Editing Heavy metal music (section)

===Origins: late 1960s and early 1970s===
[[File:John Kay of Steppenwolf (1970's).jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|alt=Two performers from Steppenwolf are shown in an onstage performance. From left to right are an electric guitarist (only the instrument is shown) and singer John Kay, who is swinging the microphone.|John Kay of [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]]]]
Critics disagree over who can be thought of as the first heavy metal band. Most credit the British bands [[Led Zeppelin]] and [[Black Sabbath]], with American commentators tending to favour Led Zeppelin and British commentators tending to favour Black Sabbath, though many give equal credit to both. [[Deep Purple]], the third band in what is sometimes considered the "unholy trinity" of heavy metal along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, fluctuated between many rock styles until late 1969 when they took a heavy metal direction.<ref name="Charlton 2003, p. 241">Charlton (2003), p. 241</ref> A few commentators – mainly American – argue for other groups, including [[Iron Butterfly]], [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]], [[Blue Cheer]], or [[Vanilla Fudge]], as the first to play heavy metal.<ref>Weinstein (2000), pp. 14–15</ref>

In 1968, the sound that would become known as heavy metal began to coalesce. That January, San Francisco band [[Blue Cheer]] released a cover of [[Eddie Cochran]]'s classic "[[Summertime Blues]]" as a part of their debut album, ''[[Vincebus Eruptum]]'', and many consider it to be the first true heavy metal recording.<ref>McCleary (2004), pp. 240, 50</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=An Answer to the Immortal Question: Who Invented Heavy Metal? |url=https://www.rockarchive.com/news/2018/who-invented-heavy-metal-music |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=Rockarchive |language=en}}</ref> The same month, [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]] released their [[steppenwolf (Steppenwolf album)|self-titled debut album]], on which the track "[[Born to Be Wild]]" refers to "heavy metal thunder" in describing a motorcycle. In July, the [[Jeff Beck Group]], whose leader had preceded Page as The Yardbirds' guitarist, released its debut record, ''[[Truth (Jeff Beck album)|Truth]]'', which featured some of the "most molten, barbed, downright funny noises of all time", breaking ground for generations of metal guitarists.<ref>Gene Santoro, quoted in Carson (2001), p. 86</ref> In September, Page's new band, [[Led Zeppelin]], made its live debut in Denmark (but were billed as The New Yardbirds).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/september-7-1968|title=Led Zeppelin Teen-Clubs, Box 45, Egegaard Skole – September 7, 1968|website=Led Zeppelin – Official Website|date=20 September 2007 |language=en|access-date=2 August 2017}}</ref> [[The Beatles]]' [[The Beatles (album)|self-titled double album]], released in November, included "[[Helter Skelter (song)|Helter Skelter]]", then one of the heaviest-sounding songs ever released by a major band.<ref>Blake (1997), p. 143</ref> [[The Pretty Things]]' [[rock opera]] ''[[S.F. Sorrow]]'', released in December, featured "proto heavy metal" songs such as "Old Man Going" and "I See You".<ref>{{cite web |author=Strauss, Neil |title=The Pop Life: The First Rock Opera (No, Not 'Tommy') |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=3 September 1998 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E0D6133FF930A3575AC0A96E958260 |access-date=26 June 2008}}</ref><ref>Mason, Stewart. [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=i-see-you-mt0027360249|pure_url=yes}} "I See You: Review"]. AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2012</ref> [[Iron Butterfly]]'s 1968 song "[[In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida]]" is sometimes described as an example of the transition between [[acid rock]] and heavy metal{{sfn|Rood|1994|p=6}} or the turning point in which acid rock became "heavy metal",<ref name="houstonpress">{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Nathan|title=The Warning: The 10 Heaviest Albums Before Black Sabbath|url=http://www.houstonpress.com/music/the-warning-the-10-heaviest-albums-before-black-sabbath-6779079|website=Houston Press|access-date=26 April 2016|date=13 February 2012}}</ref> and both Iron Butterfly's 1968 album [[In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (album)|''In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'']] and Blue Cheer's 1968 album ''Vincebus Eruptum'' have been described as laying the foundation of heavy metal and greatly influential in the transformation of acid rock into heavy metal.<ref>Bukszpan (2003), p. 288</ref>

