# What was the first heavy metal song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825 "2012-11-04T05:28:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/101 "2013-06-18T10:46:55Z")
As a tender and sensitive lad in those days of yore, I well remember the early hard rock albums. Noone whom I knew and no music magazine talked about Heavy Metal. That is an 80s reconstruction when the term became popularised. The term for the genre was Heavy Rock and you knew it when you heard it. Black Sabbath. Iron Butterfly. Vanilla Fudge. The other creative bands at the time made Hard Rock and that was more successful and accessible for the masses. Led Zeppelin, The Who, the Stones, Uriah Heep were pretty heavy, Deep Purple pushed through with incredible music, and Jethro Tull lent us Locomotive Breath. But generally Heavy Rock was a distinct sound of its own and not popular with radio stations or my girlfriends. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/102 "2013-06-18T18:31:10Z")
> [@zephyr9](#): > > Pink Floyd Interstellar Overdrive I think of that as more “prog”. Though they did do _The Nile Song_ in 1969 which is a contender for early heavy metal sound. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/103 "2013-06-18T18:58:55Z")
> [@tomcar](#): > > So sure “You Got Me” was a very important song, and influenced the Heavy Metal genre, I wouldn’t consider it the 1st Metal song because it isn’t Heavy Metal. Thank you, **tomcar**. I was wondering how long it would be till somebody finally snapped to this!! Sheesh! I can’t remember the Are You Experienced album, or Axis Bold as Love, but, I think that any Hendrix is certainly closer to metal than the Kinks. Didn’t Steppenwolf have some other stuff that could be called metal before BTBW? ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/104 "2013-06-18T19:06:10Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > I’m really surprised that no one’s mentioned the Kinks yet. I’ve heard of them…weren’t they musicians?? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Cornholio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Cornholio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Cornholio)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/105 "2013-06-18T21:06:01Z")
How about MC5 “Kick Out The Jams”? ---
**Author:** ![Isidor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/da6949/32.png) [@Isidor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isidor)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/106 "2014-06-11T11:14:25Z")
Guys as far as i know this is the first Heavy Psychedelic Doom Metal song,in two days we have fullmoon put it loud as you see the moon sinking behind the mountain or into the sea. The Misunderstood- Golden Glass 1965 (epos) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/107 "2014-06-11T13:06:56Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > You might as well say the Rolling Stones were heavy metal. Where’s the darkness, madness, suicide, minor keys, all that “wicked evil” stuff? Aside: You mean the Rolling Stones who recorded _Sympathy For The Devil_ and _Paint It Black_? Those masters of sweetness and light? Not saying the Stones were metal, just that their _subject matter_ wasn’t always far from it. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/108 "2014-06-11T13:10:18Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Maybe he was on the Grammy committee that gave Jethro Tull the heavy metal award one year. To be fair, the original award was for Best **Hard Rock/Heavy Metal** Performance, before the two categories were split the next year. And while Jethro Tull could in no way, shape, or form be categorized as heavy metal, some of their earlier works (“Aqualung”, especially) could arguably be labeled hard rock. That said, the album that won (“Crest of a Knave”) is about as far away from hard rock as I am from winning Naomi Watts’ hand in marriage. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/109 "2014-06-11T14:57:32Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > I think of that as more “prog”. Though they did do _The Nile Song_ in 1969 which is a contender for early heavy metal sound. Yeah, that’s always an outlier that I like to bring up. “Ibiza Bar” on the same album is even more metal, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/110 "2014-06-11T15:16:01Z")
Good points about there not being bright-line borders between music styles. For a comparison, look at Elvis Presley. Songs like “Jailhouse Rock” and “Hound Dog” are unquestionably rock music, but they are acoustic - how can you have rock music without electric guitars? That makes you step back for a minute and realize that “What is rock?” is really a more complex question than you thought. Elvis Presley’s music also has a country/western sound to it, but it’s more energetic and beat-based than what you would hear if you turned on the country station today. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/111 "2014-06-11T16:54:30Z")
