Heavy metal music

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If the aural and thematic components of heavy metal are predominantly blues-influenced reality, then the visual component is predominantly pop-influenced fantasy. The themes of darkness, evil, power and apocalypse are language components for addressing the reality of life's problems. In reaction to the "peace and love" hippie culture of the 1960s, heavy metal developed as a counterculture, where light is supplanted by darkness and the happy ending of pop is replaced by the naked reality that things do not always work out in this world. Whilst some fans claim that the medium of darkness is not the message, critics have accused the genre of glorifying the negative aspects of reality.

Metallica's debut album Kill 'em All

Heavy metal themes are typically more grave than the generally airy pop from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s—focusing on war, nuclear annihilation, environmental issues, and political or religious propaganda. Black Sabbath's "War Pigs", Ozzy Osbourne's "Killer of Giants", Megadeth's "Hangar 18" (as well as "Peace Sells"), Metallica's "...And Justice for All (album)" (as well as their "Disposable Heroes"), and Iron Maiden's "2 Minutes to Midnight" are examples of contributions to the discussion of the state of affairs. The commentary sometimes tends to become over-simplified because the poetic vocabulary of metal deals primarily in dichotomies of light vs. dark, hope vs. despair, or good vs. evil, not leaving much room for complex shades of grey.

Classical influence

Ozzy Osbourne â€" The Blizzard of Ozz

The appropriation of "classical" music by heavy metal typically includes the influence of baroque, romantic and modernist composers such as Bach, Paganini, Wagner and Beethoven rather than Mozart or Haydn. Though Deep Purple/Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had been experimenting with musical figurations borrowed from classical music since the early 1970s, Edward Van Halen's solo cadenza "Eruption" (released on Van Halen's first album in 1978) marks an important moment in the development of virtuosity in metal. Following Van Halen, 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 players including Michael Angelo Batio and Tony MacAlpine.[1].

Several music experts and metal musicians have noted of the role of the tritone in heavy metal,Dunn, Sam (2005). Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. Warner Home Video (2006). a dissonant interval consisting of a root note and a augmented forth/diminished fifth, e.g., C and F sharp, which ostensibly results in a "heavy," "evil" sound, so much so that its use was supposedly banned in medieval composition as "Diabolus in Musica" ("the devil in music"). The evocative tritone was exploited by Romantic composers and is definitive to the blues scale (as opposed to the pentatonic scale), part of metal's heritage and fundamental to its solos and riffs, e.g., the beginning of Black Sabbath's eponymous song.

The late Baroque era of Western art music was also frequently interpreted through a gothic lens. For example, "Mr. Crowley," (1981) by Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Randy Rhoads, uses both a pipe organ-like synthesizer and Baroque-inspired guitar solos to create a particular mood for Osbourne's lyrics concerning the occultist Aleister Crowley. For the introduction to 1982's "Diary of a Madman", Rhoads borrowed heavily from Cuban classical guitar composer Leo Brouwer's "Etude #6". Like many other metal guitarists in the 1980s, Rhoads quite earnestly took up the "learned" study of musical theory and helped to solidify the minor industry of guitar pedagogy magazines (including Guitar for the Practicing Musician) that grew during the decade. In most instances, however, metal musicians who borrowed the technique and rhetoric of art music were not attempting to be classical musicians.

Iron Maiden â€" Powerslave

The Encarta encyclopedia states that "when a text was associated with the music, Bach could write musical equivalents of verbal ideas," and Progressive rock bands such as Emerson, Lake, and Palmer and Yes had already explored this dynamic before heavy metal evolved. As heavy metal uses apocalyptic themes and images of power and darkness, the ability to successfully translate verbal ideas into music is often seen as critical to its authenticity and credibility. An example of this is the album Powerslave by Iron Maiden . The cover is of a dramatic Egyptian scene and many of the songs on the album have subject matter requiring a sound suggestive of life and death, including a song entitled "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," based on the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris has cited progressive rock bands [2] such as Rush and Yes as influences, and it should be noted that the 1977 Rush album A Farewell to Kings features the twelve-minute "Xanadu," also inspired by Coleridge and pre-dating the Iron Maiden composition by several years.

History

The term "heavy metal"

Cover from Led Zeppelin. The album greatly influenced many heavy metal musicians

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, 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 musicBurroughs, William S. Nova Express. New York: Grove Press, 1964. Pg. 112

Given the publication dates of these works it is unlikely that Burroughs had any intent to relate the term to rock music; however, Burroughs' writing may have influenced later usage of the term.

