# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/121 "2016-07-09T20:31:57Z")
If AC/DC is metal, then \*\*Ten Years After \*\*circa 1968 is, too. But, most would contend that AC/DC (and therefore Ten Years After) is not metal, just fast, hard rock’n’roll, with somewhat metalesque vocal style, album graphics, and sometimes lyrical themes. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/122 "2016-07-09T21:49:28Z")
My first thought: the Anvil Chorus. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/123 "2016-07-10T17:13:41Z")
Just had a thought - metal’s more than just the music, it’s also the showmanship -[Crazy World of Arthur Brown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en1uwIzI3SE)and _Fire_, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/124 "2016-07-10T20:08:36Z")
song - debatable. I’ll just go with this: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/125 "2016-07-10T20:35:12Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > song - debatable. > > I’ll just go with this: I think Black Sabbath were the first Heavy metal group stylistically. But to me that’s a statement about their lack of ability to do something else and not an achievement or a visionary thing. Sorry. But actually the tritone was the intro to this: > **[Purple Haze](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Haze)** > > "Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967, in the United Kingdom. > The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Eastern modalities, shaped by novel sound processing techniques. Because of ambiguities in the lyrics, listeners often interpret the song as referring to a psychedelic experience, although Hendrix described it as a love song. It was i... ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/126 "2016-07-10T20:55:04Z")
I remember this thread from years ago. Interesting. I had my prejudices like everyone else. But this time around I thought I’d try to set down with an open mind as possible and give all the contenders a listen. For starters, I never got the Steppenwolf nomination. To my ears there is nothing heavy metal about the music. Secondly I’ve thought the lyric “heavy metal thunder” referred to loud tail pipes as opposed to music. Which the song never references to my hearing. I understand the case for the Kinks but musically I’m just not hearing the classic “heavy” in it. My vote always seemed to lean to Sabbath but after listening to the first Blue Cheer album I gotta go with them. Check out Doctor Please. They might not have have been that popular in general but they clearly were carving out a new direction in music. And it seems they were doing so with purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/127 "2016-07-10T23:57:01Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > But actually the tritone was the intro to this: > > [Purple Haze - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Haze) True - and was released about a year before Blue Cheer’s “Summeretime Blues” was released. (I can’t find anywhere the actual recording date of BC’s “S.B.”) (other than “in '67”) > [@drad\_dog](#): > > I think Black Sabbath were the first Heavy metal group stylistically. But to me that’s a statement about their lack of ability to do something else and not an achievement or a visionary thing. Sorry. I’ll speculate otherwise and go with them not giving an aardvark’s phoo-hoo about any music (other than their blues/rock-based roots) and just chart their own, awesome course onwards. The rhythm guitar line in Hendrix’s “Ezy Rider” (recorded over '69 - '70) _hinted_ at heavy metal, meshing in with the tune’s soul-rock/stoner/biker elements. (and some relatively heavy lead guitar work, at points) ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/128 "2016-07-11T00:25:48Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > True - and was released about a year before Blue Cheer’s “Summeretime Blues” was released. (I can’t find anywhere the actual recording date of BC’s “S.B.”) (other than “in '67”) > > I’ll speculate otherwise and go with them not giving an aardvark’s phoo-hoo about any music (other than their blues/rock-based roots) and just chart their own, awesome course onwards. > > The rhythm guitar line in Hendrix’s “Ezy Rider” (recorded over '69 - '70) _hinted_ at heavy metal, meshing in with the tune’s soul-rock/stoner/biker elements. (and some relatively heavy lead guitar work, at points) Ozzy cared very deeply. I always thought that ozzy would have been in the Beatles if he could have. After all, he wasn’t a “heavy metal fan.” He was a Beatles fanatic, and I think he still is. It wasn’t going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/129 "2016-07-11T02:07:02Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Ozzy cared very deeply. I always thought that ozzy would have been in the Beatles if he could have. > > After all, he wasn’t a “heavy metal fan.” He was a Beatles fanatic, and I think he still is. It wasn’t going to happen. Still, it’s much too weak a connection to make between Ozzy’s love of the Beatles and your claim about their lack of ability to do something else. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/130 "2016-07-11T02:17:47Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Still, it’s much too weak a connection to make between Ozzy’s love of the Beatles and your claim about their lack of ability to do something else. Just what I hear in listening is all, no thesis paper. I think some people would be surprised at what their heroes really were thinking. Especially in the realm of “extreme” music. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/131 "2016-07-11T03:06:47Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Just what I hear in listening is all, no thesis paper. > > I think some people would be surprised at what their heroes really were thinking. Especially in the realm of “extreme” music. This is supernatural insight you have. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/132 "2016-07-11T04:22:25Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > This is supernatural insight you have. Hail Satan. ---
