Classical influence

The appropriation of "classical" music by heavy metal typically includes the influence of Baroque, Romantic, and Modernist composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Niccolò Paganini, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Bela Bartok and Igor Stravinsky. And the ever evocative tritone was already exploited by Romantic composers like Liszt, and most specifically by modern classical composers (such as Bartok, Stravinsky or Schoenberg) who used it especially for its anguishing and dark connotative qualities.

Deep Purple/Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had been experimenting with musical figurations borrowed from classical music since the early 1970s. Following Ritchie Blackmore, Randy Rhoads and Uli Jon Roth, the "classical" influence in metal guitar during the 1980s looked to the early eighteenth century for its model of speed and technique; notably, classically-inspired guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, whose technical prowess inspired a myriad of neo-classical metal players including Michael Romeo, Michael Angelo Batio and Tony MacAlpine. However, while heavy metal musicians may have often been inspired by classical composers, it is important to stress the fact that their music does not descend from classical music. Classical music is art music (that is to say "erudite music") whereas heavy metal is popular music.

Moreover many specialists and critics have observed that heavy metal musicians actually focus on and borrow superficial aspects of classical music (motives, melodies, scales or even sometimes real orchestral sets). However, heavy metal bands, including neo classical and progressive metal bands, generally do not try to exploit the compositional depth and complexity of classical music. For example, the players who name Bach as an influence on their work seldom make use of the complex counterpoint which is central to Bach's compositions. Furthermore, the extensive use of power chords in heavy metal (implying countless consecutive fifths) goes against one of the main principles of classical music.The use of consecutive fifths and octaves is a violation of an important rule of harmony and classical aesthetic.

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the havy metal

The origin of the term heavy metal in relation to a form of music is uncertain. The phrase had been used for centuries in chemistry and metallurgy and is listed as such in the Oxford English Dictionary. An early use of the term in modern popular culture was by counter-culture writer William S. Burroughs. In the 1962 novel, The Soft Machine, he introduces the character "Uranian Willy, the Heavy Metal Kid". His next novel in 1964, Nova Express, develops this theme further, with heavy metal being a metaphor for addictive drugs: "With their diseases and orgasm drugs and their sexless parasite life forms — Heavy Metal People of Uranus wrapped in cool blue mist of vaporized bank notes — And the Insect People of Minraud with metal music."

Metal historian Ian Christe notes the meanings of the individual components of the term in "hippiespeak,": "heavy" meaning anything with a potent mood, and "metal" designating what the mood would be, grinding and weighted as with metal.
The word "heavy" (meaning serious or profound) had entered beatnik/counterculture slang some time earlier and references to "heavy music"—typically slower, more amplified variations of standard pop fare—were already common; indeed, Iron Butterfly first started playing Los Angeles in 1967, their name explained on an album cover, "Iron- symbolic of something heavy as in sound, Butterfly- light, appealing and versatile...an object that can be used freely in the imagination". Iron Butterfly's 1968 debut album was entitled Heavy. The first recorded use of heavy metal in a song lyric is the phrase "heavy metal thunder" in the 1968 Steppenwolf song "Born To Be Wild": "I like smoke and lightning/Heavy metal thunder/Racin' with the wind/And the feelin' that I'm under". A late, but disputed, hypothesis about the origin of the genre was brought forth by "Chas" Chandler, who was a manager of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1969, in an interview on the PBS TV program "Rock and Roll" in 1995. He states that "...it was a term originated in a New York Times article reviewing a Jimi Hendrix performance," and claims the author described the Jimi Hendrix Experience "...like listening to heavy metal falling from the sky." The precise source of this claim, however, has not been found and its accuracy is disputed.

The first well-documented usage of the term is contained in a May 1971 issue of Creem, during a review of Sir Lord Baltimore's Kingdom Come. The article notes that "Sir Lord Baltimore seems to have down pat most all the best heavy metal tricks in the book". Creem critic Lester Bangs subsequently has been credited with popularizing the term in the early 1970s when describing bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. "Heavy metal" may have been used as a jibe initially by a number of music critics but was quickly adopted by its adherents.

