You

              vi.     The Fly

             vii.    Staring at the Sun

           viii.    One

              ix.     I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

                x.     Mysterious ways

2.      Nickelback

Formed in 1995 it is one of the most successful bands of all time, ranked as the 11^th best-selling music act and the top rock group of the 2000s decade by Billboard. The band achieved commercial success with the release of their 2000 album The State and went mainstream with their 2001 album Silver Side Up. Their success continued with albums such as – The Long Road, All the Right Reasons, Dark Horse and Here and Now. Their 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.    How you remind me

                ii.   Someday

              iii.   Photograph

              iv.   Rockstar

                v.   Gotta be Somebody

              vi.   Far Away

             vii.  If today was your last day

           viii.  When we stand together

              ix.   Savin’ me

                x.   This afternoon

3.      Red Hot Chili Peppers

Formed in 1983 the band’s style primarily focuses on funk, punk rock and psychedelic rock. They have won been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards and of which they have won 7 and sold over 90 million records worldwide. The first three albums did not receive much attention but this changed with the fourth, Mother’s Milk and then with Blood Sugar Sex Magik the band entered the mainstream. Their albums – Californication, By The Way and Stadium Arcadium were major commercial successes and received wide critical acclaim. Their 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.    Dani California

                ii.   By the way

              iii.   Under the Bridge

              iv.   Scar Tissue

                v.   Snow (Hey Oh)

              vi.   Can’t stop

             vii.   Love Rollercoaster

           viii.   Californication

              ix.    Give it away

                x.    The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie

4.      Bon Jovi

Formed in 1983 the band achieved widespread global recognition with their third album Slippery When Wet in 1986. The band has been consistent with its major hits. They are one of the best-selling bands of all time having sold more than 130 million records worldwide. Their other successful albums include – New Jersey, Keep the Faith, Cross Road and Crush. Their 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.     Always

                ii.    Livin’ on a prayer

              iii.    It’s my life

              iv.    You give love a bad name

                v.   I’ll be there for you

              vi.    Bad medicine

             vii.   This ain’t a love song

           viii.    Have a nice day

              ix.     Bed of roses

                x.     Everyday

5.      Linkin Park

Formed in 1996 the band rose to international fame with their debut album Hybrid Theory. Their style incorporates elements of nu metal and rap metal and from recent times electronic sounds and beats to cater to the mainstream trends. They have sold over 60 million albums worldwide and have won 2 Grammy Awards. Their other successful albums include – Meteora, Collision Course, Minutes to Midnight and Living Things. Their 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.    In the end

                ii.   What I’ve done

              iii.   New Divide

              iv.   Numb

                v.   Burn it down

              vi.   Somewhere I belong

             vii.   Bleed it out

           viii.   Shadow of the day

              ix.    The Catalyst

                x.    Crawling

6.      Santana

Formed in the late 1960s it is based around the compositions of lead guitarist Carlos Santana. Although the band’s initial success was back in the 70s the peak of their success was in the late 90s and early 2000s. They have sold over 100 million records worldwide and have earned 10 Grammy Awards. In 1999 the group released Supernatural which is one of the most successful albums by any artiste/band of all time. Other new successful albums include – Shaman and All That I Am. Their 8 best songs in the modern era in descending order are:

                 i.     Smooth (ft. Rob Thomas)

                ii.    Maria Maria (ft. The Product G&B)

              iii.    The Game of Love (ft. Michelle Branch)

              iv.    Cry Baby Cry (ft. Sean Paul & Joss Stone)

                v.    Into the Night (ft. Chad Kroeger)

              vi.   Just Feel Better (ft. Steven Tyler)

             vii.   Why don’t you and I (ft. Alex Band)

           viii.   Put your lights on (ft. Everlast)

7.      Sheryl Crow

Born in 1962 she attempted to launch her career in the late 80s but to no avail. Her breakthrough came with her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club in 1994. Her music incorporates elements of folk, hip-hop, country and pop. She has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and has garnered 9 Grammy Awards out of 32 nominations. Other successful albums include – Sheryl Crow, Globe Sessions and C’mon C’mon. Her 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.     All I wanna do

                ii.    Soak up the sun

              iii.    The first cut is the deepest

              iv.    My favourite mistake

                v.    If it makes you happy

              vi.    Everyday is a winding road

             vii.   Tomorrow never dies

           viii.    Strong enough

              ix.     Good is good

                x.     Love is free

8.      Green Day

Formed in 1987 the band incorporates mainly elements of punk rock. Their debut album Dookie was a breakout success in 1994. Although the follow up albums were not as successful the band reignited their popularity with their 2004 album American Idiot. They are one of the best-selling groups of all time with over 75 million albums sold and have won 5 Grammy Awards. Their successful albums include – Nimrod and 21^st Century Breakdown. Their 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.     Boulevard of broken dreams

                ii.    American idiot

              iii.    Wake me up when September ends

              iv.    Holiday

                v.    21 Guns

              vi.    Know your enemy

             vii.  Good riddance (Time of your life)

           viii.   Basket case

              ix.    Longview

                x.    Welcome to paradise

9.      Metallica

Formed in 1981 the band caters mainly to heavy metal and hard rock. With its mass following in the underground music community the band earned critical acclaim with its first few albums. The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide and has won 9 Grammy Awards and as of 2012 it is the fourth best selling music artiste/band of all time. Their successful albums include - …And Justice for All, Metallica, Load, Reload and Garage Inc. Their 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.    Until it sleeps

                ii.   Nothing else matters

              iii.   Enter sandman

              iv.   One

                v.   The Unforgiven

              vi.   The day that never comes

             vii.   St.Anger

           viii.  The memory remains

              ix.    Hero of the day

                x.    Frantic

10.  Evanescence

Formed in 1995 the band’s debut album Fallen was a monumental commercial success. The line up of the group changed several times but the lead vocalist Amy Lee remained. The band has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has earned 2 Grammy Awards out of 7 nominations. The band is heavily influenced by celtic metal, alternative rock and hard rock. Other successful albums include – The Open Door and Evanescence. Their 10 best songs in descending order are:

                 i.     Bring me to life

                ii.    Call me when you’re sober

              iii.    My immortal

              iv.    Going under

                v.    Lithium

              vi.   What you want

             vii.   Everybody’s fool

           viii.   Lost in paradise

              ix.   Sweet sacrifice

                x.   My heart is broken

EVANESCENCE ~ Bringing New Life to Celtic Metal ~

Attention!!!

