History of Metal, one of the most various musical style

Hardrock, the basement (70's /80's)

ACDC - Deep Purple - Guns N Roses - Led Zepelin - Aerosmith - Motorhead.

Hard Rock was born at the end of the 60's with Led Zeppelin (1968 : Led Zeppelin I), inspired by the rock played by Jimi Hendrix or the Who, getting louder in the sound and more provocating in the style
Few months later, two other legendary bands are becoming famous :
- Deep Purple, whose "neo-classical" and virtuoso spirit evole to more melodical riffs.
- Black Sabbath, real Hard Rock monument which will inspire most of the "dark" styles to come by the loudness, the style and the spirit.

Black Sabbath can be considered a the real precursor of Heavy Metal and all kinds of Metal in facts.

Many other bands grows in the 70's :

• AC / DC (Australia) : probably the most popular metal band on earth, built with a simple and efficient recipe which could be called "Hard Rock'n Roll".
• Aerosmith (US) : basement of the more melodic American Hard-Rock style; Blue Öyster Cult must also be mentionned.
• MotörHead (UK) : emblem of the "punchy" Hard Rock , rock'n roll and Groovy, still considered as a reference in the "Metal World"
• Scorpions (Germany) : many hit songs.

Later in the 80's, once this trend began to be less popular, the Guns N Roses develop a Hard Rock inspired from these "old" styles, sometimes "scatchy", sometimes "melo", with a full tender of hits.

The "FM" Hard , a.k.a "US Hard" : parralel stream of the 70's, a realy american-shapped Hard Rock, melting the rock side with a more pop style ; a broad-audience style :
the legendary band : Queen ; then in the 70's the famous Van Halen ; and later : MotleyCrüe , Kiss, both cult-bands; Twisted Sisters and at the end of 80's : Bon Jovi.

Birth of the Metal with the Heavy Metal, 80's

Judas Priest, who played Hard Rock in the 70's, brings the Heavy Metal, enforcing the BlackSabath's way.
Then comes the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), which main representant is Iron Maiden. Both inspired of Deep Purple and the 70's punk, Iron Maiden complexifies the structures and increase the loudness, approaching sometime the progressive way. Other erpresentant of the Heavy Metal Style are : Saxon, Manowar, Diamond Head, Dio, Venom, Tigers of PangTang, Wasp, MercyfulFate... (notice that Venom and Mercyfull Fate will inspire the future Black Metal mouvement with their Heavy).

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Thrash Metal

Metallica, the world's most known and respected Metal Band creates the Thrash style, starting from a heavy base and speeding it (explains the "Speed Metal" denomination sometime used for this style). They make the sharp guitar sound and double bass-drumm pedal more popular, and uses fewer melodies than the Heavy Metal does. Real "holy-bible" of Metal as Iron Maiden, their songs are admittedly cult ones by Metal fans.

In this stream swimm Thrash Bands as Megadeth, Exodus, Anthrax, realy reputated bands ; and of course Slayer (and their famous "Raining Blood"), the band at the origin of the brutal speed Thrash Metal, nowadays still a cult-band for all the "Extreme" Metal fans.
In the end of 80's, (while Metalica goes back to a more heavy style), this stream keeps growing with bands like Sepultura, an ethno-bresilian Thrash reference band, the straightforward and "groovy" Texas band Pantera, also a recognized band.
In the middle of the 90's will appear some new references : Machine Head, Fear Factory (more "indus" kind, realy goon-style(not realy sure about this word, sorry)), Meshuggah from sweden which song-building is close to progressive metal, using unbelievable polyrythmies.

Punk Rock and Punk Metal

Alternative movement in the end of 70's and bneginning of 80's with bands like Bad Brains, Bad Religion, MadBall, Dead Kennedys and later : The Exploited or BioHazard.

