ARENA ROCK

'Arena rock' is a loosely defined style of rock music, often also called 'anthem rock' or 'stadium rock'. Arena rock is usually medium hard rock, but lacks the edginess or rage often inherent in heavy metal. Glam metal is also included in arena rock, and many so-called "arena rock" stations in fact play mostly glam metal. Simple rhythms, acoustic/electric guitar interplay, and keyboards define the instrumental sound, and vocally the music is far closer to mainstream pop than most hard rock or metal.
In the mid 1960s, the tremendous popularity of the Beatles led to the use of larger venues to accommodate audiences. The Rolling Stones and The Who followed later, bringing their concerts to sports arenas in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Beatles' 1965 appearance at New York City's Shea Stadium is often cited as the first "arena rock" concert. Arena rock as a genre arose in the mid 1970s and became incredibly popular. The music became more commercially oriented and radio-friendly, boasting slick productions and anthemic choruses, both on their hard rock numbers and their sweeping power ballads. Most of these bands earned their following through saturation airplay on FM radio and through constant touring. Bands like Heart, Boston, Foreigner, Styx, and, later, Journey, Huey Lewis and the News, REO Speedwagon, and others, became some of the most popular bands of the mid- to late 1970s and 1980s through this circuit.
The rise of MTV and new wave music adversely affected many of these groups, but some continued to be successful in the 1980s. Glam metal bands such as Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard, in retrospect, are essentially a continuation of this style and sound. Indeed, even some heavy metal acts were able to break into the fold such as Metallica with their extensive stadium tour in 1992. This marked a change from the band's initial desire to shun "mass market" practices, but showed that as the popularity of a group increases, so too must the venue at which it performs. However, "arena rock" retains much of its pejorative meaning, as some popular alternative rock groups of the 1990s such as Stone Temple Pilots were tagged with this label by dismissive critics. In the early 2000s, Creed was similarly labeled.

Contents

See also

See also

★ Anthem rock

★ Arena Rock Recording Co.

★ Skate rock