Who invented heavy metal?

[Unofficial Reverand Alex]

A video from the interesting YouTube channel Polyphonic, with all sorts of videos about music. This one seeks to find the source of the genre of metal:

There's one song that I'm surprised didn't get mentioned in the video; Revolution, by The Beatles.

One that may have been considered metal for the time ('69), though not coming from America or Britain, it's likely unknown by people who look into the progression of musical genres:

May God bless us all through high-energy music & history!

 

[public hermit]

Sabbath

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

The video is correct that heavy metal originated with the Blues. From share croppers of the deep South USA came the sound that took the world by storm given the name rock and roll. I recommend the very entertaining movie Cadillac Records for some history of rock(metal) music. Here is a scene from the movie.

 

[timothyu]

Distortion even in the 50's and 60's did not metal make as the songs were melodic. Even Sabbath although borderline metal, was still melodic. The true metal came when it lost any sense of melody and became primitive driving beat and nothing more, ideal for musicians who couldn't play guitar but knew how to distort and bend a string into anger. It was the end of a decade of head music and definitely decades of melody. Hard rock still dominated the metal scene in popularity through the 80's even if many confused many hard rock groups with metal. But the mindless metal influence continues today in an industry of bland offerings where like automobiles, everything sounds the same.

 

[Ken Rank]

A video from the interesting YouTube channel Polyphonic, with all sorts of videos about music. This one seeks to find the source of the genre of metal:

There's one song that I'm surprised didn't get mentioned in the video; Revolution, by The Beatles.

One that may have been considered metal for the time ('69), though not coming from America or Britain, it's likely unknown by people who look into the progression of musical genres:

May God bless us all through high-energy music & history!

Hendrix perhaps? Though not fully "heavy metal" you can easily see his style as one that simply needed another step added to it to be metal.

You won't find one band that just "invented it." You will find bands that played progressively harder for their genre until a band comes along and adds that final step which become metal.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Distortion even in the 50's and 60's did not metal make as the songs were melodic. Even Sabbath although borderline metal, was still melodic. The true metal came when it lost any sense of melody and became primitive driving beat and nothing more, ideal for musicians who couldn't play guitar but knew how to distort and bend a string into anger. It was the end of a decade of head music and definitely decades of melody. Hard rock still dominated the metal scene in popularity through the 80's even if many confused many hard rock groups with metal. But the mindless metal influence continues today in an industry of bland offerings where like automobiles, everything sounds the same.

Right, the metal of today is crass. But, it's beginning was much more melodic. It has evolved from what it started out.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Hendrix perhaps? Though not fully "heavy metal" you can easily see his style as one that simply needed another step added to it to be metal.

You won't find one band that just "invented it." You will find bands that played progressively harder for their genre until a band comes along and adds that final step which become metal.

I agree that Hendrix took it to another level, but he just built on the past.

 

[Ken Rank]

I agree that Hendrix took it to another level, but he just built on the past.

Exactly my point. He built on those before him and others built on him until we get to what we now call metal. He stands out though because of his style on the electric. Since metal just can't be acoustic, he sticks out to me as a foundation for metal. But that is just my subjective opinion.

 

[bekkilyn]

Johann Sebastian Bach

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Exactly my point. He built on those before him and others built on him until we get to what we now call metal. He stands out though because of his style on the electric. Since metal just can't be acoustic, he sticks out to me as a foundation for metal. But that is just my subjective opinion.

LOL! Your opinion is quite welcome to this discussion imho. See I have an opinion too. I wanted to posta video of a clip from the Movie of how electric guitar came into the mainstream of rock and roll, but it had a word in it that is against forum rules. Anyway,it happened when Muddy Waters discovered how to amplify his guitar with electricity. This happened befor Hendrix was even born.

 

[timothyu]

Right, the metal of today is crass. But, it's beginning was much more melodic. It has evolved from what it started out.

Agreed, by the early 80's it was punk on steroids or should i say punk was metal without steroids.. Perfect for those who had an amp but little talent yet needed to make a point. In the music world there is something for everyone and not everyone can be a musical genius.

 

[timothyu]

I agree that Hendrix took it to another level, but he just built on the past.

A very good point. Metal may have evolved but it broke free of the pattern. It broke free of the past because in the past it wouldn't have been tolerated as anything but driving noise whose only connection to music was the instruments.

 

[timothyu]

Anyway,it happened when Muddy Waters discovered how to amplify his guitar with electricity.

I don't believe the instrument defines metal. It's more a desire to play only three notes in repetition.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

I don't believe the instrument defines metal. It's more a desire to play only three notes in repetition.

LOL! Yet metal is not metal without the instrument and amplification.

 

[timothyu]

LOL! Yet metal is not metal without the instrument and amplification.

Might explain why they never got invited to play on MTV's Unplugged. The act would be just plain silly.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Might explain why they never got invited to play on MTV's Unplugged. The act would be just plain silly.

I am not familiar with that MTV show.

 

[Not David]

According to Jack Chick: Satan

 

[bekkilyn]

According to Jack Chick: Satan

Then the Devil went down to Georgia and all Hell broke loose...

 

[jahel]

Metalica

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

According to Jack Chick: Satan

He is probably responsible for twisting rock and roll into something hardly recognized as music.