Rock Day: Check out some of today’s oldest and most active bands

This Tuesday (13) celebrates Rock Day in Brazil, history celebrates not only the musical genre and lifestyle, but also the Live Aid Festival, which was held in 1985 and brought together the biggest rock stars, such as Queen, US, Kiss, David Bowie, Paul McCartney and other musical monsters .

To celebrate this date, we’ve picked some of the longest-running bands in rock history, who are still in action, producing new songs, and making the musical style more everlasting.

However, it is worth emphasizing that rock is one of the most comprehensive genres out there, so the list is not “unfair” to any fan, we consider some groups, in addition to being closely related to the music scene, remain in production today.

The list of national and international talents in this musical genre is extensive. And rock music can be broken down into many themes, explains singer-songwriter Mateus Pimenta, who helped us choose “artifacts, relevance and current productivity.”

“There are subgenres, but it’s all rock ‘n’ roll, which came out in the ’50s and ’60s. It really had a blues characteristic, then surf music started, and then we started this festival of subgenres: folklore, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, hard rock, heavy Metal, punk, new wave, alternative rock, post punk, grunge, i.e. there’s no end. That’s why making lists is complicated, because you’re inevitably going to annoy some people,” he said.

rolling stones

The longest-lived, it has been around since 1962 with vocalist Mick Jagger, drummer Charlie Watts, and guitarists Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards. Pimenta highlighted “almost 60 years of road and coexistence”.

In 2020, amid the social isolation caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Rolling Stones cheered their fans up by releasing a new song, “Living in a Ghost Town”, recorded in part during isolation.

iron maiden

The British heavy metal band was founded in 1975 and continues to drive audiences crazy with their classics “Fear of the Dark”, “No. of the Beast” and “Holy Your Name”.

Iron Maiden has played in Brazil more than ten times. The country rock debut was at the first version of rock in Rio, in 1985. And if you’re a rocker and you’re over 50, you’ve probably been right there in the crowd.

“Iron Maiden is an icon and a phenomenon for Heavy Metal, and they keep producing something new, and they’ve been together since 1975,” the musician stated.

U2

With Bono Vox on vocals and guitar, the band has been a phenomenon since 1976, U2 amassing 22 Grammys, the biggest award in music. The Irish continue to produce new material for thousands of fans in Brazil and around the world.

With more melodic rock music, U2 has immortalized such genre classics as “With or Without You”, “Beautiful Day” and “Bloody Sunday”.

Metallica

Photo: Disclosure

Metallica rockers began their journey into music in 1981. “Metallica started out as Trash Metal and they’ve made progress, and they’re still producing a lot to this day.”

Americans are also fond of Brazil and have played in the country several times, first in the 80s. The band was coming to the country in 2020 to meet again with thousands of their fans, but the shows were canceled due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

pearl jam

Photo: Pearl Jam/Disclosure

“Pearl Jam is not the oldest, it’s been around since 1990, it’s 31 years old, but it’s a band that keeps producing new things,” said Mateus Pimenta.

Created in Seattle, USA, at the time they were part of the grunge scene in the ’90s, along with bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains.

Teens in the early 2000s may have fallen in love with “Last Kiss,” one of the biggest hits from Eddie Vader, lead singer of Pearl Jam.

“We have many old bands, but even though their members have changed they still live from the glorious past, they are glorified and have a complete advantage because of that, but I really appreciate the prolific part of each of them,” the musician explains.

“Then I ended up ignoring important bands like Radiohead (since 1985 in activity, 3 still producing); Red Hot Chili Peppers (since 1983 and production). A lot of people would be pissed that I didn’t include Pink Floyd, but Pimenta adds: They’re not in a band activity.”

National Scenario

Among the national bands, the musician highlights the Mutantes, who were closely related to many bands around the world. Although not acting anymore, the highlight is Rita Lee, the famous Brazilian rocker.

With rock psychedelic and formed during the tropical movement in 1966, mutants left the legacy that the singer represents to this day.

“We can still use Sepultura, and they are a very relevant band both nationally and internationally. They are a national band that has been and continues to have a very large international projection in rock and roll.”

Sepultura was created in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera and they have established themselves as one of the most successful heavy metal bands.

Photo: Gabriela Bello/Estadão Content (November 16, 2016)