10 Greatest Hard Rock Songs Of The 2000s

As with any decade, the ‘00s were a turbulent time for music. On the rock side of things grunge had made way for nu metal, with the baggy pants and baseball cap bubble about to burst for Fred Durst and co. Meanwhile hip hop was making its inexorable rise to the top of the commercial charts and an indie revival was burgeoning in New York and Britain alike.

Amidst all that, though, guitar music found a way to keep on keeping on. Though nu metal’s day was quickly coming to an end, the more inventive bands around the subculture were producing music that transcended the form.

Cult favourites were becoming arena conquering rock heroes, the pop punk that was the flavour of the ‘90s was steadily turning into something tougher and noisier, and as the decade wore on, the indie scene was producing bands that felt comfortable turning it up and making a racket.

The ‘00s may have been (to date) the last hurrah for guitar rock in a prominent position in the music business, but if the genre’s heyday was over, they were going to go out noisily.

These ten songs soundtrack a decade to remember in hard rock.

While they were tarred with the nu metal brush, Deftones’ musical ambitions went far beyond many of their genre contemporaries. Their 2000 album White Pony was muscular and aggressive, but with stellar musicianship and influenced by trip hop, shoegaze and beyond.

The album peaks with the sinister and distinct “Change (In The House Of Flies)”. While tucked away towards the back end of the record, it was actually its first single, perhaps an attempt by the band to separate itself from the glut of unimaginative bands with which they had been lumped in.

It’s a masterclass of tension and relief from vocalist Chino Moreno, who stretches his voice desperately across the track. The guitars are thick and heavy but played with patience. It’s an exercise in angst rather than straightforward anger, slow but never sludgy, with shimmering production by genre specialist Terry Date.

It’s a song that sets a singular mood and then dwells within it for its full runtime, capping off an album that’s often heavy and abrasive with something crawling, insidious, and all the heavier for it.