The Grammys 2014

The Grammys and heavy metal have never really gotten along. That being said, the Grammys are tonight and it is still always an honor to be nominated for such a prestigious award. This week on “Into the Pit,” we are going to take a look at the nominees for the one heavy metal-related category in the entire ceremony: Best Metal Performance. There is a pretty interesting batch of bands nominated for the award this year, some of which deserve to be there and others who don’t.

Best Metal Performance

Anthrax - “T.N.T.” (AC/DC cover)

This song doesn’t deserve to be nominated--plain and simple. I have no idea what the Grammy committee was thinking with this choice. Anthrax is a legendary band, no doubt, and they covered a legendary song. However, the cover is nothing special at all. The band did nothing to make it sound unique or fresh. It just sounds like the band recording an easy song that all the members knew how to play. There are much better songs on Anthrax’s Anthems EP that are more worthy of being nominated. The only bright side to all of this is that Rob Caggiano was able to receive one last recognition for his work with the band. But this song really deserves to lose, and there will be a lot of unhappy metalheads if it wins.

Black Sabbath - “God Is Dead?”

Surprise, surprise. Black Sabbath's first new single with Ozzy Osbourne since 1998 is nominated for a Grammy award. In all honesty, the most obvious choice on the list wouldn’t make a bad winner. No one in the heavy metal community would be unhappy if Black Sabbath took home the award this year. “God Is Dead?” is a pretty great song, and even though Rick Rubin’s production isn’t the best, the performance by the band itself is awesome. Black Sabbath’s members are old now, but they still really know how to rock. “God Is Dead?” is my personal second favorite nominee this year and is the song I think will win the award. 

Dream Theater - “The Enemy Inside”

This song was not the best off Dream Theater’s new self-titled record, but it made a very good impression as a first single. A Dramatic Turn of Events was a stale album to say the least, and “The Enemy Inside” brought the band’s fans a huge sigh of relief. The song had more energy than anything off A Dramatic Turn of Events. More than that, it brought back memories of the band’s highly acclaimed album, Train of Thought. It was this reminder of how good Dream Theater could be that got fans really pumped for the band’s self-titled record. The album ended up being a slightly uneven product, but it was an overall good showing for the band, and a fine debut for Mike Mangini as a fully integrated band member. “The Enemy Inside” could easily take home the Grammy award this year, but I personally don’t think it should. The song is good, but not nearly as good as some of the other nominees.

Killswitch Engage - “In Due Time”

I was really happy to see this song nominated for a Grammy this year. I don’t think it should win, but it deserves the honor of just receiving a nomination. This song was a great single, and the best tune Killswitch Engage had released in years. Jesse Leach’s return was a needed dose of energy to the declining band. Killswitch Engage is back at the top of its game, and this song put the band there. It’s a damn good metal song, and I’m thrilled to see it honored. 

Volbeat - “Room 24” (feat. King Diamond)

This is the song I desperately want to take home the Grammy award this year, even though I doubt it will. Volbeat is an amazing band that is just finally starting to receive the recognition it deserves. This song comes off the band’s newest record, Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, which isn’t the group's best offering, but is still really freaking good. This song is notable for featuring King Diamond, who hasn’t been around for quite some time. King Diamond sounds great on this track and his voice compliments Volbeat’s musical vision very well. The band’s performance on this track is similarly great and Rob Caggiano’s production helps accentuate it. I really hope Volbeat wins this year, and I’m sure I’m not the only metalhead who hopes so too.

The Year to Come in Heavy Metal: 2014

Since this is the last post until 2014, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about the year to come in heavy metal. There are plenty of exciting events, album releases and tours coming up next year that have already been announced. Plus, I have a few predictions of my own as to what will happen to certain bands next year. Take a look!

Album Releases

There are quite a few exciting albums that should be coming out next year. First, let’s talk about some of the big ones. Metallica, Slayer and Slipknot are the three big bands that are working on highly anticipated albums.

