Heavy metal music

This article is about the genre. For its subgenres, seeheavy metal genres.For the 2013 Newsted album, seeHeavy Metal Music(album).For other uses, seeHeavy metal (disambiguation).

Heavy metal
Other names	Metal
Stylistic origins	Blues rock acid rock psychedelic rock
Cultural origins	Late 1960s, United Kingdom and United States
Subgenres
Avant-garde metal extreme metal black metal death metal doom metal speed metal thrash metal glam metal groove metal power metal symphonic metal (complete list)
Fusion genres
Alternative metal funk metal rap metal nu metal deathcore drone metal folk metal gothic metal grindcore grunge post-metal industrial metal metalcore neoclassical metal progressive metal djent sludge metal stoner rock Viking metal
Regional scenes
Africa Argentina Australia Bangladesh Brazil Canada Finland France Germany Hungary India Indonesia Japan Middle East Netherlands Norway Poland Sweden United Kingdom United States
Local scenes
Birmingham Gothenburg New Orleans Palm Desert Scene San Francisco Bay Area Florida death metal
Other topics
Underground Fashion hard rock list of bands list of festivals lyrics subculture umlaut
2024 in heavy metal music

Heavy metal(or simplymetal) is a genre ofrock musicthat developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States.With roots inblues rock,psychedelic rockandacid rock,heavy metal bands developed a thick, monumental sound characterized bydistortedguitars, extendedguitar solos,emphaticbeatsandloudness.

In 1968, three of the genre's most famous pioneers – British bandsLed Zeppelin,Black SabbathandDeep Purple– were founded.Though they came to attract wide audiences, they were often derided by critics. Several American bands modified heavy metal into more accessible forms during the 1970s: the raw, sleazy sound andshock rockofAlice CooperandKiss;the blues-rooted rock ofAerosmith;and the flashy guitar leads and party rock ofVan Halen.During the mid-1970s,Judas Priesthelped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of itsbluesinfluence,whileMotörheadintroduced apunk rocksensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Beginning in the late 1970s, bands in thenew wave of British heavy metalsuch asIron MaidenandSaxonfollowed in a similar vein. By the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as "metalheads"or"headbangers".The lyrics of some metal genres became associated with aggression andmachismo,an issue that has at times led to accusations of misogyny.

During the 1980s,glam metalbecame popular with groups such asBon Jovi,Mötley CrüeandPoison.Meanwhile, however,underground scenesproduced an array of more aggressive styles:thrash metalbroke into the mainstream with bands such asMetallica,Slayer,MegadethandAnthrax,while otherextreme subgenressuch asdeath metalandblack metalbecame – and remain –subculturalphenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles have expanded the definition of the genre. These includegroove metalandnu metal,the latter of which often incorporates elements ofgrungeandhip-hop.

Characteristics

Heavy metal is traditionally characterized by loud distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound and vigorous vocals. Heavy metal subgenres variously emphasize, alter or omit one or more of these attributes. In a 1988 article,The New York TimescriticJon Pareleswrote, "In the taxonomy of popular music, heavy metal is a major subspecies of hard-rock—the breed with less syncopation, less blues, more showmanship and more brute force."The typical band lineup includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist. Keyboard instruments are sometimes used to enhance the fullness of the sound.Deep Purple'sJon Lordplayed an overdrivenHammond organ.In 1970,John Paul Jonesused aMoog synthesizeronLed Zeppelin III;by the 1990s, synthesizers were used in "almost every subgenre of heavy metal".

Judas Priestperforming in 2005

The electric guitar and the sonic power that it projects through amplification has historically been the key element in heavy metal.The heavy metal guitar sound comes from a combined use of high volumes and heavyfuzz.For classic heavy metal guitar tone, guitarists maintain gain at moderate levels, without excessive preamp or pedal distortion, to retain open spaces and air in the music; the guitar amplifier is turned up loud to produce the "punch and grind" characteristic.Thrash metal guitar tone has scooped mid-frequencies andtightly compressedsound with multiple bass frequencies.Guitar solos are "an essential element of the heavy metal code... that underscores the significance of the guitar" to the genre.Most heavy metal songs "feature at least one guitar solo",which is "a primary means through which the heavy metal performer expresses virtuosity".Some exceptions arenu metalandgrindcorebands, which tend to omit guitar solos.With rhythm guitar parts, the "heavy crunch sound in heavy metal... [is created by]palm muting"the strings with the picking hand and using distortion.Palm muting creates a tighter, more precise sound and it emphasizes the low end.

The lead role of the guitar in heavy metal often collides with the traditional "frontman" or bandleader role of the vocalist, creating a musical tension as the two "contend for dominance" in a spirit of "affectionate rivalry".Heavy metal "demands the subordination of the voice" to the overall sound of the band. Reflecting metal's roots in the 1960s counterculture, an "explicit display of emotion" is required from the vocals as a sign of authenticity.CriticSimon Frithclaims that the metal singer's "tone of voice" is more important than the lyrics.

The prominent role of the bass ‍is also key to the metal sound, and the interplay of bass and guitar is a central element. The bass provides the low-end sound crucial to making the music "heavy".The bass plays a "more important role in heavy metal than in any other genre of rock".Metal basslines vary widely in complexity, from holding down a lowpedal pointas a foundation to doubling complexriffsandlicksalong with the lead or rhythm guitars. Some bands feature the bass as a lead instrument, an approach popularized byMetallica'sCliff Burtonwith his heavy emphasis on bass ‍solos and use of chords while playing the ‍bass in the early 1980s.LemmyofMotörheadoften played overdrivenpower chordsin his bass lines.

The essence of heavy metal drumming is creating a loud, constant beat for the band using the "trifecta of speed, power, and precision".Heavy metal drumming "requires an exceptional amount of endurance", and drummers have to develop "considerable speed, coordination, and dexterity... to play the intricate patterns" used in heavy metal.A characteristic metal drumming technique is thecymbal choke,which consists of striking a cymbal and then immediately silencing it by grabbing it with the other hand (or, in some cases, the same striking hand), producing a burst of sound. The metal drum setup is generally much larger than those employed in other forms of rock music.Black metal, death metal and some "mainstream metal" bands "all depend upondouble-kicksandblast beats".

Enid Williams fromGirlschoolandLemmyfromMotörheadlive in 2009. The ties that bind the two bands started in the 1980s and were still strong in the 2010s.

In live performance, loudness – an "onslaught of sound", in sociologistDeena Weinstein's description – is considered vital.In his book,Metalheads,psychologist Jeffrey Arnett refers to heavy metal concerts as "the sensory equivalent of war".Following the lead set byJimi Hendrix,Creamandthe Who,early heavy metal acts such asBlue Cheerset new benchmarks for volume. As Blue Cheer'sDick Petersonput it, "All we knew was we wanted more power."A 1977 review of a Motörhead concert noted how "excessive volume in particular figured into the band's impact".Weinstein makes the case that in the same way thatmelodyis the main element ofpopand rhythm is the main focus ofhouse music,powerful sound, timbre and volume are the key elements of metal. She argues that the loudness is designed to "sweep the listener into the sound" and to provide a "shot of youthful vitality".

Heavy metal performers tended to be almost exclusively maleuntil at least the mid-1980s,with some exceptions such asGirlschool.However, by the 2010s, women were making more of an impact,and PopMatters' Craig Hayes argues that metal "clearly empowers women".In the power metal and symphonic metal subgenres, there has been a sizable number of bands that have had women as the lead singers, such asNightwish,DelainandWithin Temptation.

Musical language

Rhythm and tempo

An example of a rhythmic pattern used in heavy metal. The upper stave is apalm-mutedrhythm guitarpart. The lower stave is the drum part.

The rhythm in metal songs is emphatic, with deliberate stresses. Weinstein observes that the wide array of sonic effects available to metal drummers enables the "rhythmic pattern to take on a complexity within its elemental drive and insistency".In many heavy metal songs, the main groove is characterized by short, two- or three-note rhythmic figures – generally made up ofeighthor16th notes.These rhythmic figures are usually performed with astaccatoattack created by using apalm-mutedtechnique on the rhythm guitar.

Brief, abrupt and detachedrhythmic cellsare joined into rhythmic phrases with a distinctive, often jerky texture. These phrases are used to create rhythmic accompaniment and melodic figures calledriffs,which help to establish thematichooks.Heavy metal songs also use longer rhythmic figures such aswhole note- or dotted quarter note-length chords in slow-tempopower ballads.The tempos in early heavy metal music tended to be "slow, even ponderous".By the late 1970s, however, metal bands were employing a wide variety of tempos, and as recently as the 2000s, metal tempos range from slow ballad tempos (quarter note = 60beats per minute) to extremely fastblast beattempos (quarter note = 350 beats per minute).

