12 Greatest Duos In Hard Rock

When hard rock was first getting born, it was an almost unspoken rule that the blues had to play a big part in any band's development. From Led Zeppelin's primal riffage to Jimi Hendrix's spectral aura, any band who wanted to tap into something sonically fierce had to spend a good deal of time listening to Muddy Waters or Robert Johnson. While not exactly from the blues ilk, Queen got their point across through the sheer power of their music.

The foursome behind the band could all be considered iconic characters, but where it gets interesting is when you look at Freddie Mercury and Brian May. So much has been said about Mercury's sound that it's easy to take it for granted, with his amazing range and stage charisma writing the blueprint for the rock frontman. Though Freddie had the vocal chops covered, Brian May used his weapon of choice to create some of the most complex arrangements in rock and roll.

Rather than just play one guitar solo straight through, May would spend hours in the studio writing harmony lines until he had a practical guitar symphony. With Mercury singing his heart out and May jumping gracefully from line to line, Queen had the duo that could play off each other in a way no one had ever seen before.