Heavy metal music has been around now for over 50 years, spawning a multitude of subgenres 

and different styles. 

By the end of the 1960s psychedelic rock, which is closest in tone to early metal music, was beginning to be oversaturated in the music industry. Bands were starting to evolve their sound from psychedelic and have a more serious tone. 

By 1969, more albums would come out that would change the music scene forever. Led Zeppelin’s debut self-titled album and “Led Zeppelin 2” both skyrocketed Zeppelin to one of the biggest bands in the world. Zeppelin's drummer, John Bonham has done all the groundwork for hard rock drumming in the very first track, “Good Times Bad Times.” 

The Stooges debut album is another huge step in the right direction with the super loud and fuzzy guitar riffs, and almost tribal sounding drumming. Ron Asheton uses fast guitar licks and heavy distortion to give it a heavier sound.

The next year, 1970, would be the crucial point that truly showed what the genre could sound like. The release of Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut marked the start of a new area. The first track, “Black Sabbath,'' immediately sets the dark and sludgy tune with thunderstorm effects. Tony Iommi then fires in with a droning tuned-down guitar riff accompanied by the tight rhythm section of Bill Ward on drums and Geezer Butler on the bass. Ozzy Osbourne, the godfather of metal himself, was on vocals.

Black Sabbath is a heavy metal innovator and has influenced heavy metal in many ways. Later in the same year, Sabbath released their sophomore album, “Paranoid”. This saw the band explore more with faster riffs and simpler song structure. Sabbath would continue to release an album every year until 1977. 

Rounding out what is called the big three of 70s heavy metal is Deep Purple. Deep Purple had one key instrument that Zeppelin and Sabbath didn’t have all the time, keyboard. Deep Purple had one of the best songwriters and guitarists of all time in Richie Blackmore. The band released the critically acclaimed “Deep Purple In Rock” in 1970. With the mind altering power ballad of “Child In Time” delivering over 10 minutes of the whole band showing off what will come in the following decade.

Thanks to the groundwork these early innovators laid down, heavy metal would grow more and more with every year, sustaining over 50 subgenres and millions of heavy metal fans.

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