Def Leppard/Journey in St. Louis
When Def Leppard recorded "Rock of Ages" back in the early '80s, they did it as a young band celebrating the hard rock music they loved, though in years previous it had lost momentum to dance music and other, more superficial sounds.
They couldn't have known then that the song, which claims that rock is "still rollin'," was ultimately an oath, a promise they'd continue to fulfill more than two decades later.
In that time musical trends have come and gone, but no one has surpassed the British quintet's ability to deliver energetic, high-harmonied pop metal with bombast, swagger and pure, adrenalized escapism.