The Story of Heavy Metal in 100 Songs – Part 4: Progressive, Industrial and More

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

Delving a little more into the subject of Hard Rock it’s important to remember that the distinction between this genre and Heavy Metal walks a fine line, often the subject of vociferous debate among the fan legions. In attempting to sample the essence of Hard Rock, one must indulge in the delights of Van Halen. The guitar skills of Edward Van Halen are writ in large in the legends of the Master Axemen – sharp, clean and mind-blowing. His famous opener – Eruption – kicked off their debut self-titled album in 1978, the appetizer for over two decades of glory to follow.

Ain’t ‘talkin ‘bout Love is another classic track summing up the Hard Rock attitude of the band, with original vocalist David Lee Roth, exploring the fascination of the genre for girls and the good life in the Eighties.

The band’s second era was defined by its second vocalist Sammy Hagar. The track Right Now from a Grammy Award winning album of the Nineties is a good sampler for Van Halen in this phase of its development.

Sadly, interpersonal relationships soured between band members, mostly due to ego issues over recording sessions with both vocalists for the Best of Van Halen – Vol 1 album. While Sammy walked out, the band decided that David’s ego was still too large to let him return to vocal duties and Van Halen effectively retired their axes. All the same, possibilities of the reunion of the original line-up can be tasted with the track Me Wise Magic. Listen and decide for yourself.

While this recommendation might seem a little populist, another not-to-be missed Hard Rock band is Guns ‘n Roses. In little less than a decade and with a handful of studio albums, this band put Hard Rock on the commercial music map in an indelible way. Always brash, outspoken and louder than life, the Guns’ essence is captured in their notorious recording Get in the Ring – don’t f**k with me and I won’t f**k with you!

You Could be Mine shows off a more metal edged side to the band. As for the rest of the repertoire, you probably know it already. If you don’t, find out about it. Or get the f**k out!

Grunge matured in the early Nineties as part of the larger Alternative music movement that looked to cast off the commercial trappings of the stadium rock dinosaur bands. It was about depth of emotion and bottom-heavy rhythms that hit the listener straight in the gut.

Essential listening includes bands and songs like Soundgarden with Outshined, Alice in Chains with Man in the Box and Pearl Jam with Once and Evenflow. While these bands matured in different ways and might not have continued to sound as heavy in later albums, the essence of raw Grunge Metal can be felt from these songs- undiluted and pure.

Progressive Metal / Rock is a genre defined by the fusion of hard rock and metal styles and also lyrical exploration of specific conceptual ideas that the band might want to depict through musical expression. The themes and soundscapes created by the Progressive genre are always unique and open to interpretation – not always obvious at first listening.

Rush were pioneers of the Prog Rock genre and the album 2112 is an early masterpiece concept album from the band. The opening 2112 Overture and The Temples of Syrinx transport the listener into the futuristic totalitarian state on which the album is based. Rush also explore many lighter sides of life and human fantasy – Red Barchetta is reminiscent of every person’s escapist fantasy, with a classic automobile thrown in for good measure.

Progressive Metal grew more popular through the Nineties with bands like Queensryche, Dream Theater and Tool, who took this genre into layered levels with each subsequent album they recorded.

Queensryche is fondly remembered by fans for the 1988 concept album Operation: Mindcrime, with its tale of corruption, moral decay and personal redemption. While the band has apparently gone softer over the years, The Needle Lies shows off the technical precision with which this Band executes its metal sound, not soft from any angle. The subsequent 1990 recording of Empire shows off Queensryche at its commercial peak, with songs like Best I Can and Anybody Listening – touching listeners’ spirits and musically full of powerful arrangements. Thinking mans’ metal is what describes this band best. Go for a concert sometime and feel the subtle beauty of the music, probably with a glass of wine to keep you company.

Dream Theater has continued to race through the Prog Metal genre, from its inception in the album Images and Words. A masterpiece of progressive metal Concept Albums is found in its album Metropolis 2: Scenes from a Memory in which the tale moves seamlessly between the past and present. Sample songs include Strange Déjà Vu and The Spirit Carries On.

An interesting aspect of the Dream Theater sound is that it’s based on a five piece setup – Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboard and Drums – each player a virtuoso in his own right. Remember Deep Purple anyone?

