 | | The brainchild of former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, Rainbow quickly developed into one of the '70s most successful heavy metal bands behind charismatic front man Ronnie James Dio. |
 | | Known best for their 1984 anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and the 1990 ballad "Wind of Change," German rockers the Scorpions have sold over 22 million records, making them one of the most successful rock bands to ever come out of Continental Europe. |
 | | With their 1978 eponymous debut, Van Halen simultaneously rewrote the rules of rock guitar and hard rock in general. |
 | | Over the course of their decades-spanning career, Canadian power trio Rush emerged as one of hard rock's most highly regarded bands; although typically brushed aside by critics and rarely the recipients of mainstream pop radio airplay, Rush nonetheless won an impressive and devoted fan following, while their virtuoso performance skills solidified their standing as musicians' musicians. |
 | | Although they were initially grouped with the legions of pop-metal bands that dominated the American heavy metal scene of the '80s, Queensrÿche were one of the most distinctive bands of the era. |
 | | For a brief spell during the mid-'80s, the heavy metal quintet Dio were one of the top U.S. concert attractions, boasting one of the most over the top stage acts of its time loaded with props and special effects (lasers, explosions, a giant dragon, etc. |
 | | Judas Priest was one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the '70s, spearheading the New Wave of British Heavy Metal late in the decade. |
 | | Ratt's brash, melodic heavy metal made the Los Angeles quintet one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-'80s. |
 | | At a time when the charts were ruled by pop-metal acts, Dokken was a major attraction throughout the 1980s. |
 | | In many ways, Def Leppard were the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. There were many bands that rocked harder (and were more dangerous) than the Sheffield-based quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well. |
 | | Although Tesla emerged during the glory days of hair metal, the band's music was equally indebted to contemporary blues and '70s-style hard rock, a fusion that helped differentiate albums like The Great Radio Controversy from its contemporaries. |
 | | After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977. |
 | | Rooted in the campy theatrics of Alice Cooper and the sleazy hard rock of glam rockers the New York Dolls, Kiss became a favorite of American teenagers in the '70s. |
 | | Though many bands have succeeded in earning the hatred of parents and media worldwide throughout the past few decades, arguably only such acts as Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, and Marilyn Manson have tied the controversial record of Ozzy Osbourne. |
 | | After spending several years as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the mid-'70s hard rock band Montrose, Sammy Hagar began a solo career that produced several hits and made him an album rock favorite. |
 | | Featuring ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Brad Gillis and former Montrose keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald, Night Ranger was one of the most popular mainstream hard rock bands of the mid-'80s. |
 | | Mötley Crüe were one of the most influential hair metal bands of the '80s, boasting a striking visual presence and hedonistic reputation rivaled only by Guns N' Roses. |
 | | Black Sabbath have been so influential in the development of heavy metal rock music as to be a defining force in the style. |
 | | Skid Row were one of the very last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s. |
 | | Blue Öyster Cult was the thinking man's heavy metal group. Put together on a college campus by a couple of rock critics, it maintained a close relationship with a series of literary figures (often in the fields of science fiction and horror), including Eric Von Lustbader, Patti Smith, Michael Moorcock, and Stephen King, while turning out some of the more listenable metal music of the early and mid-'70s. |
 | | Switzerland's most successful hard rock band, Krokus enjoyed international popularity in the 1980s and onward for their aggressive, straightforward variety of European metal. |
 | | Many point to Billy Squier as early-'80s rock personified -- an era when he and many of his peers tempered hard rock with pop melodicism -- and by adding just the right amount of posing and posturing for the newly constructed MTV set, he scored a string of arena rock anthems and power ballads. |
 | | Hard rock band Cinderella gained success in the mid-'80s, turning out a series of million-selling albums and hit singles while placing music videos in heavy rotation on MTV. |
 | | Throughout his lengthy career, guitar wildman Ted Nugent has reveled in the controversy and criticism that always seems to follow in his path. |
 | | AC/DC's mammoth power chord roar became one of the most influential hard rock sounds of the '70s. In its own way, it was a reaction against the pompous art rock and lumbering arena rock of the early '70s. |
 | | For a very brief moment, Quiet Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. Famously described as the first heavy metal band to top the pop chart (a claim that greatly depends on one's exact definition of heavy metal), the Los Angeles quartet became an overnight sensation thanks to their monster 1983 smash album Metal Health. |
