origin of the term Heavy Metal

[4speedmetal]

This might be poking a stick at a hornets nest, but, here goes anyway.

I thought I remember seeing a written review of a Deep Purple album that slammed them for playing crap that sounded like grinding on heavy metal.

I personally don't know, but want to see what you guys think.

 

[sixxswine]

Steppenwolf....

 

[poundingmetal74]

According to my sources (and hence own knowledge) Sixx is correct. Although I have heard it was used before then. Can't remember by whom.

 

[kuier]

Iron Butterfly's debut album 'Heavy' from 1968 .. the 'metal' came from Steppenwolf's song.

 

[Orfanos]

The term "heavy metal" is included in the lyrics of the song "Born to Be Wild", by Steppenwolf.

I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under

etc...

 

[Wyvern]

This is from Wikipedia (if you believe everything in it).

The origin of the term heavy metal in a musical context is uncertain. The phrase has been used for centuries in chemistry and metallurgy. An early use of the term in modern popular culture was by countercultural writer William S. Burroughs. His 1962 novel The Soft Machine includes a character known as "Uranian Willy, the Heavy Metal Kid." Burroughs's next novel, Nova Express (1964), develops the theme, using heavy metal as a metaphor for addictive drugs: "With their diseases and orgasm drugs and their sexless parasite life forms—Heavy Metal People of Uranus wrapped in cool blue mist of vaporized bank notes—And The Insect People of Minraud with metal music."[51]

Metal historian Ian Christe describes what the components of the term mean in "hippiespeak": "heavy" is roughly synonymous with "potent" or "profound," and "metal" designates a certain type of mood, grinding and weighted as with metal.[52] The word "heavy" in this sense was a basic element of beatnik and later countercultural slang, and references to "heavy music"—typically slower, more amplified variations of standard pop fare—were already common by the mid-1960s. Iron Butterfly's debut album, released in early 1968, was titled Heavy. The first recorded use of heavy metal is a reference to a motorcycle in the Steppenwolf song "Born to Be Wild," also released that year:[53] "I like smoke and lightning/Heavy metal thunder/Racin' with the wind/And the feelin' that I'm under." A late, and disputed, claim about the source of the term was made by "Chas" Chandler, former manager of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In a 1995 interview on the PBS program Rock and Roll, he asserted that heavy metal "was a term originated in a New York Times article reviewing a Jimi Hendrix performance," in which the author likened the event to "listening to heavy metal falling from the sky." A source for Chandler's claim has never been found.

The first documented uses of the phrase to describe a type of rock music are from reviews by critic Mike Saunders. In the November 12, 1970, issue of Rolling Stone, he commented on an album put out the previous year by the British band Humble Pie: "Safe As Yesterday Is, their first American release, proved that Humble Pie could be boring in lots of different ways. Here they were a noisy, unmelodic, heavy metal-leaden shit-rock band with the loud and noisy parts beyond doubt. There were a couple of nice songs...and one monumental pile of refuse." He described the band's latest, self-titled release as "more of the same 27th-rate heavy metal crap."[54] In a review of Sir Lord Baltimore's Kingdom Come in the May 1971 Creem, Saunders wrote, "Sir Lord Baltimore seems to have down pat most all the best heavy metal tricks in the book."[55] Creem critic Lester Bangs is credited with popularizing the term via his early 1970s essays on bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.[56] Through the decade, heavy metal was used by certain critics as a virtually automatic putdown. In 1979, lead New York Times popular music critic John Rockwell described what he called "heavy-metal rock" as "brutally aggressive music played mostly for minds clouded by drugs,"[57] and, in a different article, as "a crude exaggeration of rock basics that appeals to white teenagers."[58]

The terms "heavy metal" and "hard rock" have often been used interchangeably, particularly in discussing bands of the 1970s, a period when the terms were largely synonymous.[59] For example, the 1983 Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll includes this passage: "known for its aggressive blues-based hard-rock style, Aerosmith was the top American heavy-metal band of the mid-Seventies."[60] Few would now characterize Aerosmith's classic sound, with its clear links to traditional rock and roll, as "heavy metal."

The whole article can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music

 

[razoredge]

Ok, your talking about the phrase itself, I think what we really want to know is when it began being used as a genre name.

I brought this from a different topic that warped into this question, so its going to sound like random babble, but some of it addresses things that were mentioned there :

I believe Hendrix in a sense predated Steppenwolf and almost prophetized heavy metal with this piece of lyric. "Anger he smiles, standing in shiney metallic purple armour" Granted he was not talking about music, nor was John Kay but that little phrase nearly nails metal to a tee and was made by none other than the man that stood up against the mountain and chopped it down with the edge of his hand. Hendrixs symbolism can be down right spooky to me at times.

