The great innovators of Metal

[zabu of nΩd]

The purpose of this thread is to compile a list of all of metal's innovators, along with a brief description of what exactly they contributed to the metal.

If you know of a band not yet listed which belongs on the list, post their name and an objective description of their contribution to metal (plus, if desired, the names of an album or two which exemplify this innovation), and I'll add them to the list below.

For controversial nominations, my policy will be to assume good faith initially and keep a nomination on the list until someone can either (A) point out a band that had the same innovation at an earlier time, or (B) make a solid argument that the band's innovation is too trivial to be mentioned. Also, if a faulty or inaccurate description goes up for a band, anyone is welcome to suggest a different one.

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Atheist
* Created the first technical death metal through the use of complex riffs and varying time signatures. (Piece of Time, 1989; Unquestionable Presence, 1991)
* First band to incorporate jazz into death metal.

At the Gates
* Released the first melodic death metal album. (The Red in the Sky is Ours, 1992)

Bathory
* Set the standard for black metal. (Bathory, 1984)
* The first band to use fully-harsh, toneless vocals. (Bathory, 1984)
* Created the first folk metal album (specifically, Viking metal) by adding lyrical themes of Norse mythology and paganism, (Blood Fire Death, 1988) along with a slow-paced, epic musical style. (Hammerheart, 1990)

Black Sabbath
* Set the standard for heavy metal, and have been an influence on almost every metal band, especially in the stoner and doom subgenres for which they laid the foundation. (Black Sabbath, 1970)

Boris
* Incorporated a wide variety of rock (i.e noise, punk, pop and shoegaze) and metal (i.e. sludge and doom) styles into drone doom.

Carcass
* Created goregrind.

Celtic Frost
* Created a style of thrash metal with chaotic, dissonant riffs and occult lyrics which would heavily influence black and death metal. (Morbid Tales, 1984)
* One of the earliest groups to combine classical music with metal. (Into the Pandemonium, 1987)

Devourment
* Created the first slam death metal through the use of gurgling vocals and groove breakdowns. (Molesting the Decapitated, 1999)

Dream Theater
* Created a unique, classic rock influenced style of progressive metal which set a new standard for the genre and evolved it beyond the power and thrash dominated styles of previous bands. (Images and Words, 1992)

Emperor
* Set the standard for symphonic black metal. (In the Nightside Eclipse, 1994)

Exhorder
* Created groove metal, along with Pantera. (Slaughter in the Vatican, 1990; The Law, 1992)

Fates Warning
* Created the first progressive metal, along with Queensrÿche and Watchtower. (The Spectre Within, 1985)

Godflesh
* Created the first industrial metal, along with Ministry. (Godflesh, 1988)

Helloween
* Formulated the standard sound for European power metal. (Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 1, 1987)

Judas Priest
* Created a raw guitar tone and aggressive riffing style which came to characterise power metal, speed metal and thrash metal. (Sad Wings of Destiny, 1976; Sin After Sin, 1977; Stained Class, 1978)

Metallica
* Created the first thrash metal album. (Kill 'Em All, 1983)
* Created a unique blend of raw power, technicality and atmospherics which broadened thrash metal's stylistic bounds. (Ride the Lightning, 1984)

Ministry
* Created the first industrial metal, along with Godflesh. (The Land of Rape and Honey, 1988)

Mysticum
* The first band to regularly incorporate industrial music elements into black metal. (In the Streams of Inferno, 1996)

Napalm Death
* Created the first grindcore album (Scum, 1987).
* One of the first bands to make regular use of blastbeats, along with Siege.

Nocturnus
* First death metal band to fully incorporate keyboards into the style. (The Key, 1990)

Pantera
* Created groove metal, along with Exhorder. (Cowboys from Hell, 1990; Vulgar Display of Power, 1992)

Possessed
* Created the first full-length death metal album. (Seven Churches, 1985)

Queensrÿche
* Created the first progressive metal, along with Fates Warning and Watchtower. (The Warning, 1984; Rage for Order, 1986)

Siege
* One of the first bands to make regular use of blastbeats, along with Napalm Death.

Slayer
* Advanced the boundaries of extremeness in metal, and were a primary influence on death metal. (Hell Awaits, 1985; Reign in Blood, 1986)

Suffocation
* Created the first brutal death metal, setting new standards for rhythm use and technical proficiency in death metal. (Effigy of the Forgotten, 1991)

Sunn O)))
* Drone doom experimenters who created a more dynamic and metal-oriented variety of the style.

