Ethan Ortiz Metal throughout the Ages

Ethan Ortiz

Metal throughout the Ages

Ethan Ortiz

Senior Project Paper

Spring 2015

Metal, when seeing the word, what comes to mind? A solid material, such as gold, silver, copper, a metal framed building? In the music industry during the 1960’s rock and hard rock were a popular genre. The bands were looking for new ways to play rock and hard rock in a faster and vulgar method, when bands found the sound, a new genre of music was born. And the name given to the genre was metal. The reason for the name is to ask a question, what is heavier that hard rock? Metal. No one is certain or credited for coming up with the name. It just came to be.

Since the late 1960's, metal music has influenced and changed the music that people listen to today. It has evolved throughout the years and has created many different subgenres. Metal music changed and moved society and the culture of its listeners. With the influence of the blues and rock and roll, bands took the tempo and sped it up with faster guitar riffs, faster beating drums, louder, higher, and harsher singing, and all the energy a man can handle.

The first bands to create the sound of metal emerged in the late 1960’s were Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath is credited for creating the genre for their album Black Sabbath in 1970. With their riff-based songs, tons of vulgar noises, and themes of “dark demonic subject matter”, Black Sabbath started the key aspects of the heavy metal visual and lyrical appeal. Led Zeppelin had a very parallel sound to Black Sabbath, but didn’t have the dark look or sound of heavier metal bands or the same lyrical subject of metal, some say Black Sabbath started it all. It was taken place in England.

The backbone to metal are the drums, seemingly not common to see, the drums play a major role metal. Rock bands have drums in their music but rock’s average tempo of drum beats are slower than metal. Metal bands produce that deep, pounding sound that brings deep heaviness to the song. Heavier metal bands use “blast beats” which is rapidly playing the drums, snare cymbols, and kick drum. As the tempo sped up, artists looked for a new way to play drums quicker. The creation of the double bass pedal, a basic drum set up has a bass drum with one kick pedal, the double bass pedal has two pedals side by side or the pedals sit separately to the left and right of the drummer. It allows the drummer access to play twice the speed of the bass drum, giving music a deeper and dark toned sound.

One of the key components of metal is the electric guitar, every metal band has at least one electric guitar. Some bands have two or more electric guitars, played together or separately. Since the 1930’s people have formed many ways to change the sound of an electric guitar, mainly used for altering the sound was called a guitar pedal. A guitar pedal sits on the floor near the musician’s feet and when certain buttons are pressed, the guitar sound will alter to whatever the pedal was designed for. There are many different kinds of pedals, they can boost, compress and/or distort the sound produced by the guitar. Guitars can cause echo effects too. Musicains have put these effects in guitar amplifiers, these are used to louden electric guitar through speakers, they come in all different sizes mainly shaped like a box. By the 1950’s amps had built in echo, reverb effects, and other guitar effects.

Metal can’t be metal without the bass guitar. A bass guitar usually has 3 to 6 strings. It mainly plays chords and melodies in a deep and rumbling sound. Most bands had only one bassist, but there can be more present, if the band members’ desired. Bass guitars create the rhythm to the song. The nu metal band Korn is an example of heavily use of bass guitar in their music.

Keyboards not always present in bands, but many different subgenres rely on the keyboard for sounds. It is often played for the piano effect, the keyboard can also create endless of different. In keyboards, they have what is known as a synthesizer, what it does is it can produce any sound or instrument. Most modern bands rely on the keyboard and synthesizers for creating their music. Bands that use the keyboard are often called symphonic heavy metal because of the orchestra sound.