Tool is an extremely difficult band to describe, sounding grungy, progressive and hard rocking all at the same time. Try songs like Prison Sex, Bottom, Stinkfist and Aenima. And then spend some time on the Internet figuring out the lyrics. Or just don’t bother. Whichever way you look at it, Tool will get to you – with its infectious and pulsing grooves from the gut, darkly emotional vocals and rhythms that don’t leave your mind alone once sampled.

The genre of Industrial Metal is so named after two elements – its sound and recording format. The sound is laden with rhythmic beats that mimic an industrial assembly line with more harsh and abrupt exclamations of sound than normal guitar-driven metal. The recordings of most Industrial acts are often the creation of a single mind, sometimes in partnership with a couple of collaborators for specific recordings. This often leads to the genre being labeled as more synthesized than true blue metal playing. All the same, the masters of the Industrial genre are accepted as great live acts, regardless of their recording styles and composer quirks.

Nine Inch Nails – the creation of Trent Reznor – represents the pinnacle of Industrial Metal. Imitated from multiple angles and by multiple bands, Trent has taken the genre from beats to soundscapes and beaten out new soundscapes over two decades of recording and performing. NIN even scored on the background track for famous first-person-shooter video games, with its adrenaline boosting vibes and rhythms.

A good sampling of industrial sound can be had with NIN’s Grammy award winning Wish (first time industrial metal was accepted in the mainstream), Starfuckers Inc and All the Love in the World. This is only the beginning, and if you like the sound of these tracks you can join the Cult following that Nine Inch Nails commands and start collecting the albums. There’s a whole world out there – and it’s not only inside Trent’s mind.

Ministry – fronted by Al Jorgensen­ – is the other seminal act to be tasted in the Industrial genre. Try the harder side of this band with Just One Fix and some twisted humour with Jesus Built My Hotrod. And remember, this is not about your religion or the American dream.

Interestingly, some classic metal tracks can sound amazingly different and a lot more powerful when processed through the industrial grinder. The Black Sabbath classic Supernaut (loosely based on an LSD trip) takes on a new dimension in the version by 1000 Homo DJs.

The Goth Metal genre is not something that this article promised to dwell upon at inception. All the same, one cannot help including the iconic band Type O Negative. Fronted by Pete Steele, with his doom-filled and soulful vocals, this band epitomizes agony in all its shades of grey to black. Maybe he just had too many f**ked up relationships, maybe it rained too much where he lived – whatever the case, no other band has sounded as gloriously depressant.

Essential samplings include Christian Woman and Black Sabbath (tribute cover of the original song by Black Sabbath). It doesn’t get deeper, darker, slower or harder than this.

Thus ends this outing into the world of Heavy Metal.

While the intention was never to convert, it’s OK to come out of the closet now.

Wear that skull tee-shirt with pride, man; ditto on the leather jacket and boots.

The next time someone says Heavy Metal is just noise, just tell them to take a flying f**k.

What don’t kill ya make ya more strong! Amen!

***************

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

(Continued from: The Story of Heavy Metal in 100 Songs – Part 2: The Eighties and Europe)

While the Europeans were defining their own style, across the Atlantic, the Thrash Metal genre was being defined by the Four Horsemen – Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax – backed by loyal armies of fans, defining new ground in live performances, with high energy and adrenaline-packed shows that filled entire stadiums. Phenomena such as mosh pits erupted spontaneously as masses of humanity thrashed their heads in sync with the fast and machine-gun reminiscent rhythms of the double-bass led style. This was pure angst, bottled up emotion, pent up rage, frustration at the systemic bondage that gave vent in musical solidarity. There are no divisions among the ranks of Headbangers.

Metallica led the thrash revolution from the front, uncompromising in its heavy and fast sound. One represents the band’s pioneering eighties thrash sound – lyrically inspired by a soldier’s take on war – and combining all the elements of a thrash metal classic with some epic musical arrangement.

Enter Sandman was recorded at the height of Metallica’s commercial success in the early Nineties and shows many more shades of technical precision in its overall recording. This song won a Heavy Metal Grammy and made Metallica a household name worldwide, carried with the MTV tidal wave. Metal received global exposure simply through the visual medium and headbanging moved out of stadiums and into living rooms.

