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2021 in rock music

This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year of 2021.

Notable events

January

February

March

  • While rock music trails other genre in the realm of music streaming, which is factored into the Billboard 200 chart, it performs well in pure albums sales. In a single week, rock bands take the top three best selling albums in the US:
  • Chevelle releases their ninth studio album, Niratias. It is the number one selling album of the week in the US, selling 24,000 copies. Additionally, this places them at number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart that includes music streaming figures.
  • Kings of Leon release their seventh studio album, When You See Yourself, places second in sales, selling 22,000 copies.
  • A Day to Remember releases their seventh studio album You're Welcome. The album places third, selling 16,000 copies. The release had previously been intended to be released in 2020 before being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The band, previously dabbling in pop punk and screamo genre, took more of a pop rock approach with the album.
  • Rob Zombie releases his seventh studio album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. It debuts at number nine on the Billboard 200 chart, moving 28,000 copies. It is the seventh album of his to hit the top 10, making him seven out of seven. Additionally, the album tops the Billboard US pure Albums Sales chart.
  • Serj Tankian, Armenian frontman of System of a Down, releases an EP of material that he had originally written for a hypothetical album for the band. The album, which would have been the first in over 15 years for the band, was cancelled, as the band was unable to agree how to proceed with recording new material, so Tankian instead decided to release his proposed songs as solo material. The EP is titled Elasticity, an allusion to the band's album Toxicity.
  • Evanescence released their fourth studio album, The Bitter Truth, their first since 2011. Frontwoman Amy Lee describes it as "heavy and dark" and similar to the sound of their second album, The Open Door. While initially aiming for a 2020 release, it was pushed back into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The album charts in the top ten of eight separate national charts, and debuts just outside of it at number eleven in the US.

April

  • The Pretty Reckless has their sixth song, "And So It Went", top the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, making them the first female-fronted band to do so. The song features a guitar solo by Tom Morello.
  • Greta Van Fleet releases their second full-length album, The Battle at Garden's Gate. Lead singer Josh Kiszka describes it as "the next step...in the evolution in the sound of the band", an allusion to the fact that the band's sounds is often considered extremely similar to Led Zeppelin. The album debuts at number 7 on the Billboard 200, moving 43,000 album equivalent units. It also tops the Billboard Rock Albums chart, Hard Rock Albums chart, and nine of the twelve songs chart on the Hard Rock Songs chart.
  • The Offspring released their tenth studio album, Let the Bad Times Roll, their first since 2012. Guitarist "Noodles" explained that the process had been slow due to trying to change their sound, only to return to their normal punk rock sound. The album was "basically complete" by June 2020, but its release was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

May

June

July

August

September

  • Daughtry releases their sixth studio album. Originally titled Nothing Lasts Forever, it was later renamed Dearly Beloved. After moving in more country and pop music directions in recent years, frontman Chris Daughtry states that the album will move back into the band's rock roots.

October

  • Coldplay collaborates with K-pop band BTS for the pop rock song "My Universe", off of their ninth studio album Music of the Spheres. The song outperforms any rock song in 2021, debuting at the top of the Billboard all format Hot 100 chart, and all related Billboard rock sales and streaming charts.
  • Bad Wolves released their third studio album, Dear Monsters in 2021. It was the first without lead singer Tommy Vext, who left in January of the same year. Vext insists he was forced out of the band by his label and bandmates over his controversial political and social views.

November

  • Papa Roach's single "Kill the Noise" tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. It is their seventh song to do so, and their second in 2021 after "The Ending". It stays atop the chart for 4 consecutive weeks.

December

  • Swedish metal band Ghost tops the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in the past week of December with their song "Hunter's Moon". It is their fourth song to top the chart, all within the last five years.

Year-end

  • Shinedown is named Billboards "Greatest of All-Time Mainstream Rock Artist", naming the most played artist in the entire radio format.
  • Publications note that pop punk music sees an increase in attention after falling out of mainstream relevance in the late 2000s. Part of this is rap and pop musician's interest in the genre, including popular song's in or influenced by the genre by Machine Gun Kelly, Olivia Rodrigo, and The Kid Laroi.

Deaths

References