Author: Daniele Follero

Rock & Cinema explores–from Elvis Presley’s rock and roll to the present day–the successful encounters between music and cinema that have given rise to works that have become milestones of contemporary culture.

Much has been written about the mutual influence between rock and the big screen, but little attention has been paid to the impact that certain films and their soundtracks have had on the world of music and on the artists themselves.

There are numerous cases of films that have become true symbols for entire movements or subcultures. Cinema has represented a natural step for many rock stars, and has also become a precious opportunity for underground bands to experiment with new expressive languages.

The main aim of this book is to observe the relationship between rock and cinema from a new perspective: the musical one. It is a journey that traces the history of rock on the big screen, in a passionate project curated down to the smallest detail.

Designed as an all-encompassing tale made of stories and insights, exploring touchstone bands and seminal albums, this book tells us about the hardest facets of rock, from the English grandchildren of Chicago blues to the most extreme metal experiences in recent decades.

In 2020, heavy metal celebrated 50 years. But the urge to crank up the amps has its roots in a group of British blues-loving bands like The Who, The Yardbirds and The Kinks who, in the Beatles’ heyday, wanted to make their sound more powerful, experimenting with distortion and equipment capable of sustaining unthinkable decibel levels. Soon enough, a whole new paradigm was created, leading to the birth of hard rock giants like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, and heavy metal giants like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and AC/DC. Over the years, influences have been traded back and forth between Europe and the United States; hard rock and heavy metal have passed through different phases, from the underground dimension of the thrash scene to the commercial peak of the Eighties; from the fury of death metal to the atmospheres of black metal; from the contaminations of the Nineties to all the varieties of the new millennium; and the new ways of interacting brought about with social networks and streaming.

The book’s forewords are penned by Michael Weikath (Halloween) and Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride). The book itself is divided into independent sections that follow a basic chronological order but also explore the broader themes of hard rock and heavy metal as a whole, focussing on the different scenes and their social context. The book also takes a look at the Italian hard & heavy scene.

60 years of stories told through records. Which was the first concept album in the history of rock? Who invented Sergeant Pepper? How did the idea for The Wall come about? What happened to works of rock after we entered the digital age? And how have they survived the playlist culture?

The book has been designed like a compelling tale to answer this and countless other questions. From jukeboxes to Spotify, from LPs to MP3s, the evolution of concept albums goes in step with the ever-evolving technology of the music industry. Here, you will find detailed studies and learn everything about the history of concept albums and of veritable works of rock.