In this [[Counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]] period, [[MC5]], who began as part of the Detroit garage rock scene, developed a raw, distorted style that has been seen as a major influence on the future sound of both heavy metal and later [[Punk rock|punk music]].<ref>Bukszpan (2003), p. 141</ref><ref>Braunstein and Doyle (2002), p. 133</ref> [[The Stooges]] also began to establish and influence a heavy metal and later punk sound, with songs such as "[[I Wanna Be Your Dog]]", featuring pounding and distorted heavy guitar power chord riffs.<ref>{{cite book |author=Trynka, Paul |title=Iggy Pop: open up and bleed |publisher=Broadway Books |location=New York |year=2007 |page=[https://archive.org/details/iggypopopenupble00tryn/page/95 95] |isbn=978-0-7679-2319-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/iggypopopenupble00tryn/page/95 }}</ref> [[Pink Floyd]] released two of their heaviest and loudest songs to date, "[[Ibiza Bar]]" and "[[The Nile Song]]", the latter of which being regarded as "one of the heaviest songs the band recorded."<ref>Kellman, Andy. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=relics-mw0000309068|pure_url=yes}} "Relics, Pink Floyd: Review"]. AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2012</ref><ref>J. DeRogatis, ''Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock'' (Milwaukee, Michigan: Hal Leonard, 2003), {{ISBN|0-634-05548-8}}, p. 132</ref> [[King Crimson]]'s [[In the Court of the Crimson King|debut album]] started with "[[21st Century Schizoid Man]]", which was considered heavy metal by several critics.<ref>Fricke, David. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090425074919/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/kingcrimson/albums/album/268735/review/5942988/the_power_to_believe "King Crimson: The Power To Believe : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone"]}}. web.archive.org. Archived from the {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071028164021/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/kingcrimson/albums/album/268735/review/5942988/the_power_to_believe original]}}.</ref><ref>[[#refBuckley2003|Buckley 2003]], p. 477, "Opening with the cataclysmic heavy-metal of '21st Century Schizoid Man', and closing with the cathedral-sized title track,"</ref>

[[File:LedZeppelinChicago75 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|[[Led Zeppelin]] performing at [[Chicago Stadium]] in January 1975|alt=A colour photograph of the four members of Led Zeppelin performing onstage, with some other figures visible in the background. The band members shown are, from left to right, the bassist, drummer, guitarist, and lead singer. Large guitar speaker stacks are behind the band members.]]

In January 1969, Led Zeppelin's [[Led Zeppelin (album)|self-titled debut album]] was released and reached No. 10 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' album chart. In July, Led Zeppelin and a power trio with a Cream-inspired, but cruder sound, called [[Grand Funk Railroad]] played the [[Atlanta International Pop Festival (1969)|Atlanta Pop Festival]]. That same month, another Cream-rooted trio led by [[Leslie West]] released ''[[Mountain (Leslie West album)|Mountain]]'', an album filled with heavy blues rock guitar and roaring vocals. In August, the group – now itself dubbed [[Mountain (band)|Mountain]] – played an hour-long set at the [[Woodstock Festival]], exposing the crowd of 300,000 people to the emerging sound of heavy metal.<ref name="prown">{{cite book|last1=Prown|first1=Pete|last2=Newquist|first2=HP|title=Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists|date=1997|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60Jde3l7WNwC&q=mississippi+queen+heavy+metal&pg=PA66|access-date=29 May 2017|isbn=9780793540426}}</ref><ref>Though often identified now as "hard rock", the band's official debut album, ''Mountain Climbing'' (1970), placed 85th on the list of "Top 100 Metal Albums" compiled by ''[[Hit Parader]]'' in 1989. In November, [[Love Sculpture]], with guitarist [[Dave Edmunds]], put out ''Forms and Feelings'', featuring a pounding, aggressive version of [[Aram Khachaturian]]'s "[[Sabre Dance]]". Grand Funk Railroad's ''Survival'' (1971) placed 72nd (Walser [1993], p. 174)</ref> Mountain's proto-metal or early heavy metal hit song "[[Mississippi Queen]]" from the album ''[[Climbing!]]'' is especially credited with paving the way for heavy metal and was one of the first heavy guitar songs to receive regular play on radio.<ref name=prown/><ref name="hoffmann">{{cite book|last1=Hoffmann|first1=Frank W.|title=Popular Culture and Libraries|date=1984|publisher=Library Professional Publications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdfWAAAAMAAJ&q=mississippi+queen+heavy+metal|isbn=9780208019813}}</ref><ref name="axs">{{cite web|last1=Ulibas|first1=Joseph|title=Hard rock band Mountain is riding the Mississippi Queen into the 21st century|url=https://www.axs.com/hard-rock-band-mountain-is-riding-the-mississippi-queen-into-the-21st--60208|website=AXS|access-date=29 May 2017}}</ref> In September 1969, the Beatles released the album ''[[Abbey Road]]'' containing the track "[[I Want You (She's So Heavy)]]", which has been credited as an early example of or influence on heavy metal or [[doom metal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/50-heaviest-songs-black-sabbath-40-31?page=0,6|title=The 50 Heaviest Songs Before Black Sabbath: #40-31|work=Guitar World|date=11 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>Classic Rock Magazine, September 2014</ref> In October 1969, British band [[High Tide (band)|High Tide]] debuted with the heavy, proto-metal album ''[[Sea Shanties (High Tide album)|Sea Shanties]]''.<ref name="Allmusic">Neate, Wilson [http://allmusic.com/album/sea-shanties-r40604/review AllMusic Review]</ref><ref name="houstonpress"/>

