Where does Heavy Metal music come from?
It doesn’t really help to ask metal fans. They’re either too dumb or too messed up on the next line of six-packs to know. If you ask them, the ones with half a clue will tell you Black Sabbath, the band led by Ozzy Osborne. They’re right in one respect: Black Sabbath defined the darkness off the genre, with their satanic lyrics and the macho teen despair of their message.
Others will say, Judas Priest. It’s true in one respect: vocalist Rob Halford started the leather and chains look. He also happened to be gay.
Others will tell you it was Led Zeppelin. Certainly they were one of the early precursors, a band who rocked so hard that other bands were inspired to get that heavy. Many untalented groups joined the metal army after hearing Led Zep. Zep's John Bonham set the template for metal drummers, and Robert Plant’s high keening tenor yelp set the gold standard for metal’s vocalists.
Still others will tell you the inventors were Deep Purple, and here they are actually on to something. Deep Purple was the first successful band to consistently put out a heavy metal vibe, years before Black Sabbath existed. They were also a smart band, unlike most of their dumb acolytes: like Yes, they flirted with the idea of combining classical music with rock.
But they didn’t invent the music though.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments76 - Chuck
Who ever wrote this shit above my comment has no idea what Heavy Metal IS..... Do some reserch Numb Nuts!!!!
The Kinks? They were punk rock....
77 - Thrash 'Till Death
The dude who wrote this article is a douche bag. He obviously has his head too far up his ass to care to do even the slightest of research. Dude, METAL FANS know where their history is, NOT ASSHOLES WHO DON'T KNOW A THING ABOUT IT. The idea of metalheads being "dumb-fucks" is fucked up, man. Its the same as everything else, not everyone is smart, not everyone is stupid. Are all hard rock fans smart... no! Are they all stupid... no! Besides, many of the metal ideals that are told through the music are often eye opening and challange your mind.
So, in conclusion, I would like to ask, that people who don't know anything about what they're talking about, shut the fuck up!
78 - Thrash 'Till Death
Something I forgot to mention. I saw the comment about Rob Halford that was made in the article. He is gay... so? Why the fuck should that matter?
79 - Jettrink
Just another limp wristed left over from the 80's who admired Boy George,but despised anything louder than Duran Duran.
Well metal has not only survived but it's even more popular than ever,and has moved on in different styles.
So stick that in ya pipe and smoke it.
As far as the kinks started metal put down,
your'e pathetic..
80 - SCIchieftan
Anyone have information on late sixties, early seventies "heavy metal" band Black Pearl. House band in Aspen Co. area for several years in this time frame
81 - bonhm
Bonham was a sloppy drunk drummer?????
who the hell said that?
one of the greatest drummers of all time!
the reason all these latterday hard rock artists fail so miserably (including page&plant) is :
they dont have bonham!! just listen to any of the drummers with their square non-groovy stick gymnastics... bonzo had the FUNK.
if you think that is sloppy you dont know shit. check out "syncopation" in your dictionary
82 - Some Dude
Justin Timberlake started metal. =D
83 - BO BO
U PEOPLE R FREAKS
84 - Sid
the dude who wrote this is a fucking moron and knows absolutely nothing about metal. prolly some fat emo kid who got jumped by metalheads...learn2metal fatboy
85 - ron.o
the term "heavy metal" was coined by william s burroughs in the book naked lunch ,or not. blue cheer gets my vote
86 - SabbathBloodySabbath
Sabbath for fuck sake! You cretinous fucking retards (especially the author) are talking about 3 different genres!!
Metal, rock and punk.
Sabbath laid the METAL foundations, Led Zep and Deep purple were not too far behind, But it was sabbath who really laid it down. From that point, they were copied, the music became faster etc and became what we know today as metal.
87 - Wizard
Helter Skelter was the first metal song. Deal with that. ;)
88 - rob
The author is a fucking dumbass. Have you ever read the lyrics of some metal bands. Buy the new Machine head cd, the blackening. Listen to the intricacy of the music and the well articulated words. They aint no dumbasses and neither are most metal heads. Lots of metal songs deal with politics and corruption. No dumb fucks can write songs like that.
