Heavy metal is a popular and diverse genre of rock music. The use of electric guitar in instrumentation, loud pitches and lyrics centered on issues of the occult, death and violence characterizes heavy metal music (Brown.p373).Heavy metal music has its origins in the late 1960s. Heavy metal drew its roots from other genres of music including country, jazz, blues and classical music. America and Great Britain are the foundries of heavy metal although there are differences in the way heavy metal evolved in both countries (Crash, n.d). There are similarities in the way heavy metal evolved in the United States and Great Britain, but there are also some significant differences.
In the United States, the tempo of heavy metal music is slower than the heavy metal rock music in Great Britain. There are also differences in the evolution of lyrical content between the countries. The lyrical content of heavy metal music in Great Britain is extreme in matters of occult, death and violence than that of the United States. Heavy metal music in the United States has evolved to become a music field that has predominatly male audience and male performers (Mock him productions, 2004). This is different in Great Britain where the audience consists of both men and women and there are women who compose and perform heavy metal rock music (Brown, p373)
The early 1960s are the infant ages in the evolution of heavy metal music. The fusion of other genres of music like classical music and blues by some bands at the time birthed heavy metal rock music. The bands credited for the birthing of heavy metal from other music genres are Blue cheer cream, the Beatles and 13th floor elevators. These bands mixed different genres and used dissonance and distortion to create lengthy songs and loud guitars. This attribute later became part of heavy metal rock music.
The year 1969 represented the explosion of heavy metal music and bands such as Led Zeppelin deep purple and black Sabbath. These bands popularized loud rock, which would later characterize the heavy metal in subsequent years (Mock him productions, 2004).
In the 1970s, the style of heavy metal that developed in both Great Britain and the United States involved the use of a narrative framework through the repetition of short phrases with central motives. By the middle of 1970s, heavy metal fragmented into different genres the popular bands in this era were Judas priest and Iron Maiden in Great Britain and Metallica in the United States. These bands introduced the neo classical guitar and baselines that were melodically to heavy metal. The 1970s represented an era where punk had a major influence on heavy metal music both in the UK and in the United States (Crash, n.d).
Between 1979 and 1981, there was the development of a powerful style of metal in Britain collectively called the new wave of British heavy metal. Heavy metal rock music became highly commercialized in the early 1980s. The style of heavy metal that evolved in the 1980s in both the United Kingdom and United States was characterized by the fusion of classical heavy metal and the violent hardcore rock. The bands that popularized this style of heavy metal were bands such as Metallica testament and Medgadeth and Anthrax.The 1980s are regarded as the watershed for heavy metal as it is the time that heavy metal developed into many genres moving away from the fused blues and country style into heavy metal rock. The late 1980s also represents the birthing of death metal where bands applied the styles of rapid song progressions, ambient form of rhythms and fast strumming (Brown, p.374).
Black heavy metal rock music genre was also birthed in the 1980s.The bands that popularized black heavy metal through are Bathroy and Enslaved the black heavy metal style was characterized by the use of a range of harmonies and intervals in creating melodies. The lyrical genre of black heavy metal moved away from just focusing on mainstream events like death and violence in the lyrics to use of generally acceptable social issues (Mock Him Productions, 2004). A new type of metal thrash metal became popular in the early 1990s and combined aspects of energy aggression and sophistication in both the United States and Great Britain (Crash, n.d).
The 1990-s to the present represents a major movement in heavy metal as the genre degenerated into many different genres characterized by many lively live shows, better melodies and diversity in the theme of songs. Heavy metal rock music has therefore evolved from a narrow genre in the early 1960-s to a genre that incorporates many musical styles (Crash,n.d).The evolution of heavy metal has continued even in modern times through the creativity of artists and technical advancements and this will create more exciting genres and styles of heavy metal in future.
Works cited
Browne, Ray.guide to US popular culture Millport: Popular press 2001
Crash, the history of heavy metal n.d. Web.
Mock him productions history of heavy metal music. N.p 2004. Web.