The heart of rock and roll is in ... Mongolia?

Rock music in America is on life support.

The Black Keys, once at the vanguard of the genre's big resurgence in the 2000s, recently had to cancel their tour due to embarrassingly low ticket sales.

If I had to pick a winner in the all-Asia battle of the bands, it would probably be Mongolian guitar heroes The Hu.

One-time Southern rock monsters Kings Of Leon barely dented the charts with their latest album, "Can We Please Have Fun."

Even beloved indie stalwarts Weezer — say it ain't so! — just had to cancel a planned box set due to low anticipated demand.

The once-powerful roar of American home-grown music has been reduced to a feeble whisper, drowned out by the thumping bass of pop and the autotuned drivel dominating the charts.

Mosh pits have been replaced by TikTok dances. Since social media took over, not a single TV has been hurled out of a hotel window. This can't go on.

With domestic production lagging, stateside fans are turning to Asian imports.

Take South Korea. While its massive industry cranking out K-Pop idols gets all the attention, it has a robust rock scene dating back to the 1950s, when the American military began broadcasting Western music across the Korean peninsula.

Enter Shin Jung-hyeon, the “Godfather of Korean Rock,” who laid the foundation for the genre in South Korea, creating bands like Add4 and producing psychedelic masterpieces for legendary bands like Pearl Sisters, Kim Choo-ja, and Kim Jung Mi.

Fast forward to today, and the Korean rock scene is thriving. Silica Gel, a band from Ansan, a suburb of Seoul, stands out as one of its best. That’s because this fresh-faced four-piece offers an appetizing take on rock, combining modern elements with classic influences.

Their music features catchy guitar riffs and powerful synthesizers, creating a unique and rather enjoyable sound. Tracks like "Desert Eagle" and "No Pain” are solid offerings that provide a refreshing break from the somewhat nauseating K-pop scene.

Across the Yellow Sea in China — yes, China — there’s also been a surprising burst of rock energy. SixiWanzi is an all-female band from Beijing whose sound mixes the high-octane energy ofParamore with a unique, Chinese Communist Party-approved twist.

When I visited China a few years ago, I caught a show by Carsick Cars, another standout from the nation's capital. This indie rock band, formed in 2005, is known for its gritty, energetic mix of punk, noise, and garage rock. The band even played inBrooklyn way back in 2009. They put on quite a show.

That said, if I had to pick a winner in the all-Asia battle of the bands, it would probably be Mongolian guitar heroes The Hu.

Formed in 2016, The Hu combines traditional Mongolian instruments like the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) and the tovshuur (traditional flute) with epic chants and heavy metal riffs to create a completely new genre: Hunnu rock.

The Hunnu people, also known as the Huns, were an ancient nomadic group who lived in Central Asia and northern China about 2,000 years ago. They were known for their skills in horseback riding and their warrior lifestyle.

For The Hu, this isn’t just music; it’s a cultural revival of sorts, a way of connecting the past with the present. The band’s lyrics, steeped in historical Mongolian war cries and poetry, bring to life the spirit of ancient empires, making their music a sort of headbanging history lesson.

Of all their tracks, "Wolf Totem" is probably the most notable. It features the aforementioned traditional instruments and heavy, infectious riffs. With diaphragm-driven humming and rhythmic drumming, the track is like nothing you’ve heard before.

Now, just to be clear — just because rock is thriving in Asia doesn’t mean all of it is good — this is the world's largest continent, after all. Some of these bands are an acquired taste, and that’s fine.

The point isn’t that every Asian rock act is making the next "Dark Side of the Moon." It's that the scene reveals the kind of fearless experimentation and irrepressible energy that used to animate American rock before it got overshadowed by vapid pop hits and genre-mashing monstrosities.

Even the all-American genre of country music is being reshaped by the likes of Beyoncé and Post Malone, for better or worse. Sure, they’re contributing to the genre in their own way, but it’s a far cry from the soulful grit of an artist like Oliver Anthony.

And it's not just Asia that's coming for American rock hegemony. Across the pond, the Brits seem to be gearing up for another invasion. Witness the buzz around the reunion of iconic '90s rockers Oasis after a 15-year hiatus. "Live Forever," indeed.

There's no telling how long the Gallagher bros will be able to get along, but even if it ends in fisticuffs, plenty of their younger compatriots are making noise across the pond.

Bands like Royal Blood, Soft Play (formerly known as Slaves before the woke mob forced a name change — not very rock ‘n’ roll, I know), and Idles are busy keeping the genre alive and exciting.

Some of you might think I exaggerate the situation. Rock is evolving, you'll say. But I challenge you to name three or four truly exciting American rock bands putting out fresh material today. If you’re left scratching your head or reaching for Google, that says a lot.

Rock in the U.S. isn’t evolving; it’s devolving. Or worse still, it's fading into irrelevance. Is this the end? Well, you know what Neil Young says: "Rock and roll will never die." Let's hope some maladjusted kids in a garage somewhere are already working on proving him right.