10 Best Rock Bands Of The 2000s
Riff Masters of the New Millennium.
As rock stumbled into the next century, it looked a little worse for wear. Not only had the revolution of grunge quickly faded out, but the new guard that seemed to pick up the pace had started to fall by the wayside as well. Then again, the real heart of rock and roll was still there if you were willing to look for it.
Across the era of MTV'S TRL and teen idols, there were still plenty of acts looking to push the envelope of what many have expected from their rock acts at the time. Though there were still some amazing acts coming from the nu metal and pop punk scenes, the most interesting cases were when bands would come out of left field with a sound and aesthetic all their own. While many might not have known it at the time, this was the start of something much bigger.
Rather than squeak by playing the same music that their musical elders grew up with, these artists managed to recontextualize rock for the next generation, whether it be through the tunes they played or the way they got their music out to the public. For as much of a wasteland it may have seemed on the charts, these acts alone were proof that rock's heart was still beating
10. Muse
As the rock genre made its way into the '00s, there was a lot of copycats to be found in the mix. All across TRL, there were countless acts that were either mining off of nostalgia or just riding the coattails of stuff like pop punk and nu metal that came before them. The back to basics approach was over though. It was time to enter the arena.
Exploding out of the art rock scene in the early '00s, Muse became one of the greatest power trios of the modern age, with Matthew Bellamy emerging as one of the greatest singers in modern rock. Across albums like Origin of Symmetry and Black Holes and Revelations, these English powerhouses created some of the most thunderous rock and roll ever conceived, all while ranging in styles from one track to the next.
One minute you might be listening to a space rock epic like on Citizen Erased, and the next song might be a mix of electronics as seen on tracks like Undisclosed Desires. However, never once does it feel disjointed, with Bellamy working in conjunction with Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme to create some of the most adventurous melodies the rock world had ever heard. Whereas most bands like to find their own lane, it's almost like Muse prefers to make music that is a bit left of center.