The subsequent decade was one of exploration as Metallica tried softer sound variations; finally, the band has come full circle and heeding the public opinion of its loyal fan army, has rediscovered their original Thrash roots. Broken, Beat and Scarred & My Apocalypse from their comeback in 2008 sums it up – what don’t kill ya make ya more strong!

Anthrax defined the standard of the thrash metal movement on the East coast of the USA – developing a distinctly NY style. Armed and Dangerous and Got the Time showcase their glory days – with the distinct riffage and rhythms.

Slayer represents the brutal edge to thrash metal that can only be heard to be understood. Often targeted by the press and numerous societal watchdog groups, Slayer has continued to churn out the fastest thrash metal in the genre, lyrically dripping with blood – the most negative sides of the human condition laid bare in a terrifically fast and brutal sonic assault. Even the guitars scream for vengeance, as the Slayer juggernaut rolls on. Raining Blood from the Eighties is possibly the fastest cut recorded, clocking in at a mind-blowing 250 beats per minute!

Slayer has always been very clear about not promoting the themes depicted in its art form. The essence is depiction – without moralizing. War Ensemble recorded in the early Nineties and Jihad from the recent material, are testament to this uncompromising devotion to depicting the darker sides of human existence, with no dilution of the form and feel of the Slayer sound.

Megadeth was formed by Dave Mustaine, after he was ejected from Metallica by the other band members – supposedly due to substance abuse which affected his performance as the lead guitarist, an event some feel he never truly left behind. The shock seems to have worked wonders, as Dave proceeded to develop Megadeth into a true Metal juggernaut, still actively recording and performing live after nearly three decades.

The ‘Deth sound is defined by speeded-up melodic guitar leads (Megadeth being one of the foremost proponents of the Speed Metal genre), technical precision, powerful and catchy riffs – buzzing with palpable electricity – and Thrash Rhythms. Much like Judas Priest, Megadeth too experimented and evolved with various styles, always taking Heavy Metal forward to greater levels of musical achievement.

-          Holy Wars…. The Punishment Due – the opening track off the 1990 album Rust in Peace; excellent introduction to Speed Metal and ‘Deth – don’t miss the Mid-Eastern touch to the bridge halfway through the song.

-          Hangar 18 – probably Megadeth’s most famous song, played by countless wannabe college bands keen to show off their Metal prowess – based on the Area 51 UFO legend.

-          Symphony of Destruction – noted for its legendary heaviness and chugging rhythms

-          Countdown to Extinction – title track for the album, notice how the feel changes and the issue of environmental preservation is represented above all. Megadeth has always been extremely committed to forwarding Green causes and attacking political malaise.

-          Insomnia – representative of an experimental phase, when Mustaine took ‘Deth into Electronica / Industrial soundscapes. This phase was never fully accepted by mainstream fan legions who could not digest the apparently synthesized sounds replacing the speedy, thrashing sound of the good o’l days of ‘Deth.

-          A Secret Place – another rare gem from the experimental years, lots of catchiness and melody; not the heaviest song in the band’s repertoire.

-          Kick the Chair – Megadeth in its comeback post-Millenium, many line-up changes but Mustaine managed to de-discover the original sound that made his band legend.

-          United Abominations – title track to the 2007 album that heralded the return of Megadeth to the forefront of the Speed/Thrash arena, post Millennium; moving with the times, thematically representative of the contemporary world political scenario, this song displays the maturity of a band come full circle in the life cycle of the genre it spawned – reborn into its next phase of creativity.

-          Burnt Ice –  a last reminder that Dave Mustaine can still play those shredders he became famous for in the Eighties – from the ‘United Abominations’ album of 2007.

Many Metal bands are actually masters of the form, although not as commercially successful as others. All the same, commercialism isn’t loved in Metal, attitude and ability to develop a unique sound are. We shall now examine some of the less commercial and musically true-to-form Metal acts of the thrash era.

Overkill is an important band from the perspective of the East Coast speed/thrash sound. While these ‘Jersey boys were not as successful as Anthrax in the Eighties, they definitely managed to keep their act together with almost no changes to lineup or form for over two decades. The Years of Decay shows off the depth of lyrical and musical ability in this band; EVIL Never Dies and Fast Junkie respectively represent the thrash and speed sides of Overkill.

