7 Incredible Hard Rock Supergroups and Projects You Need to Know About
Supergroups are a unique musical phenomenon that brings together talented musicians from different bands or backgrounds to create something extraordinary. When exceptional musicians from different bands come together in the studio, magic often happens. The result is high-class music that offers something fresh and new to fans eager for more from their favorite musicians. However, the biggest challenge with supergroups and side projects is their often short-lived nature, rarely allowing them to perform live. Regardless, it is the music that counts and endures. In this list, we present seven hard rock-melodic hard rock supergroups and side projects that we used to listen to a lot in the previous decade and that constantly found their way onto our playlists.
Dirty Shirley
Dirty Shirley is a hard rock supergroup formed by guitarist George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob) and vocalist Dino Jelusick (Animal Drive, Whitesnake). This dynamic duo is joined by Trevor Roxx on bass and Will Hunt (Evanescence) on drums. Their self-titled debut album, released in 2020, delivers hard-hitting riffs, melodic hooks, and Jelusick’s powerful vocals, creating an electrifying blend of classic and modern rock.
The project’s name was derived from the Friedman Dirty Shirley amplifiers, and it was initially suggested as a joke by George Lynch. However, Frontiers Records liked the name and decided to keep it. Unfortunately, the possibility of releasing another album is extremely small, if not nonexistent, due to Dino Jelusick’s legal disputes with the Frontiers Records label.
Songs to check out: The Dying, Here Comes The King, I Disappear – basically the whole album
The End Machine
Featuring members of the iconic ’80s hard rock band Dokken, The End Machine is a supergroup consisting of guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson, and drummer Mick Brown. Fronted by vocalist Robert Mason (Warrant, Lynch Mob). The End Machine showcases a modern hard rock sound with catchy hooks and blistering guitar work that will satisfy any fan of the genre.
So far they released two albums, The End Machine (2019) and Phase 2 (2021) and even played some shows back in 2019. The shows were mostly filled with Dokken and Lynch Mob songs, with just a few songs from The End Machine project itself. However, due to busy schedules and, of course, the pandemic, they haven’t been playing since. George Lynch has also announced that for their third album, they might work with a new singer.
Songs to check out: Alive Today, Leap Of Faith, Crack The Sky – tough call which album is better here
Black Swan
Black Swan is a melodic hard rock project formed by bassist Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Foreigner), guitarist Reb Beach (Winger, Whitesnake), vocalist Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group), and drummer Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Beautiful Creatures). Their two albums, Shake the World (2020) and Generation Mind (2022), can be described as powerful collections of energetic rock anthems featuring McAuley’s soaring vocals and the band’s impressive musicianship.
Although Robin McAuley stated that he hates the term “supergroup,” this quartet can certainly be called one. According to Reb Beach, the songs from their first album were actually based on Winger riffs that Kip Winger didn’t want for the band’s new album. Anyway, if you are a fan of melodic hard rock, than this is the right choice for you.
Songs to check out: Immortal Souls, Big Disaster, Long Road To Nowhere, Generation Mind – the first album is definitely stronger than the follow up.
A New Revenge
A New Revenge is a heavy metal supergroup featuring guitarist Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper, Slash’s Snakepit, Big Bang Babies and basically every other band from the Sunset Strip), vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth), bassist Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne), and drummer James Kottak (Scorpions, Kingdom Come). Their debut album, Enemies & Lovers (2019), combines classic heavy metal elements with a modern edge, delivering a headbanging experience you won’t forget.
Even though they released their debut album in 2019, this group started jamming together back in 2013 under the name Project Rock, which included Teddy Zig Zag, formerly of Guns N’ Roses. In one of the band’s videos for the song The Way, you can see Phill Soussan playing bass instead of Rudy Sarzo. Keri Kelli explained that the change was made simply due to their busy schedules. After releasing the debut album Enemies and Lovers, A New Revenge went silent in terms of making new music or playing live.
Songs to check out: The Distance Between, Never Let You Go, The Way – it’s only one album so why not check it all.
Silverthorne
Silverthorne is a rock project formed by guitarist Pete Shoulder (The Union, Winterville) and drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner). With Shoulder’s soulful vocals and Tichy’s powerhouse drumming, Silverthorne provides a refreshing take on classic rock genre itself.They released an EP back in 2020 called Tear The Sky Wide Open with five tracks, but nothing new has come up since then. As good as this EP was, most fans who had the chance to hear it had positive reactions. We believe that most of those fans would agree that it would be nice to have some more new music from this supergroup in the future.
Songs to check out: Tear The Sky Wild Open, Black River Rising and yeah, you got it, whole EP.
California Breed
California Breed was a short-lived supergroup featuring vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath), drummer Jason Bonham (Bonham, Foreigner), and guitarist Andrew Watt (Post Malone, Ozzy Osbourne). Their eponymous album, released in 2014, blends hard rock, blues, and funk, highlighting Hughes’ legendary vocals and the band’s exceptional musicianship.
Although this group had some unique potential, combining the experience of Hughes and Bonham with the youthful attitude of Andrew Watt, the group was short-lived. But, it was not because of Glenn Hughes, who is known to have been in hundreds of bands that ended prematurely due to his departure from them, but because of Jason Bonham. Bonham left the group, stating that it wasn’t working for him. Hughes moved on to another project, but Andrew Watt seemed to take it a bit more hard. Nowadays, he has become a famous producer and essentially a guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne.
Songs to check out: The Way, Midnight Oil, Sweet Tea – all of them.
Art Of Anarchy
Art of Anarchy is a hard rock project that initially featured vocalist Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns N’ Roses), and brothers Jon (guitar) and Vince Votta (drums). Their self-titled debut album was released in 2015. Art of Anarchy’s music merges heavy riffs with captivating melodies, creating a unique sonic experience.
However, things didn’t go so well between Weiland and the Votta brothers. Vince Votta sued Weiland for not wanting to promote the band, while Weiland never considered him to be a part of the group. He was saying that he only recorded the vocals for the album and nothing more. He also referred to the group as a scam. In response, Vince Votta filed a lawsuit against him, seeking to get the money that Weiland received for his involvement on the album. After the singer’s tragic death on December 3rd, 2015, all charges were dropped, and the album was offered to the fans online for free.
Afterwards, the Votta brothers decided to give it another try, this time with another Scott: Scott Stapp from Creed. In 2017, they released the album The Madness with Stapp and began touring for a while. However, their efforts were halted by yet another lawsuit. This time, the Votta brothers accused Scott Stapp of not performing with the band at scheduled concerts, missing photoshoots, and neglecting promotional videos. In the end, this group had a lot of potential with their unique musical style, but it was never fully realized due to constant conflicts among certain members.
Songs to check out: Small Batch Whiskey, Get On Down, Aqualung, Thil The Dust Is Gone, The Madness, Echo Of A Scream, Somber, No Surrender. It is hard to tell which album is better. The one with Weiland is more alternative while the Stapp’s one is more melodic heavy rock based. Try them both, you won’t regret it!
Note – The characteristic of these lists is that they are informative and fun. We understand that there are often hundreds of bands that could be included, but it’s impossible to list them all. What we typically do is select bands that we used to listen to a lot and present them to our audience. If you believe there are any bands that would be suitable for our lists, please feel free to let us know. Ultimately, we are undertaking this endeavor out of our love for our favorite music
