Heavy Metal Question

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Monday Dec 12, 2005

My son asked me who the firsh Heavy Metal band was.

As stated a few times, I am more of a classic/blues rock fan, but anyway said it probably was Black Sabbath.

I know there are MANY heavy metal types here. I would love to hear your opinions on that question.

Another idea I have is:

if you got to vote for the First Heavy Metal Hall of Fame, who would your first 3 choices be? (could go historic or trendsetting)

SpellboundByMetal · Post by **SpellboundByMetal** » Monday Dec 12, 2005

Black Sabbath sure as hell was the first metal band.

J Michaels · Post by **J Michaels** » Monday Dec 12, 2005

You can nuance the arguments in a lot of ways, but, Sabbath really is the first metal band. Good call.

Bag · Post by **Bag** » Monday Dec 12, 2005

Actually, I'd say Led Zeppelin was first. But Zep was WAY more diverse than Sabbath. Zep has "metal" songs but not whole albums like Sabbath. Not trying to start an argument, I love both bands!

FretBored · Post by **FretBored** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

According to the Metal Rules web site Sabbath won this poll.

Here is the link.. And I agree.

http://www.metal-rules.com/polls/poll_3.htm

Punkinhead · Post by **Punkinhead** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Sabbath is the first what you would call "real metal" band.

It can be argued that it is Zeppelin or I have even heard Hendrix being argued by some about this but, to me, Sabbath was the first band that was metal. I don't consider Zeppelin because they have too many un-metal moments, thus not really making them a metal band. Sabbath, for the most part, is all metal. That, to me, is what makes them the first. Not the first to do it, so to say, but the first to be it. And that paved the way for others that don't care about being anything else but metal.

J Michaels · Post by **J Michaels** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Punkinhead wrote:Sabbath is the first what you would call "real metal" band.

It can be argued that it is Zeppelin or I have even heard Hendrix being argued by some about this but, to me, Sabbath was the first band that was metal. I don't consider Zeppelin because they have too many un-metal moments, thus not really making them a metal band. Sabbath, for the most part, is all metal. That, to me, is what makes them the first. Not the first to do it, so to say, but the first to be it. And that paved the way for others that don't care about being anything else but metal.

well said....

FretBored · Post by **FretBored** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Punkinhead wrote:Sabbath is the first what you would call "real metal" band.

It can be argued that it is Zeppelin or I have even heard Hendrix being argued by some about this but, to me, Sabbath was the first band that was metal. I don't consider Zeppelin because they have too many un-metal moments, thus not really making them a metal band. Sabbath, for the most part, is all metal. That, to me, is what makes them the first. Not the first to do it, so to say, but the first to be it. And that paved the way for others that don't care about being anything else but metal.

Agrred here too Zep was more Rock Influenced.. But I think my first taste of a Metal Style was the Flying Monkeys from the Wizard of Oz marhing into the castle. "OOHHH EEEE OOOHHH" They really had it down. I think Metallica has a song that sounds something like that(No Kidding)

Bag · Post by **Bag** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Punkinhead wrote:Sabbath is the first what you would call "real metal" band.

It can be argued that it is Zeppelin or I have even heard Hendrix being argued by some about this but, to me, Sabbath was the first band that was metal. I don't consider Zeppelin because they have too many un-metal moments, thus not really making them a metal band. Sabbath, for the most part, is all metal. That, to me, is what makes them the first. Not the first to do it, so to say, but the first to be it. And that paved the way for others that don't care about being anything else but metal.

That's what I meant. You said it better than I did though!

Geezer Butler has a quote in a CD liner about how Sabbath was VERY influenced by Zeppelin though. It's in "Symptom of the Universe- '70-'78" booklet.

FretBored · Post by **FretBored** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

I think I would have to pre-date that with Steppenwolf.. I think they had a very Heavy Metal sound at least compared to what was being played on the air at that time.....

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

You might do a search on the band Blue Cheer; they have often been
noted to me as the "first heavy metal band," primarily for their feedback
drenched version of Eddie Cochrane's Summertime Blues."

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Historically, the term "heavy metal" refers to radioactive elements or powerful artillery units. While heavy metal music was not directly named to signify either of these traditions, the bands have always welcomed the associated imagery. Rock critics first began applying the label in the late 1960s, referring primarily to the British bands Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. These three are considered to have laid the framework for the genre. Deep Purple brought classical influences, Led Zeppelin adapted and applied the African-American blues hook, and Black Sabbath lent an air of dark mysticism to their work. Each stressed the importance of distorted guitar sound and long guitar solos.

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

While other bands had been merely loud and rebellious, it was Tony Iommi's raw guitar tone and spellbinding riffs, Bill Ward's primal drum assault, Geezer Butler's titanic bass support and occult-meets-fantasy lyrics, and John "Ozzy" Osbourne's sinister vocal delivery, that helped Black Sabbath birth the true sound of heavy metal upon the musical landscape with their self-titled album debut in 1970.

