Very debatable question: What was the first heavy metal song?

[Giants Fan 85]

I wanna hear some long hair argue it was before punk. Heavy Metal stole from punk and hardcore.

 

 

We used to call that "Thrash Metal" back in the day. Rock and Roll ... at punk rock speeds.

[Giants Fan 85]

I wanna hear some long hair argue it was before punk. Heavy Metal stole from punk and hardcore.

 

 

We used to call that "Thrash Metal" back in the day. Rock and Roll ... at punk rock speeds.

 

Those historians that are convinced that "Heavy Metal" came before "Punk Rock" ... consider Led Zeplin as "Heavy Metal". I would argue they are "Rock and Roll".

[Giants Fan 85]

Some would also call this punk:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX6FsTIq6ls

 

1977

 

Arguable .... it's "New Wave" and not "Punk".

[Giants Fan 85]

This was punk:

 

 

1974

[Giants Fan 85]

Possible you could say "heavy metal" gets invented here:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcL---4xQYA

 

But I say that's still rock and roll.

[Giants Fan 85]

It's all based on the blues and Jazz. True American inventions.

 

One of the first bands I ever remember being "Heavy Metal" was ...

 

 

80's. A good solid 6 years after "punk".

[Giants Fan 85]

 

1981 ... and Devo is on the soundtrack ... as was Journey.

 

Great movie. There weren't a lot of R rated cartoons back then.

[Giants Fan 85]

I say punk wins. Died faster ... but got there first. Was harder, and louder than anything ever before.

 

And now we have:

 

 

Hard Dubstep?

 

Wouldn't exist without punk.

[shotsup 833]

Had. Potential but rooned from the get go.

[Giants Fan 85]

Had. Potential but rooned from the get go.

 

Well hey ... thanks for your honest opinion.

[Giants Fan 85]

I know the term "heavy metal" wasn't commonly used until 1980. I was a live then, I remember.

 

But IF .... you were to claim that "Heavy Metal" came before "Punk Rock" .... yer either gonna hafta come up with some HM ... pre-1974 ... or ... claim that the Ramone's were not punk.

 

Tough argument.

 

Best you got is, Black Sabbath.

 

You gotta claim that "Heavy Metal" pre-existed the term by a decade. Just to tie punk rock.

 

Hard rock = Heavy Metal?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOHiHJbpACQ

 

Ozzy or not singing .... "Early one Morning" sounds like blues, to me.

[MDC 7,652]

Punk pre-existed the term punk. The Ramones have said they had no idea they were making punk, they thought it was just really loud bubblegum pop.

 

Sabbath's first album was 69, hard to beat that. Punk and metal have common ancestors though in garage rock and psychedelia of the 60s like the Thirteenth Floor Elevators and the Sonics.

 

Blue Cheer's cover of Summertime Blues might be the first punk AND metal song.

[kutulu 1,692]

The kinks you really got me

[Secret Asian Man 50]

I don't know about heavy metal, but there's is an alternate take of Jailhouse Rock that many so called experts consider the first punk rock song.

[hoytdwow 202]

 

Sabbath

This. End of discussion.

[drobeski 3,061]

Zeppelin

[Bruce Benedict 0]

Shiz like War Pigs and Iron Man were released while Nixon was in office. Sabbath's move from heavier, bluesy rock to full blown metal was in full effect years before Punk was a twinkle in its mamma's eye.

[nzoner 937]

"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song, and the second verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music (although not as a description of a musical style).[1]. However, this might be a false claim, since the first song to use all stylistic means of heavy metal was "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles, which was recorded earlier, while Born to be wild serves the stylistic means of classic (hardrock.

[Bruce Benedict 0]

The Sabbath stuff of course only proves metal was around before punk. I might agree with the idea that Helter Skelter was the first legit metal tune.

 

If Sabbath gets the nod, I think NIB was their first that clearly crossed the line, from 1970.

[Bruce Benedict 0]

And no self-respecting metalhead anywhere on the planet considers Zeppelin metal.

[hoytdwow 202]

Metal is defined by the distorted, palm-muted guitar chugging, combined with dystopic or apocalyptic lyrics. Black Sabbath started it and Metallica perfected it. The genre now has so many offshoots that it almost defies characterization.

[Bruce Benedict 0]

Metal is defined by the distorted, palm-muted guitar chugging, combined with dystopic or apocalyptic lyrics. Black Sabbath started it and Metallica perfected it. The genre now has so many offshoots that it almost defies characterization.

[hoytdwow 202]

Master of Puppets is the pinnacle of the metal genre.

