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The creation of heavy metal was just one of the ways rock 'n' roll fractured during the late 1960s. Some say the Beatles released the first heavy metal song with 'Helter Skelter' off the White Album, and bands such as the Who and Led Zeppelin burst onto the rock scene with a much harder, harsher sound. However, it was Black Sabbath and Deep Purple that can claim the honors as the first true heavy metal bands.
Black Sabbath took the hard blues-rock format of Cream and Led Zeppelin and slowed it down to a dirge-like pace, cranked up the amps, let loose screaming guitar solos and vocals to accentuate the lyrics that described anger and mental anguish. And unlike the aforementioned Beatles, who switched sounds and moods by putting the light-rocker 'Sexy Sadie' in before 'Helter Skelter' on the White Album, Black Sabbath pounded metal into the listener minute after minute.
While Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath continued to bite the head off of rock 'n' roll, Deep Purple did what Black Sabbath did, except they were even louder. Songs such as 'Smoke on the Water' relentlessly attacked the speakers. Ritchie Blackmore's guitar drove Deep Purple to the top of the charts with loud, raucous, but catchy riffs. Deep Purple held the title of 'World's Loudest Rock Band' in the 1975 Guiness Book of World Records, and it lasted for years.
During the 1980s, heavy metal took off in various forms. 'Hair Metal', with bands such as Poison, Motley Crue and Def Leppard were all the rage, topping the charts throughout the decade. However, real metal groups such as Metallica, Megadeath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Queensryche brought the dark, gloom-and-doom spectacle of heavy metal to a whole different level.
Today, metal is as popular as its ever been. With Metallica still dominating the industry, other groups such as Nickleback and Audioslave get played on the radio enormous amounts with heavy but radio-friendly tracks. The 'Hair Metal' days are getting plenty of respect, too, with the Darkness. retro-metal 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love' seeing plenty of time both on the radio and on MTV.
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