Yes Inaggodda was an improtant piece of early heavy music, in a sence so was segments of JCS, due to some spooky classical elements. From a commercial aspect Frees song, Alright Now was an important ground breaker or eye opener, as was Radar Love, Hocus Pocus, American Woman, Mississippi Queen, Funk 49, Tales of Brave Ulysses, Crossroads. Granted Im a bit off base as many were clearly hardrock but had the heavy sound that through radio reached a wide audience. Again on Hendrix, no denying the impact of Purple Haze, Crosstown Traffic, Fire and well nearly the entire album. This was a new heavy sound comming our way, the days of the Mamas and Papas was numbered.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think 4 speed is right it was origional penned as a musically discriptive sound by some critic talking about some heavy band.

Still I believe without a full archives of 70's music mags to research that it can be honestly determined when heavy metal became the descriptive term of the genre. Further complicated for me, living in America because I have little doubt that is was first applied in England and the two countries had different magazines, media sources and musical cultures. What started there caught on here, years later.

It earks the hell out of me though because it seems I should know the answer but.... damn, that was a long time ago.

 

[razoredge]

I read all that a few years back, Wyv, and it to is very indecisive, I dont doubt wiki too much, the process is pretty good and there has been years now for most of the bullshit to be questioned and edited

 

[Wyvern]

I read all that a few years back, Wyv, and it to is very indecisive, I dont doubt wiki too much, the process is pretty good and there has been years now for most of the bullshit to be questioned and edited

I agree, I use Wikipedia a lot, but since anyone can post data in the site (hell I have done it myself) I put the disclaimer to avoid being sued
*********************************************************

As for when the term began to be used for the music, I'm not sure. I mean let's say we're back in '72 and somebody as Ian Gillan what the hell DP plays. I don't know the answer then, but I recall an interview with Gillan some years ago and he said that if anyone calls him a heavy metal singer he kill himself .
Also I have a Motorhead concert with interviews video ("Everything Louder Than Everything Else"), and Philty Animal Taylor (the drummer at the time) when interviewed he said that all those tags applied to Motorhead were nonsense that they just play rock'n'roll.

Rob Halford is called the Metal God, but actually ther songs "Metal Gods" came out in 1980, so I doubt he was called that back in 1978 when 'Exciter' came out and the song is clearly heavy metal stuff IMO.

This next quote came from the liner notes of BOC "Tyranny And Mutation" (1973) booklet:

The metallic concept was as much a marketing decision as an artistic one, CBS product manager Murray Krugman was a co-prodcuer of the band along with (sandy) Pearlman

(bold is mine), of course this was written for the reissues, will the reviewer would have used the same words back in the day?
I wonder if anyone from BOC were interviewed in 1973, will they had say: we play heavy metal? 'Heavy Metal: the Black and the Silver' appears in 1981 in "Fire Of Unknown Origin" (produced by Martin Birch who at the time was also producing Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden). We didn't think of ourselves as a pop band at all said Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser at the time that '(don't fear) The Reaper' come on radio as a hit (1976). What really was in BOC members mind during those early years regarding the music they played?

Now if we return to the aforementioned Wikipedia article we can extract this part in particular:

The first documented uses of the phrase to describe a type of rock music are from reviews by critic Mike Saunders. In the November 12, 1970, issue of Rolling Stone, he commented on an album put out the previous year by the British band Humble Pie: "Safe As Yesterday Is, their first American release, proved that Humble Pie could be boring in lots of different ways. Here they were a noisy, unmelodic, heavy metal-leaden shit-rock band with the loud and noisy parts beyond doubt. There were a couple of nice songs...and one monumental pile of refuse." He described the band's latest, self-titled release as "more of the same 27th-rate heavy metal crap."[

(the bold is mine)

Will that be the start of the moniker? See that it is used in a derogative sense too.

Anyone today will call Black Sabbath a metal band. What will the members will have answered in 1970, if somebody ask what kind of music do you play?

I think the problem is like I said in a previous post historical revisionism. Now we used the term metal broad and freely, but what if we ask somone in 1980, what if we ask someone in 1970?

I born when The Beatles were at their peak, I was 4 when "Black Sabbath" came out. Those of you older than me who were living in countries with more access to the music and literature of the time, can you recall when heavy metal, or metal was commonly used to talk about a band's music?

 

[razoredge]

"more of the same 27th-rate heavy metal crap." This implies by saying "more of the same" that the term had been in use for awhile.