Harmony

One of the signatures of the genre is the guitar power chord.In technical terms, the power chord is relatively simple: it involves just one maininterval,generally theperfect fifth,though anoctavemay be added as a doubling of theroot.When power chords are played on the lower strings at high volumes and with distortion,additional low-frequency soundsare created, which add to the "weight of the sound" and create an effect of "overwhelming power".Although the perfect fifth interval is the most common basis for the power chord,power chords are also based on different intervals such as theminor third,major third,perfect fourth,diminished fifthorminor sixth.Most power chords are also played with a consistent finger arrangement that can be slid easily up and down thefretboard.

Typical harmonic structures

Heavy metal is usually based on riffs created with three main harmonic traits: modal scale progressions,tritoneand chromatic progressions, and the use ofpedal points.Traditional heavy metal tends to employ modal scales, in particular theAeolianandPhrygian modes.Harmonically speaking, this means the genre typically incorporates modal chord progressions such as the Aeolian progressions I-♭VI-♭VII, I-♭VII-(♭VI), or I-♭VI-IV-♭VII and Phrygian progressions implying the relation between I and ♭II (I-♭II-I, I-♭II-III, or I-♭II-VII for example). Tense-soundingchromaticortritonerelationships are used in a number of metal chord progressions.In addition to using modal harmonic relationships, heavy metal also uses "pentatonicand blues-derived features ".

The tritone, an interval spanning three whole tones – such as C to F# – was considered extremelydissonantand unstable by medieval and Renaissance music theorists. It was nicknamed thediabolus in musica –"the devil in music".

Heavy metal songs often make extensive use ofpedal pointas a harmonic basis. A pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass range, during which at least one foreign (i.e., dissonant) harmony is sounded in the other parts.According to Robert Walser, heavy metal harmonic relationships are "often quite complex" and the harmonic analysis done by metal players and teachers is "often very sophisticated".In the study of heavy metal chord structures, it has been concluded that "heavy metal music has proved to be far more complicated" than other music researchers had realized.

Relationship with classical music

Ritchie Blackmore,founder ofDeep PurpleandRainbow,known for the neoclassical approach in his guitar performances.

Robert Walser stated that, alongside blues and R&B, the "assemblage of disparate musical styles known... as 'classical music' "has been a major influence on heavy metal since the genre's earliest days, and that metal's" most influential musicians have been guitar players who have also studied classical music. Their appropriation and adaptation of classical models sparked the development of a new kind of guitar virtuosity [and] changes in the harmonic and melodic language of heavy metal. "

In an article written forGrove Music Online,Walser stated that the "1980s brought on... the widespread adaptation of chord progressions and virtuosic practices from 18th-century European models, especiallyBachandAntonio Vivaldi,by influential guitarists such asRitchie Blackmore,Marty Friedman,Jason Becker,Uli Jon Roth,Eddie Van Halen,Randy RhoadsandYngwie Malmsteen."Kurt Bachmann ofBelieverhas stated that "if done correctly, metal and classical fit quite well together. Classical and metal are probably the two genres that have the most in common when it comes to feel, texture, creativity."

Although a number of metal musicians cite classical composers as inspiration, classical and metal are rooted in different cultural traditions and practices – classical in theart musictradition, metal in thepopular musictradition. AsmusicologistsNicolas Cook and Nicola Dibben note: "Analyses of popular music also sometimes reveal the influence of 'art traditions.' An example is Walser's linkage of heavy metal music with the ideologies and even some of the performance practices of nineteenth-centuryRomanticism.However, it would be clearly wrong to claim that traditions such as blues, rock, heavy metal, rap or dance music derive primarily from "art music.'"

Lyrical themes

For a more descriptive list, seeHeavy metal lyrics.

According to David Hatch and Stephen Millward, Black Sabbath and the numerous heavy metal bands that they inspired have concentrated lyrically "on dark and depressing subject matter to an extent hitherto unprecedented in any form of pop music." They take as an example Black Sabbath's second album,Paranoid(1970), which "included songs dealing with personal trauma—'Paranoid' and 'Fairies Wear Boots' (which described the unsavoury side effects of drug-taking)—as well as those confronting wider issues, such as the self-explanatory 'War Pigs' and 'Hand of Doom.' "Deriving from the genre's roots in blues music, sex is another important topic – a thread running from Led Zeppelin's suggestive lyrics to the more explicit references of glam metal and nu metal bands.

King Diamond,known for writing conceptual lyrics about horror stories

The thematic content of heavy metal has long been a target of criticism. According toJon Pareles,"Heavy metal's main subject matter is simple and virtually universal. With grunts, moans and subliterary lyrics, it celebrates... a party without limits... [T]he bulk of the music is stylized and formulaic."Music critics have often deemed metal lyrics juvenile and banal, and othershave objected to what they see as advocacy ofmisogynyand the occult. During the 1980s, theParents Music Resource Centerpetitioned the U.S. Congress to regulate the popular music industry due to what the group asserted were objectionable lyrics, particularly those in heavy metal songs.Andrew Cope stated that claims that heavy metal lyrics are misogynistic are "clearly misguided" as these critics have "overlook[ed] the overwhelming evidence that suggests otherwise".Music criticRobert Christgaucalled metal "an expressive mode [that] it sometimes seems will be with us for as long as ordinary white boys fear girls, pity themselves, and are permitted to rage against a world they'll never beat".

Heavy metal artists have had to defend their lyrics in front of the U.S. Senate and in court. In 1985,Twisted SisterfrontmanDee Sniderwas asked to defend his song "Under the Blade"at a U.S. Senate hearing. At the hearing, thePMRCalleged that the song was aboutsadomasochismandrape;Snider stated that the song was about his bandmate's throat surgery.In 1986,Ozzy Osbournewas sued over the lyrics of his song "Suicide Solution".A lawsuit against Osbourne was filed by the parents of John McCollum, a depressed teenager who committed suicide allegedly after listening to Osbourne's song. Osbourne was not found to be responsible for the teen's death.In 1990, Judas Priest was sued in American court by the parents of two young men who had shot themselves five years earlier, allegedly after hearing the subliminal statement "do it" in the band's cover of the song "Better by You, Better than Me".While the case attracted a great deal of media attention, it was ultimately dismissed.In 1991, U.K. police seized death metal records from the British record labelEarache Records,in an "unsuccessful attempt to prosecute the label for obscenity".

In some predominantly Muslim countries, heavy metal has been officially denounced as a threat to traditional values, and in countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Malaysia, there have been incidents of heavy metal musicians and fans being arrested and incarcerated.In 1997, the Egyptian police jailed many young metal fans, and they were accused of "devil worship" and blasphemy after police found metal recordings during searches of their homes.In 2013, Malaysia bannedLamb of Godfrom performing in their country, on the grounds that the "band's lyrics could be interpreted as being religiously insensitive" and blasphemous.Some people consider heavy metal music to be a leading factor for mental health disorders, and that heavy metal fans are more likely to suffer poor mental health, but a study from 2009 suggests that this is not true and that fans of heavy metal music suffer from poor mental health at a similar or lower rate compared to the general population.

Image and fashion

Main article:Heavy metal fashion

Kissperforming in 2004, wearing makeup

For many artists and bands, visual imagery plays a large role in heavy metal. In addition to its sound and lyrics, a heavy metal band's image is expressed in album cover art, logos, stage sets, clothing, design of instruments andmusic videos.

Down-the-back long hair is the "most crucial distinguishing feature of metal fashion".Originally adopted from the hippie subculture, by the 1980s and 1990s, heavy metal hair "symbolised the hate, angst and disenchantment of a generation that seemingly never felt at home", according to journalist Nader Rahman. Long hair gave members of the metal community "the power they needed to rebel against nothing in general".

The classic uniform of heavy metal fans consists of light-colored, ripped, frayed or torn blue jeans, black T-shirts, boots, and black leather or denim jackets.Deena Weinsteinwrote, "T-shirts are generally emblazoned with the logos or other visual representations of favorite metal bands."In the 1980s, a range of sources – from punk rock andgoth musicto horror films – influenced metal fashion.Many metal performers of the 1970s and 1980s used radically shaped and brightly colored instruments to enhance their stage appearance.

Fashion and personal style was especially important for glam metal bands of the era. Performers typically wore long, dyed, hairspray-teased hair (hence the nickname "hair metal" ); makeup such as lipstick and eyeliner; gaudy clothing, including leopard-skin-printed shirts or vests and tight denim, leather or spandex pants; and accessories such as headbands and jewelry.Pioneered by the heavy metal actX Japanin the late 1980s, bands in the Japanese movement known asvisual kei,which includes many non-metal groups, emphasize elaborate costumes, hair and makeup.