The next Slayer album will be the first one without Jeff Hanneman, but chances are we will hear some of the material he wrote before his death on the new record. It will also be the first Slayer record with Paul Bostaph back on drums and will more than likely feature guitar playing from Gary Holt. Holt’s presence on the record is particularly exciting, and hopefully he can make some substantial contributions to the album. 

The next Slipknot record will be the first without Paul Gray, and is rumored to be a mix between Iowa and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Interestingly, Jim Root is taking some time off touring with Stone Sour to focus on writing for Slipknot’s upcoming release. Plus, Joey Jordison and Shawn Crahan have both been hyping up many of the tunes they have written. Slipknot hasn’t put out an album since 2008, so hopefully their gestating ideas can all combine to form a masterful new album.

Metallica has been teasing fans with the idea of a new album for a while now, and the band's new one should be pretty cool. My guess is that they will put out an album similar to The Black Album. However, who knows what the band will do to follow Death Magnetic. Metallica has been known to surprise its fans in unsettling ways, but hopefully the band’s next record won’t be too disappointing. 

Beyond Slayer, Slipknot and Metallica, there are a lot of other exciting albums coming out this year. Confirmed releases early in the year are set for Iced Earth, Adrenaline Mob, Alcest, Transatlantic, Behemoth, Within Temptation, Cynic, Triptykon and Overkill. Behemoth’s new record is particularly anticipated, as it will be the band’s first album since Nergal recovered from cancer. 

Bands such as Machine Head, Cannibal Corpse, Anthrax, Judas Priest, Arch Enemy, The Haunted, HammerFall, In Flames, Black Label Society, Exodus, Sanctuary and Fear Factory have also been confirmed to be working on albums. The records from these bands probably won’t be released early in the year, but should happen at some point in 2014.

Tours

Not that many major tours have been announced yet for 2014. Of course, The Rockstar Mayhem Festival and Summer Slaughter will return with surely stellar line-ups in the summer. Early in the year, the big talk is going to revolve around the recently announced Decibel Magazine Tour featuring Carcass, The Black Dahlia Murder, Gorguts and Noisem. All four of those bands had highly talked about releases in 2013, and they all put on great live shows. This is going to be one of the most talked about tours of 2014, so don’t miss it!

Predictions

I have limited myself to five predictions for the upcoming year. I wonder if they will come true.

1        Slayer will announce Gary Holt as a permanent guitarist. I mean, who else could they possibly get to replace Hanneman? I think Exodus will find a way to co-exist, but I don’t think Exodus will be able to put out an album in 2014. I hope I’m wrong about this, though, because I’d much rather have Holt focus solely on Exodus. 

2        System of a Down is going to announce a new record, and might even put one out in 2014. Serj Tankian is running out of excuses to stop the band from recording. I think 2014 is going to be the year for the return of System. Let’s hope I’m right!

3        Iron Maiden is going to put out a new record. It has been almost four years since the last one, and even though the band is in no rush to put out more music, I think it’s going to happen. I expect a late release for the record if it happens at all.

4       Disturbed announces its return. Device didn’t do well, and Fight or Flight did even worse. I have to hope that the members of Disturbed will have enough common sense to reform the band. 

5        Black Sabbath won’t exist by the end of 2014. I would be surprised if the band made it through the year. Iommi is still recovering from cancer and Ozzy seems ready to go back to his solo career. I hope this prediction is incorrect, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t correct.

Gateway Bands

Heavy metal is a difficult genre of music to get into. Subgenres such as death metal and black metal may seem repulsive to music listeners who aren’t used to the harsh nature of the music. Sometimes music that sounds foreign can just be hard to comprehend.

Therefore, it is important that people find metal groups known as gateway bands. A gateway band is a band that helps one ease into a genre (or subgenre) of music. Once listeners start to enjoy a gateway band, it often becomes easier for them to explore the genre of music that initially seemed unlikable.  

A lot of metalheads really understand the importance of gateway bands. Very few metalheads have ever just been able to start listening to an extreme subgenre without having been eased into it through other bands. Furthermore, a lot of metalheads may have been turned off by heavy metal entirely, until that one special band came along to convince them otherwise. 

