Lothar Kirchen

Senior VoIP Architect EMEA
@Ringcentral Inc.

MY MUSIC

Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music[4] that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and loudness. The lyrics and performances are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.

In 1968, three of the genre's most famous pioneers, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, were founded. Though they came to attract wide audiences, they were often derided by critics. Several American bands modified heavy metal into more accessible forms during the 1970s: the raw, sleazy sound and shock rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss; the blues-rooted rock of Aerosmith; and the flashy guitar leads and wild party rock of Van Halen. During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence, while Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Beginning in the late 1970s, bands in the new wave of British heavy metal such as Iron Maiden and Saxon followed in a similar vein. By the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as "metalheads" or "headbangers".

During the 1980s, glam metal became popular with groups such as Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe. Underground scenes produced an array of more aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax, while other extreme subgenres such as death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles have expanded the definition of the genre. These include groove metal and nu metal, the latter of which often incorporates elements of grunge and hip hop.

Punk rock (or simply punk) is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often shouted political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent record labels.

The term "punk rock" was first used by American rock critics in the early 1970s to describe the mid-1960s garage band. Certain late 1960s and early 1970s Detroit acts, such as MC5 and Iggy and The Stooges, and others from elsewhere created out-of-the-mainstream music that became highly influential on what was to come. Glam rock in the UK and The New York Dolls from New York have also been cited as key influences. When the movement now bearing the name developed from 1974 to 1976, acts such as Television, Patti Smith, and the Ramones in New York City; the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Damned in London; The Runaways in Los Angeles; and the Saints in Brisbane formed its vanguard. By late 1976, punk became a major cultural phenomenon in the UK. It led to a punk subculture expressing youthful rebellion through distinctive styles of clothing and adornment (such as deliberately offensive T-shirts, leather jackets, studded or spiked bands and jewellery, safety pins, and bondage and S&M clothes) often espousing various anti-authoritarian ideologies.