For some people, the microphone isn’t even considered an instrument, but in reality it actually is. It creates a rhythmic sound like any other instrument, but with a voice. Heavy metal music vocalists use their voice in a high wailing way. This was used during the first early years of metal. Later on singers would create a deeper and more aggressive vocal sound called growling. Growling is when you project your voice in a deep and loud way of screaming. This was a very popular form of singing in the metal genre, numerous bands use it. Screaming is by far the most popular way of singing in the genre of metal. It is screaming at the top of your voice as if in anger or agony and screaming is a shattering and outward technique to sing. Long durations of screaming can lead to vocal cord abuse. A few years of screaming, singers can often lose their voice or damage the vocal chords. Then there are clean vocals, which is most common way to sing for any person. This type of singing is common for any band in the subgenre, it is the classical way of singing.

There are approximately 50 subgenres in heavy metal, throughout time many people took the influence of metal and alternated it in countless different ways. The subgenres of metal vary in different ways, the main subgenres of metal are, classic metal, thrash, hair, alternative, metal core, progressive, and industrial, black/ death, and doom metal. The first creation of metal is now considered root heavy metal, it is the original sound of all heavy metal music. By taking the blue’s scale of 60’s hard rock and speeding up the tempo with faster guitar riffs, louder drums, creative and astonishing guitar solos, and singing with a high pitched voice, root heavy metal is what started it all. Black Sabbath was recognized as the first true heavy metal band.

Classic Metal started in the mid 1960’s with Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, Deep, Purple and Alice Copper. The big 3 as seen time and time again were the creators of metal so therefore also classified as classic metal. Classic metal is the roots of all metal music from the big 3 to the most current metal bands in the next 20 years. In the 1970’s Kiss, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osborne (lead singer of Black Sabbath) and Peter Criss. These bands all had a very similar sound to metal music. In the 1970’s more bands emerged such as AC/DC, Van Halen, and Iron Maiden. The following decade Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, Megadeath, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden had similar sounds to metal. A new era of metal started up in the early 1990’s bands started to add different instruments and unique sounds to their music. The popular bands were Korn, Incubus, Linkin Park, System of a Down, Disturbed, and Slipknot. All these bands were fairly popular for 30 years in the early 2000’s Avenged Sevenfold emerged to be one of the last few metal bands.

By the late 1970’s an underground movement was being formed by many different bands in England, these bands dedicated their music to have a faster, and heavier form of metal. This movement was known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The (NWOBHM) movement influenced many different bands and artist to this day, it had a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal. The NWOBHM bands played fast rhythms, heavy use of guitar solos, some bands had two harmonized guitars. The style influenced people in the creation of melodic death metal and melodic metalcore. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal didn’t last that long, many bands changed direction of their music to what would become popular over time, Def Leppard went into a glam metal style and Venom formed into a darker and faster style, with all the satanic and dark looks. By the 1980’s the NWOBHM moved to the U.S.A. with Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon, and Diamond Head. Iron Maiden was the biggest success of the NWOBHM, they have sold almost 100 million records during and after their career. Many bands and song writers have confessed that Iron Maiden has had major influences in their work.

Glam metal, or also known as hair metal. Hair metal began in the late 1970’s with bands like Scorpions and Motley Crue. In the 1980’s Deff Leppard, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Ratt, and Poison. Hair metal was classified for its appearance, hence the name. Band members kept their hair at a long and thick length, with pounds of hair spray. Vocals were sung mainly by clean vocals and wailing. The subgenre exploded when Bon Jovi released their album Slippery When Wet, in 1986. Fans and other bands took follow of Bon Jovi of their sound and looks. The genre died as quick as it was revealed, during the late 1980’s and throughout the 1990’s because of other genres of music such as hip hop, pop, and rock and roll. It wasn’t until the 2000’s that a band named Sixx A.M. created music similar to hair metal since the ending of the movement of the late 1990’s.

Black/Death metal came in in the late 1980’s with King Diamond, Death Sepultra, and Cannibal Corpse. In the 1990’s Amon Amarth, In Flames, Child of Bodom, and Opeth developed. Then in the 2000’s Lamb of God and Dethklok came about into the world of death/ black metal.

