Editing Hard rock (section)

===Grunge and Britpop (1990s)===
{{main|Grunge|Britpop}}
Hard rock entered the 1990s as one of the dominant forms of commercial music. The multi-platinum releases of AC/DC's ''[[The Razors Edge (AC/DC album)|The Razors Edge]]'' (1990), Guns N' Roses' ''[[Use Your Illusion I]]'' and ''[[Use Your Illusion II]]'' (both in 1991),<ref name="Bogdanov2002Guns&Roses" /> Ozzy Osbourne's ''[[No More Tears]]'' (1991),<ref>{{Cite web |title=RIAA Gold & Platinum database |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=no%20more%20tears&artist=&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |access-date=16 February 2009 |website=[[Recording Industry Association of America]]}}</ref> and Van Halen's ''[[For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge]]'' (1991) showcased this popularity.<ref name=AllmusicVanHalen/> Additionally, [[the Black Crowes]] released their debut album, ''[[Shake Your Money Maker (album)|Shake Your Money Maker]]'' (1990), which contained a bluesy classic rock sound and sold five million copies.<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-black-crowes-p3688/biography "The Black Crowes ''Shake Your Money Maker''"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 13 February 2011.</ref><ref name="RIAA">{{Cite web |title=RIAA Certifications |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=The%20Black%20Crowes&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2007&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |access-date=16 January 2010 |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]]}}</ref> In 1992, Def Leppard followed up 1987's ''Hysteria'' with ''[[Adrenalize]]'', which went multi-platinum, spawned four Top 40 singles and held the number one spot on the US album chart for five weeks.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A425828 "Def Leppard – the Band"] BBC h2g2, retrieved 18 June 2010.</ref>

[[File:Nirvana around 1992.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] were at the forefront of the 1990s [[grunge]] era.]]
While these few hard rock bands managed to maintain success and popularity in the early part of the decade, [[Alternative rock|alternative forms]] of hard rock achieved mainstream success in the form of [[grunge]] in the US and [[Britpop]] in the UK. This was particularly evident after the success of [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s ''[[Nevermind]]'' (1991), which combined elements of [[hardcore punk]] and heavy metal into a "dirty" sound that made use of heavy guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback, along with darker lyrical themes than their "hair band" predecessors.<ref name="AllmusicGrunge">[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2679|pure_url=yes}} "Grunge"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 18 June 2010.</ref><ref name=AllmusicHairMetal/><ref name=Bogdanov2002Alternative/> Although most grunge bands had a sound that sharply contrasted mainstream hard rock, several, including [[Pearl Jam]],<ref>S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5118|pure_url=yes}} "Pearl Jam"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 23 June 2010.</ref> [[Alice in Chains]], [[Mother Love Bone]] and [[Soundgarden]], were more strongly influenced by 1970s and 1980s rock and metal, while [[Stone Temple Pilots]] managed to turn alternative rock into a form of stadium rock.<ref>A. Budofsky, ''The Drummer: 100 Years of Rhythmic Power and Invention'' (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006), {{ISBN|1-4234-0567-6}}, p. 148.</ref><ref>S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p26075|pure_url=yes}} "Stone Temple Pilots"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref> However, all grunge bands shunned the macho, anthemic and fashion-focused aesthetics particularly associated with glam metal.<ref name=AllmusicGrunge/> In the UK, [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] were unusual among the Britpop bands of the mid-1990s in incorporating a hard rock sound.<ref name=AllMusicHard/> Welsh band [[Manic Street Preachers]] emerged in 1991 with a sound [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] proclaimed to be "crunching hard-rock".<ref name="ammanics">{{Cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |title=Manic Street Preachers – Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/manic-street-preachers-mn0000954964/biography |access-date=12 November 2020 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> By 1996, the band enjoyed remarkable vogue throughout much of the world, but were commercially unsuccessful in the U.S.<ref name="ammanics" />

