# The enduring heritage of Metallica **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841 "2003-12-30T21:48:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![frankie\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@frankie\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frankie_d)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/1 "2003-12-30T21:48:43Z")
Can i say with a certainty that metallica are in fact the best and most influential metal band ever. I mean in terms of style, guitar play, lyrics and of course as an altogether kick ass live band? And where can they be placed in the great pantheon of Rock? ---
**Author:** ![Teelo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Teelo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teelo)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/2 "2003-12-30T22:24:57Z")
Hell no! Don’t worry, you are probably just in a phase and it will pass. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/3 "2003-12-31T06:14:30Z")
Frankie. **Descriptive** titles. Please. “Metallica music” or “Metallica, the best metal band ever” or…we can’t tell if you want to talk about Bach or notation or guitars or humming. Welcome to the boards. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/4 "2003-12-31T06:33:08Z")
Actually, Black Sabbath is probably the most influetial metal band ever. They were heavy when Lars, Kirk and James were wearing diapers. Ask almost any metal band who their influences are and Black Sabbath will be on the list. Slee ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/5 "2003-12-31T06:50:33Z")
Actually, Black Sabbath is probably the most iinfluential metal band ever. James, Lars and Kirk were in short pants when Sabbath invented heavy. As far as best band goes, sorry but no. They are pretty good but there are other bands that are way better live. Probably the best metal bands I ever saw live were Dream Theater, Queensyche and Fates Warning. Stunnning musical ability and almost perfect live shows. Slee ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/6 "2003-12-31T07:27:53Z")
Depends on how you define metal. There are some folks out there who would consider Led Zeppelin to be metal, and there’s certainly no way that either Metallica or Black Sabbath can claim the wide-ranging influence or musicianship that Zep had. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/7 "2003-12-31T09:01:05Z")
Of course, Zeppelin owe much of their sound to **The Who** (not to diminish their awesome monolithic influence over rock as a whole!), who owe their sound to the Stones and the Beatles, who… ---
**Author:** ![frankie\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@frankie\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frankie_d)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/8 "2003-12-31T13:29:25Z")
I wouldn’t say that led zep are metal, metallica took on board everything their predecessors taught them(of course black sab, diamond head, saxon and co.), and reinvented the genre most notably in the form of thrash metal. in terms of guitar play i think kirk Hammett is on another plane, his technique is awesome in such classics as one, sanitarium, orion and im i evil. Yes he would probably say that iommi is better than him but that is because he is one of his heroes. Im not sayin they are the best rock band ever because that is pretty hard to define as their is so many rock genres. but given their chosen niche i think metallica have to rate up there. If in doubt then listen again to Master of puppets, ride the lighting and the black album. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/9 "2003-12-31T14:40:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by frankie d \* > \*\*I wouldn’t say that led zep are metal \*\* Interesting viewpoint, seeing as how the genre name was inspired partly by their band name and partly by their lyrics. From here: [http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin\_board/23/messages/983.html](http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/23/messages/983.html) Here is the genesis: there were, in the late 60s and early 70s, several bands that used metallic/heavy equipment imagery in their names: Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, Grand Funk Railroad, and MC5 (Motor City Five). I described them citing the phrase “heavy metal thunder” from the Steppenwolf song “Born to Be Wild.” Apparently the category name of “heavy metal” music devolved from that. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/10 "2003-12-31T14:43:52Z")
Arrgh! What a goof! Not their lyrics. :o Nevertheless, the “lead” in Led Zeppelin and the “iron” in Iron Butterfly were instrumental in the origin and meaning of the phrase “heavy metal.” When the term was invented, they were at the forefront of it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/11 "2003-12-31T16:13:50Z")
I like smoke and lightning… Metallica gets all the ink because they’re the biggest of the metal bands to come out after the popularity of the hair metal bands in the 80s. For a time I thought Motley Crue were going to fill that role but once Vince Neil started wearing garters I knew that was over. For myself I’d say the most influential metal band was Led Zeppelin (they were certainly defined there in the 70s) or Sabbath. But depending on how wide your definition is it could be any non-Barry Manilow band with a signifcant following in the 70s…Rush, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Motorhead, you name it… ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/12 "2003-12-31T17:01:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*But depending on how wide your definition is it could be any non-Barry Manilow band with a signifcant following in the 70s…Rush, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Motorhead, you name it… \*\* I remember years ago (very early 80’s maybe) getting one of the Columbia House Record Club mailers, where they give you the stamps, and they had Journey (!) categorized under Heavy Metal.:eek: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/13 "2003-12-31T19:09:23Z")
Yep, anyone in that sort of ‘all white male big-weenie long-hair’ thing got considered ‘heavy metal’ back then. REO Speedwagon (no foolin’) Styx Queen (again…no foolin’) Weird, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/14 "2003-12-31T21:04:01Z")
Don’t forget that Jethro Tull got the “Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal Or Instrumental” grammy (1988) for **Crest Of A Knave**. I’m a big Tull fan, but I laughed my ass off for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/15 "2003-12-31T21:16:34Z")
I think that’s a sore spot for \*\*frankie d[b/]. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/16 "2003-12-31T21:20:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoCoolUserName \* > \*\*Frankie. **Descriptive** titles. Please. \*\* Yeah, what he said. Thread title changed to reflect content. – Uke, the happy friendly CS mod ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/17 "2003-12-31T23:18:13Z")
I can’t think of a metal band that was formed after 1980 who had more influence than Metallica, but as everyone else has said, there’s no way that Metallica was the most influential ever. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-enduring-heritage-of-metallica/221841/18 "2003-12-31T23:40:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by frankie d \* > \*\*Can i say with a certainty that metallica are in fact the best and most influential metal band ever. I mean in terms of style, guitar play, lyrics and of course as an altogether kick ass live band? And where can they be placed in the great pantheon of Rock? \*\* Oh, you can SAY it.