A History Of Heavy Metal In 100 Songs Joshua Charig

Hailed as one of the biggest bands in rock and pop, Zeppelin's influence spread far and wide into the very fabric of metal itself. They proved to be highly controversial and not always for the right reasons.

The swinging sixties died taking the blues revival bands with it. The world needs something else to see it through this dark time. Black Sabbath's debut album introduced the world to heavy metal, a new dark, scary and heavy type of music. It would be too much for some to handle, leaving the room when it was played or protesting the band, but many enjoyed this new sound.

By taking influences from a wide range of genres, King Crimson invented their own kind of music which was so hard to place at the time. They weren't ordinary rockers, they were far from jazz, and by no means were they classical. Their dark and challenging outlook invented progressive rock. Protesting the Vietnam war, 21st Century Schizoid Man threw the music world a curveball it didn't know how to catch, but became an important element in heavy metal.

It's not possible to overstate the genius of Hendrix. In a career spanning a mere four years, he changed not only elitist musician culture, but the very way in which we play guitar. He embraced the hippy movement along with the Black Panthers, and brought love to the world at a time when the flower power movement was at its peak. 

What does Charles Manson and Roland Barthes have in common? Helter Skelter was the first heavy metal song to be released. Whilst it may not have been the most popular Beatles song in its time, it did become a blueprint for the bands that followed showing them how to dig the sonic depths of distortion and noise. It's also been used as a blueprint for creating an apocalyptic race war and justifying murder by a white supremacist.  

The Doors get a lot of love, but I still feel they're underrated. They smashed open topics other bands skirted around which would be vital in the creation of heavy metal. A study in hedonism and existentialism, the Doors are metal without the distortion. This episode contains themes about sex and death.