Another vote for Black Sabbath. IMO (and as pointed out upthread), it was a sound that appeared more and more in rock until it became a style of its own: another of the blues’ many grandchildren. As an example of the gradual appearance of this sound, I’ll point out Sgt. Pepper’s and that one bit of chunky distorted guitar in the title song (“We hope you will enjoy the show”…chunka-chunk-chunk…) Of course, I haven’t listened to all early rock recordings, but the way I remember it is that there weren’t entire albums of that heavy sound (differs from the “squawking” distorted sound of the solo bits in the Sgt. Peppers title song and in its reprise) until Black Sabbath. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/112 "2014-06-11T18:00:07Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > Steppenwolf’s song “Born to be Wild” released in 1968 An Iron Savior song I listen to credits this as the birth of heavy metal, and I consider Iron Savior to be an authority.🙂 Although I have to say the first heavy metal BAND is Black Sabbath. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/113 "2014-06-11T18:03:46Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > An Iron Savior song I listen to credits this as the birth of heavy metal, and I consider Iron Savior to be an authority.:)… Did you accept Iron Savior as your savior? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/114 "2014-06-11T18:08:22Z")
No, I have it on good authority from many bands like Stryper, Barren Cross, Theocracy, and Narnia that some other dude is my savior. ---
**Author:** ![JakeofClubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@JakeofClubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeofClubs)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/115 "2016-07-09T13:47:51Z")
First I will start off by point out this: > [@spymaniac](#): > > It’s all opinions of course, but I would say Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath > > Nothing before this song/album really encapsulated the true ethics or semantics of what heavy metal actually is … It seems like a valid point, but don’t you mean - ETHOS - ethics is a set of standards regarding morals. If you are making up your own standards like SPYMANIAC did, you can find Heavy Metal elements in many songs. The perfect example is Beatles fans trying to claim they had the first heavy metal song. This is nonsense, Helter Skelter was just a little loud and screaming. What is the definition of Heavy Metal? Wikipedia is, of course, a dubious source for some, but I believe the peer review process of that site to very critical and using it is a resource highly credible. that definition then is - With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Kinks - I feel miss the emphatic beats and massive sound. The song I nominate is Sunshine of Your Love. If the sound is not massive enough for you, then Blue Cheer is the answer. No song after Blue Cheer should be considered, they clearly got it. As for Power Chords being “rock-n-roll,” that is completely wrong, power chords are for heavy rock and its offspring. ---
**Author:** ![Shearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Shearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shearer)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/116 "2016-07-09T14:49:25Z")
Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath is one type of metal, but a lot of metal is fast with galloping riffs. The first one I’ve heard of that kind is Hard Lovin’ Man by Deep Purple, also from 1970. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/117 "2016-07-09T15:18:19Z")
Two statements that almost no one will agree with: The old minor key murder ballads are ancestors of heavy metal, with lines like “gentlemen and ladies I bid you farewell; for killing pretty polly my soul will go to hell.” Listen to the beginning of the Mothers of Invention’s “Who Are The Brain Police”. Sounds something like the opening of “Iron Man”. Sounds creepy all the way through. Of course Zappa was always ahead of his time. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/118 "2016-07-09T17:05:21Z")
> [@JakeofClubs](#): > > The song I nominate is Sunshine of Your Love. If the sound is not massive enough for you, then Blue Cheer is the answer. No song after Blue Cheer should be considered, they clearly got it. Yeah, Blue Cheer is who I see as the first heavy metal band. ---
**Author:** ![EBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@EBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EBird)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/119 "2016-07-09T17:19:04Z")
Night On Bald Moutain tops my list ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/120 "2016-07-09T17:32:30Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > **Colibri** has it right: Blue Cheer’s cover of _Summertime Blues_ is widely regarded as the first real heavy metal song. It’s a blues-based song that the band rocked out loud as fuck (the band’s self-stated goal was to be “louder than God”) and the album title had the awesomely-unique-at-the-time but by-now-familiar-seeming Latin-esque name (_Vincebus Eruptum_). It’s a marvel of excess in almost every aspect of it’s rendering. > > Steppenwolf’s _Born To Be Wild_ is an awesome song, and is widely known as the first use of the phrase “heavy metal” in song lyrics, although the song is not considered by most to be a heavy metal song (although it does totally fuckin’ rock). > > The Beatles’ _Helter Skelter_ is in no way a heavy metal song, but it does mostly rock. > > Jeff Beck’s _Beck’s Bolero_ is also not a heavy metal song, although it does totally fucking rock. It could legitimately be described as a proto-prog rock song, although the lack of vocals really relegates it to “cool and influential but not monumentally important” status. > > Heavy metal as a genre really didn’t solidify until Black Sabbath came along and introduced the so-called “Devil’s Tritone” to rock music with their eponymous song. This song, with it’s musical and lyrical foci, laid the true blueprint for the genre. > > Of course, there was a lot more that went into the evolution of the genre, but that’s the very simple, basic explanation for how Heavy Metal car about. Blue Cheer’s _Summertime Blues_ is great on record, but best heard live at the Fillmore… Oh, wait - I did hear it live at the Fillmore ! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825.md?page=7)