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"Walser, Robert. Running with the Devil: Fuck Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Wesleyan University Press, 1993. Pg. 8. ISBN 0819562602:

I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under

The book The History of Heavy Metal states the name as a take from "hippiespeak," heavy meaning anything with a potent mood, and metal, specifically 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 fact that Led Zeppelin (whose moniker came partly in reference to Keith Moon's jest that they would "go down like a lead zeppelin") incorporated a heavy metal into its name may have sealed the usage of the term.

In the late 1960s, Birmingham, England was still a centre for manufacturing and (given the many rock bands that evolved in and around the city, such as Led Zeppelin, The Move, and Black Sabbath), some people suggest that the term Heavy Metal may have some relation to such activity. Biographies of The Move have claimed that the sound came from their 'heavy' guitar riffs that were popular amongst the 'metal midlands'.

Cover from Blue Öyster Cult's 1986 album Club Ninja, depicting the group's use of alchemical symbol for lead - a heavy metal.

Sandy Pearlman, original producer, manager and songwriter for Blue Öyster Cult, claims to have been the first person to apply the term "heavy metal" to rock music in 1970. In creating much of the band's image, which included tongue-in-cheek references to the occult, Pearlman came up with a symbol for the group (similar to the use of a symbol Iron Maiden later included on their album cover artwork), the alchemical symbol for lead - one of the heaviest of metals. He put forth this term to describe the type of music that Blue Öyster Cult played.

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 programme "Rock and Roll" in 1995. He states that "...it [heavy metal] 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 "heavy metal" referring to a style of music, appears to be the May 1971 issue of Creem, in a review of Sir Lord Baltimore's Kingdom Come. In this review we are told that "Sir Lord Baltimore seems to have down pat most all the best heavy metal tricks in the book". Creem critics David Marsh and Lester Bangs would subsequently use the term frequently in their writings in regards to 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. Other, already-established bands, such as Deep Purple, who had origins in pop or progressive rock, immediately took on the heavy metal mantle, adding distortion and additional amplification in a more aggressive approach.

Origins (1960s and early 1970s)

Deep Purple â€" Machine Head. One of the first quintessential heavy metal albums

American blues music was highly popular and influential among the early British rockers; bands like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds had recorded covers of many classic blues songs, sometimes speeding up the tempo and using electric guitar where the original used acoustic. (Similar adaptations of blues and other African American music had formed the basis of the earliest rock and roll, notably that of Elvis Presley).

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 stylised 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.

Black Sabbath â€" Paranoid

The earliest music commonly identified as heavy metal came out of the Birmingham area of the United Kingdom in the late 1960s when bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath applied an overtly non-traditional approach to blues standards and created new music often based on blues scales and arrangements. These bands were highly influenced by American psychedelic rock musicians including Jimi Hendrix, who had pioneered amplified and processed blues-rock guitar and acted as a bridge between black American music and white European rockers.

Other oft-cited influences include Vanilla Fudge, who had slowed down and psychedelicised pop tunes, as well as earlier British rockers such as The Who and The Kinks, who had created an opening for heavy metal styles by introducing power chords and more aggressive percussion to the rock genre. Another key influence was Cream, who exemplified the power trio format that would become a staple of heavy metal.

By late 1968, heavy blues sounds were becoming common—many fans and scholars point to Blue Cheer's 1968 cover of Eddie Cochran's hit "Summertime Blues" as the first true heavy-metal song. Beatles scholars cite in particular the songs "Helter Skelter" from The White Album and the single version of "Revolution" (1968), which set new standards for distortion and aggressive sound on a pop album. Dave Edmunds' band Love Sculpture released an aggressive heavy guitar version of Khachaturian's Sabre Dance in November 1968. The Jeff Beck Group's album Truth (late 1968) was an important and influential rock album released just before Led Zeppelin's first album, leading some (especially British blues fans) to argue that Truth was the first heavy metal album. The Yardbirds' 1968 single, "Think About It," should also be mentioned, as that employed a similar sound to that which Jimmy Page would employ with Led Zeppelin.

Also, progressive rock band King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" from their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), featured most of the thematic, compositional, and musical characteristics of heavy metal—a very heavily distorted guitar tone and discordant soloing by Robert Fripp with lyrics that focused on what is wrong about what the 21st century human would be, a dark mood and Greg Lake's vocals were passed through a distortion box.

However, it was the release of Led Zeppelin in 1969 that brought worldwide notice of the formation of a new genre. The first heavy metal bands—Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, UFO, and Black Sabbath, among a few—are often now called hard rock bands by the modern metal community rather than heavy metal, especially those bands whose sound was more similar to traditional rock music. In general, the terms heavy metal and hard rock are often used interchangeably, in particular when discussing the 1970s. Indeed, many such bands are not considered "heavy metal bands" per se, but rather as having contributed individual songs or works that contributed to the genre. Few would consider Jethro Tull a heavy metal band in any real sense, for example, but few would dispute that their song Aqualung was an early Heavy Metal song.

