I've seen some folks comment that there aren't many threads devoted to the Metal genre of music.
So in my own selfish desire to see more diverse posts, i'll start one.

Not being an expert, i'm just going to set the table and let those interested have at it.

What is Metal?
When/where did it start?
Who/what are the most representative bands/songs?
What are the sub-genres?

The 1st time I heard the term was in the 60s Steppenwolf song Born To Be Wild...

I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder

...


Early on, the term had been applied to Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and even Vanilla Fudge.

So what's the real deal?


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

Sweeny posted this thread awhile back explaining all the subgenres in detail: http://www.prince.org/msg/8/193529

I thought it was pretty helpful.

i might be wrong but wasn't the term heavy metal coined when a music critic described Jimi's sound as Heavy Metal falling from the sky?

that may have been applied to another band, but i'm thinking it was jimi.

sinisterpentatonic said:

That was claimed by Chas Chandler.
However, nobody to date has been able to validate the claim.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

sextonseven said:

I saw that.

Here's some help with the Death Metal category...

http://www.homestarrunner...il141.html

...from the great Strong Bad.



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431
[Edited 7/9/06 13:16pm]

There is only one true Heavy Metal band.....





































Jethro Tull

Stax said:

Hahahaha! you're funny!

Stax said:

i never quite understood his schtick.

Stax said:

Correct. Tull won the very first heavy metal Grammy award.

Stax said:

[Edited 7/9/06 13:28pm]

sextonseven said:

I'm still pissed about that.

Who/what are the most representative bands/songs?

Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Marilyn Manson

Smoke on the Water, Paranoid, Stairway To Heaven...Welcome to the Jungle...Enter Sandman


Extremely well known identifiable metal

When/where did it start?

Hendrix, I'll give a nod to Clapton, but Jimi took it to the next level.

Led Zeppelin/Sabbath are the first incarnations of metal.

The other questions will take more thought.

Stax said:

The Grammys will never be forgiven for that, nor should they be. I grew up listening to this stuff in the 80s, so some that I enjoy is borderline. I still enjoy a lot of it, but have moved on from others. Stuff I liked (or still like): Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest (Eat Me Alive scared the shit out of me...and made me want more), Motley Crue, AC/DC, Dokken, Blue Oyster Cult, Ratt, Guns n Roses, Megadeth, Metallica...

Definition? To me, when I was young it needed only a few qualifications: 1) loud, 2) lots of guitars, 3) lots of hair, 4) part of my big brothers music collection and 5) had been in the pages of Circus or Hit Parader at some point.

lilgish said:

There are no mandolins in Metal.

Stax said:

I agree.

Another question...

What's separates Metal from Hard Rock?

...


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

Yeah, I'd like this answered too... At one point I would never have considered Kiss or Van Halen, or Def Leppard as heavy metal... Metal could only be in minor scales, and had to be angry... Metallica, Anthrax...

What is metal?

theAudience said:

Yeah, that's always thrown me, too! And even if the term was applied to Hendrix early on, It'd be pretty ridiculous if a record store placed the Hendrix albums in the Heavy Metal section with Iron Maiden and Metallica and Ozzy...I'd laugh if I saw Zeppelin there, too even if they were the early influence...





...

theAudience said:

Metal leans more towards minor chords, doom, violence, lack of communicative melody, and often speed. Hard rock is generally an American deal, featuring optimism, guys that look like chicks, guys that talk almost exclusively about chicks, and songs that write songs that even their girlfriends might like. - Martin Popoff, The Collectors guide to Heavy Metal

lilgish said:

Does that mean Bon Jovi is not heavy metal?

theAudience said:

theAudience said:

It's all about the speed. Metal is faster and more intense. Hard rock can still have it's roots in Rock 'n Roll and Blues, but is slightly heavier. A good example would be how Metallica changed their sound - they went from metal (Master Of Puppets, Ride The Lightning, Justice, Kill 'Em All) to hard rock (Black Album, and all the poorer stuff afterwards). They went more commercial, were still heavy, but just lost the speed.

Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax is about all the metal I can tolerate, but I listen to loads of rock and hard rock. I still consider Led Zeppelin as the definitive, and best, rock/hard rock band.

As for metal, it probably began somewhere amid Sabbath and Deep Purple.

lilgish said:

Whatever.

PunchDrunk said:

I agree with everything you've posted here.

And Zeppelin somehow always get tagged w/ helping start metal, (which in ture to some exrent)and were even called heavy metal back in the day before other bands started playing even faster and heavier, but they always hated being called that. They didn't like to be pigeon-holed.

I'd definitely say Sabbath though. They had much more a dirge-like, heavy sound and the lyrics were a lot darker and more sinister than anything Zeppelin ever did. Deep Purple comes in a close second IMO, but I tend to listen to Deep Purple a lot more than Sabbath. I can only take so much of Ozzy's off-key singing. Small doses.

In the main, double bass drumming separates metal from hard rock. I know there are some hard rock drummers that play double bass, but not the metal style double-thumping-throughout-the-whole-song kind of double bass drumming that I am thinking about. Well, that AND mandolins.


[Edited 7/10/06 12:34pm]

Let's consult allmusic, which is (generally speaking) good for these things. in their definition/history of heavy metal, they offer these excerpts (the full text is in the link):

"Of all rock & roll's myriad forms, heavy metal is the most extreme in terms of volume, machismo, and theatricality. There are numerous stylistic variations on heavy metal's core sound, but they're all tied together by a reliance on loud, distorted guitars (usually playing repeated riffs) and simple, pounding rhythms...

"The first seeds of heavy metal were sown in the British blues movement of the '60s, specifically among bands who found it hard to adjust to the natural swing of American blues. The rhythms became more squared-off, and the amplified electric instruments became more important, especially with the innovations of artists like the Kinks, the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and the Jeff Beck Group. Arguably the first true metal band, however, was Led Zeppelin. Initially, Zep played blues tunes heavier and louder than anyone ever had, and soon created an epic, textured brand of heavy rock that drew from many musical sources. Less subtle but perhaps even more influential was Black Sabbath, whose murky, leaden guitar riffs created a doomy fantasy world obsessed with drugs, death, and the occult."

Their definition of hard rock is only a little more concrete:

"Hard rock is a term that's frequently applied to any sort of loud, aggressive guitar rock, but for these purposes, the definition is more specific. To be sure, hard rock is loud, aggressive guitar rock, but it isn't as heavy as heavy metal, and it's only very rarely influenced by punk (though it helped inspire punk). Hard rock generally prizes big, stadium-ready guitar riffs, anthemic choruses, and stomping, swaggering backbeats; its goals are usually (though not universally) commercial, and it's nearly always saturated with machismo. With some bands, it can be difficult to tell where the dividing line between hard rock and heavy metal falls, but the basic distinction is that ever since Black Sabbath, metal tends to be darker and more menacing, while hard rock (for the most part) has remained exuberant, chest-thumping party music. Additionally, while metal riffs often function as stand-alone melodies, hard rock riffs tend to outline chord progressions in their hooks, making for looser, more elastic jams should the band decide to stretch out instrumentally."

I think the dividing line is Satan.