Now that there has been some posts back to the really old stuff, I have a few things I's like to add which I believe are fundamental to heavy metal, according to my early years listening in the late 60's & 70's.
Hendrix (1967) uped the "heavy" but I recall no use of the word "metal". However Cream was extremely heavy with their live jams possibly earlier than Jimi. I still cant pinpoint any truely metal elements and consider the two bands hardrock or heavy blues
Early Zeppelin stepped into a new relmn of heavy guitar powered song writting, much different from Hendrix or Cream, with LZ I & LZ II, both released in 1969. However to me the first LZ song less like heavy blues and closest to the metal sound would be Immigrant Song from III (Oct 1970). Some proof of this might be the younger metal heads I hung out with in the 80's were most impressed with Zep by "The Immigrant Song". For whatever thats worth. As for the folk metal thing, I always felt Pages folk works were simply English style folk songs with a rock twist.
That brings me to Black Sabbath - self titled first release - Feb 1970 (predates Led Zeppelin III - Oct 1970). Now I havent heard "Black Sabbath" in decades but it seems to me riff wise it was still more of the single note blues based stuff like LZ I & II were. Black Sabbath - Paranoid - released Sept 1970 might be a different story. Still there is no denying the darkness of the Sabbath sound on either album.
Now what pisses me off is... Two bands that are always over looked. Yea they werent as dark as Sabbath, nor did they stick to the same vein as closely but they surely must have had some influence on the early honest "Heavy Metal" bands.
Atomic Rooster - second album - Death Walks Behind You - recorded sometime in 1970 released sometime in 1971. The song "Death Walks Behind You" could be the first "Death Metal" lyrics at least. The music was heavy but different from Zep as well as Sabbath and I doubt the younger crowd would appreaciate much of it but I still listen from time to time. Just for shits and giggles heres the lyrics.
Death Walks Behind You
(John DuCann/Vincent Crane)
Death Walks Behind You,... ect.....
Lock The Door,Switch The Light.
You'll Be So Afraid Tonight.
Hide Away From The Bad,
Count The Nine Lives That You Had.
Start To Scream,Shout For Help,
There Is No One By Your Side.
To Forget What Is Done,
Seems So Hard To Carry On.
Luck Is False,That It's Near,
Bring Yourself To Understand,
It's Your Fate,Or What's Cast,
Point a Finger At Yourself.
Death Walks Behind You,... ect...
Death Walks Behind You is basically a two riff song one is very metalish and dark the other is almost upbeat and more hardrock
heres another
Devil's Answer
(John Cann)
People are looking but they don't know what to do
It's the time of the season for the people like you
Come back tomorrow, show the scars on your face
It's a clue to the answer we all chase
Three, five and seven lift the heaviest load
reach the top of the heaven that's fallen below
Devil may care but you wish for the best
Can't you see there's an answer that lies there
Come all you sinners and keep with the time
can we see all the faces that have fallen behind
Don't make the reason it's a secret for you
There's a clue to the answer we all know
There's no clue to the answer we all know
People are looking but they don't know what to do
It's the time of the season for the people like you
Come back tomorrow, show the scars on your face
It's a clue to the answer we all chase
It's a clue to the answer we all chase
In my opinion there are a few great songs with the "metal sound" on DWBY and I advise any one that can stomach "old hardrock" to check these songs out regardless of method used in finding them (subtle hint)
Death Walks Behind You (check out the dark intro)
Sleeping for Years (wild noisy guitar intro, excellent groove, fantastic drum beat)
Gershatzer (instrumental of great interest for keyboardists and drummers)
Seven Streets (check out the haunting keyboard into, great riff, most excellent drumming but falls apart at the vocals somehow and becomes 60's psyodelic but then has a great jam)
Tommorow Night (was a hardrock pop hit in England) cool song but probably not for metal heads
This is really the only Atomic Rooster album I like, not crazy about other stuff I have heard. They changed their style and members a few times and faded away, should have stayed the path like Sabbath did.
