By the end of the 1960s, the peace and love of the decade had started to wear a little thin.

The Nixon Administration rose to power in the United States. The Troubles dominated headlines in the United Kingdom. The Vietnam War raged on.

And out of this chaos came a band whose sound was as fiery as the world around them.

Led Zeppelin may not have been the world’s first hard rock band, but they were maybe the best.

John Paul Jones and John Bonham formed what was maybe the mightiest rhythm section in rock and roll history. Jimmy Page pushed his electric guitar to its absolute limits, aided by his experience with recording techniques during his time as a session musician and a relentless experimentation.

And leading the chaos was Robert Plant, whose howling tenor and sexual swagger set the standard for rock vocalists. There have been wailing, hypersexual lead singers before, but Plant is the archetype.

On their second outing, Led Zeppelin created a well-honed record of hard rock that’s as brilliant as it is brutal. Nearly fifty years after its release, it still goes as hard as ever. The riffs still sound huge. Bonham’s drumming is still impressive. John Paul Jones remains the standard bearer for perfect bass playing, riffing hard but never abandoning the groove.

As experimental as it was for the time, every second of this record stands up. Which is remarkable, considering how rushed the recording process was. It was released just nine months after their debut. Songs were written on the road and recorded across several different studios—or hotel rooms, if they needed to.

Yet the result is an entirely indelible record. Opener “Whole Lotta Love” hits every button of the perfect Led Zeppelin song: a huge riff, big drum fills, an infectious chorus, and an extended section of drug-addled noise. “Ramble On” appropriates Tolkien references into its blistering hard rock. Even the deep cuts are great. “Thank You” could be a proper ballad, if John Bonham could tone it down a bit (luckily, he does not). “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)” lands somewhere between Little Richard and The Strokes. “Moby Dick” is mostly drum solo.

And over the past five decades, I’m not sure if any band has inspired more ripoffs—and yes, I’m including the Beatles. From the greasy-haired high schoolers who still carve the band’s name into their desks to the dad rock cover bands hopping from bar to bar, Led Zeppelin isn’t just a great band—their a pillar in the rock and roll pantheon.

And by God, they deserve it.