Classic heavy metal (Late 1970s and early 1980s)

Album by Van Halen

The late 1970s and early 1980s history of heavy metal music is highly debated among music historians. Bands like Blue Öyster Cult achieved moderate mainstream success and the Los Angeles glam metal scene began finding pop audiences—especially in the 1980s. Others ignore or downplay the importance of these bands, instead focusing on the arrival of classical influences—which can be heard in the work of Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads and such like. Others still highlight the late-70s cross-fertilization of heavy metal with fast-paced, youthful punk rock (e.g. Sex Pistols), culminating in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal around the year 1980, led by bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. These two in particular became very popular in the Heavy Metal movement.

Some followers, including Heavy Metal musicians of prominent groups, believe that the foundations of the definitive style and sound of pure heavy metal were laid down by NWOBHM band Judas Priest with three of their early albums: Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976), Sin After Sin (1977), and Stained Class (1978).

Rainbow are also sometimes cited as pioneering a sort of pure heavy metal and one could also make this claim about the later albums of Deep Purple such as Burn and Stormbringer, but these bands are generally considered to be "hard rock" bands. Beginning with Judas Priest, metal bands quickly began to look beyond the almost exclusive use of the blues scale to incorporate diatonic modes into their solos. This more complex approach has since spread throughout many sub-genres of metal and along with a overall strong sense of musicianship are the main contributions classical music and jazz music (via progressive rock) have made to the metal genre.

Guitar virtuosity — pioneered by Jimi Hendrix a musical generation earlier — was brought to the fore 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."

This explosion would cool down in the music of Ronnie James Dio (who himself had a tenure at lead vocals with Black Sabbath) and continue to settle towards Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, who may be the final and complete consummation of "pure" heavy metal in the lineage of the "grandfathers"—Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath.

Mainstream dominance (1980s)

Mötley Crüe â€" Shout At The Devil

The most popular subgenre of heavy metal emerged in the United States, coming from glam metal bands of the 1980s the epicentre for this explosion was mostly in the Sunset Strip from Los Angeles, California.

The first wave of Glam metal included the likes of Mötley Crüe, Ratt, W.A.S.P., Dokken and Twisted Sister. Early Glam metal groups took influence from heavy metal acts such as Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, incorporating guitar solos into the majority of their songs. Bands such as Mötley Crüe and W.A.S.P. expanded on the foundations laid by Alice Cooper and KISS in regards to stage show, often venturing into shock rock territory.

In one form or another Glam metal would dominate the mainstream airwaves from the early 1980s until around 1992 when the Grunge movement from Seattle became popular. At times the likes of Dio, Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest experimented with Glam metal stylings in their music.

The genre caused a divide in the evolving metal community of the 1980s, largely due to the glam metal bands' image, especially that of the more feminine-looking bands such as Poison and Bon Jovi. A common misconception was that glam metal bands were not technically-proficient, even though the movement included some of the most critically-acclaimed rock musicians of their era, including Steve Vai (David Lee Roth, Whitesnake), Michael Angelo Batio (Nitro), Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen), Richie Sambora, (Bon Jovi) and Billy Sheehan (David Lee Roth Band, Mr. Big).(see also: Shred guitar)

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

Slayer â€" Reign in Blood

Many subgenres of heavy metal developed during the 1980s. In a move away from metal's hard rock roots, a genre that took influences from hardcore punk emerged—thrash metal. The genre's sound was more aggressive, louder and faster than the original metal bands or their glam metal contemporaries.

This subgenre was pioneered 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, particually that of the "big four".

In the early and mid 1980s, thrash began to split further into death metal (a term probably originating from Possessed's song "Death Metal", off their Seven Churches album), led by Possessed and Death, and black metal (a term coined by Venom, with an album called Black Metal, who themselves lacked most integral characteristics of the genre, such as the buzz-saw vocals) and Denmark's Mercyful Fate who are often considered the originators of the corpse paint coupled with Satanic and Pagan themes, in which Bathory (generally considered one of the first black metal acts although they later involved more Viking themes) and Mayhem were key bands early on.

From the 80s and into the 90s power metal, especially in Europe, evolved in an opposite direction from death metal and thrash by keeping the 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 Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson, as opposed to death grunts. The American band Manowar, which helped to pioneer power metal, became popular in Europe and South America.

