Led by the roadhouse growl of lead singer John Kay, Steppenwolf generated a string of hits that included anti-war screeds, era-defining biker anthems and classic covers of songs by Don Covay and Hoyt Axton. Their sound had hints of dirty jazz, biker blues, oil-stained R&B and fist-jacking rock 'n' roll, and they were equal parts serious, dangerous and fun. And prolific, too: their first four albums came out within two years. They rode the charts between 1968 and 1975, and history—and albums like Monster—has proven the band to be an underrated yet essential piece of Canadian rock 'n' roll.