10 Awesome Hard Rock Bands You Must See Live

By Andy Lyons / June 22, 2013

For a fan, the pinnacle of liking a band is seeing them live. While the first round of summer concerts is over, there are plenty of tours and opportunities to see big name bands remaining. The hard rock genre has a lot of heavy hitters and with spring and early summer there have been plenty of new releases bands are looking to support in front of a live audience. One of the bands that everyone should obviously see that's not on the list is Black Sabbath. The reason I left them off is because they last toured in 2012 (2005 before that) briefly before Tony Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma and I have never seen them. Outside of dealing with a crowd, seeing a band live tends to be the purest form of their music. No mastering, no pro tools (usually) and no holds barred. Here's a list of 10 hard rock bands that should definitely be on the list as MUST SEE.

10. Eye Empire

Relatively unheard of Eye Empire kicked off this summer supporting Volbeat on their North American tour. As a heavier band that blends screams and melodies, its surprising to hear lead singer Donald Carpenter pause between songs to talk to the crowd about the bands mantra of love, respect and support. As band members move about the stage to work the crowd as theyre playing, its definitely Carpenters persona that makes this band the perfect opener. Between songs, Carpenter is a relatively soft spoken man that seems like he should be a motivational singer, but his strong voice and his ability to shift from deep screams to melodies makes this band a powerhouse with a bright future. They are touring this summer in support of Drowning Pool.