Metal music

:For more information on Metal, see Heavy metal music

History

Origins

The term "heavy metal" was putatively coined by the 60s rock band Steppenwolf in their most popular song, 'Born To Be Wild' with the line "heavy metal thunder...". Various accounts have the term first being applied to a style of music in description of Psychedelic Rock acts like Cream or The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The genre's inception, however, did not occur until the release of Black Sabbath's eponymous first album, which combined thundering, Stentorian basslines, irregular song structures, and, most importantly, heavily distorted, power-chord-laden and often down-tuned or palm-muted guitar riffs to form the first true metal album. Black Sabbath's influences can facilely be traced back to the bluesy hard rock of bands like Led Zeppelin and Cream, but modern metal as a whole owes as much to the modal hard rock of Deep Purple (as well as guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's subsequent band, Rainbow) and early Progressive Rock bands like King Crimson and Jethro Tull that layed the musical foundations for future innovators.

Related Topics:
Steppenwolf - Psychedelic Rock - Cream - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Black Sabbath - Led Zeppelin - Hard rock - Deep Purple - Ritchie Blackmore - Rainbow - Progressive Rock - King Crimson - Jethro Tull

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Evolution

Black Sabbath were the seminal and first real metal band, belonging to the sub-genre Heavy Metal (which in recent years has increasingly become known as Traditional Metal or Classic Metal, both for accuracy and to avoid confusion), as well as being innovators of the Doom Metal sub-genre with their first three albums. Metal then progressed through Judas Priest and Power Metal progenitors Iron Maiden and Dio on the one hand, while bands such as Motörhead, Paul Di'Anno-era Iron Maiden, and early thrash like Overkill and Metallica infused punk aesthetics and extreme speed into Black Sabbath's template on the other. Beginning with Judas Priest, metal bands quickly began to look beyond Sabbath's almost exclusive use of the blues scale to incorporate diatonic modes into their solos. This has since spread throughout virtually all sub-genres of metal (some Doom, following in Sabbath's footsteps, being the main exception) and along with an overriding sense of musicianship are the main contributions classical and jazz (via progressive rock) have made to the genre.

Related Topics:
Black Sabbath - Heavy Metal - Traditional Metal - Judas Priest - Iron Maiden - Dio - Motörhead - Paul Di'Anno - Overkill - Metallica - Diatonic - Classical - Jazz

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In the early and mid 1980s the burgeoning sub-genre of thrash began to split further into Death Metal, led by Possessed and Death, and Black Metal (a term coined by Venom, who despite which lacked some integral characteristics of the genre, such as the buzz-saw vocals), in which Bathory and Mayhem were key players early. Progressive Metal, a fusion of the progressive stylings of bands like Rush and King Crimson and Traditional Metal began in the 80's, too, behind innovators like Fates Warning and later Queensryche, who enjoyed substantial mainstream acceptance and success in the hair metal era. Melo-Death, in many ways similar instrumentally to Iron Maiden, but with high-pitched death vocals instead of semi-operatic, arose out of the Gothenburg scene circa 1990, with Dark Tranquility (and vocalist Anders Friden's later band, In Flames) and At the Gates at the forefront. The modern forms of Doom Metal and Power Metal came into existence around the same time period with Candlemass and Helloween, respectively.

Related Topics:
Possessed - Death - Venom - Bathory - Mayhem - Rush - King Crimson - Fates Warning - Queensryche - Gothenburg - Dark Tranquility - Anders Friden - In Flames - At the Gates - Candlemass - Helloween

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Evolution continued at a rapid pace throughout the nineties, notably the Stoner Metal and Sludge Metal (both sub-sub-genres of Doom) movements, which drew heavily from Stoner Rock band Kyuss, and industrial bands such as Fear Factory that assimilated synthesizers into a more traditional Death Metal sound. Black, Death and derivatives are the predominant styles in most metal scenes today, but it is progressive acts like Dream Theater and Opeth that (aside from nu-metal, metalcore, and aging thrash and classic metal bands) garner the highest record sales.

Related Topics:
Stoner Metal - Kyuss - Fear Factory - Dream Theater - Opeth

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