Physical gestures

Fans raise their fists and make the"devil horns"gesture at aMetsatöllconcert

When performing live, many metal musicians – as well as the audience for whom they're playing – engage inheadbanging,which involves rhythmically beating time with the head, often emphasized by long hair. Theil cornuto,or "devil horns", hand gesture was popularized by vocalistRonnie James Dioduring his time with the bands Black Sabbath andDio.AlthoughGene SimmonsofKissclaims to have been the first to make the gesture on the 1977Love Gunalbum cover, there is speculation as to who started the phenomenon.

Attendees of metal concerts do not dance in the usual sense. It has been argued that this is due to the music's largely male audience and "extreme heterosexualist ideology". Two primary body movements used are headbanging and an arm thrust that is both a sign of appreciation and a rhythmic gesture.The performance ofair guitaris popular among metal fans both at concerts and listening to records at home.According toDeena Weinstein,thrash metal concerts have two elements that are not part of the other metal genres:moshingandstage diving,which "were imported from thepunk/hardcore subculture".Weinstein states that moshing participants bump and jostle each other as they move in a circle in an area called the "pit" near the stage. Stage divers climb onto the stage with the band and then jump "back into the audience".

Fan subculture

Main article:Heavy metal subculture

A heavy metal fan wearing a denim jacket with band patches and artwork of the heavy metal bandsMetallica,Guns N' Roses,Iron Maiden,Slipknot,DioandLed Zeppelin.

It has been argued that heavy metal has outlasted many other rock genres largely due to the emergence of an intense, exclusionary and strongly masculine subculture.While the metal fan base is largely young, white, male and blue-collar, the group is "tolerant of those outside its core demographic base who follow its codes of dress, appearance, and behavior".Identification with the subculture is strengthened not only by the group experience of concert-going and shared elements of fashion, but also by contributing to metal magazines and, more recently, websites.Attending live concerts in particular has been called the "holiest of heavy metal communions".

The metal scene has been characterized as a "subculture of alienation" with its own code of authenticity.This code puts several demands on performers: they must appear both completely devoted to their music and loyal to the subculture that supports it; they must appear uninterested in mainstream appeal and radio hits; and they must never "sell out".Deena Weinsteinstated that for the fans themselves, the code promotes "opposition to established authority, and separateness from the rest of society".

Musician and filmmakerRob Zombieobserved, "Most of the kids who come to my shows seem like really imaginative kids with a lot of creative energy they don't know what to do with" and that metal is "outsider music for outsiders. Nobody wants to be the weird kid; you just somehow end up being the weird kid. It's kind of like that, but with metal you have all the weird kids in one place."Scholars of metal have noted the tendency of fans to classify and reject some performers (and some other fans) as "poseurs""who pretended to be part of the subculture, but who were deemed to lack authenticity and sincerity ".

Etymology

The origin of the term "heavy metal" in a musical context is uncertain. The phrase has been used for centuries in chemistry and metallurgy, where the periodic table organizes elements of bothlightandheavy metals(e.g., uranium). An early use of the term in modern popular culture was bycounterculturalwriterWilliam S. Burroughs.His 1961 novelThe Soft Machineincludes a character known as "Uranian Willy, the Heavy Metal Kid". Burroughs' next novel,Nova Express(1964), develops the theme, using "heavy metal" as 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."Inspired by Burroughs' novels,the term was used in the title of the 1967 albumFeaturing the Human Host and the Heavy Metal KidsbyHapshash and the Coloured Coat,which has been claimed to be its first use in the context of music.The phrase was later lifted bySandy Pearlman,who used the term to describethe Byrdsfor their supposed "aluminium style of context and effect", particularly on their albumThe Notorious Byrd Brothers(1968).

Metal historianIan Christedescribes what the components of the term mean in "hippiespeak":"heavy "is roughly synonymous with" potent "or" profound ", and" metal "designates a certain type of mood, grinding and weighted as with metal.The word "heavy" in this sense was a basic element ofbeatnikand latercounterculturalhippieslang,and references to "heavy music" – typically slower, more amplified variations of standard pop fare – were already common by the mid-1960s, such as in reference toVanilla Fudge.Iron Butterfly's debut album, which was released in early 1968, was titledHeavy.The first use of "heavy metal" in a song lyric is in reference to a motorcycle in theSteppenwolfsong "Born to Be Wild",also released that year:"I like smoke and lightning / Heavy metal thunder / Racin' with the wind / And the feelin' that I'm under".

An early documented use of the phrase inrock criticismappears in Sandy Pearlman's February 1967Crawdaddyreview ofthe Rolling Stones'Got Live If You Want It(1966), albeit as a description of the sound rather than as a genre: "On this album the Stones go metal. Technology is in the saddle—as an ideal and as a method."Another appears in the 11 May 1968 issue ofRolling Stone,in whichBarry Giffordwrote about the albumA Long Time Comin'by U.S. bandElectric Flag:"Nobody who's been listening toMike Bloomfield—either talking or playing—in the last few years could have expected this. This is the new soul music, the synthesis of white blues and heavy metal rock. "In the 7 September 1968 edition of theSeattle Daily Times,reviewer Susan Schwartz wrote thatthe Jimi Hendrix Experience"has a heavy-metals blues sound".In January 1970,Lucian K. Truscott IV,reviewingLed Zeppelin IIfor theVillage Voice,described the sound as "heavy" and made comparisons withBlue CheerandVanilla Fudge.

Other early documented uses of the phrase are from reviews by criticMetal Mike Saunders.In the 12 November 1970 issue ofRolling Stone,he commented on an album put out the previous year by the British bandHumble Pie:"Safe as Yesterday Is,their first American release, proved that Humble Pie could be boring in lots of different ways. Here they were a noisy, unmelodic, heavy metal-leaden shit-rock band with the loud and noisy parts beyond doubt. There were a couple of nice songs... and one monumental pile of refuse. "He described the band's latest,self-titled releaseas "more of the same 27th-rate heavy metal crap".

In a review ofSir Lord Baltimore'sKingdom Comein the May 1971 edition ofCreem,Saunders wrote, "Sir Lord Baltimore seems to have down pat most all the best heavy metal tricks in the book."CreemcriticLester Bangsis credited with popularizing the term via his early 1970s essays on bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.Through the decade, "heavy metal" was used by certain critics as a virtually automatic putdown. In 1979, leadNew York Timespopular music criticJohn Rockwelldescribed what he called "heavy-metal rock" as "brutally aggressive music played mostly for minds clouded by drugs"and, in a different article, as "a crude exaggeration of rock basics that appeals to white teenagers".

Coined byBlack SabbathdrummerBill Ward,"downer rock" was one of the earliest terms used to describe this style of music and was applied to acts such as Sabbath andBloodrock.Classic Rockmagazine described the downer rock culture revolving around the use ofQuaaludesand the drinking of wine.The term would later be replaced by "heavy metal".

Earlier on, as "heavy metal" emerged partially from heavy psychedelic rock, also known asacid rock,"acid rock" was often used interchangeably with "heavy metal" and "hard rock"."Acid rock "generally describes heavy, hard or raw psychedelic rock. Musicologist Steve Waksman stated that" the distinction between acid rock, hard rock, and heavy metal can at some point never be more than tenuous ",while percussionist John Beck defined "acid rock" as synonymous with hard rock and heavy metal.

Apart from "acid rock", the terms "heavy metal" and "hard rock" have often been used interchangeably, particularly in discussing bands of the 1970s, a period when the terms were largely synonymous.For example, the 1983 edition of theRolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Rollincludes the following passage: "Known for its aggressive blues-based hard-rock style,Aerosmithwas the top American heavy-metal band of the mid-Seventies ".

"The term 'heavy metal' is self-defeating," remarkedKissbassistGene Simmons."When I think of heavy metal, I've always thought of elves and evil dwarves and evil princes and princesses. A lot of theMaidenandPriestrecords were real metal records. I sure as hell don't thinkMetallica's metal, orGuns N' Rosesis metal, or Kiss is metal. It just doesn't deal with the ground opening up and little dwarves coming out riding dragons! You know, like badDiorecords. "

History

Antecedents: 1950s to late 1960s

See also:Blues rock,Psychedelic rock,Acid rock,andGarage rock

Heavy metal's quintessential guitar style, which is built around distortion-heavy riffs and power chords, traces its roots to early 1950sMemphis bluesguitaristssuch asJoe Hill Louis,Willie Johnsonand particularlyPat Hare,who captured a "grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound" on records such asJames Cotton's "Cotton Crop Blues"(1954).Other early influences include the late 1950s instrumentals ofLink Wray,particularly "Rumble"(1958);the early 1960ssurf rockofDick Dale,including "Let's Go Trippin'"(1961) and"Misirlou"(1962); andThe Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie"(1963), which became agarage rockstandard.