Rolling Stone was always a bit of a joke. In the early 70's their biggest concern was if the Beatles would get back together and write "more of the same" old bullshit... lol always behind the times that magazine

 

[poundingmetal74]

I agree, I use Wikipedia a lot, but since anyone can post data in the site (hell I have done it myself)

The thing is though, It's so well policed by now and there are so many experts checking it over that it's gradually becoming more academic. Would I trust it over a peer reviewed article? No. but it's well on it's way.

 

[4speedmetal]

Will that be the start of the moniker? See that it is used in a derogative sense too.

Anyone today will call Black Sabbath a metal band. What will the members will have answered in 1970, if somebody ask what kind of music do you play?

I think the problem is like I said in a previous post historical revisionism. Now we used the term metal broad and freely, but what if we ask somone in 1980, what if we ask someone in 1970?

I born when The Beatles were at their peak, I was 4 when "Black Sabbath" came out. Those of you older than me who were living in countries with more access to the music and literature of the time, can you recall when heavy metal, or metal was commonly used to talk about a band's music?

Back in the 70's Heavy Metal was definitely a derogative term. I still remember wanting to buy a Kiss album, but my older bros put them down as that shity heavy metal stuff. That's what was said to me back then. Being 10 years younger, they had a lot of control over me. Not a bad thing, cuz when older kids tryed to beat me up, I'd tell them who my bros were and the left me alone.

I digress. Maybe sometime during the late 70's the hard rockers like Priest and Sabbath took this derogatory term and made it their own. Kind of like the Punk rockers did around the same time. It's nailing it down to a person or date that is the hard part.

Also, I saw an interview with John Kay and he just came out and said he'd love to take credit for "heavy metal", but it was just a reference to his Harley Davidson.

 

[4speedmetal]

Didn't they drag that out for years? Like they had some vested intrest in it.

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

Steppenwolf....

I thought I already said this yesterday on a different Old school Thread...

According to my sources (and hence own knowledge) Sixx is correct. Although I have heard it was used before then. Can't remember by whom.

William S. Burroughs unless you mean in chemistry itself... also I said this yesterday in a different thread..

This is from Wikipedia (if you believe everything in it).



The whole article can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music

Me said Burroughs already...

I digress. Maybe sometime during the late 70's the hard rockers like Priest and Sabbath took this derogatory term and made it their own. .

Definetly not the late 70's... Sabbath imo was termed HM earlier then that... Led Zep/Page said they themselves were playing "Heavy" rock...

As for John Kaye and Born to Be Wild.. considering the song was in the movie Easy Rider.. it goes without saying that it's about a motorcycle but the phrase "Heavy Metal Thunder" does describe our music to a T imo... and was prophetic...

 

[razoredge]

This is from Wikipedia (if you believe everything in it).



The whole article can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music

I read through the first 2/3rds of this again last night, like up through the 80's. Pretty interesting read but I will say there are many things in there that I dont agree with and seem off base. Just little things here and there that are questionable, alot appears to be personal interpretations by various critics and we all know about critics.

There are a few bands mentioned there in the early years that I never heard, one day I may try to find some of that music.

 

[desert_demon]

It's interesting to note that the term Heavy Metal was used as a derogatory term by those early Rolling Stone writers. So for your music to be described as Heavy Metal was an insult back then. Go figure.

 

[Wyvern]

I thought I already said this yesterday on a different Old school Thread...

William S. Burroughs unless you mean in chemistry itself... also I said this yesterday in a different thread..

Me said Burroughs already...

Chill out, will ya? Not everyone post and/or read all threads (except me because is my job here). We are not in a recognition competition, not need to be childish, please.
I know that this is running in two different threads. I may merge the posts if this continues, but for the time being this is the official thread for the subject.

 

[SentinelSlain]

It's interesting to note that the term Heavy Metal was used as a derogatory term by those early Rolling Stone writers. So for your music to be described as Heavy Metal was an insult back then. Go figure.

Rolling Stone is and appears to always have been an absolute disgrace of a publication and incredibly expensive toilet roll.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Rolling Stone is and appears to always have been an absolute disgrace of a publication and incredibly expensive toilet roll.

I wouldn't wipe my ass with it unless the other option was along the lines of sandpaper or a prickly-pear cactus.

I don't think you can pin down an exact moment that the term "heavy metal" became the name for the genre. History says it took form over time, and was popularized by the pop media as a derogatory term throughout the 70s. Like the rebellious music of that era, the young fans took pride in heavy metal as a derogatory term and loved the fact that our previous generation just didn't get it.

Once the press (Rolling Stone included) picked up on that connection they began to paint the term as a good thing, and advertised to a whole new audience.