Black Sabbath: the Fathers of the Heavy Metal Genre

Heavy Metal started in Birmingham, United Kingdom in the late 60’s, early 70’s by a band known as Black Sabbath. The members of the band were industrial workers working in factories predominantly producing metal - mostly steel along with other pioneers of the Metal genre.

Shortly after Black Sabbath hit the scene Judas Priest were taking Heavy Metal to new heights. To put it simply making Heavy Metal more of what it is titled as. In 1974-75 they recorded their first release titled “Rocka Rolla” and were produced by Black Sabbath’s Producer Rodger Bain. However this release was not successful and flopped. Their second release sad wings of destiny done well in terms of sales. Initially it didn’t due to the rise of Punk Rock. But it started to sell after a short while. Much of early Metal was inspired by Blues in the way of how the form of the music is structured. It follows a 12 bar structure with guitar riffs and solos which are reminiscent of the Blues, using Pentatonic scales as the skeleton of the music.

The idea of Metal and its sound came about when Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath frontman) went to the cinema one day to watch a horror movie. This gave him the idea of taking horror movies and combining them with music. This was an influence that spawned the idea of Heavy Metal along with Black Sabbath’s love for Blues and British rock bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Animals. This is a quote about the pioneers of Heavy Metal, “Black Sabbath mirrored that dead-end world in dark, ominous music that buried the flower-power era beneath mountainous guitar riffs and cinder-block drum beats. It was a new sound - heavy, bleak and scorched with horror-film lyrics.”

Guitar legend, Jimmy Hendrix, was also an influence on this style of music with lengthy, licky and distorted screaming guitar solos. Cream and Eric Clapton’s solos were an influence on Tony Iommi, the guitarist of Black Sabbath. Heavy Metal used heavy loud drums with grooves as seen in the Blues. However Blues has a more shuffle feel.

Heavy Metal when it first came about used grooves from the Blues but with faster tempos and a straighter feel as opposed to a shuffle feel. In 1978, another band came about known as Judas Priest. This was a game changer for Metal’s style, fashion and culture. Leather and studs became a common theme from there on forward in Heavy Metal and became very popular in the 1980’s with many bands such as Motley Crue, W.A.S.P and Skid Row. Metal became an identity as well as a genre of Music. At this time Metal became bigger and more elaborate in fashion, identity and sound.

Another genre which emerged in the 1980’s was known as Thrash Metal which is a high tempo, relentless subgenre. One of the pioneers of this subgenre was Metallica. When they first started playing shows it alienated everyone. People would even throw chairs at them. But people gradually came around to liking them, because at the time they were regarded as socially unacceptable. Their music was so defying of the norm that it could even be considered a political statement. Many angry teenagers and young people were attracted to this kind of sound. It was fresh, unique and face melting.

This is a quote about James Hetfield. “Most of his songs and much of his rage is directed at an upbringing where rules were forced on him through his parents' devout belief in the 'culty' Christian Science faith. The wrenching effect of his parents' separation when he was 10 years old and their deaths from illness has all added to the need for an outlet for his frustration and pain.”

The well known band known as Megadeth was formed when Dave Mustaine was kicked out of Metallica. Dave Mustaine’s lyrics are very political. This can be heard in a couple of songs called “Peace Sells” and “Holy Wars”. These songs speak out against war and due to the aggressive nature of the sound of Thrash Metal it approaches the aggressive topic with aggression. This all adds to the aggressive nature of the subgenre.

Megadeth played a show in Northern Ireland at the Antrim Forum on May 11 1988 however, were completely unaware of what was happening politically at the time. Megadeth opened up with a cover song from The Sex Pistols called Anarchy in the UK. Probably the worst choice of songs, especially to open up with knowing the circumstances of Northern Ireland’s people wanting to become independent from the UK.

A group known as the IRA was a paramilitary organization fighting to unite ireland as one and be completely independent and free from British rule. Dave Mustaine’s lyrics appeared to cause a feud within the crowd but he had no idea why. It later caused the band to have to be escorted under police supervision in a bulletproof bus. Dave’s lyrics appeared to have caused a lot of anger. Another issue that was happening was between the Catholics and Protestants at that time. The lyrics from Anarchy in the UK upset the crowd because the lyrics go against their religious beliefs and this sparked the feud in the crowd.

Metal became more anti establishment from then on forwards. Many Metal fans who represent rebellion against the system and liberation against social norms. After Thrash was born, it gave birth to Death Metal. Over the years Metal has spread across the globe becoming a form of protest and self expression. To express their views against their Governments and expectations put on them in their societies; to express one’s thoughts without being censored. Particularly in non mainstream sub genres.

This is a quote about Black Sabbath

“Black Sabbath’s continued existence was, in its own right, a political statement: a “Fuck you!” to the higher-class, industrial gatekeepers, defying all obstacles to redefine music forever.”

In 2019 more female musicians are creating Metal music and expressing their political views. This is a quote discussing women and politics in Metal.

Fast-forward to 2019 and the genre that Sabbath invented is awash with unrest. Not of metalheads raging against the machine, but now squabbling amongst themselves. The year began with the women of our subculture’s underground – most notably Ithaca’s Djamila Azzouz and Svalbard’s Serena Cherry – voicing discontent. They expressed that the male-dominated metal scene was implicitly sexist, with female musicians not having the same opportunities as their equally talented male counterparts. Astoundingly, some men responded to these enlightening perspectives with the demand to “keep politics out of metal”.

In the 1970’s recording was pretty much analog. Tape machines were still being used at the time. People consumed music through tape. In 1979 the first portable cassette player came out. This was known as the Sony Walkman. This was the next step in revolutionising music. Now people could listen to their tapes wherever they are.