Portal:Heavy metal
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Heavy metal (often referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, and emphatic beats. Allmusic states that "of all rock & roll's myriad forms, heavy metal is the most extreme in terms of volume, machismo, and theatricality."
Early heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple attracted large audiences, though they were often critically reviled, a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden followed in a similar vein. Before the end of the decade, heavy metal had attracted a worldwide following of fans known as "metalheads" or "headbangers."
In the 1980s, glam metal became a major commercial force with groups like Mötley Crüe. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, while other styles like death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles such as nu metal, which often incorporates elements of funk and hip hop; and metalcore, which blends extreme metal with hardcore punk, have further expanded the definition of the genre.
"Eyes of the Insane" is a 2006 single by American thrash metal band Slayer, taken from their 2006 album Christ Illusion. The lyrics explore an American soldier's mental anguish following his return home from the second Gulf War, and is based on an article entitled "Casualty of War" which was featured in Texas Monthly magazine. Penned by vocalist Tom Araya during pre-production for the album, the song was generally well received by critics.
The accompanying music video by the Iranian director Tony Petrossian in the Los Angeles area during August 2006. The film is presented as a close-up of the soldier's pupil and iris, which reflect disconcerting images of war-themed horrors, flashbacks of his home, wife and children, and ultimately images of his death. "Eyes of the Insane" was featured on the soundtrack to Saw III, and won an award for Best Metal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards.
- 30 November 2007: Metallica are set to debut a track from their forthcoming album on the new Rock Band video game. (Kerrang)
- 16 September 2007: The ballot deadline for Led Zeppelin's reunion concert has been extended due to demand. 25 million people have registered for the ballot at the concert's website so far. (NME)
- 14 September 2007: Iron Maiden have announced a world tour, "Somewhere Back In Time", which will begin in February 2008. (Kerrang)
- ...that Metallica was formed after both guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich had placed advertisements in The Recycler about forming a band?
- ...that Ozzy Osbourne also plays the harmonica and synthesizer?
- ...that Bullet For My Valentine were originally known as "Jeff Killed John" and played Nirvana and Metallica covers?
- ...that Dee Snider sang in several church and school choirs, including his All-State choir, as a youth?
- ...that Motörhead were once voted "the worst band in the world" by NME readers?
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Expand: Glam metal • Power metal • Progressive metal • Symphonic metal
- Heavy metal genres: Black metal, Death metal, Doom metal, Extreme metal, Folk metal, Glam metal, Gothic metal, Groove metal, Industrial metal, Medieval metal, Neo-Classical metal, NWOAHM, NWOBHM, Nu metal, Post-metal, Power metal, Progressive metal, Rap metal, Sludge metal, Speed metal, Stoner metal, Symphonic metal, Thrash metal, Viking metal