The terms "heavy metal" and "hard rock" are often used interchangeably, in particular when discussing bands from the 1970s, a period when the terms were largely synonymous. However, many of the first heavy metal bands—including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, and UFO, among a few—are often not considered heavy metal bands by the modern metal community. For example, Ian Christe's 2003 book Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal labels bands whose sound was more similar to traditional rock music as hard rock or proto-metal, while Black Sabbath and Judas Priest are pinpointed as the specific progenators of the genre.

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Hard History

Heavy metal is one of the most misunderstood genres of music in our day. Rather unfortunately, this is often a result of brazen ignorance about the subject, brought about by certain sectors of the media, society, and listeners themselves. Instead of blindly backlashing against those responsible for the defamation of heavy metal, I decided to write a history of the aforementioned music, in hopes of providing yet another source of information for those who wish to learn about its development.
In no way is this a heavy metal band list or an attempt to include every detail, important or not, within the genre's history, but I believe it is a fairly comprehensive guide. I have included bands that have been influential, prominent, representative, or successful throughout their careers, and in the process omitted several others that would prevent any conciseness. I have also made the attempt of remaining as objective as possible (although words like "well-deserved" will appear throughout the text), and therefore have also included bands that I do not enjoy listening to or whose general visual image I do not respect. After all, heavy metal is something of an acquired taste. With no further comments, I leave you to read my take on the history of heavy metal. I hope you will enjoy it and maybe learn a little from it (and with any luck, you won't find it boring at all).

When did heavy metal begin? It's hard to say. According to most metal annals, the first outbursts came from the Kinks with "You Really Got Me" and the Who with "My Generation" around 1964. As for the first heavy metal artist, that position arguably belongs to Alice Cooper, whose band was founded in 1965 under the name The Spiders. Heavy metal, however, was not to truly flourish until the year of 1967, and Alice Cooper was to become embedded in the collective mind of the world until 1971 with the classic Love It To Death.
During 1967, the rock world was still absorbed by the Summer of Love, but it was about to witness one of its most important revolutions. Bands like Golden Earring (formed in 1965), Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad, Free, Uriah Heep, Mountain, Humble Pie, Bloodrock, MC5, Black Widow, Atomic Rooster, Cactus, and Black Sabbath came to being between 1966 and 1970, and struck the world with what both Iron Butterfly and Steppenwolf would first baptize "heavy metal;" the first through reviews of its Heavy album and the second due to the phrase "heavy metal thunder," found in the motorcycling classic "Born to Be Wild." A new type of music, which borrowed heavily from rock and roll and the blues, was gaining influence on the youth of those times, which was slowly getting tired of the stagnant Summer of Love scene.
Out of the explosion of new bands, it was Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience that were to be the first bands to give heavy metal a high commercial profile. The legendary guitarist Eric Clapton was part of the first; a band that remains a seminal power trio and heavy metal act that released such memorable songs as "Sunshine Of Your Love" and "White Room." During the course of four albums and two years, Cream became a prominently successful band that influenced the likes of Rush and Van Halen, and would later spawn the also legendary Blind Faith. Meanwhile, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was another musical trio, based around the guitar histrionics of the legendary Jimi Hendrix. Albums such as Are You Experienced? and Electric Ladyland drew thousands of ravenous fans, which feasted on the music provided by a band that is often mentioned along with Janis Joplin and the Doors as one of the world's all-time premiere rock units.

