Wading into a heavy metal concert is like jumping into a sea of raging hormones. Heads flail, fists wave, guitars scream, drums crash and singers howl. Rock `n` roll has always been about annoying the parents and rallying the kids, and metal has taken that tradition to its rudest, angriest and loudest extreme.
But beneath that blustering, strutting surface lies a vast, complex range of adolescent experience. Heavy metal lyrics address everything from computer viruses to air pollution, AIDS to teenage pregnancy, apocalyptic fantasies to drug-induced nightmares.
The term ”heavy metal” was coined in rock`s unofficial sacred text, William Burroughs` 1959 novel ”Naked Lunch.” It was popularized after Steppenwolf sang about ”heavy metal thunder” in its 1968 anthem ”Born to Be Wild.”
The heavy metal guitar style traces back to Link Wray`s late-`50s instrumental ”Rumble” and the Kinks` 1964 classic ”You Really Got Me,” but it wasn`t until bands such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple began combining monolithic power chords with equally outrageous lyrics and fashion sense that metal became a style unto its own in the early `70s.