Cream performing on the Dutch television programFanclubin 1968

However, the genre's direct lineage begins in the mid-1960s. Americanblues musicwas a major influence on the earlyBritish rockersof the era. Bands likeThe Rolling StonesandThe Yardbirdsdevelopedblues rockby recording covers of classic blues songs, often speeding up thetempos.As they experimented with the music, the U.K. blues-based bands – and in turn the U.S. acts they influenced – developed what would become the hallmarks of heavy metal (in particular, the loud, distorted guitar sound).The Kinksplayed a major role in popularising this sound with their 1964 hit "You Really Got Me".

In addition to The Kinks'Dave Davies,other guitarists such asThe Who'sPete Townshendand The Yardbirds'Jeff Beckwere experimenting with feedback.Where the blues rock drumming style started out largely as simple shuffle beats on small kits, drummers began using a more muscular, complex and amplified approach to match and be heard against the increasingly loud guitar.Vocalists similarly modified their technique and increased their reliance on amplification, often becoming more stylized and dramatic. In terms of sheer volume, especially in live performance, The Who's "bigger-louder-wall-of-Marshalls"approach was seminal to the development of the later heavy metal sound.

The combination of this loud and heavy blues rock withpsychedelic rockandacid rockformed much of the original basis for heavy metal.The variant or subgenre of psychedelic rock often known as "acid rock" was particularly influential on heavy metal and its development; acid rock is often defined as a heavier, louder, or harder variant of psychedelic rock,or the more extreme side of the psychedelic rock genre, frequently containing a loud, improvised, and heavily distorted, guitar-centered sound. Acid rock has been described as psychedelic rock at its "rawest and most intense", emphasizing the heavier qualities associated with both the positive and negative extremes of thepsychedelic experiencerather than only the idyllic side of psychedelia.In contrast to more idyllic or whimsical pop psychedelic rock, American acid rockgarage bandssuch as the13th Floor Elevatorsepitomized the frenetic, heavier, darker, and more psychotic psychedelic rock sound known as acid rock, a sound characterized bydroningguitar riffs, amplified feedback, and guitar distortion, while the 13th Floor Elevators' sound in particular featured yelping vocals and "occasionally demented" lyrics.Frank Hoffman noted that "[Psychedelic rock] was sometimes referred to as 'acid rock'. The latter label was applied to a pounding,hard rockvariant that evolved out of the mid-1960sgarage-punkmovement.... When rock began turning back to softer, roots-oriented sounds in late 1968, acid-rock bands mutated into heavy metal acts. "

One of the most influential bands in forging the merger of psychedelic rock and acid rock with the blues rock genre was the British power trioCream,who derived a massive, heavy sound fromunisonriffing between guitaristEric Claptonand bassistJack Bruce,as well asGinger Baker's double bass drumming.Their first two LPs –Fresh Cream(1966) andDisraeli Gears(1967) – are regarded as essential prototypes for the future style of heavy metal.The Jimi Hendrix Experience's debut album,Are You Experienced(1967), was also highly influential.Hendrix's virtuosic technique would be emulated by many metal guitarists, and the album's most successful single, "Purple Haze",is identified by some as the first heavy metal hit.Vanilla Fudge,whosefirst albumalso came out in 1967, has been called "one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal,"and the band has been cited as an early American heavy metal group.On their self-titled debut album, Vanilla Fudge created "loud, heavy, slowed-down arrangements" of contemporary hit songs, blowing these songs up to "epic proportions" and "bathing them in a trippy, distorted haze".

During the late 1960s, many psychedelic singers, such asArthur Brown,began to create outlandish, theatrical, and oftenmacabreperformances that influenced many metal acts.The American psychedelic rock bandCoven,who opened for early heavy metal influencers such as Vanilla Fudge and the Yardbirds, portrayed themselves as practitioners ofwitchcraftorblack magic,using dark –Satanicoroccult– imagery in their lyrics, album art and live performances, which consisted of elaborate, theatrical "Satanic rites".Coven's 1969 debut album,Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls,featured imagery of skulls,black masses,inverted crosses,andSatanworship, and both the album artwork and the band's live performances marked the first appearances in rock music of thesign of the horns,which would later become an important gesture in heavy metal culture.Coven's lyrical and thematic influences on heavy metal were quickly overshadowed by the darker and heavier sounds ofBlack Sabbath.

Origins: late 1960s and early 1970s

John Kay ofSteppenwolf

Critics disagree over who can be thought of as the first heavy metal band. Most credit the British bandsLed ZeppelinandBlack Sabbath,with American commentators tending to favour Led Zeppelin and British commentators tending to favour Black Sabbath, though many give equal credit to both.Deep Purple,the third band in what is sometimes considered the "unholy trinity" of heavy metal along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, fluctuated between many rock styles until late 1969 when they took a heavy metal direction.A few commentators – mainly American – argue for other groups, includingIron Butterfly,Steppenwolf,Blue Cheer,orVanilla Fudge,as the first to play heavy metal.

In 1968, the sound that would become known as heavy metal began to coalesce. That January, San Francisco bandBlue Cheerreleased a cover ofEddie Cochran's classic "Summertime Blues"as a part of their debut album,Vincebus Eruptum,and many consider it to be the first true heavy metal recording.The same month,Steppenwolfreleased theirself-titled debut album,on which the track "Born to Be Wild"refers to" heavy metal thunder "in describing a motorcycle. In July, theJeff Beck Group,whose leader had preceded Page as The Yardbirds' guitarist, released its debut record,Truth,which featured some of the "most molten, barbed, downright funny noises of all time", breaking ground for generations of metal ax-slingers.In September, Page's new band,Led Zeppelin,made its live debut in Denmark (but were billed as The New Yardbirds).The Beatles'self-titled double album,released in November, included "Helter Skelter",then one of the heaviest-sounding songs ever released by a major band.The Pretty Things'rock operaS.F. Sorrow,released in December, featured "proto heavy metal" songs such as "Old Man Going" and "I See You".Iron Butterfly's 1968 song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"is sometimes described as an example of the transition betweenacid rockand heavy metalor the turning point in which acid rock became "heavy metal",and both Iron Butterfly's 1968 albumIn-A-Gadda-Da-Vidaand Blue Cheer's 1968 albumVincebus Eruptumhave been described as laying the foundation of heavy metal and greatly influential in the transformation of acid rock into heavy metal.

In thiscountercultureperiod,MC5,who began as part of the Detroit garage rock scene, developed a raw, distorted style that has been seen as a major influence on the future sound of both heavy metal and laterpunk music.The Stoogesalso began to establish and influence a heavy metal and later punk sound, with songs such as "I Wanna Be Your Dog",featuring pounding and distorted heavy guitar power chord riffs.Pink Floydreleased two of their heaviest and loudest songs to date, "Ibiza Bar"and"The Nile Song",the latter of which being regarded as" one of the heaviest songs the band recorded. "King Crimson'sdebut albumstarted with "21st Century Schizoid Man",which was considered heavy metal by several critics.

Led Zeppelinperforming atChicago Stadiumin January 1975

In January 1969, Led Zeppelin'sself-titled debut albumwas released and reached No. 10 on theBillboardalbum chart. In July, Led Zeppelin and a power trio with a Cream-inspired, but cruder sound, calledGrand Funk Railroadplayed theAtlanta Pop Festival.That same month, another Cream-rooted trio led byLeslie WestreleasedMountain,an album filled with heavy blues rock guitar and roaring vocals. In August, the group – now itself dubbedMountain– played an hour-long set at theWoodstock Festival,exposing the crowd of 300,000 people to the emerging sound of heavy metal.Mountain's proto-metal or early heavy metal hit song "Mississippi Queen"from the albumClimbing!is especially credited with paving the way for heavy metal and was one of the first heavy guitar songs to receive regular play on radio.In September 1969, the Beatles released the albumAbbey Roadcontaining the track "I Want You (She's So Heavy)",which has been credited as an early example of or influence on heavy metal ordoom metal.In October 1969, British bandHigh Tidedebuted with the heavy, proto-metal albumSea Shanties.

Led Zeppelin defined central aspects of the emerging genre, with Page's highly distorted guitar style and singerRobert Plant's dramatic, wailing vocals.Other bands, with a more consistently heavy, "purely" metal sound, would prove equally important in codifying the genre. The 1970 releases byBlack Sabbath(Black Sabbath,which is generally accepted as the first heavy metal album,andParanoid) andDeep Purple(Deep Purple in Rock) were crucial in this regard.