Doom metal was a slower form of metal, guitars are low tuned, and heavily distorted and slow tempos. Doom metal bands sung about dread, religion, drug addiction, abuse, pessimism, and literature. Doom metal is known as one of the loudest forms of heavy metal. Guitars and bass play the same riff simultaneously. Vocalist often use clean vocals to screaming. Doom metal was influenced by Black Sabbath, it came to be popular in the 1980’s with Finer General releasing Death Penalty in 1982. Doom metal started in the early 1980’s with Eyehategod and The Melvins. In the 1990’s Paradise Lost, Sleep, and Down emerged from doom metal. By the beginning of the 21^st century Barononess, The Sword, and Ghost B.C. have all had comparable styles of doom metal. Doom metal is a slowed down version of metal. Doom metal will become popular in the 1980’s. Finder General released Death Penalty in 1982 bringing the genre into the world. Doom metal was influenced by Black Sabbath and a distorted blues metal sound in the 1970’s. Vocals can go from clean vocals to screaming. Doom metal is known to be the loudest genre of metal.

Alternative metal was born in the mid 1980’s produced by the bands Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. During the 1990’s more bands made suit of the sound such as Rage Against the Machine, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Incubus, and Slipknot. Then in the 2000’s Disturbed and Linkin Park played alternative metal during their careers.

Industrial metal began in the late 1970’s with Einstuzende Neubeuten and Nine Inch Nails, there were the two mainly popular bands of industrial metal until the early 1990’s. When the 1990’s rolled up T99, Rammstein and Pro-Tech played industrial metal. In the 2000’s Tanzwut, Death Stars, and the Kidney Thieves.

Thrash came in the late 1970’s Metallica, Metallica had a huge commercial success and many bands had the inspiration to play the similar music althrought the 20^th century. In the early 1980’s Suicidal Tendenies, Anthrax, Pantera, Slayer, Megadeath, Death Angel, and GWAR played what was known as thrash metal. Then in the early 1990’s thrash slowly died down and a one band emerged, Machine Head. Then in the 2000’s, Trivium and Alestorm were the main two bands noticed to play thrash.

Thrash metal came in the late 1970’s Metallica, Metallica had a huge commercial success and many bands had the inspiration to play the similar music althrought the 20^th century. In the early 1980’s Suicidal Tendenies, Anthrax, Pantera, Slayer, Megadeath, Death Angel, and GWAR played what was known as thrash metal. Then in the early 1990’s thrash slowly died down and a one band emerged, Machine Head. Then in the 2000’s, Trivium and Alestorm were the main two bands noticed to play thrash. Thrash metal came to be in the late 1970’s, it is classified by its loud fast pace guitar riffs, screaming and growling vocals. Thrash bands sung about fantasy and medieval content. The big four bands that started thrash were: Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeath, and Metallica. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal were the roots that started thrash. Thrash has many different subgenres that branch off throughout the years. Crossover thrash has breakdowns instead of solos, and the guitars emphasize on grooves. It came to be in the late 1980’s.

Neo thrash started in the late 1990’s and yearly 2000’s, it took groove metal and crossover thrash and mixed it with metalcore and death metal. Double bass drumming is greatly used in neo thrash. Teutonic thrash originated in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in the early 1980’s. These bands were also influenced by the NWOBHM. Teutonic thrash bands had raspy vocalist. And guitarist used the technique palm muting, and faster double bass drums. It died in the early 1990’s when thrash bands changed to their sound to more popular genres. Groove metal took crossover thrash and took it a step further, guitarist down tuned their guitars and played mid tempo riffs that are much abbreviated instead of expanding riffs in crossover thrash. Groove metal is still popular today with bands Lamb of God, Soulfly, and Hellyeah.

In the early 1990’s metalcore was created with Hatebreed, Shadows Falll, and Killswich Engage. Killswich Engage was the biggest metalcore band during the 90’s. In the 2000’s metalcore exploded with many different bands for example Asking Alexandria, Avenged Sevenfold, A Day to Remember, and Bring me the Horizon.