Although my love for music did not begin from Evanescence, as I was fond of the 90s music - Alternative Rock, Pop and Eurodance - the spark was indeed ignited by Bring Me To Life. The haunting melody and the dark lyrics managed to captivate my taste and I became obsessed with their music. I remember their first album released in 2003 "Fallen" by heart. Led by the vocal powerhouse that is Amy Lee, the band achieved monumental success in the 2000s and the band also laid the foundation for many more successful rock bands with a female lead. 

1. Going under

Fallen

2. Bring me to life

3. Everybody's fool

4. My immortal

5. Haunted

6. Tourniquet

7. Imaginary

8. Taking over me

9. Hello

10. My last breath

11. Whisper

This album was a monumental success for the band topping the charts in several countries and being certified Platinum by the RIAA. The band received 5 nominations for the album at the 46th Grammy Awards and won for Best New Artist and Best Hard Rock Performance. 

It is hard to define the genre that the band belongs to for its roots although are in Hard Rock, they tend to incorporate certain aspects of Celtic Metal, Gothic Rock, Symphonic Rock, Alternative Rock and even Soft Metal and Soft Rock. It is probably the most successful rock bands of all time with a female lead, although we can see bands such as Within Temptation and Nightwish making progress in that area.

When success thrives musicians fall apart, and just like this Evanescence too fell apart at the seams with co-founder Ben Moody leaving in 2003 due to "creative differences". Amy Lee stayed and gathered the pieces when three other members of the original band left as well. 

But in 2004 a live album titled "Anywhere But Home" was released with another set of awesome songs such as 

1. Farther away 

2. Missing 

3. Breathe No More 

and this included the songs from Fallen as well. 

Before all of this however Evanescence had done a demo CD title "Origin" in 2000 which had songs such as

Origin

1. Anywhere

2. Field of innocence

3. Where will you go

4. Even in death

5. Away from me

6. Lies

7. Eternal (instrumental) 

In 2006 the band released their second album "The Open Door" which although did not achieve the same success as Fallen did manage to capture the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200 and No.2 on the UK Albums Chart.  

1. Sweet Sacrifice

The Open Door

2. Call me when you're sober

3. Weight of the World

4. Lithium

5. Cloud Nine

6. Snow White Queen

7. Lacrymosa

8. Like you

9. Lose Control

10. The Only One

11. Your Star

12. All that I'm living for

13. Good enough

These songs were more or less leaning towards Alternative Metal and Gothic Rock. Nor do we see the elements of Symphonic Rock or Celtic Metal in this album other than in Lacrymosa. However this album did manage to get one nomination for the band at the 50th Grammy Awards. Other than Lacrymosa some other good songs are Weight of the world, Sweet Sacrifice and Call me when you're sober, The Only One, All That I'm living for and Cloud Nine. 

After this album it took the band nearly five years to return to the scene. Their third studio album was the self-titled Evanescence released in 2011. Although it topped the Billboard 200, the album was the band's least successful. While the band had returned with Celtic Metal elements, it was more rooted in Hard Rock and more dark and dreary than ever. 

1. What you want

2. Made of stone

3. The Change

4. My Heart is Broken

5. The Other Side

6. Erase this

7. Lost in paradise

8. Sick

9. End of the dream

10. Oceans

11. Never go back

12. Swimming home

13. A New way to bleed

14. The Last Song I'm wasting on you

Other than What you want and My heart is broken, the other songs in the album lack uniqueness and creativity which may be owing to the lack of the original line-up of the band. Moreover, the rock scene has shifted from being a hard rock oriented one to that of symphonic metal and celtic metal. If Evanescence wants to remain competitive they would have to go up against the likes of Within Temptation and Nightwish for even rock bands such as Nickelback and Linkin Park are slowly losing ground in the charts which used to adore them. 

Other great songs by Evanescence which have not appeared in their official albums in no particular order are:

1. Forever gone, forever you

2. Untitled (I must be dreaming)

3. Before the dawn

4. You

5. Forgive me

6. Anything for you

7. Together again

Imaginary by Evanescence remains my go-to song when I need to be either inspired or cheered up. I discovered the band when I was going through a really rough and tough time in my life. Each song of the first album managed to cater to the different emotions I felt at that time. Then of course I went in search of their other songs. From that period onwards I became an ardent music lover and my passion never ends with rock or metal but flows into almost all other genres. 

However, Evanescence needs to get its act together in order to survive at this point time. They need to go back to their origins and find out where they went wrong and not who left when. As long as Amy Lee is there which I believe is the heart and soul of the band, they will manage, but to be successful as they were once before, they seriously need to consider making changes to their current style of music and choice of songs. 

Therefore it is evident that Evanescence is an awesome band with a great array of unique songs. I obviously recommend their earlier songs, but we will have to wait and see what they will come up with next.

Til the next symphony...

At ease!!!