Several new bands, including the bluesy Savoy Brown, Foghat, and Bad Company, the ferocious Budgie, and the legendary UFO, were spawned by the growing heavy metal explosion, while others like Status Quo hardened their sound; but until 1973 the kings of heavy metal were undoubtedly Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. The three were bands with a technical prowess and a compositional inventiveness and passion unseen before, which coalesced into the hardest music existing during those times. Moreover, the era also marked the beginning of Satanic imagery and of spectacular, energetic live shows in heavy metal.
The Satanic imagery came courtesy of two English bands: Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page (formerly of The Yardbirds, a band that was critical in influencing heavy metal with its psychedelic distortion and in spawning legendary guitar players Page, Clapton, and Jeff Beck) had a strong personal fascination with the occult, while many of Sabbath's lyrics within their ample range of themes dealt with it as well. The Sabs, however, did not claim to be Satanic, unlike many future metal bands; in fact, Ozzy Osbourne, vocalist of the band during those times, claims to have been scared off by fans wearing black robes and carrying candles with themselves.
As for the live shows, they were carried out by every band, most notably by Led Zeppelin's "rock till you drop" concerts that lasted about two hours and by Alice Cooper's colossal shows, known to feature boa constrictors, mutilated female mannequins, and Alice Cooper himself in a beheading spectacle. Bands moved onstage, introduced bigger-than-life special effects into their shows and recreated their music in front of fiery crowds of fans.

The first few years of heavy metal (the music being called classic metal at times because of its pioneering status) are considered by most as the best era of the genre ever. Without a doubt, it is quite a memorable segment of this music's history. It was back then that Led Zeppelin, unquestionably the most popular heavy metal band ever, created classics such as "Black Dog" and the Arabian "Kashmir;" but also had the brilliance of experimenting with forms of music such as reggae and folk. In fact, the latter was an essential part of the most widely known heavy metal song ever: "Stairway to Heaven." The masterfully created masterpiece was crafted by Page and vocalist Robert Plant to perfection and even today remains a constant radio staple.
It was, however, until 1970 that Black Sabbath inaugurated what many consider the "true" spirit and essence of heavy metal. Gloomy, crunching, and foreboding, albums like Black Sabbath, Paranoid, and Master of Reality demonstrated the wicked musical direction of guitarist Tony Iommi and band members Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler through classic songs like "N.I.B.," "Paranoid," and "Children of the Grave." Bands such as Corrosion of Conformity, Metallica, and Nirvana were all influenced by the metal anthems provided by one of the genre's most memorable bands ever, and the face of modern music has hardly ever been the same since the Birmingham act exploded unto the scene. Meanwhile, Deep Purple, after going through a progressive rock stint with vocalist Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper, developed a solid slab of rock on its classic Deep Purple In Rock, and would for a long time be heralded as a true innovator of music. In fact, Ritchie Blackmore's classical guitar training, along with Jon Lord's synthesizers and Ian Gillan's piercing shrieks, was crucial in the development of heavy metal as it is known today.
During the mid-Seventies, six new bands were to also walk into the spotlight: the Blue Oyster Cult, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Queen, Aerosmith, and Kiss. Judas Priest would be responsible for popularizing the concept of two guitarists in a heavy metal band; Aerosmith for bringing back the blues, sex, and drugs; Thin Lizzy for breaking through with aesthetical and musical flash and style; Queen for introducing perhaps the greatest degree of experimentation within music and the renewal of majestic melodies and harmonies with a progressive rock edge; and Kiss for revolutionizing the art of live shows, at times presenting slightly macabre theatrics strongly reminiscent of Alice Cooper's. And the Blue Oyster Cult? They disappeared into oblivion after a series of forgettable albums released in the 80's. But during their halcyon days in the 70's, they were an important part of the hard rock arena circuit, combining beautiful 60's harmonies with searing guitars.

