Ah, the ever-present debate of exactly where and when it was that heavy metal was created. Music scholars have credited all kinds of artists and movements throughout the decades, with the most opinion coming from Mudvayne vocalist and noted heavy metal historian Chad Gray.
His verbal dissertation came out during an interview with the I-95 WRKI radio station (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). During the chat, one of the hosts asked Gray which artists he credited with creating heavy metal and his answer was a little more contemporary and couched with a Dime and Vinnie Paul anecdote.
“Man, you go back, you’ve gotta go back to Lemmy, you’ve gotta go back to Ozzy [Osbourne], [Black] Sabbath.
“It’s so funny, because Vinnie [Paul Abbott, late Pantera and Hellyeah drummer] told me a story one time. I guess it would have been in the ’70s. And they were young — him and Dime [Vinnie Paul’s brother and late Pantera guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott] were young; they were like in high school or something. And he said they went to a party at somebody’s house, and I think he was, like, 17, Dime was, like, 15, or whatever, they go to a party at somebody’s house. And he’s, like, ‘Dude, we walk in there, man, everybody’s hanging out and people are smoking weed, people are drinking, da da da.’ He’s, like, ‘Man, somebody put on Black Sabbath, man.’ He’s, like, ‘Me and my brother looked at each other.’ He’s, like, ‘That shit was scary.’ He’s, like, ‘We left,’ because he said it just sounded like fucking devil music. And that was his first [exposure to] Sabbath. I just thought it was so funny. ‘Cause when he told me the story, he had this fear in his eyes. He’s, like, ‘Man, dude, me and my brother just looked at each other,’ and he’s, like, ‘Man, this is fucking scary.’ He’s, like, ‘This is straight-up devil music.’ And I just thought that was so funny.
“So, I mean, you’ve gotta credit Sabbath and you’ve gotta, obviously, credit Lemmy and Ozzy and early, early, early Metallica. That was a big part of it. [Iron] Maiden, obviously, [Judas] Priest. And we could go on and on. The list goes on and on.”
Hey man, all joking aside, this is just one man’s opinion. I’m not gonna roast him for that. That being said, I’d venture to say there are even earlier artists and bands that could have easily gotten the nod over the likes of Metallica. I mean, some people point to Led Zeppelin, some point to Thin Lizzy… Hell, even bands like The Beatles, Budgie, and Blue Cheer get the nod.
Who do you think started metal? Let us know in the comments below.
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