Led Zeppelin defined central aspects of the emerging genre, with Page's highly distorted guitar style and singer [[Robert Plant]]'s dramatic, wailing vocals.<ref>Charlton (2003), p. 239</ref> Other bands, with a more consistently heavy, "purely" metal sound, would prove equally important in codifying the genre. The 1970 releases by [[Black Sabbath]] (''[[Black Sabbath (album)|Black Sabbath]]'', which is generally accepted as the first heavy metal album,<ref>Wagner (2010), p. 10</ref> and ''[[Paranoid (album)|Paranoid]]'') and [[Deep Purple]] (''[[Deep Purple in Rock]]'') were crucial in this regard.<ref name=eyaqji/>

[[Birmingham]]'s Black Sabbath had developed a particularly heavy sound in part due to a [[work accident]] in which guitarist [[Tony Iommi]] lost the ends of two fingers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/horrific-accident-created-heavy-metal-tony-iommi/|title=The Horrific Accident That Created Heavy Metal|website=loudwire.com|date=25 February 2022 |publisher=Townsquare Media}}</ref> Unable to play normally, Iommi had to tune his guitar down for easier fretting and rely on power chords with their relatively simple fingering.<ref>di Perna, Alan. "The History of Hard Rock: The 70's". ''Guitar World''. March 2001</ref> The bleak, industrial, [[working class|working-class]] environment of [[Birmingham]], a [[manufacturing]] city full of noisy [[factories]] and [[metalworking]], has itself been credited with influencing Black Sabbath's heavy, chugging, metallic sound – and the sound of heavy metal in general.<ref name="allsop">{{cite news|last1=Allsop|first1=Laura|title=Birmingham, England{{nbsp}}... the unlikely birthplace of heavy metal|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/07/01/birmingham.home.of.metal/index.html|access-date=3 August 2017|agency=CNN|date=1 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="wood">{{cite news|last1=Wood|first1=Rebecca|title=Black Sabbath: 'We hated being a heavy metal band'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-38768573|access-date=3 August 2017|agency=BBC|date=4 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="newyorker">{{cite news|last1=Michaud|first1=Jon|title=Keeping the Sabbath|url=http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/keeping-the-sabbath|access-date=3 August 2017|agency=The New Yorker|date=4 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="birmingham">{{cite news|last1=Bentley|first1=David|title=Midlands rocks! How Birmingham's industrial heritage made it the birthplace of heavy metal|url=http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/whats-on/music/birmingham-birthplace-of-heavy-metal-4031445|access-date=3 August 2017|agency=Birmingham Post|date=4 June 2013}}</ref>

