Classic metal
| Traditional heavy metal | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Classic metal |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1960s, United Kingdom and United States |
| Typical instruments | |
| Regional scenes | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Other topics | |
| Hard rock | |
Traditional heavy metal, also known as classic metal, or traditional metal, is the seminal genre of heavy metal music before the genre "evolved and splintered into many different styles and subgenres."
The short, original, and proper term for this genre is "heavy metal", but as Michka Assayas notes in his Dictionary of Rock, the term "heavy metal" is used in different senses. While the term can refer to the seminal style, it also can be used as a large umbrella term for any derivative subgenres. Hence the term "traditional heavy metal" or "classic heavy metal" may be employed to avoid confusion with the larger sense. In order to avoid the potential ambiguity others, like Sharpe Young, use the term "heavy metal" exclusively to refer to original genre and use the term "metal" instead to refer to the global genre including subgenres. Similarly, Paul Du Noyer also uses the term heavy metal to refer to the original style exclusively.
Assayas points out another ambiguity of the term "heavy metal" and notes that in certain context some may consider it synonymous with hard rock (most particularly in the USA) while others consider these to be distinct genres. The former view is supported by authors including Ian Christe and Robert Walser. Christe regards hard rock bands like AC/DC, Queen, Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple as heavy metal in the original sense. In contrast others, including Garry Sharpe-Young and Paul Dunoyer's music encyclopedia reject this label for these bands. Sharpe-Young,Rob Halford and Sam Dunn trace the origin of this genre to Black Sabbath exclusively, with a style characterized by the dropping of the genre's blues roots. Rob Halford argues:
"Black Sabbath absolutely invented heavy metal. I've read a lot of essays and such like about tracing it all back further and further. It's as though these writers want to claim the source, a bit like Dr. Livingstone and the source of the Nile. But as a purist metal musician, I can tell you— it's Black Sabbath."
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