On Friday, February 13, 1970 Black Sabbath released their
debut album signaling the beginning of the genre known as metal or heavy
metal. The following quote by Peter Steele of Type O Negative is an
indication of the significance of Black Sabbath:"Black Sabbath has
influenced every single band out there. They were the heaviest thing to me,
and they still are. You can't get any heavier than that. I love that slow,
droning, dinosaur-footsteps-through-the -woods type of sound."
The musicians of Black Sabbath (Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler,
and Bill Ward) all came from the industrial city of Birmingham, England.
Their music had a dark, ominous quality due to their use of slow tempos,
guitar motives that seem to be chiseled from stone, and a thunderous rhythm
section, all backing the sometimes droning, sometimes hyped-up vocals of
Osbourne. The music on their early albums might be termed doom metal, one of
a number of sub-genres that include thrash, power, death, progressive,
black, and even Christian metal. Much of this music has an element of
anger or frustration. This is sometimes directed at the political status quo
in songs such as War Pigs from BS's second album Paranoid.
There is often also a suggestion of the occult and a preoccupation with
death that can be heard in metal lyrics and also reflected in the names of
bands (Megadeath, Death, Death Angel, etc.).
Black Sabbath inspired hundreds (if not thousands) of bands that that
have appeared in the last 30 years which have kept metal a vital part of
rock music.
Other prominent metal bands include Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, AC/DC,
Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Metallica, Blue Oyster Cult, Alice Cooper,
Motorhead, and Kiss.
It wasn't just about the music---Manowar, pictured above, wanted a unique
image.
Genres of Metal
Doom Metal This style is easily recognized by its
slow ponderous tempo, heavy riffing, and melodic vocals. Black Sabbath
pioneered this genre on their self-titled first album. In the 1980s,
Candlemass rejuvenated the style.
Thrash This style is characterized by a
fast tempo, staccato, chunky guitar riffing, and aggressive vocals.
Metallica's Kill Em' All (1983) is often regarded as the first
thrash album. Other bands active in this genre include Overkill, Testament,
and Destruction.
NWOBHM This acronym stands for New Wave of
British Heavy Metal and includes bands that emerged about ten years after
Black Sabbath's debut. Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, and Deep
Purple can be included in this genre.
Death Metal The most distinguishing
characteristic of death metal are a low, growling vocal style. Death metal
groups include In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Morbid Angel, Entombed, and
Obituary.
Progressive Metal This is a combination of metal
with some of the characteristics (unusual time signatures, for example) of
progressive rock. Dream Theater, and Watchtower are good examples of
progressive metal groups.
Black Metal Similar to death metal but with
an even more threatening tone black metal groups include Cradle of Filth,
Darkthrone, Venom, and Bathory.
Above descriptions came from the BNR Metal Pages found at
www.bnrmetal.com
