Best US Rock Bands

Well what can I say, as an Australian I'm envious of my allies in the US, as the US harbours some of the most talented musicians, and bands to have ever walked the earth. Think about the bands over the past three decades, to have come out of the US, it's staggering how many have shaped society, and influenced peoples perspective on various topics and life in general. In the 70's music was at the core of evolution, with technology advancing rapidly in the music industry, many bands were starting to create their own unique sound, and shape the way we relate to music. To list just 5 of what I believe to be the best bands to come out of the US, is definitely a very difficult task, but when choosing these bands, not only did I base my selections on talent, sound and originality, but also on how much impact they have made to society and man kind. Please Keep in mind this is only my opinion!

The greatest band to have ever come out of the US in my opinion is Tool. A band that consists of 4 members, based in LA California, have produced some of the most well thought, mind bending music known to man. Their debut album named Opiate was released in 1992, and was a very raw honest sound, leaving listeners intrigued. A year later tool released their second studio album by the name of Undertow, a toned down, dull dark progression from Opiate. Three years later in 1996 tool would release Anema, which shook the world and people opened their ears to something not quite heard before. Following on from that, they released Lateralus a whopping five years later, and once again they produced an epic progression from Anema, and was an instant success. Their most recent album is 10,000 Days, released in 2006, a hard hitting brutal look at the world and the current state we are in, the album provides big thick riffs and mind blowing sections of music with unbelievable vocals, which is always to be expected from front man Maynard James Keenan.

Originally formed in 1981 and named Faith No Man, the band had a reshuffle and recruitment of other musicians began. In 1983 the band was renamed to it's current name Faith No More, a name that would etch the history books as one of the best musical outfits ever. Through a trial and error process the band at one stage had Courtney love singing for them, but finally found their way to Mike Patton, the singer who would fit the final piece to the puzzle. The music Faith No More produced, can not be pigeon holed into one single genre, some saying its a cross between thrash metal, jazz, progressive, funk and rock, just to name a few. Front man Mike Patton was exactly that, an eccentric character that could entertain like no other, with his regular on stage antics. The discography of faith no more in order of release are: We Care a lot (1985), Introduce Yourself (1987), The Real Thing (1989), Angel Dust (1992), King For A Day...Fool For A Lifetime (1995) and Album Of The Year (1997).

Undoubtedly one of the all time great bands, and a huge influence on music culture today. The Doors were formed in 1965, and were based out of LA California. Fronted by enigmatic character Jim Morrison, the band quickly established themselves as a quality act. Incredible melodies, the eccentricity of Morrison’s lyrics and on stage behaviour drew the crowds, and a cult following was formed. The Doors were the must see act in the late 60s and 70s, producing 9 albums of sheer brilliance. Albums include: Strange Days (1967), Waiting for the Sun (1968), The Soft Parade (1969), Morrison Hotel (1970), L.A. Woman (1971), Other Voices (1971), Full Circle (1972) and An American Prayer (1978). Jim Morrison’s life was cut short when he was found dead in his bath tub in 1971, from suspected heart failure. Morrison may have died that day, but his music lives on.

This is one of the hardest hitting bands I have ever heard. Rage Against The Machine, also know as RATM, were formed in 1991. There a 4 members, and are from LA California. RATM have been described as Heavy Metal, Rap, Hip Hop, Funk, and cannot be labelled any one specific genre. RATM are a fast, powerful, hard hitting style of music, leaving no prisoners. Known, around the world as a fast talking, aggressive thinking, smart walking outfit, they are regarded as a highly provocative band, with strong, intelligent, in your face vocals from front man Zack de la Rocha, is known for his strong political standpoints.RATM released 4 studio albums, with their first self titled, Rage Against The Machine (1992), then followed, Evil Empire (1996), The Battle Of Los Angeles (1999) and Renegades (2000). Reason for such a skinny discography, may be the consequence of band members being involved in other musical projects, most notably Bass guitarist Tim Commerford and Lead Guitarist Tom Morello joining Audioslave.

Formed in 1983 the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, also referred to as the Chilli Peppers, were based in LA California. Consisting of 4 band members, this squad of extroverted characters quickly became the hottest ticket in town, with a high energy performance, amazing bass guitar riffs and fast funky sounding tunes, the Chilli Peppers have become a favourite band of mostly every person I know. The Chilli Peppers have been through a lot of tough times on their road to stardom, the most prevalent being the heavy use of drugs, as focused on, in the auto biography written by front man Anthony Keides. During the days of abusing heroin and other drugs, the Chilli Peppers still produced quality high energy funk. After the success of Blood Sugar Sex Magic and rise to notoriety, guitarist John Frisante walked out, to consume his life with Heroin. During that time the Chilli Peppers Hired Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, and produced the album "One Hot Minute". Following this, John recovered from his addiction and rejoined the band. They then produced the successful album Californication. The Chilli Peppers have stood the test of time and have to be up there with the best US has produced. Albums include, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers (1984), Freaky Styley (1985), The uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987), Mother's Milk (1989), Blood Sugar Sex Magic (1991), One Hot Minute (1995), Californication (1999), By The Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006).

Did I miss your favourite band? Feel free to leave a comment and share with us who you consider to be the 5 best US bands! Or check out the best Australian bands!