Heavy Metal Bands
The late 1960s and 1970s brought many bands to the fore that were famous for loud, aggressive guitar. Heavy Metal bands have never really gone away and loyal fans still buy the records and go to the exciting live performances. They are to be seen headbanging and sporting their favorite logos and tattoos.
AC / DC were formed in 1973 in Sydney, Australia by brothers, Angus and Malcolm Young. It was a shock to fans when lead vocalist and co-songwriter, Bon Scott died in 1980. The best selling album is Back in Black. Following a quiet period, the band were back in top form with their 2008 album, Black Ice, which went straight to the number one spot in the UK album charts.
Black Sabbath hail from Birmingham in Britain. Most of the prominent Heavy Metal bands are British and this band had a huge influence on the others. The line up has constantly changed since the first one in 1968 and there are 22 former members. Currently, the four members are Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward. Ozzy's eccentric antics on and off the stage, the driving sound and the lyrics that relate to horror all combine to their enduring appeal. One of the best albums is Paranoid, which achieved quadruple platinum sales.
Another band from Birmingham is Judas Priest. They were founded in 1969 and are still going strong. They were inaugural inductees into the VH1 Rock Honors in 2006, along with Queen, Kiss and Def Leppard. The current line up is Rob Halford, Scott Travis, Ian Hill, Glenn Tipton, and K.K Downing.
Deep Purple proudly boasts that they were the loudest band in the world, cited by the Guinness Book of World Records. They too have had several changes to the line up over the years. They began in 1968 until 1976 and then took a break, re-uniting in 1984. It's acknowledged that their most successful period was between 1969 and 1973 when the line up was Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice. They were one of the Heavy Metal Bands to have hit singles, notably Hush, Black Night and Smoke on the Water.
Led Zeppelin are considered to be amongst the finest musicians to come from rock. They are categorized as a Heavy Metal band but their music crossed into other genres and some songs were blues inspired. They even took inspiration from folk songs. From 1968 to 1980, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and John Bonham stormed the album charts and every major stadium.
The sad demise of drummer, Bonham caused the band to dismiss. The surviving members however, have re-united for certain occasions, such as the tribute concert to the co-founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun. The gig was in London and tickets sold out within hours. John Bonham's son Jason was the drummer on the night. Classic songs, such as Whole Lotta Love, Stairway to Heaven and Kashmir still wow the fans.