[nzoner 937]

The Sabbath stuff of course only proves metal was around before punk. I might agree with the idea that Helter Skelter was the first legit metal tune.

 

If Sabbath gets the nod, I think NIB was their first that clearly crossed the line, from 1970.

 

Personally Sabbath gets the nod for me,hadn't even thought about Helter Skelter until I read that piece but I could agree as well would also give Deep Purple some love too.

 

One thing that isn't debatable is that Molly Hatchet is not focking heavy metal.

[Bruce Benedict 0]

Master of Puppets is the pinnacle of the metal genre.

Sure as hell not worth getting in a scrap about, as Master of Puppets is a seriously focking good album. But perfected is an awfully strong word.

 

But still...

[Bruce Benedict 0]

One thing that isn't debatable is that Molly Hatchet is not focking heavy metal.

[MDC 7,652]

Master of Puppets is the pinnacle of the metal genre.

 

If you haven't already you should check out a British metal band called Evile, their album Enter the Grave reminds me a lot of MoP.

[Drizzay 734]

I say punk wins. Died faster ... but got there first. Was harder, and louder than anything ever before.

 

And now we have:

 

 

Hard Dubstep?

 

Wouldn't exist without punk.

 

 

Punk, in part, wouldn't exist without reggae. The original 'skinhead' culture (NOT the same as the neo-nazi culture) derrived from the other reggae subcultures in England.

[Bruce Benedict 0]

If you haven't already you should check out a British metal band called Evile, their album Enter the Grave reminds me a lot of MoP.

A modern day Slayer.

 

RIP Mike Alexander. My all-time favorite Jamaican thrash metal bassist.

[kutulu 1,692]

The Kinks initially stayed within the boundaries of genres such as R&B and blues, but soon began experimenting with louder rock and hard rock sounds—due to their pioneering of the field, they have often been labelled as "the original punks". Dave Davies became bored with the traditional "clean" guitar style of the period; in search of a louder, more biting sound, he famously split the speaker cone of his Elpico amplifier (nicknamed "the little green amp"): "I started to get really frustrated [with the amp's sound], and I said, 'I know! I'll fix you!' I got a single-sided Gillette razorblade and cut ... [from the centre to the edge of the] cone ... so it was all shredded but still on there, still intact. I played and I thought it was amazing." The jagged sound of the amplifier was replicated in the studio; the Elpico was plugged into a larger Vox AC30, and the resulting effect became a mainstay in The Kinks' early recordings—most notably on "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night".

 

[Bruce Benedict 0]

 

Kinks are pretty clearly the departure point from which punk most clearly evolved. A band way ahead of their time, and probably the single best classic rock band you can find to get people to incorrectly answer what decade they're from.

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,439]

Iggy Pop and The Stooges

 

1968 started Punk revolution IMO

[MDC 7,652]

Iggy Pop and The Stooges

 

1968 started Punk revolution IMO

 

I'm a huge fan but their music is more punk than metal and Funhouse came out a year after Sabbath!s debut anyway.

[Bruce Benedict 0]

Iggy looked the part, but taking the music at face value, it's pretty clearly a precursor to punk, and not all that punk on its own merits. Which is no slam, because Iggy's awesome. Kind of the Godfather of punk, but I'd argue not all that punk in his own right.

 

The early stuff, even punk-anthemically-titled stuff like "I Wanna Be Your Dog," has more in common with the psychedelic rock of its era than it has in common with the Sex Pistols and like such as.

[SUXBNME 1,583]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYtGl1dX5qI

[kutulu 1,692]

 

Kinks are pretty clearly the departure point from which punk most clearly evolved. A band way ahead of their time, and probably the single best classic rock band you can find to get people to incorrectly answer what decade they're from.

 

You Really Got Me and the sound that would lead to distortion, 1964

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

And no self-respecting metalhead anywhere on the planet considers Zeppelin metal.

 

Most Sep is not, it's blues rock. Some zep is. Take immigrant song for example. That's as metal as it comes.

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,439]

I'm a huge fan but their music is more punk than metal and Funhouse came out a year after Sabbath!s debut anyway.

 

I was saying I credit Iggy and the Stooges with punk, not metal

[ZeroTolerance 584]

Heavy metal - Helter Skelter

Speed metal - Highway Star

[MDC 7,652]

I was saying I credit Iggy and the Stooges with punk, not metal

 

Okay. I love the Stooges and Funhouse is one of my favorite albums and way ahead of its time, but I still think it has roots in American garage rock of the 60s. It's proto punk but no more so than the Velvet Underground or many earlier bands in the Nuggets box set.