26.07 Conclusion

Overview

As we saw in the previous lesson, hard rock groups of the late 1960s and 1970s such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Iron Butterfly incorporated heavy bass and drum parts with riff-based structures into their music. These two stylistic characteristics are also present in heavy metal. Unlike hard rock, though, the lyrics of heavy metal tend to focus on dark, sinister topics such as the occult, death, and witchcraft. During this lesson, we will focus on the early heavy metal groups that were popular in both Europe and the United States.

Objectives

Identify the similarities and differences between hard rock and heavy metal
Identify the defining characteristics of heavy metal music
Examine a number of early heavy metal groups and explain why they and their music were significant to the development of heavy metal

Conclusion

The Stoogies & Iggy Pop

Heavy metal is an outgrowth of the hard rock genre. Artists such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple were prominent hard rock groups who are also regarded as major influences on the development of heavy metal. In the United Kingdom, Black Sabbath dominated the early heavy metal scene with its gothic themes, macabre riffs, and heavy sound. In the United States, Alice Cooper—both as a band and as a soloist—was one of the first popular heavy metal acts, horrifying and fascinating audiences with grotesque props, outrageous costumes, and violent theatrics.

Other successful heavy metal groups, such as the Scorpions, demonstrated that heavy metal (and rock more generally) knew no national boundaries. As we will see, the artists in this chapter laid the groundwork for many metal groups that would emerge in the late 1970s and 1980s, including Judas Priest, Metallica, and Van Halen.

“That's certainly the roots of heavy metal. That whole sense of revolution and wanting to be powerful is definetly a puberty thing. Fans don't have to be offended by that. Everybody goes through it. That's why heavy metal is so powerful.”

-Ian Christe

“You gotta look beyond the mainstream... the mainstream'll drown you, you know? There's always a pulse in the underground that I love. And the pulse in the underground is what keeps heavy metal alive.”

-Phil Anselmo

"Black Sabbath nearly broke up before recording a single song, when guitarist Tony Iommi left to join the more established Jethro Tull in 1969, but he luckily changed his mind."

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