10 Underrated Hard Rock Bands Of The 70's
5. Montrose
By 1973, hard rock music had gone from being a great musical idea to a full-fledged movement, with dozens of band coming out of the woodwork with their own brand of rock riffage. Coming out of the California scene, Montrose took the groove of a band like Aerosmith and blew it up with the bombast of Led Zeppelin.
Led by guitarist Ronnie Montrose, the true golden age of the band came with their debut, with an impressive vocal performance by fresh faced vocalist Sammy Hagar. Throughout songs like "Rock Candy" and "Bad Motor Scooter," the band played crushing riffs that were brought back to Earth by a powerful backbeat. Though the band was firmly in the hard rock category, their influence on the next generation stretched far beyond just booming power chords.
Legendary metal bands like Iron Maiden took time to cover the band's material and even play their music before their shows. The group also had a huge impact on the LA scene, with later hair bands like Van Halen and Motley Crue covering their tunes and even paying homage to the band on their records. Hagar's time in Van Halen in his first years even featured shows where old Montrose cuts were performed live. Montrose may not have been the brightest stars, but their music cast a shadow on a whole generation of young rockers.