Uriah Heep ! debut - Very 'eavy Very 'umble - released June 1970
Gypsy - very simple basic "metal" riff that got dragged out to insanity but really heavy in its day (only the curious need check this song out, its not that great today but we loved it back then)
Bird of Prey - this one I recommend, first use of their monkish type chants, heavy riffs, high vocal screams, syncropated stop and go, very metalish
second release - Salisbury - Feb 1971 - the title track is a pretty interesting prog rocker but forget that for this "metal" topic, cant remember other songs at this time
third release - Look At Yourself - Oct. 1971 -
Title track - Look At Yourself... if headbangers cant bang their head to that somethings wrong with mine. I say its the epitimy of early "metal pedals" more haunting harmonized monk choir backup vocals
Shadows of Grief - haunting and heavy through and through, primarily one riff, these guys could drag things out but they were excellent at taking one riff to all extreme angles. This is the epitimy of their use of monk chants, check out around 4:20 into the song. Very dark, dreary, basic harmonic minor abuse. The ending is quite "epic" too. Both these songs are pretty fast and may be first hints of "speed metal" - know that these songs predate Deep Purples Machine Head and the song "Highway Star" - recorded in Dec. 71 and released May '72. Uriah Heep could also possibly be the first hint of "Power Metal". They were not dark lyrically but more of the positive "we will over come the evil" kind of thing like modern power metal.
Uriah Heep - somehow musicly, with the use of power chord pedals and occasional duel harmonized guitar themes always made me think the Iron Maiden boys may have listened to alot of Heep when they were young, but I have never read or heard anything that states this. Still I always made a slight connection musicly not lyrically between the two bands.
Sorry for the book guys and especially the "topic master" but I believe these two bands and works mentioned are very important in the development of what became "heavy metal" but all everyone ever talks about is Sabbath this and Sabbath that but these two bands ran parallel in the time frame and used other sounds that also became prominent in heavy metal. In ways they were also heavier than Deep Purple. Maybe not as good of song writters/instrumentalists but some pretty heavy dudes with ideas of thier own.
In their day these were just very different hardrock bands from Hendrix, Zep and Purple but today I call these bands : premetal
Again Im sorry for the taxing long read but considering the pages of "black metal" arguement I think I did a good job...
Hendrix (1967) uped the "heavy" but I recall no use of the word "metal". However Cream was extremely heavy with their live jams possibly earlier than Jimi. I still cant pinpoint any truely metal elements and consider the two bands hardrock or heavy blues
Early Zeppelin stepped into a new relmn of heavy guitar powered song writting, much different from Hendrix or Cream, with LZ I & LZ II, both released in 1969. However to me the first LZ song less like heavy blues and closest to the metal sound would be Immigrant Song from III (Oct 1970). Some proof of this might be the younger metal heads I hung out with in the 80's were most impressed with Zep by "The Immigrant Song". For whatever thats worth. As for the folk metal thing, I always felt Pages folk works were simply English style folk songs with a rock twist.
That brings me to Black Sabbath - self titled first release - Feb 1970 (predates Led Zeppelin III - Oct 1970). Now I havent heard "Black Sabbath" in decades but it seems to me riff wise it was still more of the single note blues based stuff like LZ I & II were. Black Sabbath - Paranoid - released Sept 1970 might be a different story. Still there is no denying the darkness of the Sabbath sound on either album.
Now what pisses me off is... Two bands that are always over looked. Yea they werent as dark as Sabbath, nor did they stick to the same vein as closely but they surely must have had some influence on the early honest "Heavy Metal" bands.
Atomic Rooster - second album - Death Walks Behind You - recorded sometime in 1970 released sometime in 1971. The song "Death Walks Behind You" could be the first "Death Metal" lyrics at least. The music was heavy but different from Zep as well as Sabbath and I doubt the younger crowd would appreaciate much of it but I still listen from time to time. Just for shits and giggles heres the lyrics.
Death Walks Behind You
(John DuCann/Vincent Crane)
Death Walks Behind You,... ect.....
Lock The Door,Switch The Light.
You'll Be So Afraid Tonight.
Hide Away From The Bad,
Count The Nine Lives That You Had.
Start To Scream,Shout For Help,
There Is No One By Your Side.