**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 11, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/133 "2016-07-11T05:19:48Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I think Black Sabbath were the first Heavy metal group stylistically. But to me that’s a statement about their lack of ability to do something else and not an achievement or a visionary thing. Sorry. > > But actually the tritone was the intro to this: > > [Purple Haze - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Haze) Umm, it’s actually a hell of a lot older than that. Butler was referencing Holst when they were inspired to write the song. Your Beatles worship would be germane to the discussion if there was any logic behind it or if Ozzy had written any of the music. Sadly, there’s no logic behind it. If you follow it back just one generation, you end up thinking that The Beatles wanted to be rockers, but could usually only wrestle lame pop songs out of their meager musical skills. Never mind that either (or any) group of people slavishly imitating their heroes would be the most stale bullshit they could have decided to do. In a similar sad fashion for your theories, Ozzy didn’t write the music, and didn’t usually write the lyrics. Butler and Iommi were more interested in classical music than they were interested in pop/rock by the time they were writing Black Sabbath songs, so there’s precious little Beatles influence in it. And well, Blue Cheer had already peaked by the time Sabbath started existing. So, I can’t think of anything in your position that is backed up by logic or facts. It’s just a bunch of musical “get off my lawn”, when we’re a fucking county away. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_from\_CB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/278dde/32.png) [@Alex\_from\_CB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_from_CB)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/134 "2016-07-12T14:03:57Z")
By my ear, like Casdave above, Vanilla Fudge’s…_Let Me Be_, 1967 was the first heavy metal song. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/135 "2016-07-12T14:25:32Z")
> [@Alex\_from\_CB](#): > > By my ear, like Casdave above, Vanilla Fudge’s…_Let Me Be_, 1967 was the first heavy metal song. If you’re talking about “You Keep Me Hangin On”, that’s nothing more than simply an extended psychedelic rock jam. You’ll have to elaborate. ---
**Author:** ![Shearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Shearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shearer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/136 "2016-07-12T16:14:27Z")
There was lots of Heavy Psych before Black Sabbath (Vanilla Fudge, Blue Cheer etc) and lots of Heavy Blues (Cream, Free, Led Zeppelin etc) Metal isn’t psychedelic or blues. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/137 "2016-07-13T03:58:16Z")
> [@Shearer](#): > > There was lots of Heavy Psych before Black Sabbath (Vanilla Fudge, Blue Cheer etc) and lots of Heavy Blues (Cream, Free, Led Zeppelin etc) > > Metal isn’t psychedelic or blues. Link to your nomination for first metal? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/138 "2016-07-13T14:27:23Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Link to your nomination for first metal? D.N.L.R.H. (Definitely No Link Required Here) because Shearer is dead spot on correct. Sometimes wikipedia and other websites don’t have every single base covered, which is why this subject is most certainly a with-bells-on example of D.N.L.R.H. ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/139 "2016-07-14T02:59:45Z")
I can’t help but think people are giving The Kinks credit for Eddie Van Halen teaching us all what a palm mute is supposed to sound like. IMO, The Kinks are a precursor to punk, and Black Sabbath is pure unadulterated metal (see youtube for vids of BS playing live in Paris in 1970 - it holds up as metal even by today’s standards) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825/140 "2016-07-14T11:29:24Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > I can’t help but think people are giving The Kinks credit for Eddie Van Halen teaching us all what a palm mute is supposed to sound like. IMO, The Kinks are a precursor to punk, and Black Sabbath is pure unadulterated metal (see youtube for vids of BS playing live in Paris in 1970 - it holds up as metal even by today’s standards) Nice comment on palm muting. Eddie always sounds like he’s holding back a beast of volume. I am enjoying this thread from the sidelines. I see “Heavy Metal” as an evolving target. Back in the day, Steppenwolf and Zep were included in the conversation, something I wouldn’t think of today. It’s like Punk: the punk scene included Talking Heads, Televison, Blondie, etc. But the genre coalesced around the Ramones’s basic blueprint so folks will go back and argue if Blondie was Punk. Metal coalesced around Sabbath. There were lots of varied strands, but the genre seems to have used the Sabbath blueprint over time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-heavy-metal-song/639825.md?page=8)