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word of advice : this article contains discussion of self-destructive ideation and gunman violence , as well as line drawing of self - harm . There are a lot of reason to love laborious rock medicine . As a music genre , it ’s incredibly flexible and muscular , and it ’s always evolving ; what we cerebrate of as just " backbreaking " today would have been considered impenetrable alloy back in the 80s , while much of what used to be metallic element has , through technology and tasting changing and the increase homogenization of what suffer radio looseness , recede a lot of its edge over the years . Yet hard rock lovers always arrive back to the soreness of the literary genre — how , sometimes at the cost of eloquence , it ’s about unfiltered emotion .
spate of hard rock is uptempo and full of bravado , which is why it ’s commonly used in commercials for such butch product as light beer and pickup motortruck with bed that are too short to stockpile baseball bat . Butplenty of hard rock ‘n’ roll is full of unfeigned grief and pain , stories of loss and veneration , and even interview if life is really deserving living . Here are ten hard stone hitting that are guaranteed to pluck your heartstrings and leave you wailing like a guitar solo .
10Shinedown - “45”
Leave a Whisper (2003)
With a terrible metaphor at its spunk , Shinedown ’s " 45 " is an achingly knock-down Sung that clearly resonated with a lot of listeners , as it made it fairly high on both the U.S. Modern Rock and U.S. Mainstream Rock charts when it released as a exclusive ( placing twelfth and third , respectively ) , as well as eventually being attest Pt by the RIAA . In fact the song ’s only detractors seemed to be MTV , who at first undertake to air the song ’s video in a censor build and then prune it wholly due to concerns over the lyrics purportedly promoting hit man violence .
track singer and songwriter of Shinedown Brent Smith disaccord with MTV ’s choice , point out that the call ’s lyrics are a metaphor and a word of advice . In a 2005 interview with FoundryMusic , he say :
[ T]he song is basically about the day that you arouse up and you look at yourself in the mirror and you lastly adjudicate that you desire to attempt to become well-off in your own peel , and realize that you ’re gon na have to make yourself happy before you ’re going to make anyone else happy . And fundamentally , the 45 is n’t an actual real full term for a gun , I used it as a metaphor for the world … Because I ’ve been in that situation where I did n’t know if I desire to continue going on and I did n’t know how to inevitably make myself well-off with who I was , trying to happen a style of memorize more about myself . And you come from a grim position sometimes , and that ’s really the reality of the song . It ’s about get the best and about moving forrader . ( via theInternet Archive )
That dark is clearly on display in Smith ’s voice throughout the song ashis vocals ring with foiling and pain . The gentle guitar arpeggios in the poesy serve as a fragile counterpoint to the trudge calendar method of the chorus , sonically reflecting that tone of look into the mirror and not know how to make yourself happy , or not even knowing if it ’s worth assay to go about your Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
Yet , like Smith said , at the core , it ’s about overcoming and run forward . Grief is heavy , despair is heavier still , butthe only way out is through .
9Puddle of Mudd - “Blurry”
Come Clean (2001)
" Blurry " was Missouri - based rockersPuddle of Mudd ’s most successful birdcall by miles , and in fact was the most successful rock song in all of 2002 ; it topped four ofBillboard ’s musical genre rankings when it was released , as well as peak at # 5 on the Hot 100 , and was # 1 on the year - end Mainstream and Modern Rock charts to boot . It was also licensed for 2004 ’s Namco flight simulatorAce scrap 5 : The Unsung War , where it was used as a key opus of character exploitation to highlight the game ’s anti - war themes .
To this day , " Blurry " remain an instantly recognizable Sung , with its opening of shimmer guitar harmonics and singer Wes Scantlin ’s fluent vocals . The raw hungriness in his articulation on the recording is no affectation ; when Puddle of Mudd was recordingCome Clean , their debut record album , Scantlin had only just see his bandmates , as label Flawless Records had changed the band ’s entire lineup in progression of the recording session . As Scantlin toldAmerican Songwriter , " ' Blurry ' was basically about being flown to freaking Los Angeles and y’know … I did n’t know anybody at all . And I was just missing my family . "
Loneliness and fearfulness are powerful emotions , and the amount contain in"Blurry " clearly come across with listeners worldwide with how successful the song was . It ’s a phenomenal ballad about loss and muddiness , and even with how much play it has gotten , it still remains just as sinewy as it was upon release .