Thergothon
* Created the first funeral doom. (Fhtagn nagh Yog-Sothoth, 1991)

Therion
* Created the first symphonic metal albums outside of black metal. (Lepaca Kliffoth, 1995; Theli, 1996)
* Refined symphonic metal into a sound that blurred the borders between classical music and heavy metal. (Vovin, 1998)

Venom
* The first extreme metal band, utilizing a combination of grating, heavily distorted guitar tone, rapid tempos and growling vocals. (Welcome to Hell, 1981)

Watchtower
* Created the first progressive metal, along with Fates Warning and Queensrÿche. (Energetic Disassembly, 1985)

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Innovators closely related to metal:

Deep Purple
* A major influence on speed metal and NWOBHM through their use of galloping rhythms, aggressive vocals, and an adventurous musical tone.

Earth
* Combined elements of drone music and metal to create drone doom. (Extra-Capsular Extraction, 1991)

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Other candidates for the list who need more discussion:

Blue Cheer (proto-metal, 1968)
Candlemass (epic doom metal, 1986)
Cirith Ungol (US-style power metal, 1980)
Dream Death (death-doom, 1987)
Faith No More (alternative/nu/funk metal, 1985)
Iron Butterfly (proto-metal, 1968)
Isis (post-metal, 2002)
Led Zeppelin (proto-metal, 1969)
Legend (epic metal, 1979)
Manilla Road (US-style power metal, 1980)
Mercyful Fate (black metal, 1983)
Meshuggah (tech death - song structure, 1995)
Motörhead (speed metal, 1979)
Mr. Bungle (alternative/nu metal, 1986)
Paradise Lost (death-doom, 1989)
Rainbow (influence on US-style power metal, 1975)

 

[Zephyrus]

Mysticum
* Pioneers of industrial black metal. Approved by Euronymous himself.

Emperor
Set the standard for symphonic black metal with In the Nightside Eclipseand inspired black metal bands to push the genre's boundaries with Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk.

 

[Rabid Headbanger]

Venom
* Created thrash metal.

Opeth
* Caused much boredom. And there was much defacation. (Morningrise, Still Life)

FYP

 

[False Joe]

Trivium - Totally invented thrash as we know it.

 

[cookiecutter]

My specialties:
Suffocation
Innovated brutal and technical death metal
Set a new standard for rythm use and technicality

Devourment
Invented slam death
Forged the use of guttural vocals and grooving breakdowns

 

[The Ozzman]

FYP

I salute you on your attempts at humor

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I guess 50/50 for serious posts thus far isn't so bad.

Mysticum
* Pioneers of industrial black metal. Approved by Euronymous himself.

I took off the "approved by Euronymous" part, hope you don't mind. Now, what exactly is meant by pioneering industrial black metal? Are they just regular black metal with a drum machine included?

Emperor
Set the standard for symphonic black metal with In the Nightside Eclipseand inspired black metal bands to push the genre's boundaries with Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk.

I'll probly change the first line to "created symphonic black metal". The second one is really vague - can you specify what exactly they did to push the genre's boundaries with Anthems? Otherwise, I don't see the point of having that part mentioned.

Suffocation
Innovated brutal and technical death metal
Set a new standard for rythm use and technicality

1st question: did they invent both brutal death and tech death? Wikipedia cites them as inventing "brutal technical death metal", not either individual genre, or both.

2nd question: What do you mean by setting a new standard? What was the new standard?

Devourment
Invented slam death
Forged the use of guttural vocals and grooving breakdowns

Okay, did they invent slam death because of their use of guttural vocals and groove breakdowns? If so, I can make those into one sentence.

 

[Matt]

Led Zeppelin - Folk
Yes, Tull - Prog
Electric Light Orchestra - Symphonic
Deep Purple - Thrash
Black Sabbath - Metal, heavy metal, doom metal, black metal

 

[zabu of nΩd]

ELO? You know it was some monk from the 800s or something who invented symphonic metal.

 

[Matt]

ELO was the first to put into a rock format like that and you know it.

 

[genocide roach]

burzum- made it ok for people to start bedroom black metal projects
death
cynic
i 2nd emperor and bathory!
~gR~

 

[AchrisK]

Iron Maiden

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

lmao @ Burzum.

Also, Suffocation innovated death metal by adding grindcore-infused sounds into the genre before it became cool and trendy. They also utilized more technical interplay than any other death metal band predating them. Frank Mullen's vocal style is far more guttural than Tardy's (less "WYYYAUUGHHHRRHAYURG!" but you get the picture, more "GRUUUUURGH"...) who was the major "cool crazy/insane vocalist" at the time. They also have some slam parts, but Devourment took that to a new level.

 

[Rabid Headbanger]

Iron Maiden

Thers another band from earlier that was also named Iron Maiden...