Personally, it took me years to start enjoying certain heavy metal subgenres. In fact, I was repulsed by just the idea of listening to heavy metal for a long time. But when I turned 15, I started listening to Metallica and everything began to change.

In my opinion, Metallica is probably the best gateway band into heavy metal. There’s a reason why they are the most popular metal band of all time. It is because they have such a strong universal appeal. The Black Album has sold 30 million copies worldwide, and has helped millions of people become interested in heavy metal. I was blown away the first time I heard “Enter Sandman,” and it really encouraged me to check out the rest of Metallica’s discography.

Pretty soon, I had become completely infatuated with the band’s early thrash metal albums. To this day, Master of Puppets remains my favorite heavy metal album ever. The first track off the album, “Battery,” encouraged me to check out more thrash metal bands besides Metallica, in search of other songs like it. Pretty soon, I found myself on a journey of musical discovery, and by trying to find bands that sounded like others I liked, I began to delve deeper and deeper into the heavy metal genre.

Metallica was my gateway band, but they’re not a good gateway band for everybody. Many metalheads who are encouraging their friends to start listening to metal will tell them to start at the very beginning with Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath is an admittedly great gateway metal band. It’s not hard to convince fans of hard rock, psychedelic rock and the blues that Black Sabbath is a phenomenal band. After exploring Black Sabbath, many people may be further encouraged to check out other doom metal bands, and may even decide to listen to stoner metal and sludge metal as well. 

Black Sabbath and Metallica are probably the stereotypical gateway bands of heavy metal. Other common older metal gateway bands include Deep Purple, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth and Anthrax. Collectively, these are the bands that most metalheads of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s will say got them into heavy metal. However, we’re in the 2000s now, and a lot of people are looking for more newer, more modern gateway bands into heavy metal.

Ghost is the gateway band that everyone seems to be talking about right now. Their gimmicky costumes alongside their rather tame music are universally likeable. Ghost’s dark vibe and embrace of the occult will naturally attract fans that are unfamiliar with heavy metal. They’re a great gateway band and they put on a hell of a live show.

Alternative metal and nu metal bands are good gateway bands for younger teenage listeners who are looking for a bit of kick to the usual rock music. I know a ton of people who have used Slipknot, Disturbed, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach and Marilyn Manson as gateway bands into heavy metal. Personally, I think Disturbed is a really great gateway metal band that is good for easing people into the genre.

Metalcore also seems to be a subgenre that is a good gateway into heavy metal. Melodic metalcore bands such as Every Time I Die, Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium are great gateway metal bands with catchy songs. These are good bands for fans of punk music, and for those who just like simplistic, likeable songs. 

Lastly, for those who like complex music with a lot of intricacies, I recommend exploring progressive metal. Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Symphony X, Animals as Leaders, Devin Townsend Band and Cynic are an eclectic group of progressive metal bands that will surely appeal to listeners of more musically sophisticated and complex genres. 

I actually further recommend Cynic, particularly their newer material, to fans of indie rock. It’s sort of a stretch, but I think Cynic’s music might be a good gateway for them as well. Fans of indie rock and alternative rock might also appreciate groups such as Alcest, Agalloch and Amesoeurs. These are gateway bands that reflect a combination of metal and softer genres of music.

When beginning to listen to heavy metal, it’s all about finding the right gateway band. There are infinite possibilities, and all it takes is one band for someone to get completely hooked on heavy metal. Heavy metal is such a diverse genre of music that is really worth deeply exploring. Finding the right gateway band can lead to an exciting musical journey that can really open up one’s musical palette for the better.

The Dismal Current State of Mainstream Heavy Metal

Is there anyone we can rely on to put out a good mainstream heavy metal album anymore? I’m serious. Mainstream heavy metal is in some major trouble and in desperate need of new blood. Let’s take a quick look at some of the genre’s most popular bands, and see what the hell is going on with them.

