A Beginner’s Guide to Heavy Metal
Part I — origins, classics, and a peak down some branches
Just a few short days ago, a handful of regular punters participated in the Album of the Month discussion, which is brought to you by The Riff. The peerless Charles in San Francisco led us through the album Human. :II: Nature. by the Finnish symphonic metal stalwarts, Nightwish.
We were in agreement that the album was indeed a great piece of work. However, a couple of us considered symphonic metal to be a somewhat safe introduction to the world of metal — a ‘gateway metal’ perhaps!
A couple of our members admitted to not knowing much about metal, with one person admitting that they might not be able to name one song by the biggest metal band in the world.
I offered to throw together a playlist that would be a short history of the genre. I did exactly that and sent that playlist off to our discussion participants.
Now that I have had five minutes to scratch myself and sit at the keyboard, I present that playlist to you all with some explanatory notes on the selections I made.
Some caveats. This list is obviously not complete or comprehensive. It is my attempt to teach some friends about the genre. I’ve included a bunch of classics and amusing pieces, and I started down the paths of some sub-genres. One probably could not do this task justice with 100 selections — I’ve gone with just 28 (and called it part I). There will be plenty of “why didn’t you include … ” moments from readers, so please hit the comments section. There are songs and bands that I can’t believe I left out!
I hope you enjoy the read!
The birth of heavy metal
Many people credit the trio of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple as the pioneers of heavy metal. And those people would be largely correct. You have the doom of the tritone interval in Black Sabbath, the roar of Jimmy Page’s Les Paul, and the Ian Gillan wail, all setting the tone for heavy metal.
However, a bunch of other acts were just as influential in the genre's development. I included the Blue Cheer version of Summertime Blues and Homicidal, Suicidal from the first Budgie album to give one an idea of how heavy music could be.
Amongst those selections are some heavy, brutal (War Pigs, Black Dog), and fast (Speed King) riffage from the pioneering trio.
Get a load of this live version of War Pigs (for the drumming alone … ).
Classics
We jump from the early 70s to 1980 and three absolute classics from heavy metal icons. Three flagship songs that essentially represent those artists.
Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne. It is the first single from the first solo album from the former Sabbath frontman—an instant classic.
Breaking The Law by Judas Priest. One of the band’s greatest songs and a highly recognisable opening riff.
Ace Of Spades by Motörhead. The definitive Motörhead song, featuring the distorted chords of Lemmy’s Rickenbacker bass. And, of course, that voice that sounds like he’s been gargling broken glass.
More classics
Rainbow In The Dark by Dio. Ronnie James Dio, the veteran frontman, comes off a stint with Black Sabbath to make his first solo album, and it’s killer from start to finish. Only the Screaming Elf could make a song with the word rainbow in the title sound evil.
Hallowed Be Thy Name by Iron Maiden. Initially part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal of the late 1970s, the band changed singers and released the incomparable Number Of The Beast album, setting them on a path to world domination. Considered the band’s greatest song and one of the greatest heavy metal songs ever.
A change is gonna come
At this point in the early to mid-1980s, things started to heat up; metal began to diverge into subgenres, and some acts achieved huge mainstream success.
We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister. Labeled as glam metal because of the makeup, the band hit the mainstream with a couple of teen angst heavy metal anthems and their associated videos! Check out the madness below …
Hot For Teacher by Van Halen. This absolute belter is Van Halen at their best. From the album 1984, that made them megastars. (Everyone: “Eddie, you are the greatest guitarist ever.” EVH: “I think I’ll play keyboards.”)
Looks That Kill by Mötley Crüe. Hair metal gains a foothold, setting an ugly precedent of boys wearing too much makeup and playing rubbish that would dominate the decade.
Angel Of Death by Slayer. The thrash metal kings released their third album which featured ten tracks of ferocious brutality in just 29 minutes. Rolling Stone ranked it at #6 on the list of greatest metal albums. It's frightening, but it gets a run a couple of times a year in my house.
Master Of Puppets by Metallica. Fast and furious, the second of the Big 4 (alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax), made a stunning album many consider to be the best metal album ever. Rolling Stone ranked it #2, behind Paranoid by Black Sabbath.
Fighting The World by Manowar. The band gained a huge following singing about themselves, metal, the fans, and hero fantasy themes. Hysterical stuff but so good!
You Suffer by Napalm Death. The shortest song ever recorded at 1.3 seconds (“You suffer, but why?”), from their crazy debut album. The band set the standard for grindcore, with speed, blast beats, and growled vocals.
Bring The Noise by Anthrax and Public Enemy. Five albums into their career, the band combines with Public Enemy to cover that outfit’s song from several years beforehand. A collaboration borne of mutual respect, a joint tour followed featuring the two groups, with shows ending with both groups on stage performing the song together.
Flattening Of Emotions by Death. Stunning, uncompromising technical death metal.
Hammer Smashed Face by Cannibal Corpse. More blast beats inspired by many other thrash and death metal bands of the previous decade. The band performed this song in a cameo in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, thanks to Jim Carrey.
Symphony Of Destruction by Megadeth. Their biggest song. Even after 16 albums and sales in the millions, Dave Mustaine is still sour about being booted out of Metallica a billion years ago.
More branches on the metal tree
The classification, or pigeonholing, of bands into various sub-genres, began to get out of hand. There are dozens of labels, and arguments abound as to where some bands fit. As an example, take a look at the crazy world of death metal — combining thrash and black metal in the mid-1980s, the genre branched out into:
- Blackened Death Metal
- Death ‘n’ Roll
- Melodic Death Metal
- Technical Death Metal
- Symphonic Death Metal
Unsung by Helmet. We venture into the world of alternative metal here with the incredible Helmet. Tight riffage that was reminiscent of a chugging steam train. An absolute favourite.
Walk by Pantera. Tagged with the term groove metal, the band made a couple of killer records, with Vulgar Display Of Power the standout.
People = Shit by Slipknot. Often lumped with the nu metal or groove metal tags, this piece came from the band’s heavier, dark second offering.
Ghost of Perdition by Opeth. Considered progressive metal, this kind of metal frightens little children. Much of the harsh vocals have been dropped for recent albums. The albums Ghost Reveries and the epic Blackwater Park are metal must-haves!
Blood And Thunder by Mastodon. A track from the truly masterful Leviathan, a progressive metal concept album loosely based on Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.
Row Row by Zeal & Ardor. Considered avant-garde metal, the band is the creative output of a Swiss genius who combined black/thrash metal with African-American spiritualism. The resultant piece of work is nothing short of astounding.
Grey Garden by Windhand. A brilliant piece of stoner/doom metal featuring lead-heavy riffs and a warm sound.
What’s next?
Well, there is a casual set of 28 tracks to get a novice started in the world of metal. Not every track will be for everybody, but hopefully, there will be something in there an open-minded punter will like!
So, where to from here? What should be featured in the next installment? Viking metal? Folk metal?? A whole bunch of 1970s hard rockers??? Leave your suggestions in the comments!
Thanks for reading and listening!!