8Disturbed - “The Sound of Silence”
Immortalized (2015)
The original version of " The Sound of Silence , " free in 1965 by legendary phratry distich Simon & Garfunkel , was a wildly successful exclusive . While Disturbed ’s cover , released almost on the nose fifty years after the original , never quite accomplish the same heights on the chart , it was a turning point going for the nu - metal stripe , and even garnered congratulations from Paul Simon himself after the set perform it survive on Conan O’Brien ’s lecture show in March of 2016 .
Frontman and vocalist David Draiman has always been renowned for his unequaled and muscular vocalism – so intense he damaged his vocal cords , requiring reconstructive surgery in 2001 that forced him to change his telling technique for the transcription of their second record album , Believe – but with " The Sound of Silence , " something came alive inside him , fetch out a vocal dynamism fueled by heartbreak that drips out of every bit of the performance . While the original is a thoughtful cautionary story about societal apathy , Disturbed ’s cover is redolent with grieffor every real tragedy that has happened in the interceding half - century .
The lively execution fromConanis even more muscular ; there was no recording studio apartment to take tax shelter in , no production tricks to cover up any flaw , just Draiman onstage , on national television , back by his bandmates and a small chamber orchestra . It ’s a beautiful , truly transcendent functioning .
7Frank Turner - “Plain Sailing Weather”
Tape Deck Heart (2013)
English hardcore - turned - folk - toughie musician Frank Turner has an unbelievable career given how little medium buzz he ’s gotten in the U.S. From London ’s tiny indie venue of Nambucca to the 2012 Olympics pre - show to launching the Lost Evenings festival , which has already schedule its 8th year running for September 2025,he has always been one of the hardest - work men in rock ‘n’ roll and roll . He described his 2013 passing , Tape Deck Heart , as a break - up album " about what happens when something that was supposed to be timeless run out of time " ( viaDance Yrself Clean ) .
The record album as a whole explores that from every slant , but " Plain Sailing Weather , " buried in the middle of the first side , is the rawest call there , full of not only grief but self - recrimination and thwarting . " Amélielied to me , " the first poesy says , cite the far-out 2001 French wild-eyed comedy . " Plain Sailing Weather " is the net supplication from someone who roll in the hay there ’s no chance they ’ll be heard , but still are compelled to make it . It’sa high - octane prayer for forgiveness to a goddess long gone .
6Seether (featuring Amy Lee) - “Broken”
The Punisher: The Album (2004)
" Broken " was first commemorate as a unproblematic membranophone - and - acoustical - guitar ballad that was used as the closing track onDisclaimer , Seether ’s entry record album . While authentically sorry – vocalist Shaun Morgan wrote it when he be active to the United States from his house rural area of South Africa in 2002 , lead his married woman and girl behind – the original track earn little attention liken to the stripe ’s dingy I .
All that changed when " Broken " was rerecorded for the soundtrack of 2004’sThe Punisher , with Evanescence singer Amy Lee brought on to make the track into a duet , and the instrumentation was reworked for the full band and augmented with a full string part . Here , the in the beginning subdued lyrics explode with tragic power , as the vocalist shift from harmonizing with each other to sing in unison , yet never get hold each other . It ’s a memorable ballad of love , loss , and awful hope for a better future that ’s improbable to arrive .
5Linkin Park - “Numb”
Meteora (2003)
While some critic reprobate Linkin Park ’s second album for sounding too similar to their debut , Hybrid Theory , there ’s no question thatMeteoradelivered exactly what fans wantedwhen it went right to the top of theBillboard200 upon its release . Moreover , the album stayed on that chart until 2006 , and returned to it when the 20th anniversary edition was released in 2023 . The vocal was also included in the setlist for the streamed show that serve as the prescribed entry of the band ’s new singer , Emily Armstrong .
" Numb " is one of Linkin Park ’s most enduring songs , and was their endorsement to pass one billion stream on Spotify;Billboardranked it as the 59th - big bang in the chronicle of their Alternative Airplay chart in 2023 . The racetrack is the unadulterated distillate of Linkin Park ’s early strait , with Chester Bennington ’s vocals that so effortlessly switch from an almost gentle insisting need for affirmation to his signature roar of frustration , Mike Shinoda ’s financial backing rap ( amazingly minimize here compared to other parts ofMeteora ) , and the electronically - infuse metal riffs of the dance band all make out together for a utter , tragic epic poem .
