Heavy Metal Rock Is Still Alive And Well

Even if heavy metal is seen by many people as evil and destructive it is still very popular among young and old. It is pretty obvious that the thing teenagers today (and yesterday and tomorrow) are crazy about is music. Of all the musical genres the one with probably the most enthusiastic fans has to be heavy metal and all the hundreds of sub-categories, whether it is classic hard rock or grindcore.

Discordant heavy metal music struck a chord with many teenagers during the late '70s and '80s. The loud, fast, guitar-driven music has since languished commercially as successive generations have chosen newer soundtracks to fuel their rebellion against the establishment. Many of the original fans, however, never moved on, even as they aged, started careers, got married and had children of their own.

"If you're seeing a 40-year-old at a concert, you're quite sure at 18 you know what kind of music he was into. For so many people the music of the most emotional point of their lives is a touchstone that they return to for the rest of their lives, there keeping their own youth alive.

Heavy metal fans wear their passion on more than just the sleeves of skull T-shirts and black leather jackets. For many of them, the music--louder and faster than anything heard before--became a way of life. The mostly white, mostly male and mostly middle-class listeners found a feeling of power over their parents, over their teachers, over the jocks at school that treated them as outcasts.

Metalheads, or headbangers, as they called themselves, built up a community linked through underground tape swapping networks and conversations about Metallica lyrics while camping out on line for concert tickets.

A second wave of British and American rock bands became popular during the late 1960s to the 1970s, with groups that were more steeped in American blues music than their more pop-oriented predecessors. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Status Quo, Aerosmith, Queen, Black Sabbath, and Uriah Heep played highly amplified, guitar-driven hard rock that would come to be known as heavy metal. Heavy metal languished into obscurity in the late 1970s. A few bands including Kiss, Queen, Black Sabbath,AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith maintained large followings and there were occasional mainstream hits such as Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) the Reaper". Music critics overwhelmingly disliked the genre. This began to change in 1978 following the release of Van Halen's eponymous, self-titled debut album. The album helped to usher in an era of high-energy rock and roll, based out of Los Angeles, California.

One genre that was widely popular in the 1980s (c.1983) was glam metal. Taking influence from various artists such as Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, Queen, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, (all but Queen would eventually play glam metal at some point in the 80s), Sweet and the New York Dolls. The earliest glam metal bands to gain notability included: Mötley Crüe, W.A.S.P. and Ratt. They became known for their debauched lifestyles, teased hair and use of make-up and clothing. Their songs were bombastic and often defiantly macho, with lyrics focused on sex, drinking, drugs, and the occult.

By the mid 1980s, a formula developed in which a glam metal band had two hits -- one a "power ballad" (slow-dance tempo, with soft verses and bombastic anthemic choruses), and the other a hard-rocking anthem. In 1987 a second wave of glam metal acts, sometimes referred to as sleaze rock, emerged including L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat.

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John Bonham - The World's First Heavy Metal Drummer

John Bonham was one of the world's most influential drummers, especially in the genre of hard rock and heavy metal. He was born in England in 1948, and from an early age he began banging on pots and pans, boxes, anything with a flat surface that would let him imitate the jazz and big band drummers who inspired him. He spent his teenage years working construction with his father and searching for bands to play with. This was how he ran into Robert Plant for the first time, and although the two only performed together in the same group for a brief time, they kept in touch throughout the years.

Bonham got his big break at the age of 20, when that same Robert Plant called him up to ask him if he was interested in joining a band that noted guitarist Jimmy Page was putting together. Bonham, or 'Bonzo' to his friends answered in the affirmative and history was made. With the addition of John Paul Jones, the lineup for Led Zeppelin was set.

Many musicologists and modern drummers agree that John Bonham was an absolute master of his instrument. He hit the drum skins very hard, and used extremely thick drum sticks. These sticks could be used to batter out the most brutal rhythm, or become incredibly agile to tap out a gentle sound no louder than that of the falling rain. He was famous for creating a groove where the drum sound seemed to occur just behind the beat, instead of hitting it exactly in the middle as was the tradition for rock drummers in his day. This playing style match very well the both Jones and Page, and Bonham was able to incorporate many complex drum patterns and fills into songs that most drummers wouldn't even attempt during a solo.

