Lessons on Heavy Metal: Early Metal - Context & The UK Scene

This is Black Sabbath performing Black Sabbath live in Paris in 1970. Listen to the opening riff following Tony Iommi's interlude.

What do you hear? Beyond the influence of classical music. Is it Heavy Metal? What makes it Heavy Metal? How do you know it's heavy metal?

I am fond of telling my students in my history class that  "context is everything." Considering the context of something is an exercise that speaks to the very roots of what history, the word, means. The term that we understand as history is derived from the Latin that means "to lead outward." What might we take away from this? Here's one take. Historical thinking is an exercise in considering our world beyond the confines of our personal lens. Why is context everything? If you stop to consider that first rather than your assumptions, you can begin to explore a richer understanding of a subject.

"Wow, that's deep man, but what the hell does that have to do with metal?"

Simply put, metal was not "metal" when it began.

It's important to begin with that basic concept. The artists who created this sound did not begin playing and instantaneously think:

 "BEHOLD METAL! 

LOOK ON MY WORKS, YE MIGHTY, AND DESPAIR!"  

"Metal" is, in fact, a retroactively placed label for the earliest musicians in the genre. This is our context. The origins of metal lay in the sounds of the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who experimented with heavier sounds in the rock n' roll scenes of Britain and the United States. Music critics and reviews loved to throw about the word "metal" in their descriptions of this heavier sound. After a description of this so called "pre-metal" scene we can begin to explore the establishment of an officially recognized metal genre and the various sub-genre routes it will follow.

Over the course of this post and the next which will feature the pre-metal US scene, I'll start to lay the ground work for understanding a few key questions:

1) What is the "Heavy Metal" sound? What are some early associations with it?
2) What are the UK influences to the formation of the heavy metal sound?
3) What are the US influences to the formation of the heavy metal sound?

If you want a significantly more in-depth discussion of all of this, the most immediate resource I'd suggest would be Sam Dunn's TV Series: Metal Evolution.

So let's talk about the context of the UK Scene and where a group like Black Sabbath fits.

The late 1960s rock scene was heavily influenced by the sounds of blues rock. By the time a band like Black Sabbath arrives in 1968 London had become the epicenter of musical cultural exchange between the US and the UK. Many of the musicians of the British Invasion had brought back notable blues influences from artists such as Muddy Waters. What is of particular interest for our purposes is the a trend of blues guitarists such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page to experiment and take the sound of the guitar lower and slower.

Metal Evolution does a great job of juxtaposing the transition within the British blues rock scene with two clips, pay attention to the tempo,  the tone of the music, etc.

The Yardbirds (feat Jeff Beck) Train Kept a Rollin' 1966

Cream (feat Eric Clapton) Spoonful 1968

Notice the change? For the record The Yardbirds also played Spoonful, Cream simply makes the transition more dramatic.

I would be remiss if I didn't discuss Jimmy Page and the role of Led Zeppelin in this context. I won't linger on them too long though for 2 reasons.

1. I'm not much of an expert on Led Zeppelin. Sorry, I'm just not.
2. The band doesn't like the association of being a metal influence. I respect that and I'm certain they aren't alone in shrugging off the association. Suffice to say they were in the context of musicians of this pre-metal era.

You can hear that similar sound to our earlier clips in songs like I Can't Quit You Baby taken from Led Zeppelin's self-titled album of 1969:

So musically you can begin to understand what was going on with the rock scene in Britain at the time. What's the remaining context? A common thread that is interesting and worth noting is the nature of where metal musicians come from. It's a story of interest to this time period as well as to later periods and examples.

In this case Black Sabbath came out of the Industrial setting of Birmingham. A dismal, factory setting primarily made up of a working class population. In a larger context this was also an era of peace movements and hippie counter culture. As Sabbath's drummer, Bill Ward, states in an interview with Sam Dunn, "that's [the peace movement] all well and good, but that's not what's going on right now. I'm sitting here looking at a guy getting his guts beaten up. Our music began to take a really good look at what was really on the ground, what we were seeing. It had a huge impact on Sabbath."