While a number of heavy metal bands cemented their reputation as rock giants for years to come, certain bands would begin taking another highly popular form of music, progressive rock, into a heavier direction. Bands like Pink Floyd and Genesis had remained most of the time outside the heavy metal realms, while others like Jethro Tull, Yes, and King Crimson flirted with it more often on songs like "Aqualung," "Heart of the Sunrise," and "21st Century Schizoid Man," respectively. Characterized by complex song structures, odd time signature arrangements, and a highly technical and virtuous use of instruments, progressive metal would nevertheless not come truly into being until the creation of Rush. On its debut album, Rush, the band had not yet acquired a tendency for the progressive; but by the time of Fly By Night and the acquisition of drummer Neil Peart, the band had changed its approach and become more ambitious lyrically and musically, driving its progressive outings to their furthermost limits on albums like A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres. Most other progressive bands throughout history, such as Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Focus, Asia, IQ, and Marillion, only flirted with metal through their years of existence.
Unfortunately, metal was to stagnate completely in the late Seventies. Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, and Black Sabbath were digging their own graves due to their drug-consuming habits, Kiss had lost its charm because of over-commercialization, Deep Purple faded out through its never-ending personnel changes, and Led Zeppelin ended with the death of drummer John Bonham; only Judas Priest and Queen remained almost intact during these times. And not only were the greatest bands dying slowly, but every new band was just ripping off the old glory; metal was on its dying bed. Only a few bands were still thriving among the ruins, among them AC/DC and Rush; the former taking over the world with its three-chord attack, guitarist Angus Young's lunatic careening on stage, and Bon Scott's hell-raising screams; the latter inspiring new generations of musicians with its progressive brand of music. Ted Nugent, formerly of the Amboy Dukes, also released hyperactive gems like Cat Scratch Fever and Double Live Gonzo to much acclaim during the last half of the Seventies, and would be another of the few surviving musical groups. Blackmore's Rainbow was the last of the great rock giants to die or metamorphose by the end of the Eighties, after Ronnie James Dio left the band amidst a flurry of clashing egos which had earlier produced melodic epics on albums like Rainbow Rising and Long Live Rock n' Roll.

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Related styles

Hard rock is closely related to heavy metal (and often the terms overlap in usage), but it does not always match the description of what purists consider the definition of heavy metal. While still guitar-driven in nature and usually riff-based, its themes and execution differ from that of the major heavy metal bands listed earlier in this article. This is perhaps best exemplified by The Who in the late-1960s and early-1970s, as well as other 1970s and 1980s bands like Queen who have had a large influence on heavy metal music, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Kiss, Thin Lizzy, and Scorpions.

Glam rock (or glitter rock) - a short-lived era in the early 1970s, relied on heavy, crunchy guitars, anthemic songs, and a theatrical image. T. Rex, David Bowie (particularly in his incarnation as Ziggy Stardust) and Alice Cooper are among the more popular standard examples of this sub-genre. Some cross-influence has occurred between punk rock and heavy metal (especially NWOBHM). An example is Motörhead; the band's leader Lemmy, spent time in punk band The Damned and attempted to teach Sid Vicious how to play bass guitar. Alternative rock, particularly grunge, sometimes takes influence from heavy metal. Some grunge bands such as Soundgarden and Alice in Chains were marketed as metal before alternative became a viable commercial force.

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Origins and early popularity (1960s and early 1970s)

American blues music was highly popular and influential among the early British rockers. Bands like The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds recorded covers of many classic blues songs, and sometimes speeded up the tempo and using electric guitar where the original had used acoustic. As they experimented with the music, the British blues bands developed sounds that would become the hallmarks of the heavy metal genre, including a "heavy" rhythm section, distorted virtuostic guitar-playing, and screaming vocals. Such powered-up blues music was encouraged by the intellectual and artistic experimentation that arose when musicians started to exploit the opportunities of the electrically amplified guitar to produce a louder and more dissonant sound. Where blues-rock drumming styles had been largely simple shuffle beats on small drum kits, drummers began using a more muscular, complex, and amplified approach to match and be heard with the increasingly loud guitar sounds. similarly vocalists modified their technique and increased their reliance on amplification, often becoming more stylized and dramatic in the process. Simultaneous advances in amplification and recording technology made it possible to successfully capture the power of this heavier approach on record.

