Before You Cast Your Vote, Read This.
ryanrimmel I see people voting for Black Sabbath because they were the first, and people voting for Deep Purple because they were fast, you guys are on the right track. The people voting for METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN, and JUDAS PRIEST should listen. Those bands came well after the creation of Heavy Metal, this list is to find the founders, the early hard rock bands from the 60s that popularized heavy riff playing and dark lyrics.~I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO WATCH THIS
-Watch this documentary -- Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
- You do not have to watch the entire thing, although a quick Google search will allow you to watch the entire 90 minute film. If you do not watch the entire documentary, I encourage you to watch the "Origins" segment. You can easily find it on YouTube. This segment goes back to the 60s exploring the heaviest bands of the time, and they interview famous musicians about their thoughts on the founders of Metal. These musicians include Geddy Lee (Rush), Rob Zombie (White Zombie), John Kay (Steppenwolf), Alice Cooper, Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse), Lemmy (Motörhead), Randy Blythe & Mark Morton (Lamb of God), Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), and a few non-musicians. There were mixed responses, Geddy Lee mentioned Blue Cheer, Lemmy mentioned Deep Purple, Alice Cooper mentioned himself (shocking), but most of the votes went to Sabbath. Lamb of God, Cannibal Corpse, Rob Zombie, and the film's director credited Black Sabbath as the first metal band. A few other people mentioned Led Zeppelin in the creation. No NWOBHM bands such as Iron Maiden were mentioned, because they had nothing to do with heavy metal's creation, though they had a major impact on the Heavy Metal bands after them.
To conclude, watch the documentary segment for yourself, it is very interesting and will definitely give you a better insight as to who the true founders of metal are.
-RR