So let's return to that first clip, that opening riff of Black Sabbath's Black Sabbath. The heavy quality of the sound, the darker and sinister sounding tone was a statement within its time period. In an era of free love and flower power those tones were a dramatic reminder of a distinctly heavier and darker musical worldview. These tones are why almost unanimously the metal community points to the work of Black Sabbath as the beginning of heavy metal.

For your listening pleasure I encourage you to explore this playlist of songs taken from the first 4 albums released by Black Sabbath including Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1971), Master of Reality (July 1971), and Vol. 4 (1972) …  Is this all of them? HELL NO! The band is going to undergo some significant changes however, and that's a story for another day.

Early Black Sabbath YouTube Playlist

Also we'd be terrible human beings if we didn't bring in a contemporary of Black Sabbath in early 1970s Birmingham: JUDAS PRIEST. While Sabbath was reshaping music with their sound they attracted the next generation of metal musicians. Judas Priest represent a group musicians who were drawn to the blues rock sound, the music of Sabbath, in addition to the works of artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

Why do we need them?

• Their music is awesome!
• Their twin-lead guitar setup becomes a model for future artists.
• Rob Halford's (incredible) voice establishes a particular vocal style, emulated by future singers.
• They are the first band to embrace the title of "Heavy Metal"officially and begin the definition of what that means for a band.

If you would like a truly thorough account on Judas Priest from two experts, I would highly encourage you to check out the Requiem Metal Podcast featuring Mark and Jason. They completed a 3-part series on Judas Priest back in 2009. Check out Episode #61 on the Early Years of Judas Priest in their archives.


For your listening pleasure I encourage you to explore this playlist of songs taken from the first 3 albums released by Judas Priest including Rocka Rolla (1974), Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), and Sin After Sin (1977) … Is this all of them? HELL NO! Much like Sabbath they too undergo changes and reinvention. We'll check back in with the UK when he hit the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Early Judas Priest YouTube Playlist

Next week we're headed over to the USA. 

Get ready to kick out the jams motherfucker!

Yours in metal,

-L

Lessons on Heavy Metal: Pre-Metal -- A rationale for approaching metal, and some notes on influences

A short while back a friend of mine, in response to my lack of knowledge on pop-music, said "I'll teach you about pop music if you teach me about Metal. Deal?" I agreed.

So here's my attempt to introduce the subject of metal:

I started by asking 5 specific questions to get a sense of where my friend was at. I wanted to get a sense of his general tastes, how far he would go in terms of listening, and what he felt he had been previously introduced to:

1.  What are some bands you enjoy that you consider metal? (past to present)
2.  When you listen to music what do you enjoy most about it?
1. Lyrics?

2. Musicality/quality of musicianship? 

3. Sound quality (stripped down, rhythmic, progressive, harsh/aggressive, melodic)?
3. With regard to overall content and subject, how opened minded are we with…

1. Death?
Blood, guts, gore and violence?

2. Melancholia?
3. Profanity?

4. Criticisms of organized religion? (Apathy to openly expressed hatred)

5. Satan? (Beware of him and/or perhaps worship him)

6. Social and political commentary?
7. Drugs?
8. 
Pure balls-out aggression?

9. Assorted historical lore?
4. Vocals…

1. The voice is an instrument, bring it on, I'm game for whatever!

2. High-pitched shrieking/screaming might be much

3. Deep guttural vocals speak to my innate tribal senses.
4. I really just prefer clean singing.
5. Falsetto Opera? Why not?!?
5. What's your favorite rock album to date, why do you love it so?

Why do this?

1) I ask these questions to get it all out on the table.

One thing I've come to notice when broaching the subject of metal with people, it's sometimes a subject that is seemingly shrouded in mystery. If it isn't then it is most certainly one that has a few key images that come to mind 1) certain actions-headbanging, aggressive mosh pits 2) Specific characters ranging from Ozzy Osbourne to Marilyn Manson to Axel Rose. 3) Loud volume that reminds us of an incomprehensible madness. While it certainly does involve a great deal of those things, it's not just those things.

2) It gives me a sense of where to start. In this case, we'll go back to the beginning. Where does the Heavy Metal sound come from?

I'll let Sam Dunn's episode on Pre-Metal influences and history do most of the talking here...

