The Early Roots

Heavy Metal as a genre was formulated from the deep, brooding, drug-laden rock of the late 1960s, marked by the emergence of bands such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. The dark lyrics and scary subject material was a backlash against the peace and free love of the hippie culture.

The 1970s Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple ushered in the big, booming arena rock sound that heavy metal artists would later come to embrace. Black Sabbath continued to lead the forefront of the genre, inspiring many garage bands in both the United States and England, later which would become the next stars of the genre.

New Wave of British Heavy Metal The first surge of metal bands to rise in popularity came from the United Kingdom. Led by the thunderous sound and over-the-top theatrics of Iron Maiden, these bands took both Europe and North America by storm, giving the genre a firm grasp in the music industry.

The 1980s Five types of metal emerged in the 1980s: Thrash, or Speed Metal, Power Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal, and Hair Metal. As Metal gained in popularity, many musicians jumped into the scene looking to make metal their own. Bands like Metallica and Slayer revolutionized the genre by adding faster guitar riffs, and faster drumming, determining what is now called speed, or thrash metal. Power Metal emerged from the Progressive Rock movement of the 1970s and often featured very complex lyrics and chord progressions, and often featured virtuoso quality musicians and the use of keyboards. Some notable artists here are Yngwie Malmsteen, Axel Rudi Pell, DIO, Helloween, Hammerfall, and later on into the 1990s emerged Dream Theater, Blind Guardian, and Gamma Ray. Bands looking for fast, yet deep-sounding riffs and growling lyrics developed a style called Death Metal, which was first introduced by bands such as Methods of Destruction, Testament, Pestilence, and later popularized by bands such as Cannibal Corpse. Black Metal emerged from the roots of Power and Death Metal, combining the technical talents of Power metal with the dark, brooding sounds of Death Metal. Lyrical themes such as satanism, the occult, and racism were common. Venom firsted coined the phrase with their album called "Black Metal" and later on bands such as Emperor and Mayhem perfected the genre. This is often considered, along with some death metal, to be the most extreme form of Metal to exist. The last and final metal genre to emerge in the 1980s was what is called Hair Metal. These bands were in the industry simply for the fame and fortune of being a rock star, which included not only the money and prestige, but also drugs, material posessions, and of course, the groupies. Many of these bands enjoyed a brief stint of success only to fade quickly into the background. Many of them sported long, frizzy hair and tight clothing designed ton sexually excite the audience. The subject matter was lighter than other genres, mostly sex and partying. The music was simple, easy to play, and easy for the audience to catch on to. As fickle as the genre may seem, several bands of this period have made a lasting impression on the genre as a whole, such as Poison, Motley Crue, Ratt, Twisted Sister, and Cinderella.

Modern Times The last decade has brought forth several changes to the genre. With the emergence of Grunge, many of the Hair Metal bands of the 1980s lost their appeal. Many thrash bands enjoyed more popularity while power metal began to fade into the underground with death and black metal. The middle to late 1990s saw the emergence of a new type of Metal deemed Nu-Metal. These bands, like Hair Metal bands, are very audience-friendly but for slightly different reasons than their predecessors. Metal began to fuse together elements from other genres such as a Rap, Punk, and Pop to gain more widespread appeal. This has caused an uproar in the metal community with many people feeling that this newer type of Metal isn't "true," while other claim that this is the new future of Metal, while still others claim that this style of music isn't Metal at all, and that Metal is now dead and gone, although the underground scene in major cities across North America and Europe are teeming with Metal bands eager to play the music they love.