Metal Evolution

Tracing the origins of metal is a phantasmagoric odyssey that traverses cities and countries, oceans and continents. For Sam Dunn, stop 1 on this heavy metal pilgrimage is the birthplace of Metal’s indisputable progenitor, rock ‘n’ roll: namely Memphis, Tennessee, home of Sun Studio. From there, Sam will cross the Atlantic, sketching the development of rock, uncovering the dawn of Metal’s central ingredient, the power chord, through a young band called The Kinks, with their formative smash, “You Really Got Me.” The earliest sounds of Metal will be revealed—the guitar innovators of fuzz and distortion—who played them and how these sounds were generated, while fresh and candid conversations with proto-metal icons like Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck will enlighten us every step of the way. Sam will visit the holy shrines of early Metal—Detroit’s Grande Ballroom, The Roundhouse, and The Marquee Club—temples where proto-metallers like Hendrix and Cream armed with new, more powerful Marshall stacks and P.A. systems, honed their craft before increasingly fanatical audiences desperate for an antidote to the faux-utopian ideals of the hippie ethos. But there is more to the seeds of Metal than mere rock ‘n’ roll. Sam will go back in time, to the 17th century, where Baroque composer J.S. Bach, mesmerized patrons with his spellbinding musical virtuosity, much like Metal giants Eddie Van Halen and Kirk Hammett do today. Sam will also explore the Sturm and Drang of Beethoven, Haydn and Wagner, finding parallels in the unyielding power and dynamism of Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, and Deep Purple. He’ll trace the life of the first “rock star,” Italian violinist Niccolo Paganini, an 18th century Jimmy Page, who, legend has it, sold his soul to the devil for money, fame and…chicks. Yes, the Devil; He has His role in the leather-clad embryo of Metal.

Metal morning in America begins with the clank of cars and guitars and the burning of draft cards, Detroit Rock City being home to the likes of Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, Iggy & The Stooges and the explosive MC5. But before that, it was the innovations of California surf guitar legend Dick Dale and the raucous garage rockers that sowed the seeds for darker, heavier music reflected in the apocalyptic sounds of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” and the furiously loud Blue Cheer. But weirdly, the picture suddenly brightens, lifting the nation toward a golden period of stadium-sized, radio-friendly metal, represented by the inspired and inspiring trinity of Kiss, Alice Cooper and “America’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band,” Aerosmith. Once Van Halen, with ruthless efficiently but also with flair, accumulates the advantages of all of the above, the stage is set for what will become a full decade’s worth of dominance for the uniquely party hardy metal of America.

Pouncing on the power of heavy metal, the United Kingdom wasn’t about to cede the rock ‘n’ roll dominance that nation held over America since the insanity of the Beatles and the subsequent British invasion. In a movement parallel to the Detroit experience, bands such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Trapeze and Slade were crafting their own loud sounds in response to the bleak industrial environment of Britain’s Midlands. Further south, swinging London was producing its own raft of impressive hard rock acts such as Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and UFO. Straddling the two like the giant it would become, Led Zeppelin featured a couple of Birmingham bashers in its rank, along with two seasoned pros from the fast-tracking studios of the big city. Add to the mix Nazareth, Thin Lizzy, Budgie and Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, and Britain’s rich legacy of serious, regal, virtuosic hard rock would be assured.

The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal marks no less than the establishment of hard rock’s very first heavy metal army. Loud ‘n’ proud of it, this jean-jacketed legion of headbanging air guitarists snarled back at punk, expressed impatience with prog, and purposefully declared a banishment of ballads. Previously undefined and even a bit shameful, heavy metal was now boldly out of the closet, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Saxon, Def Leppard, Raven, Tank and the Tygers Of Pan Tang seething out of the gates with fast, technical, uncompromising metal music, building a fanatical, energized movement that would lead to—as we will demonstrate in Episode 5—the establishment of a hard rock scene in Los Angeles built on similar devotional principles. The result would be a fulcrum shift to ten years of metal glory for America, with glam, thrash and everything in-between emerging out of California, thanks to the power and the glory of the NWOBHM and the obsessive fan culture it fostered.

There is no descendant of Metal that is as universally lampooned as “glam.” But why? In Episode 5 of Metal Evolution, the white lace curtain is drawn back on glam metal. We’ll explore glam’s androgynous roots, looking back to early Greek myth right up to David Bowie and T.Rex, and we’ll discover the reasons behind the present-day perception that glam was, despite its massive popularity in the 1980s, a false and hollow music form that represented a betrayal of the very spirit and ethos of Metal. Purveyors of glam such as Jon Bon Jovi, Cinderella’s Tom Keifer and Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot, will divulge their side of the story, revealing the attitudes, influences and decisions which guided them during those heady days of rampant excess on L.A.’s storied Sunset Strip. Contemporary musicians like Dave Mustaine from Megadeth and Slayer’s Tom Araya will discuss the reasons behind the vilification of glam—the notion that glam reduced Metal to caricature, drawing on a shallow combination of pop cliché and sophomoric sexual pandering for its inspiration. We’ll also explore the symbiotic relationship between MTV and glam metal, as well as the enormous pressure artists faced from the music industry to adapt or be jettisoned, speaking candidly to the ones who succeeded, and also to the ones that failed. Finally, we’ll track the truth and the myths behind the idea that glam’s ignominious decline paved the way for Metal’s next big stepchild, grunge.

How could metal go so horribly wrong? These were the bitter thoughts of scruffy outsiders Lars Ulrich, Dave Mustaine, Gary Holt and Kerry King, cursing as the glorious clang of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal echoed across America, only to die in LA. Ratt, Dokken, Quiet Riot. where was the power? Where was the fire in the belly? From this crucible of embarrassment, a virulent strain of metal called thrash was born, the likes of Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax wreaking vengeance on hook and melody through a rhythmic discipline executed at breakneck tempos topped by harshly barked vocals laying bare the horrors of nuclear holocaust and other fun forms of death. The blueprint came from Motörhead and the speedier of NWOBHM demons, but it took Metallica's incendiary Kill 'Em All to leach out the niceties until all that was left was stone-cold metal gathered around riff and pounding rhythm. Episode 6 dares to dig into the raging heart of America's thrash movement, uncovering its birthing in Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, its toddlerhood in San Francisco, while also acknowledging the parallel contributions of Anthrax and Megaforce Records across the country in New York. Into adolescence, Testament and Overkill get added to the moshpit as we wrestle our way toward the triumphant Clash Of The Titans tour. But is it victory at last or a last loud hurrah? As we discover in Episode 7, grunge efficiently erased glam from pop culture relevance, and it appeared to be on its way to doing the same with thrash. Yet thrash fought back, against all odds bounding into today's metal milieu as the most durable and abundant form of metal, thrash bands both modern and retro thriving from LA to Sweden, its current saviors being Virginia's Lamb Of God, and—surprise—a resurgent Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, each playing to the biggest and loudest crowds of their lives. How did this unlikely chain of events happen? Episode 6 has all the ugly answers.