To Forget What Is Done,
Seems So Hard To Carry On.
Luck Is False,That It's Near,
Bring Yourself To Understand,
It's Your Fate,Or What's Cast,
Point a Finger At Yourself.
Death Walks Behind You,... ect...
Death Walks Behind You is basically a two riff song one is very metalish and dark the other is almost upbeat and more hardrock
heres another
Devil's Answer
(John Cann)
People are looking but they don't know what to do
It's the time of the season for the people like you
Come back tomorrow, show the scars on your face
It's a clue to the answer we all chase
Three, five and seven lift the heaviest load
reach the top of the heaven that's fallen below
Devil may care but you wish for the best
Can't you see there's an answer that lies there
Come all you sinners and keep with the time
can we see all the faces that have fallen behind
Don't make the reason it's a secret for you
There's a clue to the answer we all know
There's no clue to the answer we all know
People are looking but they don't know what to do
It's the time of the season for the people like you
Come back tomorrow, show the scars on your face
It's a clue to the answer we all chase
It's a clue to the answer we all chase
In my opinion there are a few great songs with the "metal sound" on DWBY and I advise any one that can stomach "old hardrock" to check these songs out regardless of method used in finding them (subtle hint)
Death Walks Behind You (check out the dark intro)
Sleeping for Years (wild noisy guitar intro, excellent groove, fantastic drum beat)
Gershatzer (instrumental of great interest for keyboardists and drummers)
Seven Streets (check out the haunting keyboard into, great riff, most excellent drumming but falls apart at the vocals somehow and becomes 60's psyodelic but then has a great jam)
Tommorow Night (was a hardrock pop hit in England) cool song but probably not for metal heads
This is really the only Atomic Rooster album I like, not crazy about other stuff I have heard. They changed their style and members a few times and faded away, should have stayed the path like Sabbath did.
Uriah Heep ! debut - Very 'eavy Very 'umble - released June 1970
Gypsy - very simple basic "metal" riff that got dragged out to insanity but really heavy in its day (only the curious need check this song out, its not that great today but we loved it back then)
Bird of Prey - this one I recommend, first use of their monkish type chants, heavy riffs, high vocal screams, syncropated stop and go, very metalish
second release - Salisbury - Feb 1971 - the title track is a pretty interesting prog rocker but forget that for this "metal" topic, cant remember other songs at this time
third release - Look At Yourself - Oct. 1971 -
Title track - Look At Yourself... if headbangers cant bang their head to that somethings wrong with mine. I say its the epitimy of early "metal pedals" more haunting harmonized monk choir backup vocals
Shadows of Grief - haunting and heavy through and through, primarily one riff, these guys could drag things out but they were excellent at taking one riff to all extreme angles. This is the epitimy of their use of monk chants, check out around 4:20 into the song. Very dark, dreary, basic harmonic minor abuse. The ending is quite "epic" too. Both these songs are pretty fast and may be first hints of "speed metal" - know that these songs predate Deep Purples Machine Head and the song "Highway Star" - recorded in Dec. 71 and released May '72. Uriah Heep could also possibly be the first hint of "Power Metal". They were not dark lyrically but more of the positive "we will over come the evil" kind of thing like modern power metal.
Uriah Heep - somehow musicly, with the use of power chord pedals and occasional duel harmonized guitar themes always made me think the Iron Maiden boys may have listened to alot of Heep when they were young, but I have never read or heard anything that states this. Still I always made a slight connection musicly not lyrically between the two bands.
Sorry for the book guys and especially the "topic master" but I believe these two bands and works mentioned are very important in the development of what became "heavy metal" but all everyone ever talks about is Sabbath this and Sabbath that but these two bands ran parallel in the time frame and used other sounds that also became prominent in heavy metal. In ways they were also heavier than Deep Purple. Maybe not as good of song writters/instrumentalists but some pretty heavy dudes with ideas of thier own.
In their day these were just very different hardrock bands from Hendrix, Zep and Purple but today I call these bands : premetal
Again Im sorry for the taxing long read but considering the pages of "black metal" arguement I think I did a good job...
I bet my previous post throughs a loop into the Deep Purple thing...... 
