"Heavy metal is a universal energy -- it's the sound of a volcano. It's rock, it's earth shattering. Somewhere in our primal being we understand." - Billy Corgan
I enjoy this Substack because it breaks down how bands like Black Sabbath changed rock by adding darker themes and sounds. It makes the history of music interesting and shows how it still impacts music today.
I don’t necessarily like heavy metal but the entirety of the class I was wondering how we got to metal and other rock genres and this clears up a lot of questions. Rock again and again has been rebellion against popularity and based on innovation to create new genres.
I enjoyed learning about how multiple bands make up what Heavy Metal is made up of now. The impact of the way just a simple song can speaks volumes and have a deep meaning behind it. I found to see that compared to other music we’ve learned about in the past is lots more different than the current rock. Lastly, what does the word Sabbath, mean in the name “Black Sabbath”?
I never truly gave Heavy Metal a fair chance, as I didn’t really like a lot of it. Something I didn’t expect was to recognize a lot of these songs, especially Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” a song I had recognized immediately. I also just found the general information interesting, to learn about its anti-religious imagery, something I had always known about but never given truly much thought. That intensity really did make Rock change a lot, mixing its rebellious nature with a grungy and dark feel, all to come in tandem very nicely. Great as always, didn’t expect to recognize as many songs as I did!
I never truly gave Heavy Metal a fair chance, as I didn’t really like a lot of it. Something I didn’t expect was to recognize a lot of these songs, especially Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” a song I had recognized immediately. I also just found the general information interesting, to learn about its anti-religious imagery, something I had always known about but never given truly much thought. That intensity really did make Rock change a lot, mixing its rebellious nature with a grungy and dark feel, all to come in tandem very nicely. Great as always, didn’t expect to recognize as many songs as I did.
What i found interested is that heavy metal isn't just loud music it's a raw primal force that connects with human emotion and energy. It stood out to be because music let out emotions that aren't really explainable with words. metal explains that outlet. Why do people find comfort in heavy metal ?
They way heavy metal started as a reaction to the harsh reality of life in places like Birmingham, England - full of smoke and factories, and just overall struggling and polluted was interesting. Especially with how the Black Sabbath turned that into music, being very unique to the past trends of music about romance. I really liked how it showed music can be honest, even if its "uncomfortable" and harsh. The sound they made was real and not pretending, which the emotion and unique qualities of the songs combined, was most likely what made the genre so popular. I wonder, would metal still be as loud and strong if it originated from somewhere more calm and peaceful?
I never really knew why heavy metal had the satanic undertones. The aversion toward Christianity prompted the rebellion and the inclusion of elements that where not religion friendly. It's also nice to see that the roots of progressive rock and psychedelic rock are still noticeable in this genre. How did other religious groups other than Christianity saw heavy metal?
I found it very interesting to hear about how Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward started a blues-rock band called Earth in the early 60’s. What caught my eye was how the experiences of a dream and black magic caused the birth of a new style in music. The story is said that Geezer, fascinated with the occult, took home a book on black magic that Ozzy had given him. During that night, he started having disturbing dreams of a dark figure standing at the end of his bed. The book later vanished, and Geezer shared the experience with the band. A question I have is if it was actually real or was it just a random dream that Geezer randomly connected with the book.
The difference between what we have seen in the previous substacks to now is crazy to me. Heavy metal has a more emotional feel to me, kind of like "rebellion". This change is so interesting to me because of how drastic it is. I like how this change appealed to more listeners and gave rock music more variety to reach more listeners. How did the public take in this new style of rock music?
The article talks about how heavy metal music, starting with bands like Black Sabbath, helps people deal with strong emotions like anger or sadness, and even though it sounds loud and aggressive, it can actually be a way to feel better. I don’t really listen to metal, but I get the idea of using music to cope with stress or emotions because I do that too. It made me think about how different kinds of music help different people in different ways, and I wonder why some people see heavy metal as a bad thing when it actually helps others.
I understand why heavy metal was so taboo for religious communities now. The anti-Christian sentiment was real. I'd always thought many conservative folks just didn't like what they didn't understand. Also metal being so progressive and giving rise to a star like Freddy mercury was cool to learn about.
I liked learning about the band black sabbath and how much it changed rock into something new. This Substack talks about different bands and what changed, but I also got to learn things I haven't. It goes more into pop culture, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes learning about the background of music. Heavy metal is a more aggressive type of rock music, and you can also see it in the lyrics that are powerful.
Its interesting how this marks a new era of rock music with the rise of heavy metal. With bands like black sabath, judas priest and iron madien bringing a sound that is more darker in tone then the music that had been made in rock before. It still continues the trend of the british invasion with many of these heavy metal bands coming from the U.K and popularizing this new sound around the world. It was also cool how Rob Halford also changed alot of the souroundings of the rock and roll scene by being true to himself and coming out about his sexuality, this was a huge change in the rock and roll scene. I wonder how Heavy metal has influenced other genre's in music since it's rise in the 70's?
This music, compared to the beatles is way different. We can hear more overdrive from the guitar,r and it sounds louder. Also, the topics of these songs are way different. It's almost as rock went back to how it used to be, rebellious. I wonder what was the certain event that made music sound this way?
Fascinating as to how much rock took a turn. It's not a bad one either, in my opinion, I think this type of music is really cool despite the dark themes behind it. It's great to know how much Black Sabbath still influences metal bands today. I just wonder what direction rock would have went if metal wasn't born yet.