Ultimately, it was the combination of blues-rock and psychedelic rock that resulted in the creation of heavy metal. Many artists and songs that melded these sensibilities during the late 1960s have been pointed out as prototypical of heavy metal. A particularly influential band was the psychedelic blues-rock power trio Cream, who derived a powerful sound from unison riffing between guitarist Eric Clapton and bassist Jack Bruce as well as Ginger Baker's use of double bass drumming. By 1968, heavy blues sounds were becoming commonplace—many fans and scholars point to Blue Cheer's Jan. 1968 cover of Eddie Cochran's hit "Summertime Blues" as the first true heavy metal song. Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" (released in Jan. 1968), and the Yardbirds' single, "Think About It" (recorded Jan. '68; released Mar. '68) should also be mentioned; the latter employed a similar sound to that which Jimmy Page would employ with Led Zeppelin; these were soon followed by Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (July '68). Beatles scholars cite in particular the song "Helter Skelter" from The Beatles (more commonly known as The White Album) (Nov. 1968) and the single version of "Revolution" (Nov. 1968), which set new standards for distortion and aggressive sound on a popular album. Dave Edmunds' band Love Sculpture also released an aggressive heavy guitar version of Khachaturian's Sabre Dance in November 1968. The Jeff Beck Group's album Truth (August 1968) was an important and influential rock album; released just before Led Zeppelin's first album (Jan. 1969), leading some (especially British blues fans) to argue that Truth was the first heavy metal album.


Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath in 1973The 1970 releases by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple defined and codified the genre that would be known as heavy metal. Led Zeppelin had formed out of the ashes of guitarist Jimmy Page's previous band, the Yardbirds, and came to define important aspects of the genre with singer Robert Plant's dramatic, wailing vocals and lyrics concerning themes of magic, conquest and the occult. Black Sabbath also dealt heavily with occult themes; formerly a blues-rock band called Earth, Black Sabbath adopted a new name taken from a Bela Lugosi horror film and a darker, heavier sound partially necessitated by an industrial accident guitarist Tony Iommi had suffered. Unable to play normally, Iommi had to tune his guitar down for easier fretting and had to rely on power chords due to the ease of the fingering. Deep Purple had fluctuated between styles in its early years, but by 1969 vocalist Ian Gillan and the guitar stylings of Ritchie Blackmore had pushed the band into the direction of the developing heavy metal genre. These bands quickly become successful, with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath scoring hits on the pop charts with the songs "Whole Lotta Love"(1969) and "Paranoid" (1971), respectively. However, most critics were not kind to the music, objecting to its perceived commercial artifice and reliance on visual spectacle. As the seventies wore on, newer heavy metal bands emerged, such as Blue Öyster Cult, Kiss, Scorpions, Judas Priest, and Rainbow, who relied on constant touring and increasingly elaborate stage shows for their commerical success. In particular, Judas Priest worked over the ensuing decade to "achieve the definition of heavy metal." and would act as a pivotal influence on later heavy metal bands.

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Mainstream dominance (Late 1970s and 1980s)

Punk rock emerged in the mid 1970s as a reaction against social conditions in contemporary society as well as the overindulgent music of the decade, including heavy metal. Facing disinterest from major labels fixated on punk, while still energized by the punk sound and its do-it-yourself ethos, many newer British heavy metal bands put out releases independently to small, devoted audiences. British music papers such as the NME and Sounds began to take notice of these bands, with Sounds writer Geoff Barton christened the movement the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal." NWOBHM bands including Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Saxon, Diamond Head, and Def Leppard reenergized the heavy metal genre by toughening up the sound, reducing the blues influence, and emphasizing the punk influenced tempos. By the 1980s some bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard became internationally successful while other bands like Diamond Head and Venom, while not successful, became influential on subsequent bands.

In comparison, older metal bands were seen as out of date. Led Zeppelin was out of the limelight for much of the late seventies, Deep Purple had broken up in 1975, and Black Sabbath was routinely upstaged in concert by its opening act, Los Angeles band Van Halen. Guitar virtuosity was brought to the forefront of the genre by Eddie Van Halen, and many consider his 1978 solo "Eruption" (Van Halen, 1978) a milestone. Ritchie Blackmore (formerly of Deep Purple), Randy Rhoads (with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot) and Yngwie Malmsteen went on to further virtuoso guitar work; in some cases, classical nylon-stringed guitars were played at heavy metal concerts and on heavy metal albums, e.g., Rhoades' "Dee" on Blizzard of Ozz. Classical icons such as Liona Boyd also became associated with the heavy metal stars in a newly diverse guitar fraternity where conservative and aggressive guitarists could come together to "trade licks."

