The Metal Dictionary
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Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal became popular in the mid 1970's. It was called Heavy Metal because the instruments were very highly amplified, and when they were played together at once it would sound like some sort of machinery.

Today, 1970's Heavy Metal is known as hard rock because today it's not considered to be heavy at all

Bands like AC/DC and BLACK SABBATH became very popular and carried on the inspiration created by Heavy Metal. Oddly enough this magnificent music genre would not exist if it weren't for the existance of THE BEATLES.
However, nobody actually listens to a 70's type of band as they would to Metallica.

At the beginning of 1980, the Heaviness of Metal seemed to stay the same as JUDAS PRIEST and MOTORHEAD continued to float around. Finally, bands like SLAYER, METALLICA, and MEGADETH formed their own music. They introduced an even heavier and faster way of playing, however, that was when MOTORHEAD type of music became ignored.

Then at the end of 1990, heavy metal died slowly and unnoticably. This classic genre became known as dinosaur music, although 90's fashioned Heavy Metal bands like PANTERA, FEAR FACTORY, and SEPULTURA kept a firm back bone for the dying genre.
But even then it became hopeless; METALLICA turned into a more of a rock n roll type of band, and SEPULTURA went straight for Death and Black Metal.

It was then that people became more interested in Death Metal, and in the late 90's people only wanted to hear Nu-Metal.

In 2001, the very last Heavy Metal albums were made by SEPULTURA and PANTERA. While the other elements of Metal still stand stronger then ever whether it's a KoRn album or a SLAYER album.

Death Metal
Death Metal has got to be everybodies favorite Metal genre. This magnificent type of music started off as Black Metal, but when the sword and sorcery theme got a little bit corny, the lyrics changed into a theme of explicit hate(mostly of religion, but some bands glamorized racism also), suicide, murder, and anything that would result in torture or death.

In the mid 80's the Thrash Metal band SLAYER made this genre popular by creating lyrics that worshipped Satan and the descriptions of holocaust.

Later on in the late 80's, bands such as DEATH, GODFLESH, and NAPALM DEATH created a new theme that introduced vocals that were deep, fast, and black toned. Although SLAYER did not approve of this new vocal level, youths loved every second of it, and Death Metal bands were multiplying every year (whether they were popular or unpopular).

In the early 90's a crisis ocurred that was concerning Death Metal. Youths under the influence of Death Metal began to commit suicide and homicide. The ones that committed suicide were mostly depressive/bullied people that were convinced that they had nothing to live for. The ones that committed homicide were mostly skin heads and members of the Ku Klux Klan.

When a young girl was murdered by three boys under the influence of SLAYER. The parents of the murdered girl sued SLAYER and it was rumoured that the band almost went bankrupt.

Still, it is unbelievable that a few bone crushing amplifying of instruments and dark vocals is what corrupted some one to be able to kill.
   Black Metal
Black Metal was a very unique genre also, in the mid 1970's the idea was created by BLACK SABBATH through a couple of their songs.

Finally, in less then a year the first Black Metal band VENOM made a new genre. Black Metal was devilishly fast and the lyrics were almost like a sword and sorcery novel; the obsession with beasts and sorcerers were very noticable.

In the 1980's Thrash/Heavy Metal band SLAYER(now a Death/Thrash Metal band) used the inspiration from VENOM to start their own lyrics. But the 1980's Black Metal turned into Satan-worshipping music. Until it fully evolved into Death Metal with the efforts of bands like SLAYER, SEPULTURA, and DEATH.

In the 1990's Black Metal was completely forgotten until the arrival of Cradle Of Filth(the biggest Black Metal band in the world).

Today, it is believed that instead of Cradle Of Filth being the biggest Black Metal band, everyone says that Cradle Of Filth is the only Black Metal band in the world.

Thrash Metal
Thrash Metal has never been a certain Metal genre. Thrash Metal was more like the fast tempo of a Metal song. For instance, PANTERA is an average Heavy Metal band but in each album they would make one or two really fast songs, those fast songs would only be defined as Thrash Metal.

Throughout the history of Metal, there has never been a band that has only done Thrash Metal. MEGADETH may have been defined as Thrash Metal, but really, MEGADETH was actually a Heavy Metal band because their songs were not always fast. SLAYER was the only band that only did Thrash Metal and nothing but Thrash. But after a decade they decided to step on the brakes and make a little bit of songs that were at a normal pace. That is how SLAYER was underlined as a Death/Thrash Metal band.

Every Metal band has made a Thrash Metal song in their career. The only ones that haven't is the infamous Nu-Metal bands.

Viking Metal
Viking Metal has got to be the most unheard Metal Genre to have ever existed. This slow, dull, and predictable way of Metal was formed from Black Metal. The music was not very heavy at all, it was a bit more like dark grunge.

The lyrics of Viking Metal were focused more on science fiction; of how man has failed and how man is suffering. It is uncertain when Viking Metal was invented, but this genre died out in the early/mid 90's.

This genre was unintentionally introduced through one song by Nazareth and Iron Maiden. But the only bands that have only been doing this genre that I know of is a band called SOULSTORM and a Swedish three member band called ALLEGIANCE (please do not mistake this band for the Australian ALLEGIANCE band).

However, Black/Heavy Metal band ICED EARTH have made Viking Metal lyrics, so you could say that the lyrical structure of Viking Metal is quite decent.