89 - metal sucks worse than anything
metal is so retarded
sabbath was okay
i think judas priest really put metal on the map and spawned all of the really terrible sounding copycat-ish bands and then mtv came along and poof everybody's been totally retarded ever since
it's stupid to go back to you really got me and try to say that THAT particular rock song was the first metal song or whatever
hard rock was solid and consistent forever long before metal became a gay fad thanks to mtv and stupid kids,lol
there's been some okay metal bands here and there over the years but nothing to rival old school hard rock,instead just a few bands that could be considered slightly influenced by hard rock
i hate heavy metal,it's missing on so many levels and most of it sucks,haha .. and it's made by tone deaf retards who take themselves too seriously and they all seems to be stuck in metalfag land rather than able to fully appreciate and explore music or grasp that you can go for a different sound than that
everybody can go for different sounds instead of all doing the same-ish sounding bullshit and taking themselves all seriously which is what they all do practically and most of them just come off sounding totally retarded
ooh HORROR... get over it pussies
lighten the fuck up once in awhile,get a sense of humor and several other senses as well that you mongoloid buttholes seem to be missing
you dicks don't get music,you don't fucking get it at all,lmao
get over your egos and thinking you're all hot shit technique-wise cause at the end of the day you sound like shit and you sound retarded and you sound unoriginal and lame and that's just gay
but you wont because you're fagz!
90 - Christopher Rose
There are many unwritten rules in life, on or off the web. Included amongst them is that anybody who starts off by referring to others as retarded, is. Another is that anybody who then carries on to refer to others as fags or gay is worried about their own sexuality. A third is that some people are just too afraid to use their names when making comments, possibly because they are, on some level, aware of how stupid they sound...
91 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Mr. Rose.. You are Correct,Sir!! Thank You.
..and they all seems to be stuck in metalfag land rather than able to fully appreciate and explore music or grasp that you can go for a different sound than that
First, you should appreciate the English language & fully understand grammar before you open your mouth & sound like a jackass.
Second, Me being a Metalhead, I have probably listened to more music than you could fathom in that squashed up little brain of yours...So, I wouldn't pigeon-hole people on the basis of their preferred listening choice.
92 - metal blows and swallows
typical metalhead: pink floyd the wall sucks, it's all slow and untechnical and the don't rock out with their cock out while mentioning satan every other word
93 - Joe Satri-anti
Metal predefines the sound too much.
Plus most metal couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.
94 - Charlie
We'll never settle on who "invented" metal; some journalists say Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" was the beginning of it. But it doesn't have characteristics like "palm-muting" the guitar strings or a lot of 16th note-speed riffing, so I'd say it was more hard rock than metal.
My take? I say it all started either with "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles (their most ass-kicking song ever) or "Train Kept-A-Rolling" by The Yardbirds.
First metal band? Whoever said Blue Cheer is probably right on.
And as far as Van Halen is concerned, they started out as the loudest hard rock band in the world, then entered the world of heavy metal with albums like Fair Warning and songs like "Unchained."
All you hard rock fans should realize that Van Halen didn't always stick themselves into one genre; they had bluesy types of songs; they practically invented pop-metal with songs like "Dance The Night Away" and synth-happy gems like "Jump"; and kick-ass songs like "Romeo Delight" were pure metal, no doubt about it.
So VH were (and still are) a great, inventive rock band who blurred the lines between hard rock and metal.
95 - EATPOOP
Listen, here is how to understand all things metal. Smoke blunts. Alot. Listen to Manowar. Listen to Cannibal Corpse. Listen to Slayer(old). Listen to Devourment. Listen to Hammerfall. Listen to Putrid Pile. Listen to a billion other badass metal bands. Blogs suck. Die with your boots on.
Nobody in particualr "invented" it...it just formed out of all the rock that was getting heavier and heavier. Dont call the Kinks metal anymore cause kids who listen to skiffle and wear matching outfits just arent metal. Nu-metal can eat more vomit than a stupid bored puppy.
96 - jay and silent bob
are you all fucking morons???????? led sep sucks cock and never had any thign to do with the start of heavy metal if i find any of you! your gonna get the beating of your fucking life
love jay and silent bob
97 - Mark Saleski
to be clear, us morons also luv Britney Fox.
