MaxFaust

Great act. I believe he worked for Joe Meek, as did also Richie Blackmore. I don't know if Richie ever sessioned for Arhur Brown, but he was definitely in with Screaming Lord Such. Joe Meek was a bit of a character. His attitude was somewhere in the area of "anything goes". There can be no reasonable doubt that he made a lasting impression on Richie Blackmore.
Anyway --
Tony Iommi once said that he never cared much for Hendrix and the "psych" part of the fuzz guitar tree of evolution. He was into Hank Marvin, except he liked distortion. In my opinion, you can "kind of " hear that there is some DNA from the Shadows in Black Sabbath's guitar sound. Tony's riffing seem to follow the Hank Marvin logic in choice of meandering notes on the scale. 
I mean ... if Black Sabbath had gone for a more twangy surf guitar sound, it would pretty much be Shadows, right? A lot more small diddely-doo meanderings on the fretboard ... but if you're able to imagine a surf guitar doing the "Iron Man" riff, you whould be able to turn that on its head and imagine Kip Tyler working with Black Sabbath style guitar sound:
 
Let me be a little clearer on Hank Marvin vs. Tony Iommi. Compare these two songs:
Work a little with me. Try to "filter" away the fuzz.

Here's a couple of old school "heavy metal" albums to consider:
Leaf Hound - Growers Of Mushroom (1971)
Bolder Damn - Mourning (1971)
Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come (1970)
Bedemon - Child Of Darkness (1974)
Nazareth - Razamanaz (1973)

In the fine old tradition of backwards Satan speak, turning DOOM on its head will give you MOOD. Not saying it's the right way, I am of the opinion that doom metal is very mood-focused. Which has me digging for some really old stuff that may (or may not) have been working the same angle ... so that it may (or may not) be part of the DNA of modern doom metal (whether we like it or not). Geneticists are constantly speaking of the mythical LUCA (last universal common ancestor) and where exactly on the path of evolution you should put it. At the very least, I think Sabanna Breeze was onto something along those lines, in 1968:
Then came Black Sabbath, of course. With the rather predictable tail of copycats and spin-off products. There once was a band that called themselves Supernaut -- no hiding the Sabbath lineage there -- who were into dark, dirty sounding and not least repetitiously monotonous music ... which I think is a fine example of early doom metal.
 

Classic! 8/10
Now for something completely different. (Rudra is the Hindu version of Thor, god of thunder.)
 

It wasn't usual to call this music style "heavy metal" back in the 70s. To the best of my knowledge, nor did any bands call themselves heavy metal until Judas Priest in 1975. However, what got the whole NWOBHM thing started was Motörhead's album Overkill, first released im March of 1979. You can't possibly overstate what kind of impact that album had on rock fans of all genres, even the punk rockers ... who would routinely dismiss all "heavy" music as decadent burgeoise nonsense. I mean ... I remember how I couldn't believe my own fucking ears. What is this? It was like having a religious experience or something. Or at least, it was as OMG as anything can get. Video gamers would probably call this "the boss level". 
The next thing that happened was that the now opened ears were receptive to "more of this stuff" ... which sure enough started pouring in from all over the place. 
This is how I remember it. I'm not saying it's the "right" way to see things, only that it's my way. There was no denying the musical authority of Motörhead. They pretty much united everyone in a state of awe. Us old geezers call this the "pre-fragmentation era" and it lasted until 1981. Then tastes (and opinions) started to differ and genres came into play. I guess it's how you can't ever really get over the feeling ever after, when you've experienced a time when "it all made sense".

Literally ... my first and quite immediate association:
 

The phrase "heavy metal music" was coined by William Burroughs, in 1962, to describe the preferred tastes of "the heavy metal people on Uranus" ... I think the book was called Soft Machine ... which is also the name for a progressive rock band from the 70s (that's worth checking out). The concept was strongly associated with "drug culture" in its early years, that is to say before 1975, when Judas Priest decided to create a unique image for themselves, with various paraphernalia from sadomasochism (the studs and the leather and all that malarky) and a way sharper focus on the guitar shredding. They were the first to describe themselves as a heavy metal band ... a label that Black Sabbath has vehemently denied for their own work all along ... even though it's customary to name them as the founders of the genre and the first "real metal band". 
Inspired by Burroughs, the band Killing Floor released an album (in 69 or 70, I don't remember) called "Out Of Uranus". Knowing that obscure beatnick language connection will make it easier to see the pattern all along the way. When beatnicks said "heavy" they meant something very serious, or profound, either way something that had a heavy impact on you. Like drugs. However that may be, "drug culture" peaked between 1968-73, and has been in decline ever since, so that's hardly even relevant anymore. Nowadays, people mean only the sound (and some of the image) when they talk about what is and what isn't "metal" ... but for those who can remember the old times, there will always be the "brown acid and pink amphetamine" connection. 
Liking melody might mean that one of the real classics, "Rising" by Rainbow, could be of interest. 

Man, this is a looooong thread ... that took some time to get through. But it's also a very interesting one. I'm going to throw in a band that Euronymous was fervently championing for a while ... before his life came to such an untimely end. They weren't heard of for the longest time, but are out with a (relatively) new one now, called Planet Satan. Their sound will NOT appeal to everyone ... but if you like the thin and noisy guitar mix thing, this might just work for you. Oh,and yeah, they use a drum machine ... which I suppose makes them somewhat "industrial". Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mysticum (possibly my personal favourite among BM bands, from any time or "subgenre"):
Another great band that should be mentioned among the old guard from the 90s is Windir, although they may not be much known outside of the Norwegian scene. More melodic and "viking" than Satanic, really ... but it ought to appeal to those who like Ulver. Or at least, so I think. This is Journey To The End:
 

Meshuggah. This will take some time.