Heavy metal's success blossomed in the wake of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with a rash of successful releases by metal bands in the early 1980s. Following Van Halen's lead, a metal scene began to develop in Los Angeles during the late 1970s. LA bands like Mötley Crüe, Ratt, W.A.S.P., and Quiet Riot were influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal but also incorporated the theatrics (and sometimes makeup) of forebearers Alice Cooper and Kiss. With the debut of MTV in 1981, many metal artists benefited from exposure on the channel; sales often doubled or tripled if a band had videos on the channel. Def Leppard's videos for 1983's Pyromania made them superstars in America, Quiet Riot became the first American heavy metal band to top the charts domestically, and Ozzy Osbourne teamed up with former Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhodes to launch his successful solo career. One of the seminal events in metal's growing popularity was the 1983 US Festival held in California, where the special "heavy metal day" featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Judas Priest, and others drew the largest audiences of the three-day festival.

Heavy metal's popularity continued to grow as the decade wore on, and several professional and amateur magazines devoted exclusively to the genre, such as Kerrang! and Metal Hammer, emerged. Billboard noted "Metal has broadened its audience base. Metal music is no longer the exclusive domain of male teenagers. The metal audience has become older (college-aged), younger (pre-teen), and more female." One of the more popular forms of heavy metal to emerge during the 1980s was glam metal, which was based around the club scene in Los Angeles' Sunset Strip. Glam metal bands including Mötley Crüe, Poison, and New Jersey's Bon Jovi dominated the US charts, MTV, and arenas, but the underground scene of the increasingly factionalized heavy metal fanbase often considered these bands "posers"

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Underground metal (1980s, 1990s, and 2000s)

Many subgenres of heavy metal developed during the 1980s. Several attempts have been made to map the complex world of underground metal, most notably by the editors of the online All Music Guide, as well as critic Garry Sharpe-Young. Sharpe-Young's multi-volume metal encyclopedias separate the underground into five major categories: thrash metal, death metal, black metal, power metal, and, lastly, the related sub-genres of doom and gothic metal.


Thrash metal
Main article: Thrash metal

Metallica, one of the main thrash metal groupsIn a move away from metal's hard rock roots, a genre that took influences from hardcore punk emerged in the 1980s — thrash metal. The genre's sound was much more aggressive, louder and faster than the original metal bands or their glam metal contemporaries, and the guitar work was often more technically complex. This subgenre was popularized by the 'Big Four Of Thrash', Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer, with bands like San Francisco's Testament and Exodus, New Jersey's Overkill and Brazil's Sepultura also making an impact. With the exception of Metallica, who sold consistently in the millions, and even appeared on the Billboard chart at #6 with "...And Justice for All" during the 1980s, thrash was more underground in terms of sales and media coverage, compared to more popular subgenres. During the 1990s, sales of thrash improved, particularly that of the "big four".

Death metal
Main article: Death metal
In the early and mid 1990s, thrash began to evolve and split further into more extreme metal genres such as death metal and black metal. Many death metal bands would eventually showcase levels of speed and technicality that were previously unheard of and while highly skilled guitar work remained highly valued (as in most metal genres) death metal also featured a more prominent role from highly skilled, versatile, and fast drummers. Death metal vocals are typically fairly harsh and involve guttural growling, high-pitched screaming, and other such atonal vocalizations that are usually not found in other genres of music. Complimenting the deep, aggressive vocal style are downtuned, highly distorted guitars, and extremely fast drums which make use of rapid double bass drumming and syncopation. Frequent tempo and time signature changes are not uncommon. Death metal (a term probably originating from Possessed's song "Death Metal", off their Seven Churches album), led by Possessed and Death, would evolve into various sub-genres and would produce many notable bands, such as Nile and Suffocation.

