Genre Analysis Development Late 1960s and early 1970s U.K. then - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Genre Analysis

Development — Late 1960s and early 1970s — U.K. then U.S.A. — Roots in Blues Rock & Psychedelic Rock

More extreme style of Rock Music — Some bands became heavier: — larger drum kits — louder and larger guitar amplification — introduction of wanted feedback & distortion — Less syncopation & blues elements — More showmanship & brute force

Developing characteris9cs — Highly amplified distortion — Extended guitar solos — Vigorous vocals — Dense bass-and-drum sounds — Emphatic beats & rhythms all contributed to a — thick, massive sound and — sense of overall loudness

Proto Metal Mid – Late 60’s — Blue Cheer — Loudest band in the world at the time — Vanilla Fudge & — Iron Butterfly — Both inspired Deep Purple with use of heavy organ — The Yardbirds — Jimmy Page goes on to form Led Zeppelin following the Yardbirds demise

Iron BuCerly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

The Simpsons – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Proto Metal Mid – Late 60’s — Cream — Unison riffing — Thunderous drumming and double kick — Jimi Hendrix Experience — Highly influential Debut LP - Are You Experienced (1967) — Single - “Purple Haze” — Hendrix's virtuosic guitar technique and use of deliberately risqué sounds and performances would inspire many metal guitarists. — Steppenwolf — “Heavy Metal thunder…” first mentioned as a lyric in the song, Born To Be Wild. —

Early pioneers: Led Zeppelin (1968) — Vision of Jimmy Page (Guitarist/ Bandleader/ Producer) — Defined central aspects — Combined: — distorted riffing guitar & dramatic, wailing vocals soaring over the top of the — powerful low-end drum and bass rhythm section — Ie. Communication Breakdown — Whole Lotta Love — The Immigrant Song

Led Zeppelin – Communica9on Breakdown

Early Pioneers (1970) Deep Purple & Black Sabbath — Early releases by both bands portrayed a more consistently heavy, "purely" metal sound — Attracted much criticism from the shocked media, however this only encouraged their devoted youthful audiences. — (a common occurrence throughout the history of the genre)

Black Sabbath – Iron Man

Early – Mid 1970’s The first Heavy Metal scenes — Black Sabbath is joined in the U.K. by: — Budgie — UFO — Uriah Heep — American Heavy Metal takes shape: — Grand Funk Railroad — Blue Öyster Cult — Aerosmith — Kiss

Mid 1970’s Doors open for Metal — Commercial success became possible through Hard Rockers: — Scorpions (Germany) — AC/DC (Australia) — Cross-over success was then achieved by — Judas Priest — Thin Lizzy — Alice Cooper — Stage show included guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, boa constrictors, baby dolls, and dueling swords

Judas Priest – You’ve Got Another Thing Coming

Punk Rock factor Mid - Late 70’s — Punk Rock emerges as a counterculture and reaction to overindulgent, overproduced rock music of the time, including Heavy Metal. — Many young British Metal bands were then inspired by Punk’s high-energy sound and "lo-fi", DIY ethos and began cheaply recording and releasing independently to small yet devoted audiences.

NWOBHM Mid - Late 70’s — Motörhead emerges, straddled the Punk/Metal divide introducing the movement: — "New Wave of British Heavy Metal” — Although claiming to simply play Rock ‘N’ Roll, the band influenced Thrash and Punk bands alike.

New Wave of Bri9sh Heavy Metal — Iron Maiden — Saxon — Def Leppard — Bands brought new energy and toughened up the sound — Reduced blues elements & syncopation — Emphasised faster tempos and propulsive rhythm — Drum beats being accompanied by guitarists playing a palm-muted staccato-attack technique would become a mainstay — Heavy Metal fans became known as Metalheads & Headbangers .

A shi^ in Metal Late 70’s - 1980’s — The 1st generation bands were ceding the limelight. — Deep Purple were momentarily defunct after guitarist, Richie Blackmore's departure — Led Zeppelin broke up following drummer John Bonham's death — Black Sabbath were constantly upstaged in concert during this period by LA opening act, Van Halen…

A shi^ in Metal Late 70’s - 1980’s — Eddie Van Halen becomes Metal’s guitar hero — his solo on "Eruption”, is considered a milestone in modern guitar, pushing technique & speed.