98 - rap_hater
fuck n slay all u fuckin metal haters,who shag watching negros wearing long tees n pants down till der knees,and pounds of gold,
ok we know ur rich,
ok we know u want 2 be KOOL,emulate ur sad dick,YOYO's
as for d lovey dovey rock n roll listeners,we metalheads respect the beatles as much as u do,we respect blues,jazz, as much as u do
n we expect d same,
screw all hiphop/rap/trance/pop electronic shit
99 - Alex
"Piper at the Gates of Dawn - by Pink Floyd -- back before they became boring, commercial, and pedestrian -- dosesn't that album pre-date all of the above?"
Piper at the Gates of Dawn wasn't metal at all. It was whimsical English psychedelic rock and pop, Syd Barrett style.
100 - gothslayer
metalheads are fags who eat their own cum
101 - music is dead
music is dead O_O
it's okay to all go and do something else now
102 - HEY
Van Halen is back. But alas way too late. :(
103 - Eat shit
Wow, this is a truly brilliant post by a bona fide genius. Sir, you should be teaching history all throughout the Ivy League. I mean, who would ever have guessed that "You Really Got Me" might be a candidate for first metal song?
You should really also be the Republican nominee. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I encountered someone with such a flair for unsubstantiated (and not to mention, absurd) assertions and demonization of others. You are truly gifted.
In other words, fuck off.
104 - D:
Your mom.
105 - Douglas Mays
Heavy Metal? Is that anything like Heavy Pottery?
106 - collapse
To the fact of dumb metal and so on:
You have to differentiate between heavy metal and death metal , black metal and so on.
but there are always some bands that sing senseless songs and some that have a real sense for example we have Iron Maiden (f.e. Fear of the Dark) / Metallica (f.e. Master of Puppets) i think thats enough to prove that metal isnt any dumb-assed music sang by some drunken idiots!!
sry for my english im german.
107 - JB
Link Wray, and then the Kinks invented modern hard-rock (distortion + power chords.)
Heavy metal is a slightly different animal.
It's an arbitrary starting point (depends how many aggregate elements you consider):
Some landmarks:
Small Faces, "You Need Lovin", 1966. Steve Marriott was the prototype for the development of high-range metal vocals (influenced Robert Plant and Rod Stewart.)
The Yardbirds, "Psycho Daisies", 1966. Probably the first truly headbanging tune. Very fast, distorted and manic. Much more so than the Kinks.
Jeff Beck is in my mind the father of heavy metal guitar. He was doing a variation of hammer-ons and non-blues leads in 1966. He influenced so many guitarists it's not even funny (Brian May, Ritchie Blackmore, Eddie Van Halen.) Check out his work with the Yardbirds and early solo singles.
Cream, "Toad", 1966. First drum solo track, Ginger Baker.
Vanilla Fudge, 1967. Vinnie Appice probably the proto-metal drummer, very heavy.
Blue Cheer, 1967. Enough said above. Invented the speed freak heavy guitar rhythms that Black Sabbath implemented.
Ted Nugent/Amboy Dukes, "Journey To The Center of The Mind", 1968. Invented "horse-gallop" - the prototypical metal rhythm that would be used by everyone from Deep Purple to Heart to Iron Maiden.
Jeff Beck Group, 1968. Invented the metal album format.
Someone above mentioned 'Highway Star' by Deep Purple as the moment it all "came together."
Actually if you check "Hard Lovin Man" off Deep Purple In Rock you'll see they already had it before "Machine Head".
108 - Disturbedfan101
GET STUPIFIED!!!
109 - Disturbedfan101
GET PSYCHO!!!!
110 - MetalHistorian
The first heavy metal cut ever recorded was "E too D" by The Small Faces on their debut album, released in May of 1966. It had all the elements Led Zeppelin used on their first album.
I challenge you music dorks to come up with an earlier metal cut. And no, fuzzy guitar and power chords do not heavy metal make. You need the metal power chord rhythm and vocals as well.
111 - FBD
the guy who wrote this is a dumb fuck...
the inventor of metal is obviously SATAN, like fuck... you have to sell your soul to him before you even attempt to play metal
dirty sound guitar with the mid cut down, power chords, double beater drums, grunting vocals, changing tempos, and the feel of your head getting taking off...thats metal..
and who gives a fuck about who started metal....
