First I would like to say I do not know everything there is to know about metal...I am doing a lot of research into the history and what I have on my site is what I have found out so far...If you have suggestions, or links or can help me in my studies feel free to email me at missywagner@hotmail.com...
HEAVY METAL LINKS: METAL LINKS
The origins of the genre's name can be traced back to many different sources. It is used in chemistry to describe the heavier elements in the periodic table. In literature, the term is ascribed incorrectly to the Willium Burroughs novel, "Nova Express". Most agree it's first appearance in popular music appeared in the line "heavy metal thunder" from Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild." (1968)
By the time heavy metal merged into a genre in the early 70's, it had developed several distinctive elements. The essential sonic element in heavy metal is POWER, expressed as sheer volume. If there is one feature that underpins the connection of heavy metal as a genre, it is the power chord. Heavy metal represented an absolute rejection of the peace and love ethos. It was the critic's worst nightmare: hard rock taken to the extreme, with no socially redeeming features.
The origins of heavy metal lie in blues-based rock and psychedelic music. The sound that would become known as heavy metal was codified in 1970 with the release of Led Zeppelin II, Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and Deep Purple "In Rock". Other bands that fell into this category were Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Cream, Steppenwolf, and Iron Butterfly. Then into the mid-70's came Judas Priest, Uriah Heep, Ted Nugent, Bad Company and Van Halen into the 80's.
The lack of critical recognition meant that most acts had to support their albums with tours. The audiences were mainly young, white, working-class men, it was in the surroundings of live performance that metal earned the nickname-cock rock. Heavy metal was a bastion of male dominance and privilage. There were no women in heavy metal. The only women who came close to it was Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Lita Ford, Girlschool and Vixen.
Black Sabbath formed in 1963 and Judas Priest formed in Birmingham, England in 1970 and their debut album "Rocka Rolla" was released in September of 1974. Police agencies argued that Australia's AC/DC(formed in '74) stood for Anti-Christ/Devil's Children. Bands like Blue Oyster Cult and Motorhead added unjustified umlauts to their names to conjure up a more gothic horror that continued into the 80's with Motley Crue.
In the mid-80's a Washinton-based pressure group called the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) launched it's campaign against explicit lyrics in popular music. The PMRC initially targeted heavy metal as the prime offender, but as rap music became widely known, it became the focal point.
Rap and Metal artists more than others, have incorporated advances in technology into the essence of their music. Both use this "cleaner" technology to achieve a "dirtier" sound. Metal used it in the service of volume and distortion; rap in the organization of its different sonic elements.
The heavy distorted guitar sound that has become the most obvious sound of heavy metal occurs when an amplifier is overdriven-that is, driven beyond its capacity to deliver a cleaner sound. Heavy metal vocalists often use distortion boxes to create a menacing growl.
After an initial surge in the early 70's, it appeared that heavy metal might be a short-lived phenomenon, but it never disappeared completely. Feminist dismissals of metal's misogyny had caused many thinking fans to reevaluate the music, and punk had supplanted metal's "empty virtuosity" with a more defiant political statement.
Sounds Magazine dubbed and promoted "the new wave of British heavy metal"-Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Motorhead, Saxon, Venom, Angel Witch, and Diamond Head, they filled the void that was left when first wave British metal groups like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin ceased touring or went into tax exile. As a result, British fans were deprived of the opportunity to see their favourite artists in live performance, which was still the dominant mode of reception for heavy metal. It took a new generation of metal acts to fill this void-Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, AC/DC etc.
"What all the bands did share was a general heavy metal sensibility, along with youthfulness and a strong emphasis on visual elements." "The new wave of metal featured shorter, catchier songs, more sophisticated production techniques and higher technical standards."
Iron Maiden-got a significant boost when they opened for Judas Priest which helped push their album to #4 in Great Britain. The group did not hit U.S. Top 40 until 1982 and at that point Bruce Dickenson was installed as lead singer on "The Number of the Beast." Iron Maiden was pegged as a satanist group because of their fascination with the occult.
Motorhead-was able to attract a punk following with pounding cuts like "Overkill" and "Bomber." This style alligned the group the speed metal style that grew out of L.A. Hardcore.