And the term was so well-fitting to the "heaviness" of the music as it was to the "metal works" of the dark industrial area from which it came: the West Midlands - known also as the "Black Country", due to all the smoke and soot that covered the place from its many backstreet metal foundries...

Sabbath forged the metal, Priest sharpened the steel

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

“...No doubt, the band that made me desire to play heavy metal would have to be Sabbath. You know, Sabbath came around in [1969], which is the first year Priest was created. I was born in ’52, so I was like 17 or something when I first heard Sabbath. Around that same time, bands like Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and Cream really moved me. The kind of stuff that started to shake me internally, though, was 100% Black Sabbath. There just wasn’t anything like it.”
- Rob Halford, EDGE magazine, May 2003

Black Sabbath had inspired a new genre in rock music, but it would be Judas Priest who would come along shortly thereafter to add the drama, speed and a leather makeover...

FretBored · Post by **FretBored** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Dictionary:

Heavy Metal - Very loud, brash rock music, often with shouted, violent lyrics.

I agree Black Sabbath was the first heavy metal band, but with demonic influences, rare for its day.

I think Violent Lyrics comes into play here.

DMFJ03 · Post by **DMFJ03** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Menudo!

Staceman · Post by **Staceman** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Sabbath. All the way. Steppenwolf, Blue Cheer, and Zeppelin were heavy, but they weren't metal. Sabbath took all the ingredients and forged a genre, even if they don't often lay claim to it.

Something that sets apart Sabbath and Zeppelin, is the main influence. The way I see it, blues begat rock, and jazz begat metal. That may freak some people out, and It's not absolute either, there definite is some blues influence in Sabbath, and jazz in Zeppelin, etc..

And it's also true how Zep influenced the Sabs to an extent. Paranoid was sort of an answer to "Communication Breakdown", with some bits of Dazed and Confused thrown in for good measure.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Good points, Stace!

A lot of mainstream pop music can be traced back to Blues and early Southern Gospel. Even if you look at the theory of it all, you can see the lineage: The heavy dominance of the mixolydian mode, chromatic intervals between the 4th and 5th degrees, 12 bar patterns, etc.

Still with Metal, I hear a lot of Classical and Baroque influence, especially in the melodies. Of course, a lot of that could probaly be due to cats like Randy Rhodes using arppegios and soloing out of the harmonic/melodic minor scales. But on the other hand, Sabbath is still deeply rooted in the Blues. Iommi was more of a pentatonic player.

But what do I think? The only time the genre of music matters is if you're a program director at a radio station. What truly matters is if the music makes you feel something.

Punkinhead · Post by **Punkinhead** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

bassist_25 wrote:
Still with Metal, I hear a lot of Classical and Baroque influence, especially in the melodies. Of course, a lot of that could probaly be due to cats like Randy Rhodes using arppegios and soloing out of the harmonic/melodic minor scales. But on the other hand, Sabbath is still deeply rooted in the Blues. Iommi was more of a pentatonic player.

Good point. Metal, IMO, has grown beyond what Sabbath had started. It still incorporates alot of the evil aspect but, has grown to be a tad more complex and darker musically with the incorporation of classical and baroque. Randy Rhoads had a shitload to do with it, as did Yngwie (all metal heads want to shred like that if they play guitar and if they say they don't I don't believe them). Like all genres, it is in a constant state of change ( I used the word growth but change it - I don't believe in growth backwards ).

ZappasXWife · Post by **ZappasXWife** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Probably Sabbath but may be pre-dated by Iron Butterfly. Surprised they weren't mentioned. The term Heavy Metal was first used in the book The Soft Machine by counter-culture writer William S. Burroughs. In his 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.
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.

witchhunt · Post by **witchhunt** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

What is the name of the Metallica tune with the monkey guard chant?

J Michaels · Post by **J Michaels** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

witchhunt wrote:What is the name of the Metallica tune with the monkey guard chant?

Frayed Ends of Sanity - great tune... the kind of thing they USED to write....

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

FretBored wrote:I think I would have to pre-date that with Steppenwolf.. I think they had a very Heavy Metal sound at least compared to what was being played on the air at that time.....

To add a supplemental note to this idea is that I think the first recoreded lyric "heavy metal thunder" was recorded by Steppenwolf.

I rmemeber reading a Rolling Stone article about Jimi Hendix describing his sound as heavy metal.

I do not if these are really true:

1. Was Steppenwolf the first to record the lyric Heavy metal thunder

2. Did the Rolling Stone article write heavy metal about Hendrix

Any information on these statements???

Bert|Evil · Post by **Bert|Evil** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

While I don't personally endorse this, there are a lot of people that think that The Kinks were the first metal band, simply because they took razors to their speakers to get a distorted sound.

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Tuesday Dec 13, 2005

Bert|Evil wrote:While I don't personally endorse this, there are a lot of people that think that The Kinks were the first metal band, simply because they took razors to their speakers to get a distorted sound.

Blues guitar great Roy Buchanan used to do that too, probably a little earlier.