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Birth of the Death metal

End of the 80's / beginning of the 90's

Born from the ashes of Thrash Metal who gegan to get boring at this time (except Sepultura), this Metal side goes further in the loudness and aggressivity.
Death Metal mainly appear in Florida with now cult bands for the initiated : Death, then Morbid Angel, Cannibal corpse or else Obituary. A1ll theses bands improve and develop a death image, often based on "gore" but with a "grotesque" connotation in their lyrics (well let's hope it's "grotesque"...). Their album covers have often been controversial (Cannibal Corpse covers are especialy gore ones). On the musical sight, we got some tenfold increased tempos, sometime loud, guttural (grunt) voices (as an awaking Balrog for example) or sometimes screamed voices.

Nowadays, Death Metal is still a marginal stream but in constant evolution, a realy proliferating style with "under-streams" as Brutal Death Metal: Cryptopsy, Nile, Anata, Benighted or Grind: Napalm Death, Carcass, more recently Nostromo, Nasum.
Small Focus on a french Death metal band : Gojira, which evolve an original and experimental Death Metal, simply awwsome ! They are now enough recognized to play with some big american bands.
There is also a small universe called the Melodic Death Metal, and it kicks ass! : Opeth (the best band I know, "we are Opeth , from Göteborg, Sweden", their "live-show" is wonderfull, you must see it !) , Arch Ennemy, Dark Tranquility, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Cynic (realy jazzy). A more progressive and melodic approach of Death Metal, you've understood , i love it...

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Black Métal

Born in the early 90's in Scandinavia.

Based on Death Metal constructions, considered by the Black Metal inventors as not enought extreme and categoric, too broad-audienced and non-spreading the "True" message anymore.
Among the biggest : Emperor, kind of symphonic and using epileptic "blast-beats" ; Mayhem, the true precursors, inspired by bands like Venom or Celtic Frost; Immortal, ultra speed and cold.

To preserve a "true" side, some bands volontary produce an unhearable sound (Darkthrone f.e).
Thes bands often preach stanic or racists ideas ( the "Inner Circle of True Black Metal" (Emperor, Mayhem, Darkthrone) leaded a cruisade in scandinavia against catholicism, burning churches (made of wood in this region); murder between clans were also noticed)... a strange world...
Other reputated bands : Rotting Christ, Dark Funeral, Enslaved, Satyricon, Gorgoroth, the neonazis (alas!) of Impaled Nazarene. An unhealthy-ideas sphere but which musical production is interesting.
Time passing, the style open up to the rest of the Metal community during the 90's with symphonic Black Metal bands like Cradle Of Filth or Dimmu Borgir.

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Fusion

We arrive to 90's diversity, result of the research of a revival to answer to the breathlessness of previous Hard rock styles.

"Cross-over" between Hard-Rock or Heavy Metal and other kinds of music as funk-rock or hip-hop.
We can here quote the Red Hot Chili Peppers' hard-funk(80' / 90'); Faith No More the ubber-cult and unclassable band, true pioneers of the Metal/Rock fusion. We must also talk about Primus and it's funky-insane style, leaded by Les Claypool, virtuoso bassist, and of course the biggest 90' alternative Rock band : Rage Against The Machine, which join perfectly pure Rock riffs with Hip Hop rythmics and lyrics.
Later will come numerous bands as the excellent Incubus, or Senser, Dog Eat Dog.

NeoMetal

Notice that the word NeoMetal simply describe a new style who as not yet any other name than Neo Metal...

Mainly based above a preference for hip hop grooves, leaded by Korn, actualy a reference in the broad-audience Metal, reaching a cult-band status; a few Metal-fans can affirm they don't like Korn at all, they explored an entire new way; they now produce some more melodic sound but all along their carreer they developped a unsane Dark side realy pleasant.
In a more "Metal-Hop" style we can quote Limp Bizkit or the Deftones for their atmospheric flagging melodic side.
This style is currently blooming up: SevenDust, POD, Stained, the genious Mudwayne (more violent but also more "groovy") and of course the 2 new effigies of this style: Slipknot : direct, inspired from Korn but also from Death metal bands (specialy for the style , dressing, and make-up); and of course System Of A Down, littel bit "thrashy", punk, jazzy, very melodic and with simple structures as .. NeoMetal, their worlwide-reputation is now done. Let's also quote Soulfly, Triabl and neo Thrash Metal, leaded by Max Cavalera (Sepultura's old singer ).

the Grunge

Coming from both rock and punk, kind of revival which appears in the early 90's with Seatlle bands:
Nirvana, a whole generation icon, more than cult, no need to tell more about them..; then the Foo Fighters, created after Kurt Cobain died by Dave Grohl, the Nirvana's drummer.
Alice in Chains, Sound garden, Smashing Pumpkins (pop tendancies), Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots.