4The Protomen - “Breaking Out”
Act II: The Father of Death (2009)
Although The Protomen may seem like a gimmick band , with members having stage gens like Raul Panther III , Shock Magnum , and K.I.L.R.O.Y.,beneath the facile body paint and copious Mega Man source lies the flap heart of the smashing affair to happen to rock opera since Meat Loaf . While their first record album , 2005 ’s self - titledThe Protomen , had a straightforward rock-and-roll phone , 2009 ’s follow - upAct II : The Father of Deathexpanded their approach .
While explaining the plot of land of the still - incomplete rock opera house thatAct IIis a part of would be an clause unto itself , " Breaking Out " is self - explanatory . With a speech sound that ’s partBat Out of Helland partBorn to Run , it ’s a slipstream against meter to get free of a die world . With a driving bass metal drum evoking a twinkling , the song make and work up as the protagonist finds their resolve to escape the confines of their everyday life , throw off the shackles of conformity , and find exemption in the face of all the betting odds .
3The Smith Street Band - “Throw Me In The River”
Throw Me In The River (2014)
Melbourne , Australia ’s Smith Street Band are one of the Southern Hemisphere ’s hidden gems of sway and scroll , with a unappeasable Springsteen - meets - Pat - the - Bunny tenderness that explains why they ’ve been such a pillar of the Australian indie - stone tantrum since the going of 2011’sNo One Gets lose Anymore . Throw Me in the Riverwas their third studio apartment passing , and while the title caterpillar track was never relinquish as a single , it definitely serve as the album ’s emotional essence .
" Throw Me in the River " is another separation birdsong , an ode to possess your heart broken , and resonates with that part of anyone who has been allow feeling so useless , the only thing they could be good for any longer is food for the fishes . After all , when you ’re " already in the process of getting manducate up and spat out , " a little drowning ca n’t make it much worse .
2The Gaslight Anthem - “The Backseat”
The ‘59 Sound (2008)
Another heavily Springsteen - influenced grouping , the Gaslight Anthem are heirs to a plentiful tradition of New Jersey punks , having once been described in a review for their 2nd release , 2008’sSeñor and the QueenEP , as " what pop music would be if Springsteen had n’t mind to his manufacturer , let the Ramones record the song , and launched the C.B.G.B.‘ers into megastardom " ( viaSobriquet Magazine ) .
" The Backseat " is another song very much in this musical vein , heavily evoking the similarly - titled " Backstreets " off Springsteen ’s seminalBorn to Runwithout ever feeling like a unmediated copy . Butthat remarkably New Jersey yearning for finding one ’s shoes in the existence , for eking out what little scrap of pleasure and life and space you may , rings brassy , even all the way in the back prat .
1The Offspring - “Gone Away”
Ixnay on the Hombre (1997)
While The Offspring ’s first release with Columbia Records was n’t nearly the commercial-grade succeeder their previous albumSmashwas , Ixnay on the Hombremarked an evolution in phone for the punks from Garden Grove , with tight production and more of a post - grunge approach . The following year’sAmericanawould further better on this formula , butIxnayhas still endure , and"Gone aside " remains a hallmark of the Offspring ’s alive sets to this mean solar day .
Aside from the CMAs , Kerrang ! Awards , OC Music Awards , and Billboard Music Award he has won from his work with The Offspring , frontman Dexter Holland also has a PhD in molecular biology , putting him in an esteemed class of famous rock musicians and scientist that also includes Queen ’s Brian May .
rumour about the intake for " Gone off " circle for class , mostly center around the possibility that it was compose about the tragic loss of a loved one , but it was n’t until a 2021 interview withLos Otros Recordsthat Dexter Holland explain that the vocal ’s Book of Genesis was n’t quite so non-white . Specifically , it was from a brush with deathfrom a possibly crew - relate drive - by pullulate in a Baskin - Robbins where Holland and his wife were waiting to buy internal-combustion engine ointment .
Custom image by Zahra Huselid.
I get laid I wanted the song to be lumbering , but I did n’t bed what it was going to be about yet , but it was kind of like the feeling of - in a weird way , I know it ’s not a direct connection , if you recognize what I think of , but it made you consider about die , about grief and about what that would experience like , and what if my wife had been the one ?