 

Metallica: The most popular metal band to have ever existed just put out a 3D movie no one asked for. Metalheads can’t even rely on Metallica to put out a good record anymore. Just when the band had finally slightly redeemed itself with Death Magnetic, they put out Lulu. Now all hopes and expectations are out the window.

Megadeth: Really guys? Super Collider? That record speaks for itself. It’s a piece of trash. I want United Abominations and Endgame Megadeth back.

Slayer: Fans probably would have accepted the band with Gary Holt just permanently replacing Hanneman, but getting rid of Dave Lombardo was too much of a slap in the face for Slayer fans. Lombardo is essential to the band, and without him and Hanneman, what hope does Slayer have of putting out a decent record?

Black Sabbath: Without Bill Ward the band just feels incomplete. The newest record is still good, but something is missing, and I think many other metalheads will agree with me on that point.

Sepultura: REUNITE WITH THE CAVALERA BROTHERS ALREADY! This is getting ridiculous. 

Slipknot: The world could really use Slipknot, but Corey Taylor is holding his crew back from putting out the comeback record that fans are all dying to listen to. The motivation for the record is there for everyone but him, and it’s driving listeners insane. System of a Down is experiencing something very similar with Serj Tankian’s lack of desire to fully recommit to the band, despite the excitement of the rest of his bandmates. 

And those are just examples of what’s wrong with some of the active bands. Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are taking a really long time to release new stuff. 

 

Meanwhile, you have heavy metal icons such as Phil Anselmo, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie trying to get back in the game, but still coming short of reclaiming past glory.

Taking a look at newer popular heavy metal groups, Avenged Sevenfold basically just released a covers album, Device sounds exactly like Disturbed, Hellyeah has never released an original record, and really Stone Sour? That’s your attempt at rejuvenating heavy metal? Your last double album was good, but not nearly as exciting as promised. 

Oh, and I haven’t forgotten Five Finger Death Punch, who hasn’t released a memorable record since the debut, yet is still managing to get major headlining gigs. Then there’s Trivium, who wrote a tribute record to Metallica a while back and now seems to be doing so for Disturbed, further tarnishing their good reputation.

At least mainstream heavy metal has Anthrax, though, right? The band's last album was pretty great. Hopefully Rob Caggiano wasn’t the only one keeping them in check. 

Look, I’m not trying to just shamelessly bash popular heavy metal groups. What I’m trying to point out is that a lot of metal’s most beloved bands are lowering their standards and not thinking out their records. It’s easy to have fun and put out a metal album. It’s hard to put out a record that is of high quality, and it’s even harder to put out one that sounds original. 

I think with fame a lot of bands have become lazier and/or less inspired. Megadeth’s new album is a good example of both of those characteristics. Super Collider sounds like an album made by a band going through the motions, and that’s just not alright. I have a lot of respect for bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Tool, who are bands that collectively took a step back when they didn’t feel motivated. Taking a break to explore other musical outlets can sometimes be exactly what a band needs in order to sound fresh again. 

Deftones is a great example of a band that is just always out to impress their fans, no matter how famous they get. They threw out an entire album because they felt they had a bigger statement to make. They followed their artistic vision and look at how that turned out. Diamond Eyes was incredible, and worthy of the praise it received. 

Some of these famous bands, such as Avenged Sevenfold and Trivium, just have no idea where to go. They lack direction, and a directionless band can never and will never be able to put out a memorable record. These groups either need some fresh blood, a producer to give them direction (who isn’t David Draiman) or maybe just a break.

It’s also not alright to keep rehashing the same album. The only metal band who can do that and still be accepted by both critics and their fans is Mötorhead, but they've earned that right.

I think what heavy metal really needs is some new blood. There are a lot of exciting new things happening in the heavy metal underground, but nothing is happening in the heavy metal mainstream. There hasn’t been a new hugely successful metal band since Avenged Sevenfold. To clarify, I’m not talking about the Lamb of God and Machine Head level of success. I’m not even talking about super cool, "scene" Asking Alexandria success. I’m talking about rock star success. The kind of success that allows people to include “Synyster Gates” and “Slash” in the same sentence. 

