The Story of Metal

I have touched upon the beginnings of heavy metal music, in my first post. There is something that is important to note before we get started. Rock and metal bands have always had a stage presence. The live show was as integral to the success of their music as the albums were. Back in the day, a live performance was the advertisement for the album. Today, the digital age has changed things. That approach has now flipped. The album is now the enticement to go to a live show. I say performance and show because the word concert doesn’t even begin to describe the experience of a live show. When you see a metal or rock show, you get the music, pyrotechnics, and a theatrical show. When you go see an artist live from any other genre, it’s just not as exciting as good live metal or rock band like Iron Maiden. 

Theatrics was always part of the show, just look at Kiss or Alice Cooper. That is why when MTV first appeared in the 80’s, metal bands where the first on with their music videos. Because they were camera ready. They had the theatrics, and knew how to perform. It’s like opera with electric instruments.

The history of metal is not that long in retrospect of our entire shared history. Only from the late 1960’s to now, so almost 50 years. Even though metal music is relatively young, there are hundreds if not thousands of bands within this genre with millions of fans around the world. Now we must ask the question, what differs one band or artist from another in this genre? If you were to compare Pantera and Deep Purple, you could distinctly tell the difference sonically. But attitude about the music and the scene are also part of the equation. Look at Alice Cooper, he has a stage show like no other. Performing stunts of his own decapitation, it’s like watching theater. And of course Punk influenced many later musicians and it is reflected in the music. There’re many subgenres such as Early Metal, which is Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and the like. Thrash Metal, Shock Rock, New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM, although not so new anymore), Progressive Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Grindcore, Groove Metal, Pirate Metal (yes it exists), and so many more in the metal family tree. 

Heavy Metal as it’s known, is a genre of music that started from the working class factory workers in Birmingham, England. Birmingham, one of the birthplaces of metal, was much like Detroit back in the day. A gritty gloomy place where the mass population were working class that worked in factories. Because of the environment the music reflected the musician’s upbringing. Of course you can listen to a Zeppelin song and think that it’s not overly gloomy. But it wasn’t until the formation of Sabbath and the tragic accident their guitarist Tony Iommi incurred, which made the unique sound which is a milestone in the tale of metal. Although they are the creators of this music genre, their musical influence stem from the blues, jazz, and classical music. If we had to go back to the beginning of where the sound came from in rock music, it can be heard as early as The Kinks song “You Really Got Me” with that crunchy sound made by cutting the amplifier with a razor blade.

After hearing this, the first Marshall amplifier was created. Marshall is as synonymous with metal as leather and studs. Of course there are many other examples in classic rock that can be categorized as having this sound. But even though I said that metal music is a British invention, the US was also integral to the foundation of this music, like Aerosmith and Ted Nugent. The roots of metal were born from the working class and it has evolved into a technical and theatrical show. Heavy music founded itself from multiple genres. From the classical compositions to the hard rock anthems.