Early Development of Heavy Metal Bands

Early Development of Heavy Metal Bands

It can largely be agreed that Metal Bands music originated from the late sixties to early

seventies, evolving as the sounds of Blues Rock and Psychedelic Rock intermingled in the turning

of the era and took on a heavier, more aggressive mood and performance style. Driven basslines

and electrifying guitar solos that scaled the fretboard seemed to be matched with excited

syncopates, and the element of distorted power chords helped to define the flavor.

Although the focus of the Metal Bands genre shifts with the ages (part of its longevity due to this

ability), the basic formula remains audible through the core from its early days to the present.

The early fathers of heavy metal are easily identified as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led

Zeppelin, and Judas Priest, who were the first bands to bring the heavy metal sound to cultural

prominence.

Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple were originally thought of as Hard Rock bands, and because of

their blurring of the lines and contribution to the definition of the emerging genre the terms “hard

rock” and “heavy metal” were shortly interchangeable.

The real divide between “hard rock” and Metal Bands came as rock and roll went in two different

directions – hard rock being more closely related to blues, maintaining its identity with a subtle

swing and riffs that follow chord progressions, whereas the rock that became known as heavy

metal was defined by more consistently heavy sounds and riffs that could stand alone as melodies.

Black Sabbath was more immediately recognizable as a heavy metal band, definitively “pure

metal” as reflected not only in their musicality but in the lyrical content as well which centered

around macabre fantasies and the trials of the human psyche.

To round out the development of the heavy metal revolution came British heavy metal band Judas

Priest, bringing the use of twin lead guitars into the mix. They also changed the world of heavy

metal lifestyle by introducing the leather and studs look, now a staple of the culture.

These four bands, or forefathers, individually and collectively changed music and culture,

outlining a new face of rock and roll – the heavy metal rocker. Now there are seemingly countless

subgenres of heavy metal, ranging from Black Metal to Experimental Metal, to Folk Metal, Funk

Metal, Glam Metal, Metalcore, Symphonic Metal, among many others. But the heart remains the

same. It is a profound sound that can be described through the images evoked by the term itself –

heavy: weighted, emotional, a burden or oppositely a release from such; metal: a treasure, a

weapon, a durable material which must be forged.

Chrome is a Virginia Beach, Virginia based Heavy Metal band with an extensive catalog of 8­

string metal. Chrome has been rocking since 2000 and continues to release hard hitting metal

albums! To check out their music and find out more information, go to www.chrome­band.com

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