I enjoy this Substack because it breaks down how bands like Black Sabbath changed rock by adding darker themes and sounds. It makes the history of music interesting and shows how it still impacts music today.
I don’t necessarily like heavy metal but the entirety of the class I was wondering how we got to metal and other rock genres and this clears up a lot of questions. Rock again and again has been rebellion against popularity and based on innovation to create new genres.
What metal songs would you recommend?
I enjoyed learning about how multiple bands make up what Heavy Metal is made up of now. The impact of the way just a simple song can speaks volumes and have a deep meaning behind it. I found to see that compared to other music we’ve learned about in the past is lots more different than the current rock. Lastly, what does the word Sabbath, mean in the name “Black Sabbath”?
I never truly gave Heavy Metal a fair chance, as I didn’t really like a lot of it. Something I didn’t expect was to recognize a lot of these songs, especially Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” a song I had recognized immediately. I also just found the general information interesting, to learn about its anti-religious imagery, something I had always known about but never given truly much thought. That intensity really did make Rock change a lot, mixing its rebellious nature with a grungy and dark feel, all to come in tandem very nicely. Great as always, didn’t expect to recognize as many songs as I did!
I never truly gave Heavy Metal a fair chance, as I didn’t really like a lot of it. Something I didn’t expect was to recognize a lot of these songs, especially Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” a song I had recognized immediately. I also just found the general information interesting, to learn about its anti-religious imagery, something I had always known about but never given truly much thought. That intensity really did make Rock change a lot, mixing its rebellious nature with a grungy and dark feel, all to come in tandem very nicely. Great as always, didn’t expect to recognize as many songs as I did.
What i found interested is that heavy metal isn't just loud music it's a raw primal force that connects with human emotion and energy. It stood out to be because music let out emotions that aren't really explainable with words. metal explains that outlet. Why do people find comfort in heavy metal ?
They way heavy metal started as a reaction to the harsh reality of life in places like Birmingham, England - full of smoke and factories, and just overall struggling and polluted was interesting. Especially with how the Black Sabbath turned that into music, being very unique to the past trends of music about romance. I really liked how it showed music can be honest, even if its "uncomfortable" and harsh. The sound they made was real and not pretending, which the emotion and unique qualities of the songs combined, was most likely what made the genre so popular. I wonder, would metal still be as loud and strong if it originated from somewhere more calm and peaceful?
I never really knew why heavy metal had the satanic undertones. The aversion toward Christianity prompted the rebellion and the inclusion of elements that where not religion friendly. It's also nice to see that the roots of progressive rock and psychedelic rock are still noticeable in this genre. How did other religious groups other than Christianity saw heavy metal?
I found it very interesting to hear about how Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward started a blues-rock band called Earth in the early 60’s. What caught my eye was how the experiences of a dream and black magic caused the birth of a new style in music. The story is said that Geezer, fascinated with the occult, took home a book on black magic that Ozzy had given him. During that night, he started having disturbing dreams of a dark figure standing at the end of his bed. The book later vanished, and Geezer shared the experience with the band. A question I have is if it was actually real or was it just a random dream that Geezer randomly connected with the book.
The difference between what we have seen in the previous substacks to now is crazy to me. Heavy metal has a more emotional feel to me, kind of like "rebellion". This change is so interesting to me because of how drastic it is. I like how this change appealed to more listeners and gave rock music more variety to reach more listeners. How did the public take in this new style of rock music?
The article talks about how heavy metal music, starting with bands like Black Sabbath, helps people deal with strong emotions like anger or sadness, and even though it sounds loud and aggressive, it can actually be a way to feel better. I don’t really listen to metal, but I get the idea of using music to cope with stress or emotions because I do that too. It made me think about how different kinds of music help different people in different ways, and I wonder why some people see heavy metal as a bad thing when it actually helps others.
I understand why heavy metal was so taboo for religious communities now. The anti-Christian sentiment was real. I'd always thought many conservative folks just didn't like what they didn't understand. Also metal being so progressive and giving rise to a star like Freddy mercury was cool to learn about.
I liked learning about the band black sabbath and how much it changed rock into something new. This Substack talks about different bands and what changed, but I also got to learn things I haven't. It goes more into pop culture, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes learning about the background of music. Heavy metal is a more aggressive type of rock music, and you can also see it in the lyrics that are powerful.
Its interesting how this marks a new era of rock music with the rise of heavy metal. With bands like black sabath, judas priest and iron madien bringing a sound that is more darker in tone then the music that had been made in rock before. It still continues the trend of the british invasion with many of these heavy metal bands coming from the U.K and popularizing this new sound around the world. It was also cool how Rob Halford also changed alot of the souroundings of the rock and roll scene by being true to himself and coming out about his sexuality, this was a huge change in the rock and roll scene. I wonder how Heavy metal has influenced other genre's in music since it's rise in the 70's?
This music, compared to the beatles is way different. We can hear more overdrive from the guitar,r and it sounds louder. Also, the topics of these songs are way different. It's almost as rock went back to how it used to be, rebellious. I wonder what was the certain event that made music sound this way?
Fascinating as to how much rock took a turn. It's not a bad one either, in my opinion, I think this type of music is really cool despite the dark themes behind it. It's great to know how much Black Sabbath still influences metal bands today. I just wonder what direction rock would have went if metal wasn't born yet.