Metal Reviews

Could someone enlighten me? What does it stand for and mean?

Adult-Oriented Rock.

It's basically rock music that's more towards the soft rock side, but not fruity.

Have you heard any Journey or 80s-era Rainbow? That's AOR.

WTF? Zad said it was ALBUM oriented rock.

*shakes fist at Zad*

That's one description of it (its on wikipedia, it must be tr00 ) but the one Ken described is the more commonly accepted one these days.

Its sort of like the way the meaning of Power Metal and Black Metal has changed over the years, I guess.

Basically its just oldie-rock though right?

Melodic rock with little teeth, you know? Like Classic Rock but smoothed out for a 'mature' audience.

Learn a lesson here.

AOR is Album Oriented rock, and it comes from the fact that despite not really having a single released FM Rock stations play cuts for it from albums (at least that is what I always heard). AOR is everything from Since you been Gone Rainbow, Foghat, Def Leppard, REO, Journey, Styx, Rush etc. These days it is Nickelback, 3 doors down, etc.

I don't know where Ken gets that "softer" rock idea from. AOR isn't Air Supply and whatever other stuf he takes bublble baths too.......

From wikipedia


That's what I always believed AOR meaned... Journey as the classic AOR band, and actually Harem Scarem, Ten or Dare as main representatives of the genre.

AOR (in this acceptation, not the ALBUM one) is the thin line between classic rock and hard rock... what I'm not sure is if AOR and melodic rock are synonyms..

What the fuck does Album-Oriented mean? I've always known it as Adult-Oriented rock.

And AOR is shit like Journey and whatnot. Not Def Leppard or Rush. And Nickelback and 3 Doors Down are not AOR.

when i saw Adult-Oriented, I thought of porn music.

Album-oriented rock is sort of a misnomer. It doesn't make sense, never has. AOR originally stood for album-oriented radio. Album-oriented makes no sense. Everything and anything can be album-oriented.

Adult-oriented isn't very accurate either, but with bands like Journey, The Eagles and Boston being AOR, adult-oriented makes far more sense.

AOR = Adult-Oriented Rock.

Yes they are. It is mainly used to describe Rock music played on FM Rock Stations. Always has been, always will be. Journey, Foreigner, REO, Styx, DEF LEPPARD, Jovi, Post Signals Rush, etc etc etc all of that shit is the old. Nickelback, 3 Doors Down etc etc is the new. End argument now.

You are thinking of Adult Contemporary or some shit.

Wrong, album orienated rock/radio is right. Adult is not. period.

Thanks guys. Confusing, yet entertaining...all your arguements. But since you mentioned the bands involved, I get the picture.

Yes, frigid, I was thinking erotic music as well.

Dude, 80's rock is my favorite style of music. You're wrong. Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Rush are not AOR. Nor is Nickelback and 3 Doors Down. Quit making shit up.

No, ass-licker, I am not wrong.

At least some of us can take being wrong...

It's so difficult to admit AOR means two different things? Nobody is wrong here, both acceptions are right.

I always have heard (and in Spain, for sure, is the usual definition) of AOR as adult-oriented rock, not album. But wikipedia, and google, shows that the two acceptions (album & adult) are usual.

And I think Adult means more that album, cause album oriented rock is synonymous of rock (or music in general) with a radio DJ not disposed to put only the singles. AOR (also known as melodic rock) as the style between classic rock and hard rock says a lot more about the music that album-oriented rock, that can be everything from Madonna to Nile.