As was the case with so many rock stars in the 1970's, John Bonham was plagued by the demons of substance abuse, particularly alcohol. A great fan of automobiles, he also had rotten luck with them due to his drinking, and his hard partying had gotten completely out of control. On a typical morning for him in September of 1980, Bonham began his day with an extremely large amount of alcohol before being driven to and from tour rehearsals. He was left at home to 'sleep it off', and when Jones and the band's tour manager found him the next morning, he had choked to death in his sleep, a victim of the day's excessive drinking.

Bonham's tombstone to this day covered with respectfully stacked drum sticks left by those who have come to pay their respect. He is survived by a son and daughter, and his son Jason has become an excellent drummer in his own right.

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Electronic Innovation Meets the Raw Power of Heavy Metal - Industrial Metal Music

Industrial metal blends a range of influences from heavy metal to electro-industrial and noise music, while typically remaining within standard rock conventions and song structures. Since its beginnings, the genre has been controversial among both fans of other industrial genres and metal fans alike; those who favor other styles of industrial music have denounced it as a "watered-down version of 'true' industrial music," and many fans of other metal genres object to the widespread use of synthesizers and electronic instruments. Despite this controversy, the industrial metal scene has spawned numerous platinum-selling artists and bands with millions of albums being sold worldwide and influenced artists from across the entire musical spectrum.

Musically, industrial metal combines heavy metal guitar riffs with synthesizer leads and production techniques commonly used for other genres of industrial music. Consequently, the music equipment used by industrial metal bands typically includes both hardware and software synthesizers in addition to electric guitars and guitar effects processors. Drums are often acoustic, electronic or a mixture of both. Somewhat uncommon in industrial music, it is usually performed live with a full band, following the standard "rock band lineup," including a lead singer, guitarist, bassist, drummer and keyboardist.

Combining guitar melodies with industrial elements was a big departure from the anti-rock sentiments of most early industrial acts of the 1980s. Bands who embraced this approach included Nine Inch Nails, Fear Factory, Ministry and KMFDM. This more accessible sound soon found a large following in North America among fans of other guitar-oriented music.

Though industrial metal enjoyed a degree of mainstream success throughout the late 1990s, this would eventual fade by the turn of the century. A number of the genre's leading bands broke up or were dropped by major labels around this time. Today it has a considerably smaller audience, based mostly in the United States and Europe. Nonetheless, bands such as Nine Inch Nails remain popular today and continue to play sold-out shows around the world.

Taylor is a contributor at Alternative-Electronics.com, the most comprehensive resource online for the music equipment used in alternative electronic music. Read more about industrial metal bands.

What is Heavy Metal Music?

Classic heavy metal music is described as having a thick, massive sound that includes extended guitar solos, complex beats, amplified distortion and an overall loudness. The main instruments in most groups are the electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals and sometimes, keyboards. While most groups focus on a vocalist as their front man, heavy metal music, more often than not, uses the lead guitarist as the focus.

The guitarist in heavy metal music is key. They perform extended riffs and usually lead the group. While some guitarists use main power chords in their songs, most have studied classical music and have amazing abilities. Some of the techniques used are alternate picking, string skipping, tapping, legato, sweep picking and economy picking.

Heavy metal music developed in the late 1960's with groups such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. From the origins of this new style of music emerged a huge sub-genre of music. The lyrics tend to focus on dark or depressing subjects, including death, war, paranoia and personal trauma. Some extreme forms often focus on aggressive or gory lyrics, while others focus on more philosophical themes. A common theme in most metal is the idea of doing what you want, despite what the world says.

Genres of heavy metal music are as vast as the ideologies of each artist. The most popular styles include alternative metal, drone metal, funk metal, classic metal, grindcore, industrial metal, metalcore, neo-classical metal, nu metal, gothic, speed, post metal, rap metal, sludge metal and doom and death metal. Each sub-genre brings in elements of other styles of music such as blues, rap, rock, alternative, folk, punk, hip hop and classical.

Visual appearance has always been a strong factor in heavy metal music. Some groups, such as Kiss and Alice Cooper, have become known for their outlandish costumes and huge stage performances.

The classic dress of today's metalhead consists of long hair, past the shoulders, black t-shirt with a favored metal band logo, jeans, black boots and black leather jackets. According to journalist Nader Rahman, long hair gave the members of the metal community "the power they needed to rebel against nothing in general".

