Heavy Metal

Heavy Metal
Introduction
Heavy metal is a genre of music which has a strong and
aggressive feel to it.

Over time heavy metal changed to become a genre of

music which is now strongly associated with having: a
thick, heavy, aggressive, distorted sound. Heavy metal
also contains long guitar solos, emphatic beats, loud
dynamics and lyrics which are often about subjects like
masculinity and aggression.
 History Heavy Metal
Heavy metal originated from blues rock and psychedelic rock. It started in the late
1960s and early 1970s. There is an ongoing argument over what band was the first
heavy metal band although most people think that it was either Led Zeppelin or
Black Sabbath. After Punk rock became popular in the mid-1970s most heavy metal
sales dropped rapidly. An English rock (which later switched to slaying heavy metal
as well as rock) band called Motrhead was one of the first (if not the first) band to
join some of the elements of punk rock (which was very popular at the time) with
some of the elements of heavy metal. This started New Wave of British Heavy
Metal. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal started in the late 1970s but it
didnt get much attention from countries outside of the UK until the early 1980s.
During this time many new heavy metal bands formed; some of the better known
bands of this time were: Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Def Leppard. During this time a
band called Judas Priest changed the course of heavy metals history by discarding
of many of it blues rock elements therefore making their songs sound far more
aggressive and energetic.

Black Sabbath in 1970 Black Sabbath in 2013

 Heavy Metal Guitar Heavy Metal

Heavy metal guitars are often made of mahogany, even though one of
the most popular heavy metal guitars (The Jackson King V) is made of
alder. Some of these guitars have a whammy bar which is used to create
the dive bomb effect.
Sometimes the guitars used by heavy metal bands are down tuned to
create a heavier and more distorted sound. The most common type of
down tuning is called Drop D tuning this is when the E (the top string)
is tuned down to a D (the third string from the top) string.
 Media Heavy Metal

When heavy metal first started the media

was not very interested in it but as it gained
popularity the media started to write more
and more articles about it. Some of these
articles had a negative view of heavy metal;
this one for example says that the
Hammersmith Odeon in 1979 sounded
exactly the same as the Guildford Civic Hall
in 1972. This shows that newspapers at the
time showed heavy metal as being boring
and repetitive.
Although some articles had a
negative view if the heavy
metal genre which will have
put many people off. There
were people who still liked
heavy metal despite the bad
press it got; as is suggested
by the fact that this article
talks about a club which
features heavy metal being
overcrowded.
 Audience Perceptions Heavy Metal

In the beginning most audiences thought that heavy metal was

strange and that it was never going to become a popular
genre; but as more and more people started to attend heavy
metal concerts people realized that heavy metal now had its
own strongly dedicated audience. Not long after heavy metal
bands started wearing outrageous clothes onstage to
improve their stage presence, their audiences started
coming to concerts dressed in black shirts with the logo/name
of the band on them; many also had long hair to accompany
the whole look .some fans of more hardcore metal genres
wore black leather clothing with polished spike-shaped studs
in them.
Technological Advances Heavy Metal

1977: First commercial digital

audio recording system, Sony
PCM-1.

1982: Compact Disc.

1983: MIDI (Musical Instrument

Digital Interface) and the digital
FM synthesis.

Late 1980s: High-quality digital

audio work stations for personal
computers.

Early 1990s: Digital multitrack

systems.
 Cultural Influences Heavy Metal

The heavy metal genre was strongly influenced by the

cultures around it. For example when the Punk rock genre
became popular heavy metal music evolved by combining
heavy metal with punk rock. This strongly affected heavy
metal as it sped up the tempo and made the songs a lot
more energetic.
 Personal Response Heavy Metal

I personally think that heavy metal is a good genre of

music if you like the loud energetic style of it. I enjoy
heavy metal in moderate amounts (not all the time)
especially if it is in a play list with songs from different
genres. It doesnt influence my style of playing much as
I'm am not advanced enough to play that quickly (or that
well ) but I try some techniques like drop d tuning (Tried
it once).
 Heavy Metal
Elements Of Heavy
Comparison
War Pigs by Strength Of The Mind
Metal Black Sabbath by Killswitch Engage

Electric Guitar

Bass Guitar

Drums

Screaming Vocals

Fast Tempo

Slow Tempo

Extended Guitar Solos