Hard Rock and Proto-Metal

Origin: Early 1970’s UK

Characteristics: Driven, often virtuosic rock music with less grit/darkness/heaviness than later metal

Though the honor of being the first true heavy metal band goes undisputedly to Black Sabbath, a number of other bands were creating loud, overdriven rock music in the same era that would be almost as influential to rock and metal that would follow in years to come. Led Zeppelin were nothing short of a phenomenon, while Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s style of riffing and soloing would be almost as influential to the guitar heroes of heavy metal as the work of Tony Iommi.

Featuring driven rhythms and chunky, distorted guitar riffs, Deep Purple’s music made its mark on both rock and metal.
Rainbow was the second band of Deep Purple’s guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Songs like “Stargazer” display elaborate guitar solos from Blackmore alongside energetic, passionate singing from Ronnie James Dio.

These bands would have some musical aspects in common with Black Sabbath and the heavy metal that would follow: largely blues-influenced, distorted riffing, especially apparent in bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple; energetic rhythms; and energetic, larger-than-life frontmen such as Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Van Halen’s David Lee Roth. These bands wouldn’t have that darkness or heaviness that would distinguish later bands as heavy metal, but they were still influential in their own rights.

Jimmy Page’s blues-influenced riffing would be a major part of Led Zeppelin’s iconic hard rock sound.

Speaking of heavy metal guitar heroes, one of the most distinguished proto-metal bands emerging from the late 1970’s was California’s Van Halen. Eddie Van Halen’s fast and technical guitar playing would almost single-handedly invent rock shred guitar, paving the way for an entire generation of talented rock and metal guitar players throughout the 1980’s.

California’s Van Halen paved the way for an entire generation of shred guitar. In many songs, including “I’m The One,” axeman Eddie Van Halen performs a lengthy shred solo. No one in rock was playing like this before!