John Lennon once claimed the Beatles started metal with his song “Ticket to Ride.” (He also said his band was more popular than Jesus.) He got it wrong. “Ticket to Ride” is a heavy song, but it isn’t as metal as “You Really Got Me.”
Why not? Because the Kinks came up with the one thing that defines metal, the one sound that launched a whole genre. Their innovation on “You Really Got Me” was this: they were the first to use a heavy fuzz riff guitar, which gave metal its most characteristic sound.
I hope this gives all you dumb-fuck metal fans a clue as to where your favorite dumb-fuck music actually comes from.
FOUND THIS interesting? More stuff like it at Adam Ash.
ed: JH
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - The Proprietor
Absolutely agreed on "You Really Got Me" as the progenitor of heavy metal, but I'd say that "I Feel Fine" should also be credited as a proto-metal song (which is slightly amusing, since the guitar playing the heavy riff that drives the song is Lennon's acoustic-electric Gibson J-160E)
2 - Marty Dodge
First metal musician was Wagner. Another person who had a huge influence on heavy metal was Robert Johnson. His attitude, subject matter and life are all very metal.
It depends on what elements you believe constitute the first metal song.
As far as metal being dumb? Iron Maiden is certainly not dumb in their outlook, personality nor lyrics. Neither is Opeth or Anathema or Voivod...
Black Sabbath, Ozzy and Venom don't define the genre.
3 - Marty Dodge
As far as metal-heads being all morons or drunks...that is bullshit. I have met a lot of metal fans & musicians (Bruce 'airline pilot, author, documentary and radio host' Dickinson for instance) in my 25 years as a metal fan/rock DJ/critic that are very bright. None of the metal fans I have as friends have any education less than college degree, most of them have post-grad degrees. I know of doctors, scientists and engineers (of all types) who like metal.
There are idiot metal fans & musicians; but I dare say you can find quite a few who like any type of music you can name.
4 - gonzo marx
first "metal"..the guy who fired up the first bagpipes..
heh..the first heavy metal modern rock band?
Steppenwolf...
defined the genre?
Motorhead
next question please "Alex"...heavy metal for $1000
Excelsior!
5 - The Theory
>>In some ways it can never be respectable, because it so easily becomes a parody of itself. <<
...because, uh, every other genre of music doesn't do this??? WTF?
6 - Mark Saleski
lotsa folks think that Blue Cheer's version of "Summertime Blues" is the first heavy metal song.
i don't really know.
7 - BRICKLAYER
Um, what was the question, again?
8 - Mark Saleski
what kind of pussy listens to Cattle Decapitation?
;-)
9 - BRICKLAYER
Ouch. *hangs head and reaches for new Chimaira cd*
10 - Brian Garrepy
Obviously, When the Dumb-Fuck author insists that Van Halen or G'n"R is metal.... LOL!! GETAFUCKINGCLUE.
11 - adam
The dumb-fuck author wants to apologize for calling metal fans dumb-fucks. I shouldn't have let my preference for hard rock -- Stones, Creedence -- show in a stoopid insult. As for Van Halen and G'nR, I DO think they skirt the border between metal and hard rock heavily, with lots of visits and long stays in metal land. But since there are so many different metal sub-genres (punk metal, speed metal, crash metal, et ad infinitum) it was real stupid of me to call a genre with so many sub-genres dumb-fuck. Maybe there should be an extra sub-genre, called cliched dumb-fuck metal.
12 - Triniman
You Reall Got Me preceded Summertime Blues by about four years.
I can't pick one band that defines metal since it is a broad genre...Zeppelin are different from Priest...Sabbath are different from Maiden...AC DC are different from BOC and so on. And some folks, like me, really wouldn't describe Zeppelin as being metal. Hard rock, yes, but not metal. Who were the first full-time metal band? I would guess either Blue Cheer or Sabbath. Anyone else?
13 - Temple Stark
Little Richard.
14 - Baronius
I've seen this same argument about the origins of punk, and a lot of people trace it back to "You Really Got Me".
There are elements of heavy metal in earlier rock, but "Highway Star" was the first moment when everything came together. The blistering lead, the screamed vocals, the tempo, the distortion, et cetera.
15 - bullshit
The post started badly, continued badly and i didn't even know how it finished because i stopped reading it when i saw this: "Only players as good as the guys in Metallica"
Someone who thinks the guys in Metallica are the epitome of the Metal genre probably know his metal as well as i know astrophysics.
16 - BRICKLAYER
And the answer is...SATAN. Duh.
17 - Jim S
need you be so condescending?
us "dumb-fucks" can read, you know.
the arguement can be made for any of those bands you named to have "invented" heavy metal, but it wasn't really until the so-called "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" in the early 80's that the term "heavy metal" was coined (by that guy from Sounds, no less...
bands like Saxon, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard (before they were what they are!)Angelwitch, Diamondhead, etc. were leading that charge.
really, though.. who cares? I've always found labels and semantics a little restrictive....
18 - gonzo marx
sorry to disagree, Jim..
