Heavy metal music

Heavy metal
Other names	Metal
Stylistic origins	Hard rock blues rock acid rock psychedelic rock
Cultural origins	Late 1960s, United Kingdom and United States
Subgenres
Avant-garde metal extreme metal black metal death metal doom metal speed metal thrash metal glam metal groove metal power metal symphonic metal (complete list)
Fusion genres
Alternative metal funk metal rap metal nu metal deathcore drone metal folk metal gothic metal grindcore grunge[1] post-metal industrial metal metalcore neoclassical metal progressive metal djent sludge metal stoner rock Viking metal
Regional scenes
Africa Argentina Australia Bangladesh Brazil Canada Finland France Germany Hungary India Indonesia Japan Middle East Netherlands Norway Poland Sweden United Kingdom United States
Local scenes
Birmingham Gothenburg New Orleans Palm Desert Scene San Francisco Bay Area Florida death metal
Other topics
Underground Fashion hard rock list of bands list of festivals lyrics subculture umlaut
2024 in heavy metal music

Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States.^[2] With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, monumental sound characterized by distorted guitars, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats and loudness.

In 1968, three of the genre's most famous pioneers – British bands Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple – were founded.^[3] Though they came to attract wide audiences, they were often derided by critics. Several American bands modified heavy metal into more accessible forms during the 1970s: the raw, sleazy sound and shock rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss; the blues-rooted rock of Aerosmith; and the flashy guitar leads and party rock of Van Halen.^[4] During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence,^[5][6] while Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Beginning in the late 1970s, bands in the new wave of British heavy metal such as Iron Maiden and Saxon followed in a similar vein. By the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as "metalheads" or "headbangers". The lyrics of some metal genres became associated with aggression and machismo,^[7] an issue that has at times led to accusations of misogyny.

During the 1980s, glam metal became popular with groups such as Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe and Poison. Meanwhile, however, underground scenes produced an array of more aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, while other extreme subgenres such as death metal and black metal became – and remain – subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles have expanded the definition of the genre. These include groove metal and nu metal, the latter of which often incorporates elements of grunge and hip-hop.