Early metal/proto-metal

[That Dude With The Shades]

A thread for bands and songs that may or may not have been metal in the true sense, but were crucial, if overlooked at the time, steps in the development of metal. Usually from the late sixties/early seventies. Here are some examples: DKxZY0DIxIk 0-FUoyQKcu8 jX-yuZFVm34

[The Strategos]

Hey, Easy Living is awesome but Bird of Prey is even better and the best is the mighty GYPSY!!!

[BlutAusNerd]

Yeah, I probably would have picked Gypsy or something else off of Uriah Heep's debut, which is just as metal as Deep Purple and Black Sabbath's early work. That's also one of Aerosmith's best and most metallic songs, along with Rats in the Cellar from the same album. Some lesser known ones that I would like to add: Buffalo - Shylock: at7JvfvMB5c This song is almost like Black Sabbath's Symptom of the Universe, but a few years earlier. The vocals here are pretty heavy for the time, low and commanding, but definitely 70's sounding. Crunchy, catchy, and dark riffs, awesome stuff. Lucifer's Friend - Ride the Sky: JVpe13BwR9c Lucifer's Friend were another early heavy metal band that never gets to share credit with the bigger names, but I believe they should. Charging rhythms, soaring vocals, and awesome melodic leads. This reminds me a bit of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep (John Lawton would end up singing for Uriah Heep a few years after this), but the french horns blasts definitely set it apart. This is fucking great stuff, don't let it get lost to history because people can't accept that Sabbath weren't alone in creating heavy metal. Jerusalem - Primitive Man: w_Nt-CPu5D4 Jerusalem were among the first bands to play slow and heavy like Sabbath did (Pentagram were doing this in the US at the time, but any metalhead worth his salt should know them already), but are often forgotten about. Maybe it's because they only made one album, or because the guitar tone wasn't as fat as Sabbath's, or maybe because they're a bit more psychedelic and less bluesy, but either way it's good stuff for any fan of early heavy metal. Flower Travellin' Band - Satori I: C5mMLbF3ts4 Flower Travellin' Band were a Japanese psychedelic rock band that kicked up the heaviness for their 2nd album, Satori. This stuff has also often been compared to Black Sabbath (by people who actually know who they are, that is), and the crunchy guitars are probably the reason. Again, the approach here is much more psychedelic and less bluesy than Sabbath, with a much different approach to many of their riffs and song structures, but it is still an awesome and fun early heavy metal experience. Sir Lord Baltimore - Helium Head: ErxAbqsBnFM Sir Lord Baltimore were an early 70's band with tons of energy and charisma. They had sort of a Led Zeppelin styled base of bluesy riffs and lots of leads, but almost a more jam like approach to songwriting, and of course everything taken up to 11. Very rockin' and fun, but definitely heavy enough to qualify as early metal, and it should appeal to fans of the other bands I've posted. Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues: nU5uDozoSSM Sure, Blue Cheer still might not count as metal, but they were one of the most influential bands upon Black Sabbath, so it's hard to argue their importance. Still very much a bluesy rock band, but just listen to how fat that guitar sounds, and the huge upfront bass presence was definitely influential on Sabbath's decision to put Geezer way up in the mix to give them that even heavier sound. It sounds like Bill Ward's tom laden drumming approach derives from this as well, easily one of the biggest and heaviest sounding bands of the 60's, so I feel that they deserve to be mentioned. Leaf Hound - Freelance Friend: ZMkKytAUHzA Leaf Hound were another one of those bluesy/psychedelic bands that were very influenced by Led Zeppelin's early works. Of course, they definitely had a more drug oriented image, and that bloated fuzzy sound that many stoner metal bands try their hardest to imitate. Groovin', rockin', and pretty heavy for the time, it's too bad Leaf Hound didn't release more albums. There are a few others I wanted to post, like High Tide, but for some reason I'm having difficulty locating YouTube videos. High Tide's are mostly blocked because of "EMI copyright infringements", but I'll post more if I can get those to go through, or think of some that I forgot.

[forge]

Wow, thanks. People here always find lots of cool bands I can check out.

[BlutAusNerd]

There are TONS of others that I've forgotten about or just don't know about, I don't know why so many people assume that heavy metal was created in a vacuum by just one band (Sabbath) until the next bands came along 6 years later. I've always been interested in this topic, as I'm always looking for the origins of various sounds and genres, so I'm interested to see if anyone else has stuff to contribute. Great idea for a thread Dude With Shades!

[That Dude With The Shades]

I forgot about Blue Cheer and Sir Lord Baltimore, but I was thinking about posting up some Leaf Hound and Buffalo. Led Zeppelin was pretty important as well, although they were really just more hard rock than anything else.

[BlutAusNerd]

I forgot about Blue Cheer and Sir Lord Baltimore, but I was thinking about posting up some Leaf Hound and Buffalo. Led Zeppelin was pretty important as well, although they were really just more hard rock than anything else.

Their first album was pretty metallic, and they were definitely important, but I figured that everyone and their dog already knew them. I tried to focus on stuff that doesn't get as much attention anymore, but unfortunately I'm not that well versed in the subject. One of the members from my other forum could fill this thread up with all kinds of cool stuff, I might have to hit him up to add a bunch that I missed.

[H34VYM3T4LD4V3]

Re: Early metal/proto-metal What about the AWESOME UFO?

[BlutAusNerd]

What about the AWESOME UFO?

Not familiar enough with them, why not post a video?

[H34VYM3T4LD4V3]

Ok then VRRc4MMAQ3c

[BlutAusNerd]

It says it's blocked in my country for copyright infringement.

[H34VYM3T4LD4V3]

Oh fuck that. n0OatiI5XcE

[MacabreEternal]

For me the best UFO track is: z-uFp0m2xNs In terms of proto-metal or early incarnations of the music we all love there is a blog called The Day After The Sabbath which I recommend to anybody interested in this era of music. The guy who does the blog spends his time sourcing classics from all over the world and I was particularly interested in the Italian Prog Compilation he put together. He does proto, prog, early doom, trad metal etc so there should be something in there to suit all tastes with just one quick google search.

[H34VYM3T4LD4V3]

UFO are fuckin awesome, love that band. How about this then? xD QWuXmfgXVxY

[MacabreEternal]

Pop music. Massively over-rated and over lauded pop music.

[H34VYM3T4LD4V3]

Re: Early metal/proto-metal yeah, I know, just the first time I heard this I couldnt stop laughing, although yes the Beatles are the most overrated band IMO

[MacabreEternal]

They get bummed something rotten by Mike Sweeney on Real XS Radio virtually everyday when he tells the audience how groundbreaking and influential they were/are. I can't deny their history nor their success and they should be applauded for that but their sound was mediocre at best and their depth in terms of sound practically non-existent. Rant over.

[Scullicon]

The phrase Helter Skelter just make me think of Charles Manson. Anyway, Gun could be mentioned. bvMETCQAf1w

[MOFOZOSO]

Cool thread. Double guns.