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Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that emerged as a defined musical style in the 1970s, having its roots in hard rock bands which, between 1967 and 1974, mixed blues and rock to create a hybrid with a thick, heavy, guitar-and-drums-centered sound, characterised by the use of highly-amplified distortion. Out of heavy metal various subgenres later evolved, many of which are referred to simply as "metal". As a result, "heavy metal" now has two distinct meanings: either the genre as a whole or traditional heavy metal in the 1970s style, as exemplified by the likes of Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Vanilla Fudge and others.

Heavy metal began gaining popularity in the 1970's and 80's, at which time many of the now existing subgenres first evolved. Heavy metal has a large world-wide following of fans known by terms such as metalheads and headbangers.

Characteristics

Heavy metal is typically characterized by a guitar-led sound, straightforward rhythms, and classical or symphonic styles. However, heavy metal subgenres have their own stylistic variations on the original form that often omit many of these characteristics.

According to Allmusic.com, "Of all rock & roll's myriad forms, heavy metal is the most extreme in terms of volume, machismo, and theatricality. There are numerous stylistic variations on heavy metal's sound, but they are all tied together by a reliance on loud, distorted guitars and simple, pounding rhythms."

Instrumentation

The most commonly used line-up for metal is a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer (who may or may not be an instrumentalist). Keyboards are used in some styles of heavy metal and shunned by others, although as different subgenres develop they have become increasingly popular. The guitar, however, is the key element in heavy metal. Distortion of the guitar sound is used to create a powerful, 'heavy' sound. Some of the original heavy metallers joke--much like punk rockers--that their simplified sound was more the result of limited ability than of innovation. Later, more intricate solos and riffs became a big part of heavy metal music. Guitarists use sweep-picking, tapping and other advanced techniques for rapid playing, and many sub-genres praise virtuosity over simplicity. Also, as technology has developed, new ways of altering the guitar's sound have been adopted.

Metal vocals vary widely in style. Vocalists' abilities and styles range from the multi-octave operatic vocals of Judas Priest's Rob Halford and the singing of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, to the intentionally gruff vocals of Lemmy Kilmister from the band Motörhead.

In terms of the live sound, volume is often considered as important as anything. Following the lead set by The Who and Jimi Hendrix, early Heavy Metal bands set new benchmarks for sound volume during shows. Tony Iommi, guitarist in Heavy Metal pioneers Black Sabbath, is just one of the early Heavy Metal musicians to suffer considerable hearing loss due to their live volume. Detroit rocker Ted Nugent (who rejects the term "heavy metal" to describe his music) and The Who (who once held the distinction of "The World's Loudest Band" in the Guinness Book Of World Records) guitarist Pete Townshend are nearly deaf. Canada's Eudoxis are credited as having the longest and loudest bass drums (six feet long), which proves that size does matter. Heavy Metal's volume fixation was mocked in the rockumentary spoof This Is Spinal Tap by guitarist "Nigel Tufnel", who revealed that his Marshall amplifiers had been modified to "go to eleven."

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