Deep Purple had fluctuated between styles in its early years, but by 1969, vocalist [[Ian Gillan]] and guitarist [[Ritchie Blackmore]] had led the band toward the developing heavy metal style.<ref name="Charlton 2003, p. 241"/> In 1970, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple scored major U.K. chart hits with "[[Paranoid (Black Sabbath song)|Paranoid]]" and "[[Black Night]]", respectively.<ref name="RnR Hall of Fame">{{cite web |url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/black-sabbath|title=Black Sabbath|publisher=[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]|access-date=8 March 2010}}</ref><ref>[[#refBuckley2003|Buckley 2003]], p. 232, "''{{'}}Black Night', a UK #2 hit in November 1970, stole its riff from Ricky Nelson's 'Summertime'.''"</ref> That same year, two other British bands released debut albums in a heavy metal mode: [[Uriah Heep (band)|Uriah Heep]] with ''[[...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble|...{{nbsp}}Very 'Eavy{{nbsp}}... Very 'Umble]]'' and [[UFO (band)|UFO]] with ''[[Unidentified Flying Object (album)|UFO 1]]''. [[Bloodrock]] released their [[Bloodrock (album)|self-titled debut album]], a collection of heavy guitar riffs, gruff style vocals and sadistic and macabre lyrics.<ref>Guarisco, Donald A. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=bloodrock-mw0000176093|pure_url=yes}} "''Bloodrock'' Review"]. [[AllMusic]]. Retrieved 5 February 2012</ref> The influential [[Budgie (band)|Budgie]] brought the new metal sound into a power trio context, creating some of the heaviest music of the time.<ref>{{cite web |author=Henderson, Alex |title=''Budgie'' (review) |website=AllMusic |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=budgie-mw0000208307|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=15 September 2009}}</ref> The occult lyrics and imagery employed by Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep would prove particularly influential; Led Zeppelin also began foregrounding such elements with its [[Led Zeppelin IV|fourth album]], released in 1971.<ref>Fast (2001), pp. 70–71</ref> In 1973, Deep Purple released the song "[[Smoke on the Water]]", whose iconic riff is usually considered as the most recognizable one in "heavy rock" history, as a single of the classic live album ''[[Made in Japan (Deep Purple album)|Made in Japan]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/iconic-guitar-riffs-rock-history-article-1.2745646|title=SEE IT: From 'Kashmir' to 'Layla,' a look at the most iconic guitar riffs in rock history |first=Nicholas|last=Parco |website=Nydailynews.com|date=10 August 2016 |access-date=7 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/read-lars-ulrichs-passionate-deep-purple-rock-hall-induction-20160408|title=Read Lars Ulrich's Deep Purple Rock Hall Induction Speech|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=7 June 2018|date=9 April 2016|archive-date=30 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430193005/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/read-lars-ulrichs-passionate-deep-purple-rock-hall-induction-20160408|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Phil-Lynott Thin Lizzy.jpg|thumb|upright|right|alt=Three members of the band Thin Lizzy are shown onstage. From left to right are a guitarist, bass player, and another electric guitarist. Both electric guitarists have long hair.|[[Brian Robertson (guitarist)|Brian Robertson]], [[Phil Lynott]] and [[Scott Gorham]] of [[Thin Lizzy]] performing during the Bad Reputation Tour, 24 November 1977]]
On the other side of the Atlantic, the trendsetting group was [[Grand Funk Railroad]], who was described as "the most commercially successful American heavy-metal band from 1970 until they disbanded in 1976, [they] established the Seventies success formula: continuous touring."<ref>Pareles and Romanowski (1983), p. 225</ref> Other influential bands identified with metal emerged in the U.S. such as [[Sir Lord Baltimore]] (''[[Kingdom Come (Sir Lord Baltimore album)|Kingdom Come]],'' 1970), [[Blue Öyster Cult]] (''[[Blue Öyster Cult (album)|Blue Öyster Cult]]'', 1972), [[Aerosmith]] (''[[Aerosmith (album)|Aerosmith]]'', 1973) and [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] (''[[Kiss (Kiss album)|Kiss]]'', 1974). Sir Lord Baltimore's 1970 debut album and both [[Humble Pie (band)|Humble Pie]]'s [[As Safe As Yesterday Is|debut]] and [[Humble Pie (album)|self-titled third album]] were among the first albums to be described in print as "heavy metal", with ''[[As Safe As Yesterday Is]]'' referred to by the term "heavy metal" in a 1970 review in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine.<ref>Saunders, Mike. ''[https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/humblepie/albums/album/312133/review/5943267/as_safe_as_yesterday_is Rolling Stone] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112065633/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/humblepie/albums/album/312133/review/5943267/as_safe_as_yesterday_is |date=12 January 2010 }}'' 12 November 1970</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/11/label-love-immediate-records|work=theguardian.com|title=Label of love: Immediate Records|date=11 May 2009 |author=Owen Adams}}</ref><ref name=baltimore/><ref name=humble/> In Germany, [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]] debuted with ''[[Lonesome Crow]]'' in 1972. Blackmore, who had emerged as a virtuoso soloist with Deep Purple's highly influential album ''[[Machine Head (album)|Machine Head]]'' (1972), left the band in 1975 to form [[Rainbow (rock band)|Rainbow]] with [[Ronnie James Dio]], singer and bassist for blues rock band [[Elf (band)|Elf]] and future vocalist for Black Sabbath and heavy metal band [[Dio (band)|Dio]]. Rainbow with Ronnie James Dio would expand on the mystical and [[fantasy]]-based lyrics and themes sometimes found in heavy metal, pioneering both [[power metal]] and [[neoclassical metal]].<ref name="Eduardo Rivadavia">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rainbow-mn0000391933/biography |first=Eduardo |last=Rivadavia |title=Rainbow |website=AllMusic |access-date=10 July 2010}}</ref> These bands also built audiences via constant touring and increasingly elaborate stage shows.<ref name=eyaqji/>