"heavy metal thunder"..Steppenwolf, Born to be Wild
used to denote both Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin's style of music in Rolling Stone, among other places...
long before the '80
the wimp poser wannabe shit form 80's hair metal is anothe rthing entirely, and comes form marketers wanting to get their "product" to have the cachet of Zeppelin..Bog alone knows why..( Def Leppard?..i mean, c'mon)
Iron Maiden was another thing all together...Maiden and Anthrax had listened to both Rush and Motorhead, and knew where they wanted to go...complex and very,very,very fast...
one went Poetic, the other invented skate rat metal...early 80's
but i digress..
Excelsior!
19 - AJ
LMFAO. It's safe to say this man hungout at too many coffee shops, smoking too much weed and listening to OK Computer one to man times. College has come and gone The Seattle scene is over, the new wave of British Alt/Indie rock won't last, and your path as a writer will never exceed the wonderful medium of the "blog". This post is just more evidence that the internet gives a voice to those whose opinion is completley irrelevant. I could care less about the "metal" scene; it's full of nothing more then fat, aging gas station workers. But, in all honesty, I'd rather smoke my weed with them than some coffe house, indie rocker.
20 - Marty Dodge
I have always thought metal really got its wind with Cream (Ginger Baker's drumming) and even before that with the Yardbirds.
Hair metal was only called metal by lazy journalists. Most of that stuff (which I like btw) is merely hard-rock (or hard-blues if you wish to be truly pedantic) or pop-rock. Metal is an entirely different animal.
21 - Baronius
(I'm defending hair metal on the internet. My life is not what I'd hoped.)
Obviously, the pop-marketed heavy metal of the 80's was ridiculous. But some of the guitar work was both fast and intelligent. If you want to go by looks, then Van Halen was a big-hair metal band, but there were three skilled musicians playing behind the clown. Anyway, take a look at Dennis Miller from back then; everyone had that kind of hair.
I imagine that it was tough to be a guitar god and not sell out during the early MTV years. Ditch the integrity, grow a mane, and you can be successful. That doesn't mean that the guitar work declined in quality. (I'll admit that I'm biased toward the guitar. I've known bassists who admire the same music, however.)
Writing off a genre based on its look is as superficial as liking a genre for the same reason. I wouldn't want to miss out on The Scorpions or Judas Priest because of Twisted Sister.
22 - Shark
Saleski beat me to it.
But there it is:
Blue Cheer.
Seriously. There is no debate here. I can prove it with paper and a #2 pencil.
They played loud-ass, dumb-fuck, three-chord, curdle-yer-brain, fuck your earlobes music through an *ACTUAL, REAL, HONEST-TA GAWD WALL of 100 watt Marshall amps.
*They were the first to do that.
And for me, that's metal.
(Now go to bed, kids.)
23 - Brian Garrepy
Sorry to disagree with ya Gonzo, but Maiden didn't listen to RUSH or Motorhead...Try UFO. Actually Steve Harris was mainly influenced by Genesis. Jim S was correct in saying that NWOBHM was the wave that truly brought the term "Heavy Metal" to the limelight. I'm pretty sure that the guys from England weren't picking apart Steppenwolf's Lyrics to name their new wave of music!! Considering that Harley Davidson was started in Germany, I would be suprised if they never heard of that term used about Motorcycles. It's funny to hear about Judas Priest because Maiden didn't get along with those guys whatsoever.I feel Baronius stated it the most accurate about Deep Purple's HIGHWAY STAR... Even Metal Church did a cover on their first Album. Again, Adam...Van Halen and G'n'R were NEVER Metal!!! Metallica was damn good in their younger years but to say that Kirk Hammett inspired all the metal axe slingers to play awesome is a falsehood. I believe that Yngwie Malmsteen raised the bar out of this FUCKING world and no one has come close with the exception of Chris Impelliterri but Mr.Malmsteen wrote all of his own music(Bass,Drums,Vocals,Guitar)
I truly feel that IRON MAIDEN would have to be the forefathers of Heavy Metal due to the fact that they had such an original, extremely heavy sound.No one played bass like Steve Harris(No offense Geddy Lee) especially with NO PICK!!!
UP THE FUCKING IRONS!!!
24 - Shark
We're not talking about who or when the fucking "term" was used.
Jeesus, "Impressionism" was attached to an art movement a few years after the actual innovations that later defined it.
Besides, I defined the criteria and I answered the question.
Criteria: A WALL OF FUCKING 100 WATT MARSHALLS + 3 CHORDS.
Winner: Blue Cheer.
Now - You have the right to an INFORMED opinion.
Which means SHUT THE FUCK UP.
[insert smiley face here]
25 - Mark Saleski
what's tough here is that we're pitting the genre of metal vs. sounds that are sort of like metal.
"You Really Got Me" certainly has the loud, crunchy and distorted guitar chords...but's it's not metal.
heck, if we want to gather around the distorted sound of metal, maybe we should be talking about Dick Dale...hell, he poked holes in his amplifier speakers to get a more distorted sound.