The Story of Heavy Metal in 100 Songs – Part 2: The Eighties and Europe

(Continued from: The Story of Heavy Metal in 100 Songs – Part 1: The Classic Era)

The early Eighties were dominated by Iron Maiden, hailed as headliners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal or NWOBHM movement. Maiden combined multiple elements such as fast and easy to remember riffs, melodic leads, involved lyrical concepts ranging from classical poetry to patriotic portrayals of British history – all glued together by the unique galloping rhythms of Steve Harris’ bass playing.

Killers, the title track of Iron Maiden’s second album of the same name, is a good sample of the early Iron Maiden style. The change in lead vocals, with Bruce Dickinson at the helm, enabled Maiden to explore their stylistic range to greater depth as demonstrated by the next two songs - the epic Hallowed be Thy Name and equally essential patriotic cut The Trooper – both live favourites to date, filling entire stadiums with the roar of the fan audiences as they join in the timeless lyrics.

Metal appreciation is inadequate without a nod to continental Europe – notably the Scandinavian region. This musically vibrant – although climatically extreme – part of the world has produced some superb bands and the best example of early developments is Mercyful Fate from Denmark. Fronted by the charismatic King Diamond – operatic howler with morbid tales of spirits and deathly themes, this band possibly covered almost every great metal riff and rhythm in its relatively few studio albums. Evil  and Satan’s Fall  are representative of Mercyful Fate in its prime and are chosen for precisely the same reasons of riffage and multiple tempo rhythm styles.

In contemporary times a good example of Scandinavian Heavy Metal is Children of Bodom (named after their hometown) – and Needled 24/7 is a good example of the speed / thrash current sound from this region.

Scandinavian Metal’s most virtuoso guitarist has got to be Yngwie Johann Malmsteen – the Swede who combined classic and electrical guitar styles, stamping his indelible brand of Axemanship. Malmsteen is criticized for appearing excessively technical in comparison to more feel oriented guitarists – in spite of himself being a follower of Jimi Hendrix – the original feel player of electric guitar. Whatever the critics may say, Malmsteen has made his mark on the sands of time – Black Star and Icarus’ Dream Suite Op 5 showcase the swashbuckling Swede in all his glory.

This style of combing heavy metal distortions and classical technique are carried on today by bands like Stratovarius – and their song Black Diamond is a good example.

IMPORTANT NOTE: as mentioned earlier, this note does not delve into the areas of Extreme / Death metal styles, hence no mention is made of the many performers of this genre from Scandinavia.

While touring the Metal map of Europe, Germany is an important stopover – defined by the iconic sound of the Scorpions. These talented musicians have been rocking the German Metal scene since the Seventies, and while they probably struck mainstream success more as balladeers, their harder cuts are also excellent listening from a Metal perspective. Coming Home, No One like You and Rock You like a Hurricane present a strong sampling of Scorpions’ style metal – with their mix of emotional vocals and axemanship.

Another lesser known German Metal band was Accept – Balls to the Wall from the album of the same name captures their attitude with its lyrics and feel sung from the gut.

Helloween represents the progression of the German Metal tradition and is currently more slotted in the Power Metal genre – powerful vocal and musical arrangements in the classic mode, a format kept alive mostly by European Bands in contemporary times. Steel Tormentor – based around an urban muscle-car theme, and Listen to the Flies ­– from the album Rabbit Don’t Come Easy – are good examples of how the sound of a Metal band can define itself through a sound, independently of lyrics and theme.

As a last sampling of Metal in Europe comes from the Irish trio – Therapy? – with the song He’s not that kind of Girl. In their own style, Therapy? forged a Metal sound that is as unique as the legends of the genre, not commercial in any sense – always heavy and challenging stereotypes.

(Continued in: The Story of Heavy Metal in 100 Songs – Part 3: Thrashing into the American Nineties)