Heavy metal music had its start long before 1968; Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin pioneered its style through introduction of heavier distortion-laden guitar riffs into rock music at that point.
Later, this genre earned itself a bad rep for homophobia and sexism due to its predominantly male fan base and stereotypical portrayals of its bands as being masculine in appearance. Since then however, the genre has expanded significantly and become much more inclusive and diverse.
Origins
Heavy metal’s origin is an ongoing debate. Some music scholars contend that In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) by British progressive rock band King Crimson may have been the precursor for heavy metal due to its use of heavily distorted guitar tone and aggressive musical style, particularly its song 21st Century Schizoid Man; also cited as an early metal song is The Beatles 1967 version of Helter Skelter was an influence for early metal bands while Dave Edmunds version of Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance”, released on Truth album is often considered among pioneering early metal songs as well.
Others point out the genre’s working class roots. Many early metal musicians came from industrial steel-working areas such as Birmingham in England where Black Sabbath and Judas Priest formed; Ozzy Osbourne worked at a car factory during the day before performing with his band at night. Other metal groups like Iron Maiden and Motorhead hailed from places with substantial steel industries so hearing clanging hammers on metal was part of everyday life for these musicians.
Metal’s early pioneers were heavily influenced by various genres of music, from blues, hard rock and progressive rock to chunky guitar riffs popularised by rock groups like Rolling Stones, Kinks and Yardbirds – as well as classical musicians such as Bach, Paganini and Beethoven whose technique and speed had great impact on metalheads such as guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen.
Influences
Heavy metal music draws upon various influences to develop. Its roots lie deep in hard rock of the late 1960s, particularly that produced by Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Progressive bands such as King Crimson also played an influential role. Furthermore, elements from blues, classical music, and psychedelic rock combined together create an exhilarating sound which defied convention and entranced an entire generation.
Lyrically, hip hop often explores dark themes of fear, mistrust, paranoia and anger; in stark contrast to the peace-and-love hippie culture prevalent during that same time period. Hip hop also mirrors everyday reality where things rarely turn out as planned.
Many early heavy metal artists were heavily influenced by the British Invasion movement of the early 1960s, especially the distinctive combination of distorted guitar sound, fast drumming, and bass riffs that set it apart from other rock styles of its day. Other genres that contributed to creating heavy metal included psychedelic rock and punk music.
Distortion effects have long been an integral component of heavy metal music, driving its development with technological innovations like recording equipment and concert amplifiers. Furthermore, musicians have added increasingly complex song structures and virtuosic performances into their performances.
Heavy metal music has long been considered controversial due to its sound and lyrics, often accused of depicting violent or sexual content and Satanism. Judas Priest was sued in the 80s over these lyrics, leading them to add the “Parental Advisory” label seen today on many popular albums.
Characteristics
Heavy metal music stands out from other genres by possessing several key characteristics that define it: loud and discordant guitar sounds with distorted guitars are one of them; heavy metal is also generally more aggressive and violent than other forms of rock music; its lyrics may contain dark imagery while singers may employ gruff or shouted vocal styles when singing heavy metal songs.
Many bands that crafted heavy metal music were formed from areas known for steel production, such as Sheffield and Birmingham in England as well as the United States. Steppenwolf, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest became iconic examples of heavy metal bands at this time; they are considered pioneers of heavy metal.
In the 1970s, heavy metal music saw further development. Influences from groups like The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix such as power chords played more aggressively and distortion were added into heavy metal’s repertoire – Wishbone Ash and Thin Lizzy both adopted this practice frequently.
These circumstances gave rise to the style of rock known as heavy metal, and its name eventually began to refer to other musical genres as well. Some sub-genres like death metal and black metal often drop the word heavy from their names altogether, though most writers and fans simply refer to this music simply as metal.
Heavy metal lyrics often feature dark and violent themes in contrast with the hippie culture of the 1960s, often touching upon themes like death, darkness, evil and power – reflecting its genre as an alternative to happy endings found in pop and gangsta rap songs.
Styles
Metal music has a hard, aggressive sound with complex chords played quickly with fast strumming. Frequent changes in tempo and time signature, screaming vocals, piercing guitar sounds, distortion (or fuzz tone) used on guitar to increase volume and create gritty tones can all be characteristic features. Early metal bands would often physically lacerate amplifier speakers for this effect before technology spread enough for it to become mainstream; later however this technology became ubiquitous enough that this style became commonplace.
Metal music evolved through time. Early groups such as Black Sabbath used distorted amplifiers to give their music a thick, dense sound; they also highlighted heavy themes which contrasted against hippie culture of the 1960s. Metal quickly emerged as a subculture which glorified darkness and power while rejecting pop’s “happy endings”.
Los Angeles was home to a new wave of metal music during the 1970s. Acts such as Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest pioneered this new form of rock with twin lead guitars and leather aesthetics at its core; Eddie Van Halen’s dizzying bursts of guitar virtuosity helped push metal into mainstream audiences. Later, bands like Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth gave birth to thrash metal before leading onto death metal genre with Cannibal Corpse and Nile among others.
Heavy metal was first popularly coined by rock critic Lester Bangs for Creem magazine articles written by Lester Bangs for Creem magazine; though he may have taken inspiration from William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch work. Although not specifically applied to any one band or artist, heavy metal describes an all-encompassing musical genre which incorporates blues rock elements as well as other genres such as punk rock bands influenced by metal like The Damned or Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust), as well as many grunge bands from the 1990s influenced by metal music.
Bands
Metal bands usually feature loud guitar sounds with heavy distortion and fast alternate picking, often with background hiss and hiss-driven background music. Black metal was one of the earliest subgenres, emerging during the 1980s with bands such as Venom, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Hellhammer and Bathory becoming part of it. Black Sabbath were pioneers of metal as a genre; guitarist Tony Iommi became its signature sound after suffering an injury that forced him to tune his guitar down for easier fretting and power chord playing – an iconic sound that eventually became part of metal music history.
Metal has also crossed genre lines, with glam rock (also called glitter rock) and hard rock often considered subgenres of heavy metal. Some rock groups such as Alice Cooper and David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust persona being considered both heavy metal and glam rock acts. Metal has also had an effect on alternative rock music genres; bands like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains claim they’re metal while grunge often being considered more of an alternative genre subgenre than pure metal music.
No one knows for certain who first coined the term “heavy metal”, although most sources point to Steppenwolf’s song “Born to Be Wild”, William Burroughs’ novel Naked Lunch and Lester Bangs’ Creem magazine articles as possible examples of its usage. Sandy Pearlman of Blue Oyster Cult claims he coined it – though not as its main songwriter or singer; their name comes from alchemical symbol for lead found in some metal instruments that is also sometimes seen as masonic symbolism and thus their early image included some occult imagery in its early form.