This method and approach to understanding Heavy Metal, the history and influences to its creation, is one that I've used with my students in geography class. Yes, my students study Heavy Metal in class. We use the genre as an example of cultural geography studies and in a discussion of globalization (more to be posted about this later).

Why know the history? Well it shares a great deal about what the thinking of a musician is like; what musically informs them, what culture informs them, what locations and social ideas shape them. 

Important takeways to have about this episode: The genre is one that evolves. Heavy Metal and its extreme sub genres are one that grow over time. What was decidedly extreme in the early years of Black Sabbath may pale in comparison to those of later years.

If you'd like to have a closer look at some of the comparisons Sam Dunn makes in his episode (Howlin' Wolf's vocal style against that of Lemmy of Motorhead, or Buddy Rich's drumming against Dave Lombardo for instance) check out these youtube playlists:

Classical Music and Metal Music Playlist 

Blues Music and Metal Music Playlist

Jazz Music and Metal Music Playlist

Early Rock N' Roll and Metal Music Playlist

Yours in Metal,

-L

Inaugural Post -- Why talk about Metal Music?

"Really? You listen to metal? Are you sure? I mean, you don't look like a heavy metal music fan."

I get this a lot, and I understand. I'm a fairly unassuming, white-bread-looking midwestern guy. I suppose that just adds to the awkward reactions and remarks I get when the subject comes up. No matter how the conversation begins, it usually begins in the same manner, disbelief followed by either concern, light-hearted jest, pedestrian questions out of feigned interest, or simple acceptance.

Whatever the reaction it doesn't matter much to me, I like heavy metal music. You don't have to. That being said I do like talking about it, whether you're a fan or not. I like the genre for a wide variety of reasons. As a teacher I delve into the historical and cultural geography-related implications. As a fan it's a lot simpler and less pretentious sounding.

I have noticed that I also receive another fairly typical response, usually after much time has passed:

What can you tell me about metal? 

So herein lies the purpose of this blog. I'm going to use this space as a means for organizing my thoughts and presenting them. I will make one very clear disclaimer: I am not an expert, nor do I wish to be considered one. My views have been heavily influenced by people who are much more well-informed and wiser on the subject. This is just my humble take on the subject.

Specifically I'll draw on the good works of friends at the Requiem Metal Podcast, as well as materials discussed in the works of Sam Dunn of Banger Films (Metal: A Head Banger's Journey, Global Metal, Metal Evolution). Sam Dunn isn't a friend, but I admire his work a great deal. There are also many fine publications on metal including the great work done over at Decibel Magazine.

So to help with the process let's answer a few simple questions:

1) How did I get into metal?

My earliest recollection of listening to metal and thinking of it as, "Hey, I'm listening to metal!" Began during the summer of 2004. That summer was a particularly formative time period for me as that was also the summer I discovered my passion for teaching and working with young people. I was involved in a daily cross country running practice hosted by my old high school. A friend invited me to join in his training, by the end of the first run it became apparent that my friend was much faster than I. What started as 2 friends who were supposed to run and train together turned into me meshing with the whole team, and being introduced to a new friend: the young, hip history teacher. We ran together and swapped stories of world travel, and music interests. By the end of the summer I returned to college with a stack of mix CDs of new bands to explore, mostly metal but there was a decent amount of folk rock too.
Among this stack of mixed CDs were the tracks to what would become what I would consider to be my gateway album, Opeth's Blackwater Park from 2001. I recall seeing in my friend's hand-written liner notes "The Drapery Falls -- Truly Epic!"

2) What have I learned since becoming a metalhead?

-A great deal of thought and care (experimentation, musicality, stripped-down simplicity, raw expression, etc.) can go into the creation of music, and I appreciate and expect that of the music I listen to.

-Much of what I picked up in my teen years at school, my house was not a house of metal, was highly derivative of the heavy metal sound; often those derivations are also a lessening of quality too. Such is the hazard of the musical wasteland that was the late 90s and early 2000's.

-Metal isn't for everyone, and I wouldn't expect it to be. I actually like that aspect of it.

3) What are my aspirations as a metalhead?

To own a truly kick-ass dog and name him Bruce Dickinson at Hammersmith Odeon.

Yours in Metal,

-L