Hard rock in the United States derives ultimately from the so-called 'garage' bands of the mid-1960's, who took their inspiration from the pioneering bands of the British invasion - The Kinks and The Rolling Stones in particular. (The first hit single incorporating a 'power chord' was The Kinks' You Really Got Me in 1964.
Another seminal influence was the guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix, a benchmark and inspiration for all budding soloists within the genre. Hendrix died in 1970, after which hard rock was rapidly engulfed by the mainstream commercial realm of glam rock, epitomised by Alice Cooper and the arena rock of Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith and Van Halen. The 1970's scene nevertheless harboured the seeds of U.S. heavy metal in the psychedelic rock of Vanilla Fudge, the hard rock of Grand Funk Railroad and glam rockers Kiss.

The resurgence of British heavy metal in early 1980's - a high volume, minor key riff-and-groove based sound laden with dark and often grandiose lyrics - triggered the rise of it's U.S. equivalent - 'thrash metal' - an accelerated derivative propounded by Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica, whose tendency to dispense with vocal melody altogether in favour of sheer volume, speed and showmanship stretches the definition of what constitues a song its absolute limits.

Meanwhile back at the arena, Van Halen's 1985 break-up brought in the so-called 'hair metal' of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Motley Crue, whose trademark power ballads drew on the romantic rock of bands such as Boston and Foreigner. Guns 'N' Roses brought the hard edge of punk to hair metal, presaging the rise of grunge, a Seattle-based nihilistic alternative sound initiated by Green River, eventually finding its spokesman in Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Nirvana brought alternative hard rock and metal closer to the mainstream, but after Cobain's suicide in 1994 the scene declined in popularity and split into hybrids of those two styles with elements of progressive, funk, punk and rap, the most evident exponents of which include Korn, Marilyn Manson, Limp Bizkit, Nine Inch Nails, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers the glam/thrash metal band Pantera and Dave Grohl's all-conquering outfit The Foo Fighters.

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