Melodic or Californian Punk

More fun lyrics than classical punk, catchy riffs : NoFX, Offspring, Millencolin, Satanic Surfers.

New "Dark" styles in Heavy Metal

The Doom, , the Gothic Metal, Symphonic, Epic Metal
For example Paradis Lost, Type O Negative, Therion, Moonspell. Actually, these bands produce a loud Heavy Metal, often dark, sometimes close to Death Metal (les violent and more symphonic-mastered).
Nightwish for their Epic Heavy Metal side, or else Rhapsody.

The new "True" Heavy Metal

Very fast, for example Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, Gamma Ray, Hammerfall... Nevermore, modern Heavy band sometime musicaly flirting with Death Metal, realy good !

Indus Metal

Prononced use of electronic sounds added to the rough side of Metal: Ministry, Nine Inch Nails are the most famous.
Marilyn Manson's Dark Rock Metal is also a kind of indus, whereas he is most known for his Number 1 Public Ennemy wanted reputation than it's musical influences.
Fear Factory also uses Indus elements.

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Progressive Metal

A various andprogressive style of music which englobes many of the previous styles (as the elders Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Rush).
Often praticed by experimented musicians who play very technical parts, this side of Metal is not always reachable by the new ears.

Progressive Heavy Metal

• Dream Theater, a melt of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Rush and many other styles; an irrefutable play quality, some likes some hate but some songs are real monuments.
• SymphonyX, same vein, but more melodic or even epic and more straightforward; a good music for your role playing games evenings... :)
• Angra, speed progressive Heavy Metal as SymphonyX, very melodic, sometime inspired by Iron Maiden, with a bresilian touch.

Other Progressives :

• Tool, a real monument of "getting-high" prog, indescriptible ;
• Aghora/Cynic, between heavy and Death metal for some riffs, with a jazzy touch ;
• Strapping Young Lad, wholly insane ;
• Opeth, already quoted in the "Melodic Death Metal" section, this band is simply awwsome, a genious melting of atmospheric folk and pure Death Metal, with melancolic melodies, a sometimes "Death" and sometime clear voice. AN original recipe that makes this band getting recognize over the continents.
• Pain of Salvation, between Dream Theater Progressive Metal and fusion.
• Porcupine Tree: excellent pop prog metal.

Progressive metal is realy typical by its deep musical research.

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HardCore Metal (HxC)

A quite self-minded stream, especialy in France
Dillinger Escape Plan, HateBreed, HateSphere, Norman Jeen, Caliban, Will Haven, Texture, Cataract, The Bleed; especially aggressive screamed lyrics upon close to "DeathMetal" riffs, as far as I know this style, that's to say not much as I don't especially like it, sorry for the ones who love.
HxC has several sides, including Post Hardcore mainly with Isis, Cult Of Luna.
Also recently appeared as an hybrid between Thrash and HardCore music a kind of new "way" called Metalcore and represented by bands like Chimaira, Unearth, Devil Drvier, KillSwitch Engage and the swedish The Haunted.


As a conclusion, this style that public calls globaly Metal and that is alas often represented on broadcasts by bands of complete fabrication as Kyo or Evanescence (broad audience french Metal bands)..., is , as we have seen sortable in many streams and under-streams with realy specific structures and styles; above all, don(t even think about telling a Black Metal musician that he is playing Hardcore Metal or vice-versa... :)
Sectarism in Metal sets is realy strong and represent a risk to lead this so rich style to autarcia and suffocation.

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If you enjoyed reading this article, and have any suggestion, precision or question, meet in the comments section.

MAY METAL AND ACTUAL MUSIC LIVE FOREVER !

Special thanks to Julien (drumm master) for his help writting this page.

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