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Introduction to Heavy Metal:
My intent is to help define what Heavy Metal is and what it means. This is not an exact science but more of what I have gathered from personal experience and a collaboration of viewpoints over the years. I come from the sixties/seventies and witnessed heavy metals conception and birth, first hand. The greatest times of my life have always been surrounded by metal.
By definition: Metal is a form of rock music characterized by highly amplified guitars, strong, aggressive and driving rhythms, all supported by violent, nihilistic, or philosophical thematic elements. Metal is a non conformist music that defies the boundaries of media accepted trends.
In reality: Metal is truly a music that is next to impossible to define, it has it's own book of rules and it's own laws to govern by. It's forever changing and evolving into something new and it's culture and art form are as much visual as it is audible - album covers / stage shows / lyrical expression are almost as important to the presentation as the music it's self.
Led Zeppelin - IV
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Deep Purple - Machine Head
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
Kiss - Destroyer
Van Halen - Van Halen
Judas Priest - British Steel
Saxon - Strong Arm of the Law
Def Leppard - Pyromania
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
Whitesnake - Whitesnake
G.N.R. - Appetite for Destruction
Voivod - Killing Technology
Celtic Frost -
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Ozzy - Blizzard Of Ozz
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Quiet Riot - Metal Health
Led Zeppelin - III
AC/DC - Back in Black
Metallica - Metallica
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
Venom - Black Metal
Possessed - Seven Churches
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Rush - 2112
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Bathory - Bathory
Accept - Balls to the Wall
Death - Symbolic
Heavy Metal was born out of the non-conformity to social accepted structure. It's roots are seeded in the belief that we must challenge structure as it is based on the past viewpoints imposed on the future. Metal is pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable. It is a hybrid of rock music and continues to evolve. Some bands can fall into more than one genre as their music allows them to. The sounds of Heavy Metal range from the Heavy rock of the seventies to the dark aggressiveness of modern day extreme metal.
Metal (heavy metal) will be debated many times over and never really have an exact date and / or band that created the genre. Some will give the credit to Steppenwolf and there use of the phrase "heavy metal thunder" which refers to a motorcycle. Then their is also the Beatles writing of Helter Skelter and before this the Kinks with You Really Got Me. There were bands writing material that evolved through time and eventually these steps became darker and more aggressive.
Heavy Metal as a genre was formulated from the deep, brooding, drug-laden rock of the late 1960's. The emergence of the unholy trinity ...
(3 British rock bands) that would change the world of rock forevermore. These bands are authentic pioneers and largely responsible for laying the foundation of what would become known as heavy metal.
Led Zeppelin hammered out their blues folk based influences into a unique and popular heavy rock groove.
Black Sabbath used power riffing and dark modalities to express the paranoid nihilism of the time.
Deep Purple melded the heavy rock edge with classical influences creating heavy metallic anthems.
Each of these bands pushed the envelope of what was safe and created music in uncharted terrertories. The dark lyrics and eerie subject material were a backlash against societies chains. These bands were true to their surroundings and wrote about life while forging the steel that spawned a generation of metalheads. By the mid to late 70's the heavy metal world was beginning to form and it's identity would bring metallic styling's to the forefront of the guitar writing structure. While some bands explored dark caverns and venture into strange melodies others dabbled in majestic overtones or balanced the level between rock and punk influences. At the turn of the decade metal had anchored in and was on the brink of great things, it's popularity had grown world wide and what took years to formulate had now become an overnight success.
The Resurgenace of heavy metal:
TO BE CONTINUED ...
The Discussion of Heavy Metal and it's origins can be found in the forum. Thoughts, opinions and knowledge there of is most welcomed so please feel free to speak your mind. click here
What are the top 10 most important heavy metal albums of all time ?. click here