I think the world needs a new figurative Slipknot. When Slipknot came onto the scene, people freaked out. The group had nine members, chaotic live shows unlike anything else and had music that balanced aggression with exciting creativity. In other words, people need mainstream metal that sounds fresh and hasn’t been done before. 

Kudos to Ghost for trying, but the over-the-top-Satanic band just doesn’t have the exciting music to coincide with the cool gimmick. They will never be as big as they could be because of that, even if it is nice to hear Blue Oyster Cult-influenced metal suddenly get a little bit more popular again. 

Heavy metal needs a band that can get the masses freaking out again. A new boundary needs to be broken. A new anger needs to be unleashed. A new group needs to step up, and just take the world by storm. 

The question now is, how much longer will it take for this new band to appear? With the music industry constantly evolving and heavy metal becoming more and more multi-dimensional, one can only hope that the next big thing in heavy metal is only a couple of years away. Until then, the wait might be difficult with releases like this:

Stoner Metal

This week on “Into the Pit: A Metal Blog” we are going to delve further into the underground realm of heavy metal music by discussing the stoner metal subgenre. Stoner metal is simply a more intense version of stoner rock music, and is a combination of heavy metal, psychedelic rock, and blues rock.
Stoner metal is in many ways very similar to both stoner rock and sludge metal, and bands that are given one label are frequently given the others as well. Sludge metal usually tends to avoid the heavy use of psychedelia though, which is very prominent in stoner metal.

Musically, stoner metal is characterized by its use of guitars that make use of psychedelic effects, such as feedback, wah wah, and fuzzboxes. The guitar sound is also almost always heavily distorted. Song structures are usually very complicated and often consist of unusual time signatures, extended instrumental jams, as well as drone sections.

Several bands such as Hawkwind, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and The Blue Oyster Cult helped to set the tone for the development of stoner metal. The biggest precursor to stoner rock though was the band, Blue Cheer. Blue Cheer was prominent during the 1960s and 1970s, and with their monumental debut, Vincebus Eruptum, they managed to really influence the onset of the stoner rock/metal movement of the 1990s.



Many metalheads around the world consider the first real stoner metal album to be Blues for the Red Sun by the band, Kyuss. Kyuss came out of the Palm Desert scene and shocked the world with their innovative sound. Kyuss put out several other legendary stoner metal albums such as Welcome to Sky Valley and …And The Circus Leaves Town. The band was led by guitarist, Josh Homme, who is now the frontman of the extremely successful hard rock band, Queens of the Stone Age. Homme has also recently participated in the band, Them Crooked Vultures, with Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters and John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin. Kyuss has recently reformed without Homme and is touring under the name, Kyuss Lives!



Another major force during the 1990s stoner metal scene was the San Jose metal band, Sleep. Sleep was more heavily rooted in doom metal than Kyuss, and they are highly regarded for their very influential albums such as Sleep’s Holy Mountain, Jerusalem and Dopesmoker. Sleep eventually broke up and their guitarist, Matt Pike, received the most post-Sleep success with his highly acclaimed sludge metal band, High on Fire. In 2010, Sleep reunited and have played several shows since.



Stoner metal remained popular during the 1990s with other bands such as Monster Magnet, Goatsnake, and Orange Goblin building off of the success of Kyuss and Sleep. Today, stoner metal remains a very prolific scene, but has a large following of many devoted fans.

Doom Metal

Last week we discussed the most uplifting subgenre of heavy metal: power metal. This week it’s time to discuss the most depressing subgenre of heavy metal: doom metal. Initially pioneered by Black Sabbath, doom metal has gained a strong underground following in the heavy metal community.



Doom metal is distinguishable by several musical characteristics. Guitars and basses are usually tuned down, and they make heavy use of distortion. In doom metal, it is essential that guitarists have a very thick and dense tone. The tempo of doom metal music is usually slow to create a drawn-out, bass-heavy sound. The vocals in doom metal are usually clean singing, but the vocal tonality is always one of despair. When growling is used in doom metal, it’s almost always very deep, usually even more so than in death metal. Lyrics are very important in doom metal, and are typically depressing in nature.