Meshuggah. This will take some time.

This is abso-fucking-lutely correct. What y'all young ones may not think about right now is ... where does this leave me 30 years down the road? As a time travelling reporter who's been there and seen that, I can inform you that you stand to gain exactly fuck all by giving up your independence of mind and body. Those who did invariably became old and fat and boring. Yeah they got some money, a bit of job security and a fine car or whatever, but they lost their souls. Keep that in mind, boys and girls. This battle isn't over until they start shovelling dirt down over your cold dead body.

I've been a friend of the weed (mostly in the form of hashish) since 1976. My consumption has been up and down, though. It really peaked after I decided that to quit drinking alcohol (after having been a moderate to heavy drinker all my adult life), but has since evened out ... to the point of living a mostly sober lifestyle now. No drinking, no drugs, no nothing, really, except for the black coffee. Which is a whole different kind of trip, to be honest. Being sober is a really fucking psychedelic thing. Seriously.
However, should I feel like smoking some weed, that's "allowed". I don't think I'll ever drink again though.

Mayhem, Emperor, Darkthrone.
Not because there is a lack of other good bands but because those are (still) my three main BM bands. 
Can I have another three?
Satyricon, Tsjuder, Mysticum. 

Yeah I remember that one ... and how I felt more optimistic about Halford's solo thing than the continuation of JP. It was weird for a while, but I like that album. I play it every now and then. 6/10. 
Now for some 80s stuff ...
 

When Jimi Hendrix did it I think it was between him and the guitar. They had a "special relationship" that almost certainly included some hate. Pete Townsend was the certified bad boy of his time. The Who were always the worst. They had a reputation to keep up. The first time I saw someone smash up their guitar on stage was in 1980. It was Paul Stanley of Kiss. I even secured a part as he was tossing them into the audience. But it was of course not his good guitar. Everybody could see that. 
My thoughts on this is that if they are your instruments, they are yours to do whatever you want with, including smashing them up. However, I fail to see what's "badass" about destroying your own property just for the hell of it. If it's a part of some greater show of message, sure, why not, but the general rule of thumb is that musicians should be careful with theatrical antics. It doesn't always play out as they had imagined it would.

Nothing has ever come close to being a better album closer than Black Rose from the album by that same name, released by Thin Lizzy in 1979. You don't even have to be Irish to get that one.

1. The "Mars" movement from Gustav Holst's Planet Suite. It is, literally, the tritone theme that inspired the song Black Sabbath, by the band by the same name. So a bit like heavy metal, yes. 
2. That gunfire thing from the 1812 overture by Piotr Tchaikovsky.
3. I feel like there should be something by Wagner. Let's do the classic, Ride of the Valkyries.
(I'll leave the Paganini angle to someone else.)
Rite of Spring is by Stravinsky. Big scandal in Paris back in the day. Fascinating story.

I absolutely love this song. I even posted here in this thread too some time ago, so 9/10
 

Hmm. I was under the impression that Therapy was considered a valid "nu metal" band, kind of genre similar with Primus, Prong and SOAD ... but whatever. I've heard "rock band" too. Either way, I like that sort of thing. 7/10.
Now for something completely different:
 

Fucking classic!!! A major musical kick back in the day. 9/10.
Sone years later ... and also somewhat inspired ... "black space metal" from Norway ...
 

This only reminds me of that old problem with Judas Priest and album covers. Scream for Vengeance is easily one of the best metal album covers ever ... whereas this sucks six different kinds of ass. Musically, it isn't all there either. They are definitely "at work" and doing a decent enough job as such ... meaning that it may not be a great Priest album, but it's still way above the "lesser" bands. I'm gonna give that song, on its own merits, a 7/10.
Okay ... now for something completely different:
 

Literally ... my first and quite immediate association:
 

They do, because it's fucking stupid. These ridiculous nancy boys can take their nazi fantasies and stuff them up their poop shoot. WTF. Either they are real nazis, in which case they deserve a solid beating every day for the rest of their lives, or they're just common morons who think this is a valid way of making yourself interesting. Either way, I'm not gonna start crying when that nazi ass is getting kicked.
Creating art is a valid reason to break the normal rules for acceptable conduct and good taste. Morality isn't even an argument. However, this must not be confused for a free pass to be as stupid as you want, and get away with it. Nazi propaganda is not okay. Pretending to be into that stuff isn't cool. Nazis are no better than child molesters, when it comes to how much respect they deserve. Why even try to communicate? Better to just punch them on the nose without any further ado. 

I don't know when (or even if) I got into "death metal". Apparently, I'd been listening to it without being aware of it. Earliest? Probably Death, Obituary or Morbid Angel. Or why not Cannibal Corpse? I remember the band name from before having even heard any of their music. At the time I was more "black" oriented.
An album worth mentioning though, is Heartwork, by Carcass.

I'm gonna have to give Monolord 9/10 ... because I fucking love that album. If I were forced to "sacrifice"most of what I've acquired over the last couple of years, the Monolord album would be among the last to go.
Over to some Mexican proto-metal from way back in Aztec times.