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"De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" by Mayhem (1994).
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Black metal
Main article: Black metal
Black metal is an extreme metal genre that began in Scandinavia and remains one of the most underground metal genres, although some symphonic black metal bands including Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth have crossed over into the mainstream. Satanic and Pagan themes are common in the genre. Black metal (a term coined by Venom, from an album titled Black Metal) eventually produced an "inner circle" of bands that would become associated with considerable violence in the early 90s. Black metal can vary considerably in it's production quality and style, although most bands make use of shrieked and growled vocals, highly distorted guitars and emphasize a "dark" atmosphere. Denmark's Mercyful Fate are often considered the originators of the corpse paint that is common to Black Metal. Bathory (generally considered one of the first black metal acts although they later involved more Viking themes), Celtic Frost and Mayhem were key bands early on, and one of the most well known and technically proficient black metal bands is Emperor.


Power metal
Main article: Power metal
From the 1980s and into the 1990s power metal, especially in Europe, evolved in an opposite direction from death metal and thrash by keeping the speed, anti-commercial mentality and intensity of heavy metal but focusing on upbeat and epic themes and melodies. Power metal usually involves high pitched 'clean singing' similar to that of NWOBHM vocalists, such as Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, as opposed to death grunts. Traditional power metal bands such as Manowar and Hammerfall have a sound very close to classic heavy metal whilst more modern power metal bands such as Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot and Symphony X often have a strong keyboard based symphonic influence, sometimes using orchestra and opera singers. Power metal has gained a strong fanbase in Japan and South America, where bands like Brazil's Angra or Argentina's Rata Blanca are popular. Helloween in 1985 were the first example of European power metal. Closely related to power metal is progressive metal, a fusion of the progressive stylings of bands like Rush, King Crimson and heavy metal. This style began in the '80s, too, behind innovators like Fates Warning, Queensrÿche, and Dream Theater who enjoyed substantial mainstream acceptance and success in the glam metal era.


Doom metal
Main article: Doom metal
At a time when thrash ruled the metal underground, a new genre known as doom metal took the opposite approach. Beginning in the 1980s with such bands as Saint Vitus), Doom metal rejected the emphasis on speed, and slowed its music to a crawl. The themes, style, and approach of the genre were deeply indebted to Black Sabbath, and have remained so to this day. Doom metal traces its roots back to early Black Sabbath albums. But, perharps an album that represents the style on a more advanced and distinguishable stage of development is Paradise Lost's second album Gothic.

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Alternative metal (1990s and 2000s)

The era of metal dominating the mainstream came to an end with the emergence of Nirvana and other grunge bands that signaled the popular breakthrough of alternative rock. Also notable was the success of Pantera, whose groove metal was equally responsible for the demise of 1980s metal, according to some critics.

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"Pull Harder on the Strings of your Martyr", Trivium, 2005.
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With these breakthroughs, bands active since the 1980s began to become more widely known and achieve mainstream attention. In particular, bands that had fused alternative rock and heavy metal styles began to gain momentum and formed the fusion genre called alternative metal. This included a wide variety of acts, including the grunge-based band Alice in Chains, the goth-influenced Jane's Addiction, the noise rock-infused White Zombie, and groups influenced by a wide variety of other alternative genres. Red Hot Chili Peppers infused their alternative rock with punk, funk, hip hop and metal, Danzig continued Glenn Danzig's progression from punk, through deathrock (with Samhain) and into metal, Ministry began incorporating metal into their industrial music, and Primus combined elements of funk, punk, thrash metal and experimental music.

As alternative metal achieved wider mainstream success, more notable bands from the genre, including Faith No More, Helmet, Marilyn Manson, Rage Against the Machine and Tool, influenced a new wave of bands. These bands themselves were not the preceding fusion of alternative rock and heavy metal, but a new genre derived from it; alternative metal. Later in the decade Korn, Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Slipknot and P.O.D. had emmerged as prominent nu metal bands. Nu metal gained mainstream success through heavy MTV rotation and the 1996 formation of Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest metal music festival, which led the media to talk of a resurgence of heavy metal.

