Guides

The 1990s alternative rock scene did more than produce a run of beloved records. It changed the definition of mainstream guitar music, making room for…

Rock music and horror cinema share a fascination with fear, rebellion, and the parts of human nature that polite culture prefers to hide. One works through…

Few subjects belong to rock as naturally as the open road. Highways offer distance, speed, risk, and the promise that the next town might reveal a different…

A great rock guitar solo can turn a strong song into a permanent memory. It may last only 20 seconds, yet a few bends, a sharp rhythmic phrase, or one…

Rock fashion has always been louder than a set of clothes. A leather jacket, a torn T-shirt, or a pair of battered boots can signal rebellion, belonging,…

A great live album is more than a document of a concert. It captures the split-second decisions, imperfect edges, crowd electricity, and sheer volume that can…

Rock has always reinvented itself through artists who refuse to fit its expected shape. In the 2020s, female-led bands are driving that renewal with sharp…

Los Angeles quartet Gravel Mercy does not sound interested in polishing the dust off its boots. On Blacktop Gospel, the band’s new five-track EP, guitar riffs…

Classic rock would sound radically different without the organ. Guitars may carry the riffs, drums may drive the attack, and bass may anchor the low end, but…

Rock concerts are built around release: loud guitars, physical energy, communal shouting, and the temporary feeling that ordinary rules have been suspended.…