When Did Heavy Metal Music Start?

Have you ever wondered when heavy metal music first started? If you’re a fan of the genre, you might be interested in learning about its history. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how heavy metal came to be, starting with its roots in blues and rock music.

The Early Days of Heavy Metal

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is characterized by distorted guitars, fast tempos, and aggressive lyrics. But where did this sound come from? Who were the pioneers of this genre?

Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath

Most people would agree that heavy metal music started in the early 1970s with bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. These bands took the existing sound of hard rock and blues-rock and made it heavier, louder, and more aggressive. They also began experimenting with longer, more complex song structures and incorporating elements of classical music into their pieces. This new sound quickly caught on with other bands and fans, and heavy metal became its own distinct genre.

Over the next few decades, heavy metal would evolve and splinter off into many different subgenres, each with its own unique sound and style. But at its core, heavy metal has always been about unbridled aggression, prodigious technical skills, and a willingness to push boundaries both musically and socially. If you’re looking to headbang your way through some tough times, there’s no better genre to turn to than metal.

Deep Purple and Rainbow

Deep Purple and Rainbow were both founded in 1968 and are considered to be among the first heavy metal bands. Deep Purple’s debut album, Shades of Deep Purple, was released in 1968 and contained the song “Hush”, which is often cited as being one of the first heavy metal songs. Rainbow’s debut album, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, was released in 1975 and contained the song “Man on the Silver Mountain”, which is also often cited as being one of the first heavy metal songs.

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) was a musical movement that started in the late 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. It was a reaction to the declining popularity of hard rock in the late 1970s. Bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Def Leppard were at the forefront of the movement.

Iron Maiden and Judas Priest

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a musical movement that started in the late 1970s and was spearheaded by two bands in particular: Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

Both bands had been influenced by the earlier wave of British metal bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but they took things in a different direction, developing their own unique sound.

Iron Maiden’s debut album, 1980’s “Iron Maiden”, is often cited as one of the most influential metal albums of all time, and it helped to cement the band’s place at the forefront of the British metal scene. Judas Priest’s “British Steel”, released in 1980, was also hugely influential, and the band enjoyed huge success throughout the 1980s with a string of classic albums.

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was hugely popular in Europe, particularly in Germany and Italy, but it also had a significant following in the United States, where metal fans were eager to discover new bands.

The movement faded away in the early 1990s, but its legacy continues to this day – many of today’s biggest metal bands cite Iron Maiden and Judas Priest as major influences, and the sound of NWOBHM can still be heard in some modern metal music.

Def Leppard and Saxon

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a new wave of British heavy metal was spawned by bands such as Def Leppard, Diamond Head, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Saxon and Venom. The movement was precipitated by the success of Diamond Head’s self-titled debut album released in 1980 and the EP “Borrowed Time”, released the following year. Several other factors contributed to the rise of British metal including the rise of punk rock in the late 1970s, which led many disaffected young music fans to seek out a more exciting and heavy-sounding alternative; and the popularity of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s band Rainbow, whose success with a mix of hard rock and classical influences inspired many young British musicians to experiment with similar sounds.

The American Wave of Heavy Metal

American heavy metal began in the late 1960s and early 1970s with bands such as Blue Cheer, Alice Cooper, and Kiss. This new type of music was louder and more aggressive than what had come before. It quickly became popular with young people who were looking for something different.

Metallica and Megadeth

Metallica and Megadeth are two of the most successful and influential heavy metal bands of all time. They both helped to define the sound and style of American heavy metal in the 1980s, and their popularity has only grown in the years since.

Metallica was formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist/singer James Hetfield. The band’s debut album, ‘Kill ‘Em All,’ was released in 1983 and is considered one of the most important heavy metal albums ever made. Metallica’s follow-up albums, ‘Ride the Lightning’ (1984) and ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986), are also considered classics. The band’s fourth album, ‘…And Justice for All’ (1988), featured new bassist Jason Newsted and was their first album to reach #1 on the Billboard charts.

Megadeth was formed in 1983 by guitarist/singer Dave Mustaine after he was kicked out of Metallica. Mustaine recruited bassist David Ellefson and drummer Gar Samuelson to complete the lineup, and they released their debut album, ‘Killing Is My Business…and Business Is Good!’ in 1985. Megadeth’s second album, ‘Peace Sells…but Who’s Buying?’ (1986), is considered one of the best heavy metal albums ever made. The band has continued to release successful albums throughout their career, including ‘Rust in Peace’ (1990) and ‘Countdown to Extinction’ (1992).

Slayer and Anthrax

In the early 1980s, two east coast bands would help define a new musical genre and metal as we know it today would be forever changed. Slayer and Anthrax not only took metal in a new and more aggressive direction, but they also popularized metal with a new audience: teenagers.

With songs about Satan, death, and violence, Slayer’s music was dark, fast, and aggressive. They were not the first metal band to sing about such topics, but they were the first to do it with such conviction. And while many older metal fans were put off by their subject matter, teenagers loved it.

Anthrax was also helping to redefine metal in the early 80s. They were one of the first bands to add rap and hip hop influences to their music and their song “Fight The Power” was an anthem for alienated youth everywhere. But it wasn’t just their music that was different; Anthrax also had a sense of humor that was unmatched in metal at the time. This would help them connect with their audience in a way that other bands could not.

While Slayer and Anthrax may not have been the first metal bands to sing about dark subjects or to add other genres to their sound, they were certainly the most successful at doing so in the early 1980s. Their influence can still be felt today in the music of many modern metal bands.

The Modern Era of Heavy Metal

The first heavy metal band is typically considered to be Black Sabbath, who released their self-titled debut album in early 1970. From there, the heavy metal movement snowballed, with more and more bands adopting the style and sound. The genre continued to grow in popularity throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden becoming household names. In the 1990s and 2000s, heavy metal music continued to evolve, with subgenres like nu metal and metalcore becoming popular.

Slipknot and Lamb of God

Heavy metal has its roots in the blues-rock of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple popularized the genre with distorted guitars, aggressive lyrics, and a thunderous sound. Soon, hard rock bands like Kiss and Aerosmith were experimenting with metal elements in their music. In the 1980s, a new wave of metal bands took things to the next level with faster tempos, heavier riffs, and more extreme lyrics. These bands — including Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer — are considered the forefathers of today’s metal scene.

The 1990s saw the rise of nu metal, a subgenre that fused metal with hip-hop and other genres. Bands like Slipknot, Korn, and Limp Bizkit popularized nu metal with their aggressive music and moshpit-friendly live shows. In the 2000s, metalcore emerged as a popular subgenre, blending metal with hardcore punk. Bands like Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, and Lamb of God helped to propel metalcore into the mainstream consciousness.

Today’s heavy metal scene is as diverse as ever, with subgenres like black metal, deathcore, doom metal, progressive metal, sludge Metal

Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for My Valentine

Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for My Valentine are two modern metal bands that have had a great deal of success in the last decade. Both bands have been able to move away from the nu-metal movement of the early 2000s and create their own unique sound that has helped them stand out in the metal world.