Metal can be seen as an act of rebellion against the status quo, being louder, faster and more aggressive than other genres of music. Defining features include guttural vocals and building-shaking riffs – hallmarks of true metal music.
Horror has an affinity for exploring dark and taboo topics, often leading to accusations of violence promotion and Satanism – sparking considerable debate surrounding this genre.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin stands as one of the most influential bands in rock history. They pioneered many elements that would become hallmarks of heavy metal music, including distorted guitar riffs and powerful drumming. Additionally, their distinctive sound combined elements from blues, folk rock and their own aggressive style to form something truly original; not being first to combine blues/rock with distortion but certainly creating the path for bands such as BLACK SABBATH/CREAM/Yngwie Malmsteen to create what would later become Heavy Metal genre!
After leaving The Yardbirds, guitarist Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin with singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones. They quickly rose to become major forces on the British music scene before going on to achieve international acclaim with their unique sound that combined blues, folk, and psychedelic rock elements.
Though some of their songs, like Immigrant Song, may lean toward heavy metal, they were never considered true metal bands; James Hetfield from Metallica has stated that he does not consider them heavy metal but rather hard rock bands.
Gallows Pole is an example of how Led Zeppelin combined various musical styles into their music. Starting off as an easy folk tune, with Page’s banjo and Jones’s mellotron transform the piece into an explosive rock-steady jam fueled by Plant’s exuberant vocals and Page’s banjo playing; all combined into an energetic rock-steady jam.
This band was inspired both by British blues revivalists as well as American psychedelic rock. Through experimenting with blues, folk, and psychedelic influences they ultimately developed their unique sound that is now commonly known as heavy metal.
Deep Purple
Deep Purple were among the early pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock music, often being considered part of the unholy trinity of British metal acts alongside Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. While their sound differed significantly from that of Alice Cooper/Kiss/Van Halen-inspired shock rock or blues-rooted heavy metal acts like Van Halen; Deep Purple helped develop a distinct brand of hard rock music while being famed for their high-speed technical guitar playing as well as impressive live shows performances.
Their first album, released in 1968, combined elements of psychedelic, progressive, and symphonic rock. Over time their musical style evolved with each new album released: The Book of Taliesyn was followed by In Rock in which lead guitarist Ritchie Blackmore wanted to move in a more aggressive direction; singer Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper didn’t fit this new style so were replaced by Ian Gillan from Episode Six (Ian Gillan from Episode Six was replaced with Roger Glover for this lineup), commonly referred to as The MK II lineup.
Deep Purple’s sound began shifting more toward heavy metal with this lineup, especially on their 1972 album Machine Head which contained such popular classics as Smoke on the Water and Highway Star as well as being their inaugural studio recording with full orchestral backing.
MK II continued recording more albums, such as Fireball and In Concert – both featuring heavier sounds – although occasionally they recorded songs with lighter tones too. Their focus on heavy metal enabled them to achieve global commercial success and sustain it with worldwide sales success.
Black Sabbath
Though many consider three British bands from the late 60s-early 70s as heavy metal’s founders, there were many others who should receive equal credit as pioneers of heavy metal music. Blue Cheer’s 1968 hit “Summertime Blues”, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Vanilla Fudge all contributed immensely in shaping its development, but Black Sabbath truly gave birth to it with their groundbreaking 1968 debut of their album Black Sabbath was the true instigator.
Black Sabbath quickly established themselves as one of the pioneers of heavy metal with their signature blend of riff-based songs and demon-themed lyrics, making them a huge influence in heavy music. Both their albums, Black Sabbath (1970) and Paranoid (1971), reached Number Eight on Britain’s chart for over 65 weeks each – this inspired many subsequent bands such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple to add distortion and additional amps into their sound to emulate Sabbath.
Geezer Butler was both the group’s lyricist and primary composer; as a Catholic who dabbled with black magic, his dark visions gave the music an almost Satanic vibe. Coupled with Tony Iommi’s devilish tri-tone (an allusion to Gustav Holst’s Mars Bringer of War from The Planets suite) and Bill Ward’s jazzy drumming, their sound was both heavy yet menacing.
On Friday the 13th of February 1970, their debut was released on Vertigo Records’ label Vertigo Records on Friday the 13th – it was truly terrifying! Band members knew this, encouraging fans to dress in black in order to ward off evil spirits and satanic rituals; some also wore crosses as an outward display of faith; Vertigo Records even included an upside-down cross in its gatefold cover design! As a result of all this horror, some parents and religious groups banned concerts featuring devil-themed songs as being inappropriate.
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden were responsible for crafting one of the grandest and operatic metal sounds ever heard – Nicko McBrain as drummer and Steve Harris on bassist were behind their inventive sound, with Adrian Smith and Janick Gers laying down some incredible guitar work that combined hard rock, punk and heavy metal influences. However, 1982’s ground-breaking The Number of the Beast album cemented their reputation as metal royalty while setting in motion a decade of now iconic releases.
Iron Maiden took their name from both steel and the English word for maiden. Like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, who came before them on this wave of British Heavy Metal music, Iron Maiden were innovators of a New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
Their music reflected an alternative culture, wherein hippie ideals of peace and love had given way to darkness and power. This could be seen through their songs which often depicted dark tales of death and destruction as well as power struggles or dystopic fantasies.
Black Sabbath was especially influenced by their industrial working conditions; specifically Tony Iommi being injured in a factory accident, leading him to use looser string gauges which gave their songs thicker, deeper tones. Their songs also touched upon themes of sexual violence and masculine posturing common in rock ‘n’ roll music at that time; its heavy sound provided the ideal complement to these images of aggression, power, and insanity that rock ‘n’ roll represented at that time.
Metallica
Metallica were an influential force in Heavy Metal music, setting standards for aggressive musical themes and amplified distortion. Their music, along with their lifestyle choices, left an indelible mark upon history.
As well as popularizing an entirely new genre of music, the band’s music has also generated controversy surrounding issues of violence and machismo in youth culture. Additionally, suicide risk among adolescents has increased. These concerns have lead to several groups formed to counteract negative consequences associated with its influence.
Heavy Metal has its roots in the United Kingdom, where bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin pioneered an experimental take on blues songs that was heavily influenced by American psychedelic rock musicians such as Jimi Hendrix’s groundbreaking style of guitar playing that helped bridge African American music with European rockers.
Metallica has long been one of the most influential metal acts to emerge from underground music scenes and become mainstream trends. They have inspired numerous other metal musicians as well as their fans – commonly referred to as metalheads.
Early albums by this band were heavily rooted in thrash metal; however, with subsequent releases they ventured into different musical areas, such as hard rock, blues and orchestral music – reflecting their willingness to explore diverse genres and genres.
The band’s unceasing pursuit of creative excellence resulted in their 1998 double-disc release Garage, Inc. This album collected covers recorded over two sessions as well as live recordings from performances at Berkeley Community Theater. Garage, Inc further showcased their steadfast resistance to rest on past achievements while simultaneously seeking new challenges – something evident by their subsequent collaboration with Michael Kamen’s San Francisco Symphony in his ongoing project with them.