Birmingham's Black Sabbath had developed a particularly heavy sound in part due to awork accidentin which guitaristTony Iommilost the ends of two fingers.Unable to play normally, Iommi had to tune his guitar down for easier fretting and rely on power chords with their relatively simple fingering.The bleak, industrial,working-classenvironment ofBirmingham,amanufacturingcity full of noisyfactoriesandmetalworking,has itself been credited with influencing Black Sabbath's heavy, chugging, metallic sound – and the sound of heavy metal in general.

Deep Purple had fluctuated between styles in its early years, but by 1969, vocalistIan Gillanand guitaristRitchie Blackmorehad led the band toward the developing heavy metal style.In 1970, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple scored major U.K. chart hits with "Paranoid"and"Black Night",respectively.That same year, two other British bands released debut albums in a heavy metal mode:Uriah Heepwith...Very 'Eavy... Very 'UmbleandUFOwithUFO 1.Bloodrockreleased theirself-titled debut album,a collection of heavy guitar riffs, gruff style vocals and sadistic and macabre lyrics.The influentialBudgiebrought the new metal sound into a power trio context, creating some of the heaviest music of the time.The occult lyrics and imagery employed by Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep would prove particularly influential; Led Zeppelin also began foregrounding such elements with itsfourth album,released in 1971.In 1973, Deep Purple released the song "Smoke on the Water",whose iconic riff is usually considered as the most recognizable one in" heavy rock "history, as a single of the classic live albumMade in Japan.

Brian Robertson,Phil Lynott,Scott GorhamofThin Lizzyperforming during the Bad Reputation Tour, 24 November 1977

On the other side of the Atlantic, the trendsetting group wasGrand Funk Railroad,who was described as "the most commercially successful American heavy-metal band from 1970 until they disbanded in 1976, [they] established the Seventies success formula: continuous touring."Other influential bands identified with metal emerged in the U.S. such asSir Lord Baltimore(Kingdom Come,1970),Blue Öyster Cult(Blue Öyster Cult,1972),Aerosmith(Aerosmith,1973) andKiss(Kiss,1974). Sir Lord Baltimore's 1970 debut album and bothHumble Pie'sdebutandself-titled third albumwere among the first albums to be described in print as "heavy metal", withAs Safe As Yesterday Isreferred to by the term "heavy metal" in a 1970 review inRolling Stonemagazine.Various smaller bands from the U.S., U.K. and Continental Europe – includingBang,Josefus,Leaf Hound,Primeval,Hard Stuff,Truth and Janey,Dust,JPT Scare Band,Frijid Pink,Cactus,Irish Coffee,May Blitz,Captain Beyond,Toad,Granicus,Iron Claw,andYesterday's Children– though lesser known outside of their respective scenes, proved to be greatly influential on the emerging metal movement. In Germany,Scorpionsdebuted withLonesome Crowin 1972. Blackmore, who had emerged as a virtuoso soloist with Deep Purple's highly influential albumMachine Head(1972), left the band in 1975 to formRainbowwithRonnie James Dio,singer and bassist for blues rock bandElfand future vocalist for Black Sabbath and heavy metal bandDio.Rainbow with Ronnie James Dio would expand on the mystical andfantasy-based lyrics and themes sometimes found in heavy metal, pioneering bothpower metalandneoclassical metal.These bands also built audiences via constant touring and increasingly elaborate stage shows.

There are arguments about whether these and other early bands truly qualify as "heavy metal" or simply as "hard rock". Those closer to the music's blues roots or placing greater emphasis on melody are now commonly ascribed the latter label.AC/DC,which debuted withHigh Voltagein 1975, is a prime example. The 1983Rolling Stoneencyclopedia entry begins, "Australian heavy-metal band AC/DC..."Rock historian Clinton Walker wrote, "Calling AC/DC a heavy metal band in the seventies was as inaccurate as it is today.... [They] were a rock 'n' roll band that just happened to be heavy enough for metal. "The issue is not only one of shifting definitions, but also a persistent distinction between musical style and audience identification; Ian Christe describes how the band "became the stepping-stone that led huge numbers of hard rock fans into heavy metal perdition".

In certain cases, there is little debate. After Black Sabbath, the next major example is Britain'sJudas Priest,which debuted withRocka Rollain 1974. In Christe's description,

Black Sabbath's audience was... left to scavenge for sounds with similar impact. By the mid-1970s, heavy metal aesthetic could be spotted, like a mythical beast, in the moody bass and complex dual guitars ofThin Lizzy,in the stagecraft ofAlice Cooper,in the sizzling guitar and showy vocals ofQueen,and in the thundering medieval questions of Rainbow.... Judas Priest arrived to unify and amplify these diverse highlights from hard rock's sonic palette. For the first time, heavy metal became a true genre unto itself.

Though Judas Priest did not have a top 40 album in the United States until 1980, for many it was the definitive post-Sabbath heavy metal band; its twin-guitar attack, featuring rapid tempos and a non-bluesy, more cleanly metallic sound, was a major influence on later acts.While heavy metal was growing in popularity, most critics were not enamored of the music. Objections were raised to metal's adoption of visual spectacle and other trappings of commercial artifice,but the main offense was its perceived musical and lyrical vacuity: reviewing a Black Sabbath album in the early 1970s,Robert Christgaudescribed it as "dull and decadent... dim-witted, amoral exploitation. "

Mainstream: late 1970s and 1980s

Iron Maiden,one of the central bands in thenew wave of British heavy metal

Punk rockemerged in the mid-1970s as a reaction against contemporary social conditions as well as what was perceived as the overindulgent, overproduced rock music of the time, including heavy metal. Sales of heavy metal records declined sharply in the late 1970s in the face of punk,discoand more mainstream rock.With the major labels fixated on punk, many newer British heavy metal bands were inspired by the movement's aggressive, high-energy sound and "lo-fi",do it yourselfethos. Underground metal bands began putting out cheaply recorded releases independently to small, devoted audiences.

Motörhead,founded in 1975, was the first important band to straddle the punk/metal divide. With the explosion of punk in 1977, others followed. British music magazines such as theNMEandSoundstook notice, withSoundswriter Geoff Barton christening the movement the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal".NWOBHM bands includingIron Maiden,SaxonandDef Leppardre-energized the heavy metal genre. Following the lead set by Judas Priest and Motörhead, they toughened up the sound, reduced its blues elements and emphasized increasingly fast tempos.

"This seemed to be the resurgence of heavy metal," notedRonnie James Dio,who joined Black Sabbath in 1979. "I've never thought there was adesurgenceof heavy metal – if that's a word! – but it was important to me that, yet again[afterRainbow],I could be involved in something that was paving the way for those who are going to come after me. "

By 1980, the NWOBHM had broken into the mainstream, as albums by Iron Maiden and Saxon, as well as Motörhead, reached the British top 10. Though less commercially successful, NWOBHM bands such asVenomandDiamond Headwould have a significant influence on metal's development.In 1981, Motörhead became the first of this new breed of metal bands to top the U.K. charts with the live albumNo Sleep 'til Hammersmith.

The first generation of metal bands was ceding the limelight. Deep Purple broke up soon after Blackmore's departure in 1975, and Led Zeppelin split following drummerJohn Bonham's death in 1980. Black Sabbath were plagued with infighting and substance abuse, while facing fierce competition fromtheir opening band,Van Halen.Eddie Van Halenestablished himself as one of the leading metal guitarists of the era. His solo on "Eruption",from the band'sself-titled 1978 album,is considered a milestone.Eddie Van Halen's sound even crossed over into pop music when his guitar solo was featured on the track "Beat It"byMichael Jackson,which reached No. 1 in the U.S. in February 1983.

Inspired by Van Halen's success, a metal scene began to develop in Southern California during the late 1970s. Based on the clubs of L.A.'sSunset Strip,bands such asMötley Crüe,Quiet Riot,RattandW.A.S.P.were influenced by traditional heavy metal of the 1970s.These acts incorporated the theatrics (and sometimes makeup) ofglam metalor "hair metal" bands such asAlice Cooperand Kiss.Glam metal bands were often visually distinguished by long, overworked hairstyles accompanied by wardrobes which were sometimes considered cross-gender. The lyrics of theseglam metalbands characteristically emphasizedhedonismand wild behavior, including lyrics that involved sexual expletives and the use of narcotics. In the wake of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Judas Priest's breakthrough withBritish Steel(1980), heavy metal became increasingly popular in the early 1980s. Many metal artists benefited from the exposure they received onMTV,which began airing in 1981; sales often soared if a band's videos screened on the channel.Def Leppard's videos forPyromania(1983) made them superstars in America, and Quiet Riot became the first domestic heavy metal band to top theBillboardchart withMetal Health(1983). One of the seminal events in metal's growing popularity was the 1983US Festivalin California, where the "heavy metal day" featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Scorpions, Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest and others drew the largest audiences of the three-day event.