Randy Rhoads-was a standard guitar virtuosos of metal, he was "a classically trained guitarist with influences ranging from Alice Cooper to Vivaldi." He first made a name for himself as a member of Quiet Riot, and then became the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. Rhoad's died tragically in a plane crash in 1982.
FEMALE METAL
For female artists, the road to metal success was almost impassable, a reality that has been amply documented in most accounts of the genre. The explosion of lite metal and inclusion of romance themes contributed significantly to creating more gender-balanced audiences, they opened few doors for female performers. Doro Pesch and her band Warlock formed in 1982 and achieved metal success. In the second half of the 80's, Heart had a run of LPs that reached #1, 2 and 3 beginning with "What about Love"(1985) that approaced the sound of a power ballad. Their debut release was "Dreamboat Annie" (1976) that had ballads and near-heavy metal rock and achieved #7 on pop charts.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts hit the Top 20 in 1988 with "Up Your Alley", but the inclusion of either group (Heart and Joan Jett)in metal would be hotly contested among fans. There was another group called Girlschool that released their album "Demolition" in 1980. They were an all female metal band that emerged in Britain of the British new wave and achieved some respect and chart success after touring with Motorhead. U.S. success never came their way.
There were only 2 female acts that were incontrovertibly metal and achieved national recognition-Lita Ford and Vixen. In a Rolling Stone interview, Lita Ford "I wear my balls on my chest" spoke volumes about the contradictory demands placed on female performers in a masculinist subculture. By 1990 there was a glut of metal bands in the marketplace and metal sales experienced a slump. By this time pop charts were dominated by black pop and rap had begun to push metal aside.
METAL FRAGMENTS
Traditional/Classic Metal-describes original sound of wildly distorted guitar, heavy bass and drums, raw and unadorned vocals.
Lite/Pop Metal-emphasizes sweeter vocals, even harmony
Glam Metal-defined by a presentation of music and image, music is not usually heavy, lyrics not very deep, used to be mainstream music, but became less aparent in the 80's.
Thrash/Speed-faster tempos that were derived from punk
Death Metal-subcategory of speed/thrash, focused on the issue of death
Black Metal-it's dark, melodic, thematic, focuses on blasphemy and Satanic themes, vocals more eminant than deep growls, its not for the meek or mild or weak minded, gives listeners grim and eerie feel...some examples are Gehenna, Bathony, Emperor, Dissection, Dimmu Borgir, Mayhem, Darkthrone Black Metal
Doom Metal-slow, eerie, mourningful, focuses on ethereal and depressive natures, male vocals vary from clean epic chants to deep agonizing death grunts, sometimes violins and other classical instruments are used....examples are Amporphis, Opeth, My Dying Bride, Type O Negetive Doom Metal
White Metal-Christian counterpart
Progressive Metal-blends the attack, volume and agression of metal with grandiose pseudo-classical ambitions of prog-rock
Alternative Metal-loud guitars and bludgeoning riffs, subverts the genre with post-punk concepts
Industrial Metal-experimental music and electronic dance
Grindcore Metal-interchangeable with death metal, in the 80's it was short, apocalyptic blasts of noise, vocals were torturous, ranging from high-pitched shrieks to low throat-shedding growls
Funk Metal-takes loud guitars and riffs and melds them into popping bass lines and syncopated rhythms of funk
Rap Metal-fuses agressive elements of hardcore rap and heavy metal, variation of alternative metal
Gothic Metal-came from ancient mystic world, sort of ritual type music, dark sound, usually slow, clean and harmonic, old and usually European
Power Metal-speed metal more unified than thrash, more melodic, not very noisy...
Viking Metal-based on old norse vikings (their lives, reliogion, superstition, and ancient history), used to describe epic lyrics or sagas.
Mallcore or Nu-Metal: Definition
MORE INFORMATION TO COME!!!!!!!!!
Check out some other research on metal!
The History Of Metal
<---OZZY OSBOURNE
<---ALICE COOPER 
<---AC/DC
IRON MAIDEN
<---DORO PESCH
<---GIRLSCHOOL
Another Doom Metal Site
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal
More Metal Links
The Metal Gospel