Doom metal basically began with Black Sabbath. The early Ozzy-era music was the basis for which the entire subgenre is derived today. Tony Iommi had an immense guitar tone that was very unique for its time, and every subsequent doom band took influence from that raw, thick tone. Other important pioneers of the genre include Pentagram, Trouble, Saint Vitus, and Candlemass. Pentagram was formed in the early 1970s, but they didn’t release any albums until the early 1980s. Lead by Bobby Liebling, the band had a revolving line-up of musicians that were each well-known throughout the underground heavy metal community. Pentagram continues to perform today, though they still remain a prolific act.



Trouble was another pioneer of doom metal. Their first two albums, Psalm 9 and The Skull, are considered to be landmark doom metal records. Trouble eventually evolved into a stoner metal band, and has had an extensive history consisting of many long periods of inactivity. Nevertheless, Trouble is still recognized as one of the most important pioneers of doom metal.



Saint Vitus is a notorious act, having experienced a moderate amount of success particularly when they were fronted by Scott “Wino” Weinrich. Weinrich is one of the most notable musicians in doom metal, and is also held in high regard for his work in The Obsessed. Saint Vitus is finally about to release their eighth studio album, Lillie: F-65, which is their first album with Weinrich back on vocals in 22 years.



Candlemass is a Swedish band and they helped to popularize doom metal throughout the region in the 1980s. Leif Edling is the main songwriter for the band and is very highly regarded within the doom metal community. Candlemass have broken up several times throughout their history, but they continue to perform today.



Doom metal has changed a lot since its early days. The subgenre is now very frequently combined with stoner metal, sludge metal, gothic metal, and death metal in order to create unique hybrids. Furthermore, the subgenre is one in which many bands choose to innovate and test musical limits. That is particularly noticeable with the band, Neurosis, which is a musically diverse band that has based much of their music around doom metal. Doom metal is a respected genre in the heavy metal community, and has a very large underground following today.

Traditional Heavy Metal (Part 2): Mid 1970s-Present

Alright metalheads, it’s time to continue our discussion from last week about traditional heavy metal music. This week we will talk about traditional heavy metal from the mid '70s to present day. Normally “Into the Pit: A Metal Blog” will not take two days to discuss one subgenre of heavy metal, but with traditional heavy metal there is a lot of material to cover; as, it is the foundation for every other heavy metal subgenre.

In the mid-to-late 1970s, punk rock began to emerge. Punk rock was essential in the development of heavy metal; as, it helped to inspire the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (which we will discuss in depth next week), as well as many other traditional heavy metal acts.

One of the most important traditional heavy metal acts of this time was Motörhead. Formed in the mid-70s, Motörhead carried the rebellious spirit of punk music over to heavy metal. Motörhead was also a significantly faster band than nearly every heavy metal band around at the time, and because of that, they became the first speed metal band.



Around the time of Motörhead, both Iron Maiden and Diamond Head were formed. Both bands would have a tremendous influence on heavy metal throughout the 1980s and were leaders of both traditional heavy metal as well as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.



At the very end of the 1970s, Ozzy Osbourne left Black Sabbath. That lead to the band's hiring Ronnie James Dio as their new lead singer. Dio had previously been involved with bands such as Elf and Rainbow, and had become a very prominent name in hard rock. With the addition of Dio, Black Sabbath’s sound evolved even further. Dio had a wider vocal range than Osbourne, and he would soon become a heavy metal icon. Dio is frequently credited as having invented the “devil horns” hand gesture that is popular among heavy metal fans today.

During the 1980s, traditional heavy metal continued to be very popular. Dio left Black Sabbath in the early '80s and went on to form a new band with Vinny Appice that was named after himself, Dio. Dio would prove to be a very successful band and continue Dio’s legacy.

Meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne had also decided to form a solo band when left Black Sabbath during the late 1970s, and he released Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman in the early 80s with his legendary guitarist, Randy Rhodes. Those albums are legendary heavy metal releases and are heavy metal classics to this day.



