Beginner’s Guide to Metal Genres

TRADITIONAL HEAVY METAL

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FREQUENT TRAITS

• Highly amplified distortion
• Extended guitar solos
• Emphatic beats
• Overall loudness
• Lyrics and performance styles are generally associated with masculinity and machismo

HISTORY

• Where it came from
  • Developed out of hard rock and blues and the 70s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • Gradually separated from hard rock as the music gained in intensity and volume.
• Where it is today
  • It is often used as an umbrella term to cover the entire spectrum of heavy metal.
  • Similar to Speed Metal, it is longer prevalent in its ‘original’ form. The genre, and the bands within it, have largely evolved into it’s sub-genres.

BANDS

• JUDAS PRIEST
• DIO
• IRON MAIDEN
• OZZY OSBOURNE

SUB-GENRES

• Glam Metal (MOTLEY CRUE)
• NWOBHM (SAXON)
• Basically everything else on this list!

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