NicDots wrote:I've taken several music history courses in college thus far, and all the text books, when it comes to 'heavy metal' they all state that it was Black Sabbath that pretty much started the movement. I agree with them. Most metal bands today, if you ask who they think started it all, they would say Sabbath. That's what I myself base my opinion on, what the bands today think.
But I suppose at the end of the day, to go back and forth over who started what, it can get to the point where we are discussing whether or not it was Ogg the caveman or Thogg the caveman who started music way back when. 'Tis a bit silly really.
It's not silly, it's life and death important, I tell ya!
Everyone says it's Sabbath because, like I said, Sabbath sounds more like modern metal than a lot of the others. The thing is, Sabbath started out as a blues band like the Yardbirds and gradually became the Sabbath we know. They were influence to be "heavy" by other artist who were heavier than them in the beginning.
The point I am trying to make is that Hendrix changed the face of rock music with the way he played. Zmack says Hendrix sucked "compared to Randy" and I am just trying to explain the significance of players like Hendrix.
Too many people try to boil everything down when it is actually quite complex.
My own opinion, based on studying musicology and being a listener of music, is that Jimi Hendrix contributed to the evolution of the lead guitar style that flourished in heavy metal throught the late 60's to the present day and Bl;ack Sabbath evolved the gothic aspect of metal .
Having a break from online activity for a while to concentrate on music. Please email if you need to get in touch. Matt
Matthew wrote:My own opinion, based on studying musicology and being a listener of music, is that Jimi Hendrix contributed to the evolution of the lead guitar style that flourished in heavy metal throught the late 60's to the present day and Bl;ack Sabbath evolved the gothic aspect of metal .
And Judas Priest added the all important Leather and Studs!!!
in my opinion theres no way you can pin down the birth of metal to one band, it was a gradual evolution thanks to several bands. However i do think that Black Sabbath can be marked as the defining moment that metal was given an individual form that gave it more differentiation from other genres.
what i mean is that previous to sabbath there were bands that were metal but they were also normaly about 50% blues. Sabbs changed that.
i know sabbath began as a blues band and that there is plenty of blues in their material. But they produced a large body of work that was almost un-arguably pure metal (?)
specificaly the song black sabbath is the turining point for me. that is the oldest song i know of that i would describe as straight up metal.
Matthew wrote:My own opinion, based on studying musicology and being a listener of music, is that Jimi Hendrix contributed to the evolution of the lead guitar style that flourished in heavy metal throught the late 60's to the present day
+1
hendrix was the first player i know of to really combine playing lead and rythm into one style. previous to him they were disticntly different styles, but he took the guitar full on and combined smoking riffs with soulfull melodic lines, much the same way randy did years later. Quite simply he did it all.
I would say that is his greatest contribution to guitar, he broke the mould.
rice_pudding wrote:in my opinion theres no way you can pin down the birth of metal to one band, it was a gradual evolution thanks to several bands. However i do think that Black Sabbath can be marked as the defining moment that metal was given an individual form that gave it more differentiation from other genres.
what i mean is that previous to sabbath there were bands that were metal but they were also normaly about 50% blues. Sabbs changed that.
i know sabbath began as a blues band and that there is plenty of blues in their material. But they produced a large body of work that was almost un-arguably pure metal (?)
specificaly the song black sabbath is the turining point for me. that is the oldest song i know of that i would describe as straight up metal.
I agree that Sabbath had a BIG part in it, but when a band like Iron Maiden (who is the epitome of metal) cite bands like Deep Purple as a HUGE influence over bands like Sabbath, I just gotta say Sabbath needs to be in their place as a part of the genesis of the genre, not the whole shebang as suggested by zmack.
I didn't like Hendrix for a long time, and there is still a lot of his work I don't care for. However, he shows flashes of brilliance in a lot of his playing. I'd suggest Smash Hits should be in everyone's CD collection or on their Ipod.
Clapton also took a while to grow on me. His straight blues stuff is amazing, although a lot of his "pop" stuff isn't my cup of tea. Me and Mr. Johnson is a must have as is The Cream of Eric Clapton and Blues.
As for Ed Van Halen, Darin, the first two VH records are essential listening for guitar players. If for no other reason than to understand how guitar playing morphed from Hendrix to the modern sound.