Progressive metal, a fusion of the progressive stylings of bands like Rush, King Crimson and heavy metal began in the '80s, too, behind innovators like Fates Warning and later Queensrÿche and Dream Theater, who enjoyed substantial mainstream acceptance and success in the glam metal era.

Alternative metal/nu metal (1990s and 2000s)

Ozzfest poster (1998). Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, System of a Down, Tool, Motörhead appeared among others.

The era of metal dominating the mainsteam came to an end with the emergence of Nirvana and other grunge bands that signaled the popular breakthrough of alternative rock.

With this breakthrough, bands active since the 80s 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 prog, funk, punk, thrash metal and experimental music.

As alternative metal achieved wider mainstream success, more notable bands from the genre, including Fear Factory, Helmet, Marilyn Manson, Rage Against the Machine and Tool, influenced a new wave of rock bands. These bands were not the preceding fusion of alternative rock and heavy metal, but a new genre derived from it, and came to be known as nu metal. Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot are among the most prominent nu metal bands. Nu metal, through heavy MTV rotation and the 1996 formation of Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest metal music festival, gained even more mainstream success, headed by Linkin Park with 35 million albums sold. Much debate has arisen over the nu metal's massive success and whether or not it is metal in the conventional sense, with fans of extreme metal genres (itself the subject of debate by purists) often insisting it is not. In recent years, Ozzfest has had many metalcore bands playing and has helped the genre gain popularity. Some see this style as nu metal's successor, whilst others believe that it will become popular and fashionable in the same way as nu metal.

The '90s also saw a revival of early heavy metal styles. Slower, eerier metal became more prominent as more bands left commonplace influences like Iron Maiden's NWOBHM, Metallica's thrash and Slayer's early death metal for the bluesy, deep sound of the original heavy metal groups like Led Zeppelin. The most prominent group of this first-wave metal revival was arguably Type O Negative, who claimed influence by Black Sabbath and even the later work of The Beatles. This led to a surge in the popularity of doom metal, as well as a resurgence of interest in early heavy metal bands.

Cultural impact

The loud, confrontational aspects of heavy metal have led to friction between fans and mainstream society in many countries. The controversy results from the fact that public perception, especially in conservative societies, thinks of heavy metal subculture as a promoter of hedonism and occasional anti-religious sentiments. In Jordan, for example, all Metallica albums, past, present and future were banned in 2001.^[3] In Europe and America, the fan base for heavy metal consists primarily of white males in their teens and 20s—many of whom are attracted to heavy metal's overtly anti-social yet fantastical lyrics and extreme volume and tempos. Hence, the stereotype of the adolescent headbanger venting his rebellious urges by listening to loud, morbid music emerged. This image has been highlighted in popular culture with such television shows and movies as "Beavis and Butt-head" and "Airheads." Heavy metal's bombastic excesses, exemplified by glam metal, have often been parodied, most famously in the film This Is Spinal Tap (see also the phenomenon of the heavy metal umlaut).

Many heavy metal stylings have made their way into everyday use; for instance, the "devil horns" hand sign popularized by Ronnie James Dio has become a common sight at many rock concerts. During the 1970s and 1980s, flirtation with occult themes by artists such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, KISS, Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, and W.A.S.P., led to accusations of "Satanic" influences in heavy metal by fundamentalist Christians. One popular contention during that period was that heavy metal albums featured hidden messages urging listeners to worship the Devil or to commit suicide (see Judas Priest and backward message and Allegations of Satanism in popular culture).

Lesser known, is the impact of heavy metal's complex musical structures on the avant garde classical music style of New Complexity music, pioneered by Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Finnissy, James Dillon, and later, American composer Jason Eckardt.

Eurovision

On Eurovision 2006 a heavy metal band won the first place, for the first time in the contest's history. That band is Lordi with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" from Finland. This was an unexpected turn in the long tradition of Eurovision, which had been known for repeatedly giving the first prize to ballads and pop every year. Even more odd is the fact that this was the first time Finland won, their best position being 6th beforehand.

Related styles

Hard rock, mentioned earlier 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 examplified 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, 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, hardcore punk and heavy metal. Punk rock was influential on the NWOBHM movement. A good example of such cross-pollination is the band, Tank. Another 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.

Heavy metal movements

There are certain body movements that are nearly universal in the metal culture, including headbanging, moshing, and various hand gestures such as devil horns. Stage diving, air guitar, and crowd surfing are also practiced, though air guitar practices are less popular today.

See also

* List of heavy metal bands
* List of heavy metal genres
* Timeline of heavy metal

Sources

References

External links

*All Music Guide entry for heavy metal