Between 1983 and 1984, heavy metal's share of all recordings sold in the U.S. increased from 8% to 20%.Several major professional magazines devoted to the genre were launched, includingKerrang!in 1981 andMetal Hammerin 1984, as well as a host of fan journals. In 1985,Billboarddeclared: "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."

By the mid-1980s, glam metal was a dominant presence on the U.S. charts,music televisionand the arena concert circuit. New bands such as L.A.'sWarrantand acts from the East Coast likePoisonandCinderellabecame major draws, while Mötley Crüe and Ratt remained very popular. Bridging the stylistic gap between hard rock and glam metal,New Jersey'sBon Jovibecame enormously successful with its third album,Slippery When Wet(1986). The similarly styled Swedish bandEuropebecame international stars withThe Final Countdown(1986), whosetitle trackhit No. 1 in 25 countries.In 1987, MTV launchedHeadbangers Ball,a show devoted exclusively to heavy metal videos. However, the metal audience had begun to factionalize, with those in many underground metal scenes favoring more extreme sounds and disparaging the popular style as "light metal" or "hair metal".

One band that reached diverse audiences wasGuns N' Roses.In contrast to their glam metal contemporaries in L.A., they were seen as much more raw and dangerous.With the release of their chart-topping albumAppetite for Destructionin 1987, they "recharged and almost single-handedly sustained the Sunset Strip sleaze system for several years".The following year,Jane's Addictionemerged from the same L.A. hard-rock club scene with their major-label debut,Nothing's Shocking.Reviewing the album, Steve Pond ofRolling Stonedeclared, "As much as any band in existence, Jane's Addiction is the true heir to Led Zeppelin."The group was one of the first to be identified with the "alternative metal"trend that would come to the fore in the next decade. Meanwhile, new bands like New York City'sWingerand New Jersey'sSkid Rowsustained the popularity of the glam metal style.

Other heavy metal genres: 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

DrummerEric Moorefromcrossover thrashbandSuicidal Tendencies

Manysubgenres of heavy metaldeveloped outside of the commercial mainstream during the 1980s,such ascrossover thrash.Several attempts have been made to map the complex world of underground metal, most notably by the editors ofAllMusic,as well as criticGarry Sharpe-Young.Sharpe-Young's multivolume metal encyclopedia separates the underground into five major categories:thrash metal,death metal,black metal,power metaland the related subgenres ofdoomandgothic metal.

In 1990, a review inRolling Stonesuggested retiring the term "heavy metal" as the genre was "ridiculously vague".The article stated that the term only fueled "misperceptions of rock & roll bigots who still assume that five bands as different asRatt,Extreme,Anthrax,DanzigandMother Love Bone"sound the same.

Thrash metal

Main article:Thrash metal

Thrash metal bandSlayerperforming in 2007 in front of a wall of speaker stacks

Thrash metal emerged in the early 1980s under the influence ofhardcore punkand the New Wave of British Heavy Metal,particularly songs in the revved-up style known asspeed metal.The movement began in the United States, withBay Area thrash metalbeing the leading scene. The sound developed by thrash groups was faster and more aggressive than that of the original metal bands and their glam metal successors.Low-register guitar riffs are typically overlaid withshreddingleads. Lyrics often expressnihilisticviews or deal withsocial issuesusing visceral, gory language. Thrash has been described as a form of "urban blight music" and "a palefaced cousin of rap".

The subgenre was popularized by the "Big Four of Thrash":Metallica,Anthrax,MegadethandSlayer.Three German bands,Kreator,SodomandDestruction,played a central role in bringing the style to Europe. Others, including the San Francisco Bay Area'sTestamentandExodus,New Jersey'sOverkill,and Brazil'sSepulturaandSarcófago,also had a significant impact. Although thrash metal began as an underground movement, and remained largely that for almost a decade, the leading bands of the scene began to reach a wider audience. Metallica brought the sound into the top 40 of theBillboardalbum chart in 1986 withMaster of Puppets,the genre's first Platinum record.Two years later, the band's album...And Justice for Allhit No. 6, while Megadeth and Anthrax also had top 40 records on the American charts.

Though less commercially successful than the rest of the Big Four, Slayer released one of the genre's definitive records:Reign in Blood(1986) was credited for incorporating heavier guitartimbresand including explicit depictions of death, suffering, violence and occult into thrash metal's lyricism.Slayer attracted a following amongfar-right skinheads,and accusations of promoting violence andNazithemes have dogged the band.Even though Slayer did not receive substantial media exposure, their music played a key role in the development ofextreme metal.

In the early 1990s, bands that got their start in thrash metal achieved breakout success, challenging and redefining the metal mainstream.Metallica'sself-titled 1991 albumtopped theBillboardchart,as the band established an international following.Megadeth'sCountdown to Extinction(1992) debuted at No. 2,Anthrax and Slayer cracked the top 10,and albums by regional bands such as Testament and Sepultura entered the top 100.

Death metal

Main article:Death metal

Death'sChuck Schuldiner,"widely recognized as the father of death metal"

Thrash metal soon began to evolve and split into more extreme metal genres. "Slayer's music was directly responsible for the rise of death metal," according to MTV News.The NWOBHM band Venom was also an important progenitor. The death metal movement in both North America and Europe adopted and emphasized the elements ofblasphemyanddiabolismemployed by such acts. Florida'sDeath,San Francisco Bay Area'sPossessedand Ohio'sNecrophagiaare recognized as seminal bands in the style. All three have been credited with inspiring the subgenre's name. Possessed in particular did so via their 1984 demo,Death Metal,and their song "Death Metal", which came from their 1985 debut album,Seven Churches.In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Swedish death metal became notable and melodic forms of death metal were created.

Death metal utilizes the speed and aggression of both thrash and hardcore, fused with lyrics preoccupied withZ-gradeslasher movieviolence andSatanism.Death metal vocals are typically bleak, involving guttural "death growls",high-pitchedscreaming,the "death rasp"and other uncommon techniques.Complementing the deep, aggressive vocal style are down-tuned, heavilydistortedguitarsand extremely fast percussion, often with rapiddouble bassdrumming and "wall of sound" –styleblast beats.Frequent tempo andtime signaturechanges andsyncopationare also typical.

Death metal, like thrash metal, generally rejects the theatrics of earlier metal styles, opting instead for an everyday look of ripped jeans and plain leather jackets.One major exception to this rule wasDeicide'sGlen Benton,who branded an inverted cross on his forehead and wore armor on stage.Morbid Angeladoptedneo-fascistimagery.These two bands, along with Death andObituary,were leaders of the major death metal scene that emerged in Florida in the mid-1980s. In the U.K., the related style ofgrindcore,led by bands such asNapalm DeathandExtreme Noise Terror,emerged from theanarcho-punkmovement.

Black metal

Main article:Black metal

The first wave of black metal emerged in Europe in the early and mid-1980s, led by the United Kingdom'sVenom,Denmark'sMercyful Fate,Switzerland'sHellhammerandCeltic Frost,and Sweden'sBathory.By the late 1980s, Norwegian bands such asMayhemandBurzumwere heading a second wave.Black metal varies considerably in style and production quality, although most bands emphasize shrieked and growled vocals, highly distorted guitars frequently played with rapidtremolo picking,a dark atmosphereand intentionally lo-fi production, often with ambient noise and background hiss.

Satanic themes are common in black metal, though many bands take inspiration from ancientpaganism,promoting a return to supposed pre-Christian values.Numerous black metal bands also "experiment with sounds from all possible forms of metal, folk, classical music, electronica and avant-garde".DarkthronedrummerFenrizexplained: "It had something to do with production, lyrics, the way they dressed and a commitment to making ugly, raw, grim stuff. There wasn't a generic sound."

Although bands such asSarcófagohad been donningcorpsepaint,by 1990, Mayhem was regularly wearing it; many other black metal acts also adopted the look. Bathory inspired theViking metalandfolk metalmovements, andImmortalbrought blast beats to the fore. Some bands in the Scandinavian black metal scene became associated with considerable violence in the early 1990s,with Mayhem and Burzum linked to church burnings. Growing commercial hype around death metal generated a backlash; beginning in Norway, much of the Scandinavian metal underground shifted to support a black metal scene that resisted being co-opted by the commercial metal industry.

