Our friends at Ultimate Guitar came up with a column on whether legendary Black Sabbath really invent heavy metal. Below are some of the reasons they mentioned which say otherwise:
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Kinks – You Really Got Me
“You Really Got Me” by the Kinks was released way back in 1964, almost 6 years before the Sabbath’s debut album and the infamous tritone opening riff. Now, while it wasn’t as nearly as doomy and sinister sounding as some of the stuff from one of the heaviest albums of all time, 1971’s “Master of Reality,” there are certain heavy metal elements to it – the simplicity of the main riff and the very innovative distorted sound coming from the sliced speaker of Dave Davies’ amp.
Blue Cheer – Summertime Blues
Blue Cheer is a band formed in the mid-1960s that began revolutionizing the blues by bringing in some heavy elements. That’s what they did with the classic rock ‘n’ roll song “Summertime Blues,” originally recorded by Eddie Cochran. Their heavy version of this tune was recorded in 1967 and released in 1968, and it also marks the first song labeled as “heavy metal” to enter pop charts.
Besides, Eric Clapton said Blue Cheer were “the originators of heavy metal.” Is there a better honor than having such a legend say that.
Cream
Talking about Clapton, there’s no way not to mention Cream, the power trio also featuring Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. While they were mostly called blues rock and hard rock, they are considered to be one of the originators of the genre.
Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
While it’s far from something like Meshuggah, but the very psychedelic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” from Iron Butterfly’s 1968 album of the same name has some really pretty stuff in it. The main riff is one of the most iconic ones in heavy metal.
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Of course, the song was covered by various other bands, and you can hear how metal it really is when you add a little twist to it. Like Slayer did back in the day. It’s solid proof that the secret to true heaviness is in the writing. If the melody or the riff doesn’t sound heavy, you can add all the distortion you want on your Line 6 Spider III and Boss MT-2, it will just be pop music with loud guitars.
Steppenwolf – Born to be Wild
What more do you need than actual words “heavy metal” appearing in your song? But seriously, “Born to be Wild” is considered to be one of the genre’s classics and it was released 1968.
The Beatles – Helter Skelter
Who would have expected that The Beatles could ever be associated with heavy metal in any way? Well, they didn’t really dive deep into harder stuff, but their song “Helter Skelter” from the legendary 1968 “White Album” is kind of metal. Some people would even argue that it was The Beatles who started heavy metal.
Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
This is probably the best proof of how blues is the biggest influence on the creation of metal. Released in 1968, Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” was shockingly heavy for the era. It’s amazing how innovative and diverse Hendrix was, with all the different stuff he released during his career. Unfortunately, it was cut short when he was only 27 years old.
Led Zeppelin’s debut album
Even Tony Iommi himself jokes about how he nicked all the early Sabbath riffs off of Led Zeppelin. Well, at least we can say that about “Paranoid” intro and Zeppelin’s version of “Dazed and Confused.”
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But really, Zeppelin‘s debut record marks one of the biggest changes we ever witnessed in modern music. And the aforementioned “Dazed and Confused,” which was a reworked version of Jake Holmes‘ song. The Zeppelin’s version has everything – slow doomy parts, wailing vocals, fast middle part, and some of the best guitar tones in rock music.
The record was released in January 1969, while Black Sabbath were performing as Earth. Tony, Ozzy, Geezer, and Bill had some songs already written by that point, like “War Pigs,” but so did Jimmy Page before the formation of Led Zeppelin.