In the new commercial climate glam metal bands like Europe, Ratt,<ref name=AllmusicRatt/> White Lion<ref name=AllmusicWhiteLion/> and Cinderella<ref name=AllmusicCinderella/> broke up, Whitesnake went on hiatus in 1991, and while many of these bands would re-unite again in the late 1990s or early 2000s, they never reached the commercial success they saw in the 1980s or early 1990s.<ref name="AllmusicHairMetal">[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2693|pure_url=yes}} "Hair metal"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 14 June 2010.</ref> Other bands such as Mötley Crüe<ref name=Bogdanov2002MotleyCrue/> and Poison<ref name=AllmusicPoison/> saw personnel changes which impacted those bands' commercial viability during the decade. In 1995 Van Halen released ''[[Balance (Van Halen album)|Balance]]'', a multi-platinum seller that would be the band's last with Sammy Hagar on vocals. In 1996 [[David Lee Roth]] returned briefly and his replacement, former [[Extreme (band)|Extreme]] singer [[Gary Cherone]], was fired soon after the release of the commercially unsuccessful 1998 album ''[[Van Halen III]]'' and Van Halen would not tour or record again until 2004.<ref name=AllmusicVanHalen/> Guns N' Roses' original lineup was whittled away throughout the decade. Drummer [[Steven Adler]] was fired in 1990, guitarist [[Izzy Stradlin]] left in late 1991 after recording ''Use Your Illusion I and II'' with the band. Tensions between the other band members and lead singer [[Axl Rose]] continued after the release of the 1993 covers album ''[[The Spaghetti Incident?]]''<!-- Don't add a period; see MOS:CONSECUTIVE --> Guitarist [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] left in 1996, followed by bassist [[Duff McKagan]] in 1997. Axl Rose, the only original member, worked with a constantly changing lineup in recording an album that would take over fifteen years to complete.<ref name="AllmusicGn">S. T. Erlewine and G. Prato, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4416|pure_url=yes}} "Guns N' Roses"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.</ref> Slash and McKagan eventually rejoined the band in 2016 and went on the [[Not in this Lifetime... Tour]] with them.

[[File:Foo Fighters Live 29.jpg|thumb|250px|left|[[Foo Fighters]] performing an acoustic show in 2007]]
Some established acts continued to enjoy commercial success, such as Aerosmith, with their number one multi-platinum albums: ''[[Get a Grip]]'' (1993), which produced four hit singles and became the band's best-selling album worldwide (going on to sell over 10&nbsp;million copies), and ''[[Nine Lives (Aerosmith album)|Nine Lives]]'' (1997). In 1998, Aerosmith released the hit "[[I Don't Want to Miss a Thing]]".<ref name=AllmusicAerosmith/> AC/DC produced the double platinum ''[[Ballbreaker]]'' (1995).<ref name="AllmusicAC/DCOnline">S. T. Erlewine, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3496|pure_url=yes}} "AC/DC"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 July 2010.</ref> Bon Jovi appealed to their hard rock audience with songs such as "[[Keep the Faith (Bon Jovi song)|Keep the Faith]]" (1992), but also achieved success in [[adult contemporary]] radio, with the hit ballads "[[Bed of Roses (Bon Jovi song)|Bed of Roses]]" (1993) and "[[Always (Bon Jovi song)|Always]]" (1994).<ref name=AllmusicBonJovi/> Bon Jovi's 1995 album ''[[These Days (Bon Jovi album)|These Days]]'' was a bigger hit in Europe than it was in the United States,<ref>{{Cite web |title=the biography of Bon Jovi – singer life story |url=http://www.poemhunter.com/lyrics/bon-jovi/biography/ |access-date=2013-04-18}}</ref> spawning four hit singles in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bon Jovi Songs (Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography) |url=http://www.rockvf.com/Bon+Jovi.art |access-date=2013-04-18}}</ref> Metallica's ''[[Load (album)|Load]]'' (1996) and ''[[Reload (Metallica album)|ReLoad]]'' (1997) each sold in excess of 4&nbsp;million copies in the US and saw the band develop a more melodic and blues rock sound.<ref name="AllmusicMetallica">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 729–30.</ref> As the initial impetus of grunge bands faltered in the middle years of the decade, [[post-grunge]] bands emerged. They emulated the attitudes and music of grunge, particularly thick, distorted guitars, but with a more radio-friendly commercially oriented sound that drew more directly on traditional hard rock.<ref name="AllmusicPostGrunge">[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2771|pure_url=yes}} "Post-grunge"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 17 January 2010.</ref> Among the most successful acts were the [[Foo Fighters]], [[Candlebox]], [[Live (band)|Live]], [[Collective Soul]], Australia's [[Silverchair]] and England's [[Bush (British band)|Bush]], who all cemented post-grunge as one of the most commercially viable subgenres by the late 1990s.<ref name="Bogdanov2002Alternative">V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp. 1344–7.</ref><ref name=AllmusicPostGrunge/> Similarly, some [[post-Britpop]] bands that followed in the wake of Oasis, including [[Feeder (band)|Feeder]] and [[Stereophonics]], adopted a hard rock or "pop-metal" sound.<ref>J. Ankeny, [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p224868|pure_url=yes}} "Feeder"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref><ref>J. Damas, [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r415693|pure_url=yes}} "Stereophonics: Performance and Cocktails"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010.</ref>{{clear}}