Heavy metal music is extremely masculine and, therefore, there is not the usual dancing at concerts. Most of the audience will engage in headbanging or just make arm gestures. Other displays may include "moshing", stage diving or crowd surfing.

Heavy metal fans have their own code of authenticity. The code demands that performers be authentic, devoted to the sub-culture and the music and they must never sell out. Some performers have been shut out of mainstream metal because they lacked the authenticity the crowd was looking for.

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Metal Guitar Lessons - Learning the Guitar With Heavy Metal Music

Although heavy metal is distinctive as a genre of music, it's also known for having numerous sub-genres (and in some cases, sub-sub-genres!). In particular, many of these sub-genres play out their differences in the guitar parts.

As you progress in your guitar lessons, it can be fun to explore the varying elements in these styles. Below we'll go over a few of the most well-known kinds of metal.

Classic Metal - Originally, this was the only kind of metal! Bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest really helped to define metal as its own kind of music. Although influenced by blues and psychedelic rock, early heavy metal was defined by distorted guitar sounds, gruff, heavy vocals, and complex dual guitar work. It's a great genre to explore as a student of the guitar, as it provides numerous classic and popular songs to explore.

Thrash - The key element of thrash metal is SPEED! Thrash music is known for being incredibly fast paced, and therefore might not be the best choice for beginner musicians. Look for bands like Metallica, Megadeth and Testament for great thrash songs.

Power Metal - Although it grew out of early heavy metal, power metal now has its own distinctive sound. Many elements are separate from the guitar, including high pitched vocals, double bass drumming, and fantasy lyrics. However, there's still plenty to offer for the guitar. Chord changes are somewhat less frequent compared to other styles of metal, although complexity is far from lacking in this genre due to fast guitar solos. Power metal is a great place to look for long, exciting guitar solos that are at times missing from other kinds of music.

Extreme Metal - Somewhat of a catch-all of term for non-traditional styles like death metal, black metal, and doom metal. Every element of metal sees exaggeration in these kinds of music. It might be the slow, dirge-like sound in doom metal, or the highly distorted melodies in death metal. Although not for everyone, excellent musicianship can be found in this kind of music.

There are many more styles of metal music to be found! As you progress in your guitar lessons, a great way to add some variation to practicing chords and scales is studying and learning popular metal songs.

Constantine Walker is a life-long metal fan and musician. He wants to make learning to play music as fun as possible!

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Heavy Metal Guitar Riff Facts

If you are a fan of heavy metal music, you know how largely it depends on guitar riffs and solos for its existence. Guitar remains the central instrument of heavy metal music and cool guitar riffs are probably the most admired part of a performance. Here are some interesting facts about heavy metal guitar riffs which might help you to appreciate them even more.

For many years now heavy metal music has been critically vilified as an over simplistic and aggressive genre of music. The on stage violence and the showiness of the metal bands have added to the censure. However, there is no denying the fact that the guttural and the primal sounds of the metal guitar remain a popular form of protest against the consumerism and conformity of pop music. The metal guitar riffs are not meant to please, they are meant to express the anguish that results from our modern life style.

Many critics, without knowing the true facts about metal bands, dismiss all metal guitarists as gimmicky. They think that it is all about riffing involving three chords. However, it is a far cry from the truth. Metal guitarists have been leading innovators of many complicated guitar techniques. A good metal guitarist should also be technically sound and should be able to play at a great speed.

Much of the appeal of the heavy metal music depends upon the amplified distortion of the guitar licks. The very genre of the heavy metal music came to be distinguished by its powerful solos and speedy and powerful guitar riffs. In the 1960s, when the metal genre was coming slowly in to the forefront, it heavily depended upon the blues and the psychedelic versions of rock music. But what gradually distinguished it from the others, was the coming of age of the powerful guitar licks.

Therefore, the importance of the heavy metal guitar riffs cannot be undermined in the general growth and development of the metal music. If you really want to play them on your own, you should first work on your basic guitar techniques. Learning to play guitar licks and riffs like a pro will also require the knowledge of musical theory and guitar scales. There is quite a bit of hard work involved in attaining the status of a good metal guitar player. However, once you can manage to master them, there is nothing like the pleasure of playing a guitar like Kirk Hammett or Randy Rhoads.

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