Origins of Heavy Metal

Nobody voted for Ted.

This is a tough and interesting debate.

IMO the birth of heavy metal is hard to pin point to one band but if pushed I would say Sabbath. Yes their were plenty of bands before them that had a sound that could be seen as the beginnings of metal but Sabbath were the first band that had the true heavy guitar sound and, just as importantly, the image. The band name the song titles and lyrics and the fact they all had long hair, wore black and used a lot of religious imagery points to the the first true heavy metal band.

I don't think any band before Sabbath would have described themselves as a Heavy Metal band, even interviews I have read over the years with members of Zeppelin they always seemed to refer to themselves as a hard rock band.

I agree with Fat Freddy in that Judas priest then took this to the next level and refined this further. They were the first band to really wear the leather biker gear and their image is most closely associated with what non metal fans today would think a metal band looks and sounds like.

Tough one, but I went with Priest.

Tough choice, but my personal fave from that list is Deep Purple.

Am I the only Iron Butterfly fan?

I love the Butterfly, but they didn't break any ground if you ask me.

ultmetal wrote:

I thought about including the Yardbirds, but since Zeppelin was basically an extension of the Yardbirds, I went with them instead. The Yardbirds didn't really have any hard rock or metal in their sound either, although they certainly did have some big names in that band at one time or another.

I'va always said Sabbath, but just last night I watched a movie from 1966 called Blow Up. Suprisingly, the Yardbirds are in it (yes, Beck and Page are actually on stage in the movie) and they are playing a song called "Train Kept A Rollin". As soon as I heard it, I said, "That's metal". I didn't even know who it was, but kinda figured it out after recognizing Jimmy Page.

I don't know what the album version sounds like, but that song was metal.

My fave from that list is Priest. So I voted for them. They were the first "true" heavy metal band.

If it hadn't been for Sabbath...there would be no Priest.

I voted for Jimi Hendrix, the term heavy metal did not exist til after his death in 1970, but if it did I am sure they would have slapped the label on Hendrix.

His albums and live shows were considered the loudest of his day, in three short years Hendrix changed the way a guitar could approached and looked at, and influenced everything that followed.

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the term heavy metal did not exist til after his death in 1970

Actually you're wrong. The term "Heavy Metal" came from the song (Born to be Wild) by Steppenwolf and recorded in 1968.

"Everybody's Next One"

1968

45-single

June, 1968

Hard rock, heavy metal

2:55

Dunhill RCA

Actually the term was used in William S Burrough's beat classic novel ' The Soft Machine', where the songwriter Mars Bonfire picked up on the term and used it to describe the sound of motorcycles in ' Born to Wild" which was released in 1968 a year after Jimi Hendrix's debut album.

The term heavy metal was first used to describe a form of music in Rolling Stone magazine in 1969 when a reviewer used it to describe the sound of Humble Pie's "Town and Country' and than Rolling Stone started applying the term to bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Grand Funk, Alice Cooper and Deep Purple to identify a sound that was even heavier than so called 'acid rock'.

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where the songwriter Mars Bonfire picked up on the term and used it to describe the sound of motorcycles in ' Born to Wild" which was released in 1968 a year after Jimi Hendrix's debut album.

First time it was used set to music and the song is a early prototype of heavy metal. Back then acid rock or whatever was fuzz drenched enough to be a form of metal even before Sabbath who i credit with being the first "true" metal band that didn't just dabble in it but made a genre.

If guitar feedback (hendrix) and whammy bar shaking is all there is to being considered metal then i guess Joe Satriani is metal too.

Troublezone wrote:

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where the songwriter Mars Bonfire picked up on the term and used it to describe the sound of motorcycles in ' Born to Wild" which was released in 1968 a year after Jimi Hendrix's debut album.

First time it was used set to music and the song is a early prototype of heavy metal. Back then acid rock or whatever was fuzz drenched enough to be a form of metal even before Sabbath who i credit with being the first "true" metal band that didn't just dabble in it but made a genre.

Good point, troublezone, and I can see where the sound and attitude of 'Born to be Wild' could be seen as a prototype metal song.

Troublezone wrote:

If guitar feedback (hendrix) and whammy bar shaking is all there is to being considered metal then i guess Joe Satriani is metal too.

There was more to Jimi Hendrix's playing and for that matter Joe Satriani's than feedback and "whammy bar shaking"

manny wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

If guitar feedback (hendrix) and whammy bar shaking is all there is to being considered metal then i guess Joe Satriani is metal too.

There was more to Jimi Hendrix's playing and for that matter Joe Satriani's than feedback and "whammy bar shaking"

Sorry i guess i just see Hendrix as a bluesy hard rock player more than a "children of the grave" crunch that metal is defined by.

Troublezone wrote:

manny wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

If guitar feedback (hendrix) and whammy bar shaking is all there is to being considered metal then i guess Joe Satriani is metal too.

There was more to Jimi Hendrix's playing and for that matter Joe Satriani's than feedback and "whammy bar shaking"

Sorry i guess i just see Hendrix as a bluesy hard rock player more than a "children of the grave" crunch that metal is defined by.

I agree with your statement that Hendrix was more of bluesy player than Tony Iommi was, but also keep in my mind Iommi also had blues roots listen to his solo piece on Black Sabbath's debut 'Bit of Finger' which has strong blues influence.

How come these guys weren't on the list???



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kJONgWKFi0

I'm not deying that but even on the first Sabbath record Iommi was inventing the first chords and riffs that would be considered metal.

That is interesting thing about the history and origins of heavy metal, you can barely can get two fans to agree on not only who is a heavy metal artist but where did it begin.

Do we go back as far back as Spec ( I think it was Spec) who cite Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis as prototype metal artist, or do we start with The Kinks "You Really Got Me' (which is where I would really begin), does it begin with Hendrix and Cream or Steppenwolf etc.

It seems now adays the accepted answer would be Black Sabbath, it seems that critics (pro and con) crown Black Sabbath as the first true metal band, I can agree with that opinion for the most part but also feel that Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple deserve just as much create for helping create this genre.

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Spec ( I think it was Spec) who cite Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis as prototype metal artist

That was me. It goes back further with blues and jazz, but you're right. Where does it begin? Everyone has a differing opinion.

Troublezone wrote:

I'm not deying that but even on the first Sabbath record Iommi was inventing the first chords and riffs that would be considered metal.

If Iommi hadn't been involved in that industrial accident (that chopped off the tips of three of his fingers) he wouldn't have had to alter his playing style, the style which came to define heavy metal. That's an interesting twist of fate if there ever was one.

1) He had a hard time fingering full chords and to a lesser degree bar chords. That left him with the option of playing the root & the 5th (the power chord).

2) In the early 70's you couldn't buy light gauge strings for the guitar, Iommi was finding it increasingly difficult to play for long periods of time because the tension on the strings was hard on his hand. So before they recorded Master Of Reality he started tuning the guitar down to C# because it was easier for him to play....the direct effect of that was that it made everything HEAVIER...and detuned heavy metal was born.

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and detuned heavy metal was born

Had to throw your name in there somewhere, didn't ya.

p.s. - Hendrix also tuned down a half-step to E flat. That came from his touring with R&B bands which usually featured horn players. Most blues/jazz/R&B tunes in that era were in the key of B Flat which is a pain in the ass to play on the guitar. By tuning down a half step you can solo in "A" which is much easier to navigate.