80's metal was the shit, 90's metal was the shit...the only metal guitarist from the 90's that took new fame was dimebag(RIP)and in 2000 metal when to shit...no metal bands now adays dont even know how to fucking write metal..it all sounds like shit... so fucking hail the fucking 80's and 90's metal cause its the best its gonna get.
112 - luxelysium
Incredible how many people hate metal while all along the way we speak about such great bands as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Rush, Rainbow, Queen, etc.
Some said that metal has no good vocalists, well, I doubt they ever really listened to anything other than their run of the mill new wave britt pop indie shoe-watching lameness; or maybe the metaphisically ever deeper art of pussycat dolls, madonna and their ilk.
Seriously its sickening to read that some people are so intelligent - they give the allusion of being so with pseudo-intellectual verbal diahrea - that their brains stupefy their auditory tracts. Ian Gillan, Ronnie James Dio, David Coverdale, Zachary Stevens (Savarage), James La Brie (Dream Theater), Russel Allen (Symphony X) are all singers of a caliber that is hardly paralleled in your eagle eye cherry and justin timberlake puff dady or whatever world you metal-haters seem to be entrenched in. Some of the best musicians known since 1970 come from the hated heavy metal and hard rock genre. Its sickening to read that qualities like virtuosity, complexity of instumentation and technical prowess in metal which is only paralleled by progressive rock (by the way we also have metal on progressive territories)is intentionally left out of consideration or if not then while mentioning it in the context of metal music then it is being ridiculized. Why? Pure, irrational hate!
Let me ask a question: compared to what kind of music are you haters dismiss metal? I am very curious. I just dare to presume its not pussycat dolls. And please do not come with that naive phrase of stereotypal, unreflected bias of "whats good is before 1970", tell me whats so good after that year. Punk? Do not make me laugh. Hip-hop? The so called "alternative" talentless moaning-rock of the nineties? Britney Spears? Gosh, some people just hate metal because they align themselves with their imaginary peers of educated high-class snobish ignorants, because they wish to shine through to them as good boys and intellectual whatnots subserviently licking the boots of the musical establishment by reinforcing its outdated and intentionally malicious prejudices.
113 - Haribo 420
Entry #100 " funny!
Entry #110 " funny!
Now asked for #122 .... thats pretty damn interesting. Although I didn't really understand some of your big words :p being a metal fan n' all.
Anyhoo's, Skid Row!! Sebastian Bach! Awesome singer. Edguy! Tobi Sammet - he rules!! Manowar Eric Adams etc etc ... hundreds of awsome vocalists. Guitarists? ... we're going to be here AAAAAAALLLLL day man.
Much peace and love.
x
114 - Shennanigans
I call Shennanigans. Everyone knows that Fred Flintstone is the grandfather of everything derived from Rock Music.
115 - Clarence Yu
I'm surprised that no one mentioned Keith Richards. The riff on "Satisfaction" was originally a horn riff but Keith supposedly wanted to get something that would make the riff stand "long and hard." The story goes that Ian Stewart went out and got a distortion pedal. There you go.
And what about Muddy Waters? Chicago blues?
116 - Ryan Biddle
What can I say, Adam? Acting like a jerk is certainly one way to get attention. If not for your scathing comments on metal fans, I would likely still be in the dark on IBM and Amazon.com. Thanks. Oh, and you're wrong in your myopia.
117 - LEE
deep purple, next question, Way to pidgeonhold metalheads. makes me think all bloggers live in moms basement and troll anime conventions for goth chicks
118 - HeavyMetalDumbFuck Head
In spite of the fact that the original discussion gets at time a bit profane it is in fact an interesting one.