Testament defined its own niche in the San Francisco Bay Area Thrash scene – alongside the likes of Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth; First Strike is Deadly and Hail Mary are good samples of the Testament sound, along with Return to Serenity  - to end with a ballad.

Both Overkill and Testament are marked by unique vocal styles of Bobby Ellsworth and Chuck Billy respectively, apart from their musical qualities. This is often the defining element in Thrash Metal bands, Anthrax having never really recovered from the glory days it enjoyed with original vocalist Joe Belladonna.

While exploring the US Metal Scene, it’s also important not to neglect Southern Metal. A quick sampling can be had from the music of Pantera - their song Cemetery Gates is a classic, with an amazing display of guitarist Dimebag Darrell’s unique electric guitar tone – always slightly eerie, distorted over the edge.

A quick mention on American Metal is reserved for W.A.S.P. with their defining spirit of rebellion. I Wanna Be Somebody says it all, from their first album. The epic concept album The Crimson Idol is all of W.A.S.P. at its best – Chainsaw Charlie gives one the feel of old-school arena-style stadium concerts, Hold on to my Heart  is a nice ballad that belies an otherwise heavy sound from the band. One last essential song from W.A.S.P is Wasted White Boys – fully loaded with all the energy and adrenaline that the Heavy Metal spirit brings to life- with a wild guitar jam at the end.

To conclude the American Thrash Metal section, we will look south at Brazil, where a band called Sepultura (named after ‘Sepulcher’) created its own interpretation of the genre, and evolving to accommodate many indigenous beats and rhythms into the thrash format, from native American cultures.

Their early sound can be sampled on Beneath the Remains from 1987 – raw and powerful with fast double-bass drumming and Max Cavelera’s legendary throat.

From later years, War (cover of Bob Marley’s song about racial equality) and Ratamahatta (incorporating native South American tribal percussion) let the listener experience the diverse musical ground a thrash metal sound can expand into, without losing any sense of angst or resistance. Not too many bands can experiment within a genre and expand it stylistically – least of all in a genre like Thrash Metal. Sepultura is legend. Period!

(Continued in: The Story of Heavy Metal in 100 Songs – Part 4: Progressive, Industrial and More)

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)

The Story of Heavy Metal in 100 Songs – Part 1: The Classic Era

Heavy Metal! That’s not music, it’s just noise. This is probably what most average pop music listeners have to say about the genre. The rest of the population probably associates the term Heavy Metal with lead and smelting ore in blast furnaces. Being an avid fan of Heavy Metal for well over fifteen years now, I’ve always felt the need to further the cause of this much maligned art form. So when a close friend asked me to try and introduce him to the essence of Metal by recording a collection of my favourite songs to try out, I decided to go one step further and write an accompanying note as well.

In selecting these songs, I have tried to distil the varied styles, artistic elements and sub-genres into a listenable format – as long as there is an open mind and ear for it. The progression moves along the timeline of Heavy Metal development from the Late Sixties into the current Millenium. It is also important to mention that this compilation stays most true to the core Heavy Metal and Hard Rock forms of music and does not transgress into the extreme Death and Nu Metal sub genres. Lastly, this compilation may not include recordings made by the Bands mentioned post 2008; readers may extend their personal inventories as preferred.

Our journey begins with a few songs that are more Classic Rock and Blues – nonetheless important as indicators of artistic elements that would continue to influence the future development of Heavy Metal.

Layla by Derek & the Dominoes is probably one of the single most important examples how an electric guitar riff can make a permanent imprint in the sands of time, long after the band is forgotten. And who better a guitarist than Eric Clapton to play it? Sadly, Eric decided to pursue more ‘Slowhand’ approaches to guitar playing as his years wore on…. Oh, well! Whatever.

Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild – made famous by the iconic Sixties film Easy Rider, is also the song that first coined the term Heavy Metal. It also introduces us to the most important elements of Metal songwriting and inspiration – freedom and rejection of boundaries to the human spirit.

Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple represent the Classic Metal era with the next two songs.

Immigrant Song is full of searing riffs and rhythm, backed by powerful vocals, as it tells the tales of the Norsemen in their conquering quests of old.