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Recent trends (mid 2000s)

Several reunions have lead to a resurgence of interest in the classic metal style. Both Black Sabbath's reunion with their original vocalist in 1997 and Judas Priest's reunion with their original vocalist in 2003 have turned younger audiences onto older bands. Many bands, having reunited only for a one-off tour or gig, decide to stick together after the original tour or gig achieves commercial and critical success.

In Europe, and especially in Germany and Scandinavia, metal continues to be one of the most popular genres, with dedicated fans supporting already established acts with fervour and propelling newer ones like Edguy and Hammerfall to superstar status on a regular basis. Proof of this commitment can be seen in events like the open air festivals held all over the continent from late spring to summer, with the most notable having turned from one-day events to week-long escapades lining up dozens of bands playing in front of staggering crowds ranging in capacity from 8,000 to 50,000 people. Some of the best known festivals are the Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze Festival, Bang Your Head!!!, Metalcamp, Gods of Metal, Inferno Festival and Keep It True.

2002 to 2003 also saw the rise of metalcore as a commercial force. This sub genre is a hybrid blending elements of thrash metal, melodic death metal and hardcore punk. The origins of the genre date back nearly 20 years to the formation of "crossover" thrash in the mid 80s with bands such as Suicidal Tendencies and Nuclear Assault. Up until the mid to late 1990s metalcore had largely been an underground sub genre, but by 2004 it had risen sharply in popularity, enough for big selling groups like Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall to debut albums in the top 20 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart and get prominent slots at major music festivals, including Ozzfest, Reading Festival and Download Festival.

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History of Heavy metal

The history of heavy metal music began around 1964-1970 with bands like the Kinks, the Who, Alice Cooper's The Spiders, Cream, Golden Earring, Led Zeppelin, Vanilla Fudge, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, Blue Cheer, Atomic Rooster, Cactus, Grand Funk Railroad, Deep Purple, Free, Uriah Heep, Mountain, Bloodrock, Black Widow, and Black Sabbath, Iron Butterfly Heavy album and Steppenwolf's song Born to Be Wild which contained the phrase "heavy metal thunder" share credit for the name heavy metal. The genre borrowed heavily from rock and the blues but moved towards a more aggressive direction than other bands from the 60's incorporating energetic live shows and darker melodies and themes.

Cream is one of the best known bands which appeared early in the genre known for classic songs like Sunshine Of Your Love and White Room. The Jimi Hendrix Experience featuring the legendary Jimi Hendrix on guitar and vocals was incredibly revolutionary and remains a strong influence on musicians today, especially guitarists. Groundbreaking albums like Are You Experienced?, Axis Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland were pivotal in the future direction of rock. Led Zeppelin was also a big contributor to the movement incorporating in heavy thudding guitars and high almost screaming vocals. Deep Purple's classic Deep Purple In Rock showcased Ritchie Blackmore's classical guitar style juxtaposed against the intense screams of Ian Gillan's vocal.

In 1970 Black Sabbath made what many consider to be the first true heavy metal album self titled Black Sabbath followed in the next few years by Paranoid and Master of Reality. Guitarist Tony Iommi, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, drummer Bill Ward, and bassist Geezer Butler churned out gloomy heavy churning riffs and rhythms accompanied nicely by Ozzy's eerie vocal style. This Birmingham act nearly single handedly defined the essence of the heavy metal genre combining a fascination with dark mythological and religious subject matter juxtaposed against the reality of a working class life in poverty ridden industrial Birmingham during the early 70's.

Newer bands like Judas Priest, Queen and Blue Oyster Cult took up the mantle of these older bands and added their voice to an ever growing revolution in rock music. Queen was the most experimental of the groups combining interesting and beautiful melodies with classically inspired harmonies which bordered on progressive and experimental rock. Kiss took the genre to a fevered pitch using classic elements of theatre such as fire and fake blood to keep audiences interested. In the late 70's heavy metal went through a decline and the giants of the early 70's started to loose influence due to deaths and personnel changes. AC/DC, Judas Priest, Queen, and Rush kept the genre alive but only just.

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