 | | Formed in 1973, the British hard rock outfit Bad Company was a supergroup comprised of ex-King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell, former Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs, and singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, both previous members of Free. |
 | | The arena rock group behind one of the fastest-selling debut albums in history, Boston was essentially the vehicle of studio wizard Tom Scholz, born March 10, 1947, in Toledo, OH. |
 | | Although they began as an artsy prog rock band, Styx would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late '70s and early '80s, due to a fondness for bombastic rockers and soaring power ballads. |
 | | One of the most popular North American rock bands of the 1980s, Loverboy scored a string of multi-platinum albums and hit singles with their canny blend of pop hooks and polished but energetic arena rock. |
 | | With a pair of double-platinum albums and three Top Ten singles, Warrant were one of the most popular pop-metal bands of the late '80s. |
 | | Known for such powerful hits as "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "The Trooper," Iron Maiden were and are one of the most influential bands of the heavy metal genre. |
 | | Originally, there was a band called Alice Cooper led by a singer named Vincent Damon Furnier. Under his direction, Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal that was designed to shock. |
 | | Although veterans of the Sunset Strip's hair metal scene, L.A. Guns are also known for being one of the two bands (along with Hollywood Rose) that merged in the mid-'80s to form Guns N' Roses. |
 | | While one infamous nightclub show eclipsed their previous achievements, the hard rock/heavy metal band Great White would much rather you remember their Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, the over six million records they sold, and their double platinum album . |
 | | At a time when pop was dominated by dance music and pop-metal, Guns N' Roses brought raw, ugly rock & roll crashing back into the charts. |
 | | Initially, .38 Special were one of many Southern rock bands in the vein of the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd; in fact, the band was led by Donnie Van Zant, the brother of Skynyrd's leader, Ronnie Van Zant. |
 | | While quite a few arena rock acts of the '70s found the transformation into the '80s quite difficult, several acts continued to flourish and enjoyed some of their biggest commercial success: Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, and especially Foreigner. |
 | | April Wine formed in late 1969 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but vocalist/guitarist Myles Goodwyn, guitarist David Henman, drummer Ritchie Henman, and bassist Jimmy Henman soon moved to Montreal. |
 | | For a brief time in the early '90s, the supergroup Damn Yankees enjoyed a considerable amount of success on the arena rock circuit. |
 | | Deep Purple survived a seemingly endless series of lineup changes and a dramatic mid-career shift from grandiose progressive rock to ear-shattering heavy metal to emerge as a true institution of the British hard rock community; once credited in The Guinness Book of World Records as the globe's loudest band, their revolving-door roster launched the careers of performers including Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, and Ian Gillan. |
 | | A product of New York City's early-'70s glam rock scene, Twisted Sister were eager students of the New York Dolls, with the theatrics of Kiss and the shock rock of Alice Cooper thrown in for good measure. |
 | | Combining a love for British guitar pop songcraft with crunching power chords and a flair for the absurd, Cheap Trick provided the necessary links between '60s pop, heavy metal, and punk. |
 | | One of the heavier bands to come out of the early-'80s L.A. metal scene, W.A.S.P. quickly rose to national infamy thanks to their shock rock image, lyrics, and live concerts. |
 | | Aerosmith were one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the next two decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. |
 | | Former Vinnie Vincent Invasion members Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum formed Slaughter with guitarist Tim Kelly and drummer Blas Elias in 1988 in an attempt to cross over to pop audiences. |
 | | With their brutal, simple riffs and aggressive, fast tempos, Accept were one of the top metal bands of the early '80s, and a major influence on the development of thrash. |
 | | After ushering in the era of pop-metal with their 1986 blockbuster Slippery When Wet and its hit singles “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and “Living on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi wound up transcending the big-haired ‘80s, withstanding changes in style and sound to become one of the biggest American rock bands of their time, selling over 120 million albums worldwide, and sustaining their popularity well into the new millennium. |
 | | Led Zeppelin was the definitive heavy metal band. It wasn't just their crushingly loud interpretation of the blues -- it was how they incorporated mythology, mysticism, and a variety of other genres (most notably world music and British folk) -- into their sound. |
 | | Led by former Ratt guitarist Marq Torien, the L.A. metal band Bulletboys also included ex-King Kobra guitarist Mick Sweda, bassist Lonnie Vincent, and drummer Jimmy d'Anda. |
![Rock & Roll Machine [TML] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/21514/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Rock & Roll Machine [TML] Album Cover")