By 1992, black metal scenes had begun to emerge in areas outside Scandinavia, including Germany, France and Poland.The 1993 murder of Mayhem'sEuronymousby Burzum'sVarg Vikernesprovoked intensive media coverage.Around 1996, when many in the scene felt the genre was stagnating,several key bands, including Burzum and Finland'sBeherit,moved toward anambientstyle, whilesymphonic black metalwas explored by Sweden'sTiamatand Switzerland'sSamael.In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Norway'sDimmu Borgirand England'sCradle of Filthbrought black metal closer to the mainstream.

Power metal

Main article:Power metal

Italian bandRhapsody of Fireperforming in Buenos Aires in 2010

During the late 1980s, the power metal scene came together largely in reaction to the harshness of death and black metal.Though a relatively underground style in North America, it enjoys wide popularity in Europe, Japan and South America. Power metal focuses on upbeat, epic melodies and themes that "appeal to the listener's sense of valor and loveliness".The prototype for the sound was established in the mid- to late 1980s by Germany'sHelloween,who, in their 1987 and 1988Keeper of the Seven Keysalbums, combined the power riffs, melodic approach and a high-pitched, "clean" singing style of bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden with thrash's speed and energy, "crystalliz[ing] the sonic ingredients of what is now known as power metal".

Traditional power metal bands like Sweden'sHammerFall,England'sDragonForceand the U.S.'sIced Earthhave a sound clearly indebted to the classic NWOBHM style.Many power metal bands such as the U.S.'sKamelot,Finland'sNightwish,StratovariusandSonata Arctica,Italy'sRhapsody of Fireand Russia'sCatharsisfeature a keyboard-based"symphonic" sound,sometimes employing orchestras and opera singers. Power metal has built a strong fanbase in Japan and South America, where bands like Brazil'sAngraand Argentina'sRata Blancaare popular.

Closely related to power metal isprogressive metal,which adopts the complex compositional approach of bands likeRushandKing Crimson.This style emerged in the United States in the early and mid-1980s, with innovators such asQueensrÿche,Fates WarningandDream Theater.The mix of the progressive and power metal sounds is typified by New Jersey'sSymphony X,whose guitaristMichael Romeois among the most recognized of latter-day shredders.

Doom metal

Main article:Doom metal

Emerging in the mid-1980s with such bands as California'sSaint Vitus,Maryland'sThe Obsessed,Chicago'sTroubleand Sweden'sCandlemass,the doom metal movement rejected other metal styles' emphasis on speed, slowing its music to a crawl. Doom metal traces its roots to the lyrical themes and musical approach of early Black Sabbath.TheMelvinshave also been a significant influence on doom metal and a number of its subgenres.Doom metal emphasizes melody, melancholy tempos and a sepulchral mood relative to many other varieties of metal.

The 1991 release ofForest of Equilibrium,the debut album by U.K. bandCathedral,helped spark a new wave of doom metal. During the same period, thedoom-deathfusion style of British bandsParadise Lost,My Dying BrideandAnathemagave rise to Europeangothic metal.with its signature dual-vocalist arrangements, exemplified by Norway'sTheatre of TragedyandTristania.New York'sType O Negativeintroduced an American take on the style.

In the United States,sludge metal,which mixes doom metal and hardcore punk, emerged in the late 1980s;EyehategodandCrowbarwere leaders in amajor Louisiana sludge scene.Early in the next decade, California'sKyussandSleep,inspired by the earlier doom metal bands, spearheaded the rise ofstoner metal,while Seattle'sEarthhelped develop thedrone metalsubgenre.The late 1990s saw new bands form such as the Los Angeles–basedGoatsnake,with a classic stoner/doom sound, andSunn O))),which crosses lines between doom, drone anddark ambientmetal; theNew York Timeshas compared their sound to an "Indianragain the middle of an earthquake ".

1990s and early 2000s subgenres and fusions

Further information:Alternative metal,Rap metal,Nu metal,NWOAHM,Industrial metal,andGroove metal

Layne StaleyofAlice in Chains,one of the most popular acts identified withalternative metal,performing in 1992

The era of heavy metal's mainstream dominance in North America came to an end in the early 1990s with the emergence ofNirvanaand othergrungebands, signaling the popular breakthrough ofalternative rock.Grunge acts were influenced by the heavy metal sound, but rejected the excesses of the more popular metal bands, such as their "flashy and virtuosic solos" and "appearance-driven"MTVorientation.

Glam metal fell out of favor due not only to the success of grunge,but also because of the growing popularity of the more aggressive sound typified by Metallica and the post-thrashgroove metalofPanteraandWhite Zombie.In 1991,Metallicareleased their albumMetallica,also known asThe Black Album,which moved the band's sound out of thethrash metalgenre and into standard heavy metal.The album was certified 16× Platinum by theRIAA.A few new, unambiguously metal bands had commercial success during the first half of the decade – Pantera'sFar Beyond Driventopped theBillboardchart in 1994 – but, "In the dull eyes of the mainstream, metal was dead."Some bands tried to adapt to the new musical landscape. Metallica revamped its image: the band members cut their hair and, in 1996, headlined the alternative music festivalLollapalooza,which was founded byJane's AddictionsingerPerry Farrell.While this prompted a backlash among some longtime fans,Metallica remained one of the most successful bands in the world into the new century.

Italiangothic metalbandLacuna Coilperforming in 2010

Like Jane's Addiction, many of the most popular early 1990s groups with roots in heavy metal fall under the umbrella term "alternative metal".Bands in Seattle's grunge scene such asSoundgardenare credited for making a "place for heavy metal in alternative rock",andAlice in Chainswere at the center of the alternative metal movement. The label was applied to a wide spectrum of other acts that fused metal with different styles:Faith No Morecombined their alternative rock sound with punk,funk,metal andhip-hop;Primusjoined elements of funk, punk,thrash metalandexperimental music;Toolmixed metal andprogressive rock;bands such asFear Factory,MinistryandNine Inch Nailsbegan incorporating metal into theirindustrial sound(and vice versa); andMarilyn Mansonwent down a similar route, while also employing shock effects of the sort popularized by Alice Cooper. Alternative metal artists, though they did not represent a cohesive scene, were united by their willingness to experiment with the metal genre and their rejection of glam metal aesthetics (with the stagecraft of Marilyn Manson and White Zombie – also identified with alt metal – significant, if partial, exceptions).Alternative metal's mix of styles and sounds represented "the colorful results of metal opening up to face the outside world".

In the mid- and late 1990s came a new wave of U.S. metal groups inspired by the alternative metal bands and their mix of genres.Dubbed "nu metal", bands such asSlipknot,Linkin Park,Limp Bizkit,Papa Roach,P.O.D.,KornandDisturbedincorporated elements ranging fromdeath metalto hip-hop, often includingDJsandrap-style vocals. The mix demonstrated that "pancultural metal could pay off".Nu metal gained mainstream success through heavy MTV rotation and Ozzy Osbourne's 1996 introduction ofOzzfest,which led the media to talk of a resurgence of heavy metal.In 1999,Billboardnoted that there were more than 500 specialty metal radio shows in the U.S., nearly three times as many as 10 years before.While nu metal was widely popular, traditional metal fans did not fully embrace the style.By early 2003, the movement's popularity was on the wane, though several nu metal acts such as Korn or Limp Bizkit retained substantial followings.

Recent styles: mid- to late 2000s, 2010s and 2020s

"New metal" redirects here. For the genre of music with a similar name, seenu metal.

Further information:Metalcore,Djent,Deathcore,Melodic metalcore,Mathcore,andNWOAHM

Metalcore,a hybrid of extreme metal andhardcore punk,emerged as a commercial force in the mid-2000s, having mostly been an underground phenomenon throughout the 1980s and 1990s;pioneering bands includeEarth Crisis,Converge,HatebreedandShai Hulud.By 2004, melodic metalcore – influenced bymelodic death metalas well – was popular enough thatKillswitch Engage'sThe End of HeartacheandShadows Fall'sThe War Withindebuted at No. 21 and No. 20, respectively, on theBillboardalbum chart.

Children of Bodom,performing at the 2007Masters of Rockfestival

Evolving even further from metalcore camemathcore,a more rhythmically complicated and progressive style brought to light by bands such asThe Dillinger Escape Plan,ConvergeandProtest the Hero.Mathcore's main defining quality is the use of odd time signatures, and has been described to possess rhythmic comparability tofree jazz.