Child in Time shows an early and raw version of Deep Purple, most influential as a band for bringing keyboards into Metal. While the standard format Metal has always had drums, guitars and bass with vocals, Jon Lord (Deep Purple) was among the earliest keyboardists to challenge the assumed right of the guitarists to leading the melodies.

It is also an early example of the Epic song, where each band member’s talent is showcased along the ten minutes of the song, with multiple changes in tempo.

Black Sabbath is considered to be the first true Heavy Metal Band by many fans of the genre.

These four ordinary blokes from Birmingham decided to stick the finger right up the flower children – disinterested in the Hippy movement and convinced that people really weren’t all that brotherly anyway.

Paranoid and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath hold testimony to these strong dark emotions directed at individual and societal bugbears. Notice how these Godfathers of Metal weren’t anywhere close to as heavy in their sound, given the music technology of the era. A good comparison can be made against the song Iron Man with Ozzy Osbourne singing alongside the Irish band Therapy?

Black Sabbath wasn’t really promoting Satanism as much as taking on religious and social dogma. Sabbath still continue to forge ahead with new projects and in the words of Ozzy – I don’t want to change the world, I don’t want the world to change me.

No story of Heavy Metal can ever be told without paying special tribute to Judas Priest. This talented band is probably the only band to have both inspired generations of bands after them many times over, constantly reinventing themselves, yet always true to form.

If ever any band can be defined as exemplifying the pure Heavy Metal sound it has to be the Priest. Over a career spanning three decades, this band has played across the spectrum and is always fondly remembered for the fast scorching numbers it has belted out, getting faster with age.

-          The Ripper – based on Jack the Ripper and showcasing Robert Hanford’s amazing vocal range, even as far back as 1976

-          Victim of Changes – an epic metal song from the Priest’s early repertoire

-          Beyond the Realms of Death – note the soulful lead playing, one of KK Downing’s finest moments

-          Exciter – probably the earliest Speed Metal song, spawning the sub genre a decade later

-          Screaming for Vengeance – essential Priest in the Eighties, note the screaming talent of Halford as he showcases that famous element of Metal- the almighty scream!

-          Freewheel Burning – another Eighties scorcher

-          The Sentinel – one of many famous fantasy theme characters created by Judas Priest; Metal has always been prone to fantasy and its associated imagery same in its songs

-          Painkiller – The defining moment for Judas Priest in the Nineties – pure Heavy Metal – screams, double-bass rhythms, speedy leads and grinding distortion.

Taking a small detour from the journey so far, let us now step back into the Seventies and witness the birth of the Hard Rock genre, with the best band to showcase it to us- AC/DC.

The easiest way to understand the difference between Hard Rock and Heavy Metal is to compare beer and absinthe – shades of lightness or heaviness with dull and sharp edges intertwined, straight up versus mellowed with dilution in various forms. Confused? Try chopping wood with a blunt axe and then use an industrial laser and these metaphorically define the extremes of the spectrum between Hard Rock and Heavy Metal – sheer grit contrasted with technical precision.

Jail Break, originally recorded in 1974, established AC/DC with a reputation for being the quintessential bad boys of Hard Rock, with it’s theme running against the normal rule of law ‘all in the name of liberty’. This band is still recording and performing till date, and the next song sums up what you get when you reach for one of their albums – If You Want Blood, You Got It.

Alongside the Hard Rock movement was another important genre in the making – Punk. Iggy Pop, with one of his early bands of the Seventies – The Stooges – and recorded a defining album in Raw Power. The headlining single off this album– Search and Destroy – gives a strong taste of the raw energy that Punk as a genre put out there, with its blatantly anarchist themes.

As the Eighties began, Motorhead took the stage in Europe with its famous three-member, bass driven, pulsing brand of early Speed Metal. Overkill – from the legendary album of the same name - is possibly the earliest example of double-bass’ drumming with it’s machinegun rhythm foundation that Thrash Metal bands of the later years would build a genre around.

Motorhead was and has always been a hardworking band – playing true its rhythms and touring endlessly in an early era where music- and not videos – defined success. Lemmy Kilmister- lynchpin, bassist and vocalist- even went on record saying that he didn’t like being termed Heavy Metal because the term sounded very droll.

All the same, well past the glory days of Ace of Spades, Motorhead still proved their mettle well over fifteen years later with Burner – extremely fast, wild and played with supreme precision.

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