 

[zabu of nΩd]

ELO was the first to put into a rock format like that and you know it.

Not sure if we should be including non-metal bands on this list or not. Maybe I should create a separate list/section for rock contributors?

Of course, metal bands can draw their influences from any number of rock styles/movements, so it might get rather ridiculous trying to hunt down all of those.

death
cynic

Iron Maiden

Descriptions plz.

I've been trying to think of what exactly Iron Maiden contributed to metal... besides being a fucking good band, I mean. They did incorporate punk influences, but I think Motorhead had that covered a year before. Anybody know what to put for Maiden?

 

[zabu of nΩd]

Suffocation innovated death metal by adding grindcore-infused sounds into the genre before it became cool and trendy.

Isn't that exactly what Napalm Death did, before Suffocation?

 

[thisisaformicatable]

Bathory
* Created a style which would come to define black metal. (Bathory)

Created is a bad word. Also the wikipedia links really lame up the whole effort.

ballad-like musical style. (Blood Fire Death, Hammerheart)

Strange way of describing it...

Emperor
* Set the standard for symphonic black metal. (In the Nightside Eclipse)
* Inspired black metal bands to push the genre's boundaries. (Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk)

"Set the standard", "inspired black metal bands to push the genre's boundaries", these are meaningless hype phrases.

Metallica
* Created thrash metal. (Kill 'Em All)

Very misleading and/or inaccurate.

Opeth
* Combined death metal and progressive rock into a cohesive and unified sound. (Morningrise, Still Life)

in that case I submit:

Ghoul
* Combined death metal and surf rock into a cohesive and unified sound. (Splatterthrash)

Mysticum
* Pioneers of industrial black metal. Approved by Euronymous himself.

Elaborate? I believe Impaled Nazarene were doing this in '93 as well.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

Created is a bad word. Also the wikipedia links really lame up the whole effort.

Strange way of describing it...

Are any of these actually an issue with you, or are you just nitpicking?

"Set the standard", "inspired black metal bands to push the genre's boundaries", these are meaningless hype phrases.

Feel free to submit more objective terms. I already replied to Zeph asking for this.

Very misleading and/or inaccurate.

Once again, you're welcome to say what is misleading/inaccurate about it, as opposed to simply complaining.

Elaborate? I believe Impaled Nazarene were doing this in '93 as well.

I asked Zeph for clarification on that as well. We could always put both bands up.

 

[thisisaformicatable]

Are you going to put Ghoul up there or what?

Are any of these actually an issue with you, or are you just nitpicking?

The first will probably make more sense when you add Venom and you can put it in context. The second, well, what is "ballad-like" supposed to even mean?

Once again, you're welcome to say what is misleading/inaccurate about it, as opposed to simply complaining.

They didn't create, they were the first to extend the already present idea of thrash metal into an entire band and album. So refined established or something, but not created. Also not mentioning the number of bands doing the same thing simultaneously for any of these is misleading.

I asked Zeph for clarification on that as well. We could always put both bands up.

I'd just like some more information on the beginning of industrial black, I've never considered Impaled Nazarene "great innovators" of anything but it seems to me they were there.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

Are you going to put Ghoul up there or what?

If it'll make you happy, sure - I'll put it up. Unfortunately I've never heard Ghoul before, so I can't tell if you're making a serious submission, or if you're just trying to undermine the whole list. Your first post seemed to imply the latter.

The first will probably make more sense when you add Venom and you can put it in context. The second, well, what is "ballad-like" supposed to even mean?

To my understanding, Venom contributed to black metal only inasmuch as they made noisy, chaotic speed metal with Satanic lyrics. If you want, I can put that as their description; though there's probably a better one out there than that.

To your question: ballad = slow, sentimental song. That's the best way I can think of for describing their post-BFD sound, so if you've got a better one, please make it known.

They didn't create, they were the first to extend the already present idea of thrash metal into an entire band and album. So refined established or something, but not created. Also not mentioning the number of bands doing the same thing simultaneously for any of these is misleading.

Then show me a thrash band who came before them, or name some of the co-contributors (and what they contributed). Just because speed metal and hardcore punk existed before Kill 'Em All doesn't mean thrash metal existed before that album.

You have a legitimate point in that they didn't necessarily create the genre. Though, of course, no genre is really created out of nothing. I should probably just start writing "first example of X genre" as opposed to "creator of X genre".

I'd just like some more information on the beginning of industrial black, I've never considered Impaled Nazarene "great innovators" of anything but it seems to me they were there.

Yeah, I don't know shit about industrial black metal, so I'll go ahead and take your word for it. I'll get your submissions up in a bit.