Apart from Dio and Osbourne, the important traditional heavy metal bands of the 1980s were Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Accept, W.A.S.P., and Mercyful Fate. Each of these bands blossomed during the 1980s and influenced countless other metal bands.

Accept helped to develop the speed metal subgenre and were notable as being one of the big early heavy metal bands to come from Germany.

W.A.S.P. was an important band that blurred the lines between shock rock and heavy metal, and they gained immense popularity.

Mercyful Fate influenced the development of numerous other heavy metal subgenres such as black metal, thrash metal, power metal, and progressive metal. Furthermore, their iconic frontman, King Diamond, would become legendary among heavy metal fans for his impressive vocal range as well as his notorious solo career.



Traditional heavy metal declined during the 1990s. Many of the bands that were prominent throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s began to experience major line-up changes and break-ups. Furthermore, the quality of the material that the bands put out began to decline as well.

During the early 2000s, and continuing on to present day, many traditional heavy metal bands have had reunions of classic line-ups that have performed and put out new material together.

Some notable modern traditional heavy metal albums are Iron Maiden’s Final Frontier, Judas Priest’s Nostradamus, Heaven and Hell’s The Devil You Know, and King Diamond’s Give Me Your Soul…Please.

Recently, Black Sabbath announced that their original line-up would record a new album together for the first time since the 1970s. Traditional heavy metal is alive today, and remains a popular subgenre of heavy metal music.

Traditional Heavy Metal (Part 1): 1960s-early 1970s

Alright metalheads, it’s time to get down to business. It’s time to talk about the subgenres of heavy metal music.

To understand the essence of every heavy metal subgenre, though, it is important to understand where the genre of music came from. Heavy metal has a long history and it all starts with traditional heavy metal.

Traditional heavy metal by definition is characterized as having mid-to-fast-paced tempo riffs, thumping basslines, extended guitar solos, and clean (often high pitched) vocals. Many might mistake certain traditional heavy metal bands for hard rock bands, but most of these heavy metal bands are less focused on the blues influences that are found in hard rock music. Traditional heavy metal also helped to promote the use of dual lead guitars.

Traditional heavy metal consists of many bands that really helped to create heavy metal music in general. The genre started significantly developing in the 1960s with the simple experimentation of many hard rock bands. The Yardbirds and The Rolling Stones were two hard rock acts that particularly helped to set the foundation for heavy metal, but neither quite managed to completely step forth into metal territory. Their harder and heavier sound still managed to pave the way for the development to come though.

Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin then came onto the scene and were essentially the transitional bands between the hard rock of The Yardbirds and the more purely metal sound of Black Sabbath. Led Zeppelin had highly distorted guitars and a vocalist who utilized the idea of high pitched wailing. Both of those qualities would soon prove to be staples of early heavy metal music.

The “first heavy metal band” is an often disputed concept, with many claiming that the title belongs to Deep Purple.



Most critics and professionals would agree, though, that Black Sabbath was the real first heavy metal act. Tony Iommi, who is the lead guitarist of Black Sabbath, was injured in an industrial accident, causing him to tend to tune his guitar lower and to rely on power chords. Iommi also wrote music using the tritone (also known as “The Devil’s Interval”) and combined with the dark lyrics that Black Sabbath relied upon, they were seen as the first heavy metal band.



At first, heavy metal was not well received. Many critics reviled the music, calling it dark, evil, and even Satanic. However people were drawn to the music and it received a strong following.

The next real example of heavy metal is Judas Priest. When they arrived on the metal scene, reality began to really sink in. Metal was becoming a phenomenon. It was a musical genre that divided critics and listeners alike. Judas Priest utilized many of the musical techniques that metal is known for, including higher pitched vocals as well as dual distorted guitar work and moody basslines.



There were several other traditional heavy metal acts of the early '70s. These acts included Alice Cooper, Scorpions, Blue Oyster Cult, and Kiss.

Next week, we will continue to discuss traditional heavy metal, focusing on the late '70s until present day.