Heavy metal remained popular in the 2000s, particularly in continental Europe. By the new millennium, Scandinavia had emerged as one of the areas producing innovative and successful bands, while Belgium, the Netherlands and especially Germany were the most significant markets.Metal music is more favorably embraced in Scandinavia and Northern Europe than other regions due to social and political openness in these regions;Finland in particular has been often called the "Promised Land of Heavy Metal", as there are more than 50 metal bands for every 100,000 inhabitants – more than any other nation in the world.Established continental metal bands that placed multiple albums in the top 20 of the German charts between 2003 and 2008 include Finland'sChildren of Bodom,Norway's Dimmu Borgir,Germany'sBlind Guardianand Sweden's HammerFall.

In the 2000s, an extreme metal fusion genre known asdeathcoreemerged. Deathcore incorporates elements ofdeath metal,hardcore punkandmetalcore.Deathcore features characteristics such as death metalriffs,hardcore punkbreakdowns,death growling, "pig squeal" -sounding vocals and screaming.Deathcore bands includeWhitechapel,Suicide Silence,Despised IconandCarnifex.

The term "retro-metal" has been used to describe bands such as Texas-basedThe Sword,California'sHigh on Fire,Sweden'sWitchcraftand Australia'sWolfmother.The Sword'sAge of Winters(2006) drew heavily on the work of Black Sabbath andPentagram,Witchcraft added elements offolk rockand psychedelic rock,and Wolfmother'sself-titled 2005 debut albumhad "Deep Purple-ish organs "and"Jimmy Page-worthy chordalriffing".Mastodon,which plays a progressive/sludge style of metal, has inspired claims of a metal revival in the United States, dubbed by some critics the "New Wave of American Heavy Metal".

By the early 2010s, metalcore was evolving to more frequently incorporate synthesizers and elements from genres beyond rock and metal. The albumReckless & Relentlessby British bandAsking Alexandria,which sold 31,000 copies in its first week, and The Devil Wears Prada's 2011 albumDead Throne,which sold 32,400 in its first week,reached No. 9 and No. 10,respectively, on theBillboard200 chart. In 2013, British bandBring Me the Horizonreleased their fourth studio album,Sempiternal,to critical acclaim. The album debuted at No. 3 on theU.K. Album Chartand at No. 1 in Australia. The album sold 27,522 copies in the U.S. and charted at No. 11 on theBillboardChart, making it their highest-charting release in America until their follow-up album,That's the Spirit,which debuted at No. 2 in 2015.

Also in the 2010s, a metal style called "djent"developed as a spinoff of standardprogressive metal.Djent music uses rhythmic and technical complexity,heavily distorted,palm-mutedguitar chords, syncopatedriffsandpolyrhythmsalongsidevirtuososoloing.Another typical characteristic is the use of extended rangeseven-,eight- andnine-string guitars.Djent bands includePeriphery,TesseractandTextures.

Fusion ofnu metalwithelectropopby singer-songwritersPoppy,GrimesandRina Sawayamasaw a popular and critical revival of the former genre in the late 2010s and 2020s, particular on their respective albumsI Disagree,Miss AnthropoceneandSawayama.

Global reach

Metal has been recognized as a global music genre, being listened to and performed around the world.Laina Dawes explored the multidimensional components ofracismin her bookWhat Are You Doing Here?,including the perspectives of black women musicians and fans, in the heavy metal scene in North America and the United Kingdom. She also grounded her doctorial thesis "'Freedom Ain't Free': Race and Representation(s) in Extreme Heavy Metal" on her own experiences, laying out some the nuances of a community that can be both a site of exclusionism and at the same time also a place for greater freedom of expression compared to mainstream genres.The bandAlien Weaponryfrom theMāori peopleofNew Zealandpromotes heavy metal music as one way of combating racism.

Women in heavy metal

Giada Etro fromFrozen Crown(left) and Federica Lanna fromVolturian(right) during a joint concert.

Women's involvement in heavy metal began in the 1960s since its very conception, given the role played by Esther "Jinx" Dawson, vocalist and leader ofCoven.The next relevant milestone took place in the 1970s when Genesis, the forerunner ofVixen,formed in 1973. A hard rock band featuring all-female members,The Runaways,was founded in 1975;Joan JettandLita Fordlater had successful solo careers.In 1978, during the rise of theNew Wave of British Heavy Metal,the bandGirlschoolwas founded and, in 1980, collaborated withMotörheadunder the pseudonymHeadgirl.Starting in 1982,Doro Pesch,dubbed "the Metal Queen", reached success across Europe (making other woman-fronted metal bands to spawn, such as Spain'sSantain 1983), leading the German bandWarlockbefore starting her solo career.In 1983 another pioneering heavy metal singer,Mari Hamada,made her debut, achieving great success in Japan from the 1980s until well into the 21st century.Debuting as the female lead singer of the American bandChastainin 1985,Leather Leonewas a pioneer inpower metalvocals.In 1986, the German thrash bandHoly Moses,fronted by pioneergrowlerSabina Classen,issued their first album.Bolt Thrower'sbassistJo Benchsince 1987 has inspired female musicians to play metal.

In 1994,Liv Kristinejoined Norwegiangothic metalbandTheatre of Tragedy,providing "angelic"female clean vocals to contrast with maledeath growls.In 1996, Finnish bandNightwishwas founded and featuredTarja Turunen's vocals. This was followed by more women fronting heavy metal bands, such asHalestorm,In This Moment,Within Temptation,Arch EnemyandEpicaamong others. Liv Kristine was featured on the title track ofCradle of Filth's 2004 album,Nymphetamine,which was nominated for the 2004Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.In 2013, Halestorm won the Grammy in the combined category of Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for "Love Bites (So Do I)".In 2021,In This Moment,Code OrangeandPoppywere all nominated in the Best Metal Performance category.

The most notable of these 1990s/2000s female-fronted groups was the American bandEvanescence,headed by vocalistAmy Leeand featuring a musical style usually described as gothic alternative metal and hard rock with classical elements.Their first albumFallen,released in 2003, broke into thepopular musicscene and was a worldwide phenomenon;it earned the band twoGrammy Awardsand briefly catapulted Lee to a level of fame similar to that of contemporarypopstarssuch asChristina Aguilera,Avril Lavigne,andBeyoncé.Although their later albums have not had a similar impact, Evanescence are still one of the most commercially successful metal groups of the 21st century, having sold over 20 million records.

In Japan, the 2010s saw a boom of all-female metal bands, includingDestrose,Aldious,Mary's Blood,CyntiaandLovebites,as well as the mainstream success ofBabymetal.

Women such asGaby HoffmannandSharon Osbournehave held important managerial roles behind the scenes. In 1981, Hoffmann helpedDon Dokkenacquire his first record deal,as well as became the manager ofAcceptin 1981 and wrote songs under the pseudonym of "Deaffy" for many of band's studio albums. VocalistMark Tornillostated that Hoffmann still had some influence in songwriting on their later albums.Osbourne, the wife and manager ofOzzy Osbourne,founded theOzzfestmusic festival and managed several bands, including Motörhead,Coal Chamber,the Smashing Pumpkins,Electric Light Orchestra,Lita Ford andQueen.

Sexism

The popular media and academia have long charged heavy metal with sexism andmisogyny.In the 1980s, American conservative groups like theParents Music Resource Center(PMRC) and theParent Teacher Association(PTA) co-opted feminist views on anti-woman violence to form attacks on metal's rhetoric and imagery.According toRobert Christgauin 2001, metal, along with hip-hop, have made "reflexive and violent sexism... current in the music ".

In response to such claims, debates in the metal press have centered on defining and contextualizing sexism. Hill claims that "understanding what counts as sexism is complex and requires critical work by fans when sexism is normalised." Citing her own research, including interviews of British female fans, she found that metal offers them an opportunity to feel liberated and genderless, albeit if assimilated into a culture that is largely neglectful of women.

In 2018,Metal Hammereditor Eleanor Goodman published an article titled "Does Metal Have a Sexism Problem?" interviewing veteran industry people and artists about the plight of women in metal. Some talked about a history of difficulty receiving professional respect from male counterparts. Among those interviewed was Wendy Dio, who had worked in label, booking and legal capacities in the music industry before her marriage to and management of metal artistRonnie James Dio.She said that after marrying Dio, her professional reputation became reduced to her marital role as his wife, and her competency was questioned. Gloria Cavalera, former manager ofSepulturaand wife of the band's former frontmanMax Cavalera,said that since 1996, she had received misogynistic hate mail and death threats from fans and that "women take a lot of crap. This whole#MeToothing, do they think it just started? That has gone on since the pictures of the cavemen pulling girls by their hair. "

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External links

• "The Metal Archives".Encyclopedia Metallum.
• "The International Society for Metal Music Studies (ISMMS)".
• AllMusic entryfor heavy metal