Heavy Metal was developed in the late 1960's and early 1970's throughout the United Kingdom and the United States. This new genre of music was derived from Blues Rock and Psychedelic Rock and the bands that performed this style developed a thick, massive sound. This sound was characterized by loud distortion, heavy beats, and extended solos. The lyrics of this genre were usually associated with masculinity and machismo.
The first heavy metal bands were Led Zeppelin (Who were a combination of this genre and Blues Rock), Deep Purple, and more notably; Black Sabbath. Heavy Metal received poor receptions from critics, if any, and therefore created a cult following of fans that would become known as "metal heads" or "headbangers". I the mid-70's, Judas Priest helped evolve Heavy Metal by discarding most of its blues influence and Motorhead introduced an increasing emphasis on the speed of the music. Another notable act of this genre was Iron Maiden.
Many sub-genres developed from Heavy Metal such as: thrash metal (brought to popularity by Metallica, Megadeth, etc.), hair metal (e.g. Motley Crue), death metal (eg: Dethklok), and speed metal (eg: Dragonforce).
Black Sabbath
Along with other bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath has been recognized worldwide as one of the pioneers of Heavy Metal. The original band formed in 1968 as a blues hard rock act but by 1969 they had renamed themselves Black Sabbath and began to experiment in what would become the beginnings of Heavy Metal. The original line up consisted of Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, and Bill Ward on drums. The band wrote songs with tuned-down guitars and occult and horror-inspired lyrics. They wrote about political corruption, drug abuse, and apocalyptic prophesies.
Ozzy Osbourne's excessive drug and alcohol use eventually lead to him leaving the band and being replaced by "Rainbow" singer; the late Ronnie James Dio. The band continued on as Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne pursued a solo career. Both achieved success on their own but reunited for a tour in 1997, upon which they released a live album entitled "Reunion". In 2006, Dio returned to the group but under the new name "Heaven and Hell". Black Sabbath has sold over 15 million records in the U.S alone and over 70 million worldwide. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 2006, and are included in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Discography
1970
Black Sabbath
1981
Mob Rules
1970
Paranoid
1983
Born Again
1971
Master of Reality
1986
Seventh Star
1972
Black Sabbath Vol.4
1987
The Eternal Idol
1973
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1989
Headless Cross
1975
Sabotage
1990
TYR
1976
Technical Ecstasy
1992
Dehumanizer
1978
Never Say Die!
1994
Cross Purposes
1980
Heaven and Hell
1995
Forbidden
InfluenceBlack Sabbath and heavy metal went on to influence the music world. They created a new genre of music that would eventually break off into many sub genres of metal. Black Sabbath influenced Iron Maiden, Metallica, Guns n' Roses, the Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Anthrax and many more bands and the contribution they have made to the music industry is great.
History
Heavy Metal was developed in the late 1960's and early 1970's throughout the United Kingdom and the United States. This new genre of music was derived from Blues Rock and Psychedelic Rock and the bands that performed this style developed a thick, massive sound. This sound was characterized by loud distortion, heavy beats, and extended solos. The lyrics of this genre were usually associated with masculinity and machismo.The first heavy metal bands were Led Zeppelin (Who were a combination of this genre and Blues Rock), Deep Purple, and more notably; Black Sabbath. Heavy Metal received poor receptions from critics, if any, and therefore created a cult following of fans that would become known as "metal heads" or "headbangers". I the mid-70's, Judas Priest helped evolve Heavy Metal by discarding most of its blues influence and Motorhead introduced an increasing emphasis on the speed of the music. Another notable act of this genre was Iron Maiden.
Many sub-genres developed from Heavy Metal such as: thrash metal (brought to popularity by Metallica, Megadeth, etc.), hair metal (e.g. Motley Crue), death metal (eg: Dethklok), and speed metal (eg: Dragonforce).
Black Sabbath
Along with other bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath has been recognized worldwide as one of the pioneers of Heavy Metal. The original band formed in 1968 as a blues hard rock act but by 1969 they had renamed themselves Black Sabbath and began to experiment in what would become the beginnings of Heavy Metal. The original line up consisted of Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, and Bill Ward on drums. The band wrote songs with tuned-down guitars and occult and horror-inspired lyrics. They wrote about political corruption, drug abuse, and apocalyptic prophesies.Ozzy Osbourne's excessive drug and alcohol use eventually lead to him leaving the band and being replaced by "Rainbow" singer; the late Ronnie James Dio. The band continued on as Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne pursued a solo career. Both achieved success on their own but reunited for a tour in 1997, upon which they released a live album entitled "Reunion". In 2006, Dio returned to the group but under the new name "Heaven and Hell". Black Sabbath has sold over 15 million records in the U.S alone and over 70 million worldwide. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 2006, and are included in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Discography
InfluenceBlack Sabbath and heavy metal went on to influence the music world. They created a new genre of music that would eventually break off into many sub genres of metal. Black Sabbath influenced Iron Maiden, Metallica, Guns n' Roses, the Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Anthrax and many more bands and the contribution they have made to the music industry is great.