Glam Metal/ Hair Metal 1980’s — Inspired by Van Halen's success, the Glam Metal scene developed in the clubs of L.A.'s Sunset Strip: — Quiet Riot — Ratt — W.A.S.P. — Mötley Crüe — Common Sex and Drugs themes — Rapid-fire shred guitar solos — Anthemic choruses — Pop-oriented melodic approach

Glam Metal/ Hair Metal 1980’s — By the late 80’s, Arenas and MTV were dominated by: — Poison — Warrant — Whitesnake — Bon Jovi

Underground – Thrash Metal 1980’s — Meanwhile, in contrast, an Underground Metal scene had fast developed, which ignored the pop world and spandex — Thrash Metal took influence from the NWOBHM Bands combined with Hardcore Punk, leading a series of more extreme and aggressive styles. — "Big Four of Thrash”:

Metallica – Master of Puppets (Live)

Underground – Extreme Metal 1980’s — A desire to become heavier, faster and less accessible to the mainstream would continue through the emergence of bands in the following styles: — Power Metal — Speed Metal — Gothic Metal — Death Metal — Doom — Black Metal — Common themes include: — Darker lyrics/ topics — Guttural, harsh or abrasive singing — Less musical focus on feel and more on technical control — Blast beat tempos reaching up to 350 bpm — Appearance and on stage demeanour — Use of satanic or occult imagery

The 1990’s - Grunge hits Demise of Glam Metal, rise of Alterna9ve p1 — Grunge bands crossed paths with Metal such as: — Alice In Chains — Soundgarden — Elements of Funk, Rap, Rock & Metal were combined by: — Faith No More — Primus — Rage Against The Machine — the Red Hot Chili Peppers

The 1990’s - Grunge hits Demise of Glam Metal, rise of Alterna9ve p2 — Progressive Metal & Rock were mixed by: — Tool — Dream Theater — Porcupine Tree — Industrial and Metal were meshed by: — Fear Factory — Ministry — Nine Inch Nails — Marilyn Manson — with Alice Cooper influenced Shock Rock

Nu-Metal Late 90’s – Early 2000’s — Into the new millennium, Alternative and Nu-Metal garnered success combining a wide range of elements from Death Metal to Hip Hop: — Slipknot — P.O.D. — Linkin Park — Papa Roach — Korn — Disturbed — Limp Bizkit

Europe Mid 2000’s - Today — Scandinavia emerged as one of the areas producing innovative and successful bands — Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany are the largest markets. — Successful European bands have included: — Dimmu Borgir (Norway) — Children of Bodom (Finland) — Blind Guardian (Germany) — HammerFall (Sweden)

Dimmu Borgir - Gateways

Metal Mid 2000’s - Today — Chart success has been achieved by: — Lamb of God — Bullet For My Valentine — Trivium — Mastodon — Also from Metalcore bands who combined hardcore punk influence including: — Killswitch Engage — Shadow’s Fall — and Australia’s Parkway Drive

Bullet For My Valen9ne – Scream at Fire

Parkway Drive - Karma

Metal Mid 2000’s - Today — Even bands dubbed as “Retro-Metal” borrowing from the 70’s sound such as: — The Sword (USA) — Graveyard (Sweden) — Witchcraft (Sweden) — Wolfmother (Australia) — Prog-Metal and a newer form, Djent fuses many influences including Jazz: — Opeth — Meshuggah — Animals as Leaders — Periphery — Born of Osiris

The Sword – The Veil of Isis

Lyrical topics and themes — Lyrical content often portrays a state of discontent: — Trauma — Aggression — Depression — As well as the exploration of the surreal : — Medieval — Folklore — Thematic & Mythical values.

Music characteris9cs Harmony, Scales, Modes — Power Chords: — Root + Perfect 5 th (+ Octave) ie: “A” power chord notes, A-D-A — — Tense-sounding chromatic or tritone relationships in chords and riffs are commonly used. — Tritone (Devil’s interval) = Dim 5 th / Aug 4 th — eg: well-known riffs in Iron Man, Smoke on the Water or Enter Sandman intro to Purple Haze

Music characteris9cs Harmony, Scales, Modes — Alongside the Blues scale, Classical music and the use of Aeolian and Phrygian modes have continued to influence Metal. — Especially influential virtuoso guitarists ; — Ritchie Blackmore, Uli Jon Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads and Yngwie Malmsteen. — eg: Youtube – “johnhguitar” for brief examples on modes

Instruments

Produc9on - Drums — Natural vs. Formulated — Multi-miked, Samples, Triggers — How much of a “real” sound are you hoping to keep? — Kick drum: More “click” than “boom” (especially with faster tempos or modern styles) — Snare drum: Tighter snare & wires — Cymbals: HPF - help keep them toppy and sit above buzz of guitars etc

Produc9on - Bass — Use of distortion more prominent — High “attack” frequencies can help it to cut through a big guitar sound and improve definition of notes — In some extreme cases, bass has been known to be high-passed where there is a battle for the low end with drums, syphonic sounds or samples or even low- tuned guitars