A Heavy Metal History, The Tale Of The Metal Gods

And then there was metal. A musical force to be reckoned with. Probably the most maligned and underrated form of music excluding country. The kind of music that your parents hate, and the kind can make you neighbours ears bleed. Both majestically beautiful and brutally cathartic, metal expresses what no other form of music can. It’s can be both the devils music or gods musical present to the world. It’s the music worlds big conundrum. Art Or Trash? Music or Noise? I think you can guess how I feel about heavy metal, but how much do you really know about metal? Do you judge from afar, not truly knowing how it began and how influential it has become? If so come with me on a journey as I charter the ages of metal in awesome, time consuming and ultimately rewarding mega-posts about my favourite kind of music.

The Origins Of The Metal (1968 – 1980)

Part 1: Proto-metal Or Hard Rock (<1970)

Where did metal begin I hear you ask? Good question, and a much debated topic among those of us who truly know our metal. Probably the easiest answer is to go with the obvious, the origin of the word heavy metal.

The words “heavy metal thunder” can be heard in Steppenwolf’s quintessential song Born To Be Wild, released on their self-titled album in 1968. This is believed to be the genesis of the phrase heavy metal, despite the fact that Steppenwolf’s music was not exactly representative of the Heavy Metal sound. It is also known that the phrase “metal music” was used by William Burroughs in his novel “Nova Express” published in 1962. However, the first official use of the term heavy metal in relation to a particular style of music was not in common usage until such true progenitors of Heavy Metal such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest came in to existence during the 70’s. All music that represents Heavy Metal’s roots prior to this ‘official’ beginning is termed to be Proto-Metal or Hard Rock, and is not considered heavy metal per se, despite its obvious influence.

If we go back far enough we can see Heavy Metal beginning with music’s transition into electronic instruments, electric guitars and amplifiers in particular. Right through the 60’s we can see an increasing number of bands including The Rolling Stones And the Yardbirds taking old blues classics and “electrifying” them, rerecording those songs with often distorted and dissonant guitar sounds. This trend reached a knew level when this blues influence met with the psychedelic rock of the 1960’s. The supergroup Cream were particularly influential in the generation of a more original more recognisable heavy metal sound. Throughout their albums you can hear Eric Clapton’s screaming guitar solos and Ginger Baker’s signature double bass drumming forming the basis for the Heavy Metal bands to come. One listen to their classic “White Room” and its really quite obvious.

The next step in the genre’s birth was an original thematic aesthetic, an aesthetic delivered by none other than American rock troubadours Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page’s highly distorted guitar solos and Robert Plant’s lyrical dramatics and wailing tone are now standout features of heavy metal throughout the ages (listen to “Immigrant Song” for the best example of this). And then something magical happened.

Classic Metal MP3’s (<1970)

Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
Cream – White Room
The Yardbirds – I Wish You Would

Part II: Heavy Metal Pioneers (1970 – 1975)

Heavy Metal was born in the hearts and minds of two incredibly important bands, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Black Sabbath’s heavy metal sound was born out of necessity. Their lead guitarist and cofounder Tommy Iommi had his hand mangled in a machinery accident at the age of fifteen, forcing him to relearn to play guitar. This involved him detuning his guitar in order to take advantage of the simpler chord structures. This deeper distorted sound was important in defining the heavy metal sound, which was perfected on their second album Paranoid, an international smash featuring their hits Paranoid, War Pigs and Iron Man.

Deep Purple on the other hand needed a few albums before they truly defined their heavy metal sound. In 1970, Deep Purple released their fourth album “Deep Purple In Rock”, a total revamp of their poppier earlier style. They also reached a mainstream audience, scoring a place for Black Night at number 2 on the UK charts. Part of this heavy metal mainstream success were other influential heavy metal bands including Uriah Heep, Kiss And Rainbow. These bands would go on to have a great deal of success within the heavy metal genre. Bands like Kiss were famous for their on stage theatrics and aesthetic focus, something that while being popular, made metal appear hokey and gimmicky to musical critics, resulting in poor critical support. Only today with the benefit of hindsight can we see the true importance of these heavy metal pioneers.

Classic Metal MP3’s (1970 - 1975)

Deep Purple – Smoke On The Water
Black Sabbath – Iron Man
Kiss – Strutter

Part III: Mainstream Dominance, The Metal Strikes Back

As I was saying in part II metal was generally regarded by the populace as an amusing but ultimately shallow form of rock music and metal sales fell sharply towards the end of the decade. Punk music had taken the world by storm, dominating the mainstream consciousness with a message that said “fuck you” to rock music’s pomposity and decadence. This was however an important stage in the development of the true metal sound we love today. As the metal bands went underground, its aesthetic spread into the mainstream music of the late 70’s. Metal’s stage antics were alive and well in Alice Cooper, its showy vocals prevalent in Queen, its duelling guitar onslaught in Thin Lizzy, its grand themes in the thundering compositions of Rainbow and all of these aspects were featured in the music of Judas Priest. These more mainstream rock bands helped to solidify the archetype of what was to become the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The sound was cleaner, faster, less blues based and very epic. The bands of today look back on this type of metal being the most influential on the current scene, the genesis of metal in the truest sense. Metal was to take the next decade by the horns and make the 80’s its bitch.

Classic Metal MP3’s (1975 - 1980)

Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town
Queen – Killer Queen
Judas Priest - Breaking The Law
Alice Cooper - Schools Out

Thus concludes the first instalment of the heavy metal history. Stay tuned in coming weeks for a deeper exploration of heavy metal in the 80's and beyond.