Tricky and obviously controversial depending on your taste. One thing is for sure: you can not go by who first used "heavy metal" in their song or A WALL OF FUCKING 100 WATT MARSHALLS + 3 CHORDS
I think Black Sabbath 's Black Sabbath is what shaped the Heavy Metal, no questions asked. No t so much the lyrics but the tone, the attitude, the head banging, the TUNE (that every metal band in the world can't with out it), the drums, bass, vocals ...all was mixed VERY well together as approaching the cumulative peak or orgasm (as per the "dumb-fuck metal heads") at the end and yet leaving room for improvement and creativity that so many bands took advantage of it including Black Sabbath itself. Now, throw in the incredible talent, speed, and adrenaline of Richie Deep Purple's HIGHWAY STAR and you produce the Gods of Metal - Judas Priest as well as the Kings of Metal that never forgot the face of their father - Manowar, but unfortunately very underestimated in their own homeland . The rest is merely a statistical race history of extremely skillfull champions such as Iron Maiden, Motorhead, etc topped by the unforgiving Metallica!
In two bands. BS and DP!!!
119 - Will
Dude, fuck off, metal is great, and i'm not a dumbfuck, i love metal, and i have a brain [Gratuitous vulgarity deleted by Comments Editor]
120 - jason maurer
What defines the birth of heavy metal for me is the introduction of satan. Loud or raucous or heavy just isn't badass enough. It has to have a dark, evil undertone. It has to scare you. It's your duende.
In which case, you have to give the nod to Black Sabbath. That first album has harmonica, Jew's harp, cowbell, jazz beats, happy blues rhythms, etc. and still there is something evil lurking in every song.
121 - Kostas
Steve Harris is the reason Heavy Metal exists.
122 - Edoo
Ok, whoever wrote this incredibly ignorant and foolish article has to have at least genetical mental problems on the account of his probably gay father. How would you dare say that heavy metal fans are dumb fucks and that metal is the dumb fuck little underbelly of metal? first of all rock may have spawned metal, but metal lyrics are way more complex and spiritual than Guns 'n' Roses and Van Halen's. Metal fans are also a lot of times smarter than rock, pop, and punk fans. Also, your accusing a lot of things of being Satanic. Proves the writer is a complete and ignorant faggot. All the metal fans here, lets go to some other thread were the writer isn't completely wrong in everything he knows.
123 - Christopher Rose
Bearing in mind the logical ability and grasp of language of the previous commenter, am I to assume that heavy metal fans are latent homosexuals?
124 - zingzing
edoo: "How would you dare say that heavy metal fans are dumb fucks and that metal is the dumb fuck little underbelly of metal?"
yesssss.... come back later, the snake is eating.
"Metal fans are also a lot of times smarter than rock, pop, and punk fans."
i'm hoping english is your first language, because this would be much more funny. but i kinda doubt it. german? nazi much? maybe swedish.
edoo, if you're trying to lead your fellow metal lovers towards the promised metal land, you're making them all look like assholes. you are shameful. in reality land, you're a lonely person, aren't you?
125 - Dr Dreadful
Adam's article is thought-provoking but rather spoiled by the ad hominem attacks on metal fans which are sprinkled liberally through it.
However, having read some of the subsequent comments, why should anyone be surprised that non-metal fans tend to think of their headbanging contemporaries as knuckle-dragging morons with the musical appreciation of a cauliflower?
(It isn't really the metal fans' fault: I suspect that most of them who have shared their feelings on this thread are recent products or works-in-progress of the American education system, which does not excel at developing in its students the ability to express themselves articulately in any language resembling English.)
For myself, I've loved heavy metal since my teens. I think it's one of the most exciting genres of music to listen to. I recently attended an AC/DC concert - possibly the loudest noise in all of Creation, although since I have yet to see Motorhead live I will reserve that judgement - and felt young again. Metal has that effect: you feel invigorated. (And deaf.)
That said, I've never been able to define exactly what metal is. It's noteworthy that the supreme gods of the metal pantheon - Zeppelin, Purple, Sabbath - didn't consider themselves to be metal bands. And there are plenty of bands down the years who most wouldn't consider to be metal but who've blurred the line on occasion - Rush, R.E.M. (particularly Monster) and Wolfmother to name but three.
As for who invented it, that's probably as pointless as trying to identify the last classic rock 'n' roll song. Some people might say it's 'You Really Got Me', some might say 'Wild Thing' by the Troggs, some might hold out for the first single released by an identifiably metal band.
I'm just going to continue to enjoy all kinds of music, including metal.