There are arguments about whether these and other early bands truly qualify as "heavy metal" or simply as "hard rock". Those closer to the music's blues roots or placing greater emphasis on melody are now commonly ascribed the latter label. [[AC/DC]], which debuted with ''[[High Voltage (Australian album)|High Voltage]]'' in 1975, is a prime example. The 1983 ''Rolling Stone'' encyclopedia entry begins, "Australian heavy-metal band AC/DC ..."<ref>Pareles and Romanowski (1983), p. 1</ref> Rock historian Clinton Walker wrote, "Calling AC/DC a heavy metal band in the seventies was as inaccurate as it is today.{{nbsp}}... [They] were a rock 'n' roll band that just happened to be heavy enough for metal."<ref>Walker (2001), p. 297</ref> The issue is not only one of shifting definitions, but also a persistent distinction between musical style and audience identification; Ian Christe describes how the band "became the stepping-stone that led huge numbers of hard rock fans into heavy metal perdition".<ref>Christe (2003), p. 54</ref>

In certain cases, there is little debate. After Black Sabbath, the next major example is Britain's [[Judas Priest]], which debuted with ''[[Rocka Rolla]]'' in 1974. In Christe's description,

<blockquote>Black Sabbath's audience was{{nbsp}}... left to scavenge for sounds with similar impact. By the mid-1970s, heavy metal aesthetic could be spotted, like a mythical beast, in the moody bass and complex dual guitars of [[Thin Lizzy]], in the stagecraft of [[Alice Cooper]], in the sizzling guitar and showy vocals of [[Queen (band)|Queen]], and in the thundering medieval questions of Rainbow.{{nbsp}}... Judas Priest arrived to unify and amplify these diverse highlights from hard rock's sonic palette. For the first time, heavy metal became a true genre unto itself.<ref>Christe (2003), pp. 19–20</ref></blockquote>

Though Judas Priest did not have a top 40 album in the United States until 1980, for many it was the definitive post-Sabbath heavy metal band; its twin-guitar attack, featuring rapid tempos and a non-bluesy, more cleanly metallic sound, was a major influence on later acts.<ref name="Walser 1993, p. 6"/> While heavy metal was growing in popularity, most critics were not enamored of the music. Objections were raised to metal's adoption of visual spectacle and other trappings of commercial artifice,<ref name=gnwtey>Walser (1993), p. 11</ref> but the main offense was its perceived musical and lyrical vacuity: reviewing a Black Sabbath album in the early 1970s, [[Robert Christgau]] described it as "dull and decadent{{nbsp}}... dim-witted, amoral exploitation."<ref>Christgau (1981), p. 49</ref>