Metal’s Most Defining Moments
Come and check out our list of the most defining moments in metal.
Terry Reid turns down singer spot in Led Zeppelin.
Bet he never regretted that one.
Geezer Butler writes ‘Black Sabbath’.
And so heavy metal was born…
Lemmy is kicked out of Hawkwind and forms Motorhead.
The story goes that, in retaliation, Lemmy fucked every member of Hawkwind’s girlfriend. Someone said something about revenge being a dish that’s best served cold once upon a time…
The Ramones’ first London gig spawns a hundred bands, including The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned.
The first punk rock band came from America. It’s a hard one to swallow but the fire, vitriol and spirit that fired the whole movement was born in London at this show.
The first Friday Rock Show is broadcast on Radio One and Tommy Vance became a legend.
Tommy will forever be Britain’s true voice of rock and metal.
Rainbow, Judas Priest and The Scorpions headline the first Monsters Of Rock at Donington in 1980.
There’s always the most exhilarating rush when you step onto the turf at Donington for Download every year, isn’t there? It started on this day.
Paul Di’Anno Leaves Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickinson joins.
The day an already great band became the stuff of legends.
Metallica forms when Lars/James meet through posting classified ads in Recycler looking for bands to join.
Two-pimply outsiders change the world of rock forever via one ad in a San Francisco newspaper.
Dave Mustaine ‘leaves’ Metallica and forms Megadeth.
Dave may have spent years coming to terms with it, but the bottom line is that Megadeth have ruled from their very first record and will go down as one of the greatest metal bands to ever live. Fact.
Rick Rubin produces Slayer’s ‘Reign In Blood’.
29 minutes and 3 seconds of thrash metal perfection.
Al Jourgensen makes a connection between mechanics/factories/Nascar and music and becomes a major catalyst in the creating industrial.
Keyboards can’t be heavy, our arse!
Zakk Wylde auditions for Ozzy Osbourne and replaces the recently deceased Randy Rhoads.
It seemed like Ozzy was finished when he was booted out of Sabbath but he found Randy Rhoads. When it seemed like Ozzy was finished again after Rhoads’ death, it was time for enter Zakk-man.
Anthrax and Public Enemy collaborate for ‘Bring The Noize’.
People will tell you ‘Walk This Way’ started rap-rock. They’re wrong. THIS is the track that spawned Faith No More, Rage Against The Machine, nu-metal…
John Peel discovers Napalm Death and plays them on his Radio One show.
The day it became alright for an extreme band to get airplay on national radio. They’ll never be on drive-time, but Peel proved that there’s a place for them on radio in some way, shape or form.
Tom G Warrior hears Venom and doesn’t know what speed to play it on: starts Celtic Frost, invents doom.
Doom like a motherfucker.
Max Cavelera is lent a tape of Discharge and Celtic Frost, thinks they sound the same, and starts a band that melds the two sounds.
Sepultura be thy name.
Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven goes to number one on the Billboard charts.
Proof that metal of the heaviest variety can take on the masses and win.
Korn shape the sound of nu-metal.
Duh-duh, duh-duh, duh-duh, duh-duh… “Are you ready?”
The Massachusetts movement spawns metalcore.
Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, Overcast, Aftershock…we salute you.
Lamb Of God take groove metal one louder.
The bastard offspring of Slayer and Pantera wlak among us. And they fucking rule!
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Nothing about black metal or death. Good list, not.
Venom were mentioned and they coined the term “Black Metal”
A couple for your consideration:
Possessed hear Slayer. Death hear Possessed. And death metal is born. And it owns.
At The Gates release Slaughter Of The Soul and melodic death metal begins to take off. In Flames become amazing and their riffing is later copied (usually badly) by practically every metalcore band that jump onto that particular bandwagon.
I really want to add one about power metal, but I’m probably the only person here who likes it!
Chuck Schulinder? Nowhere.
Euronymous? Nowhere.
Dee Snyder for taking on the United States government and winning thus preventing metal from being outlawed? Nowhere.
Get your act together lads!
Nah Repka, you’re not the only power metal fan! lol
Same here, I like the odd bit of Power Metal now and again!
Who gives a fuck if it’s cheesy!?
It’s all in good fun!
Buuuuull-shit did Al Jourgensen invent industrial metal.
I think this is a fairly good list but it’s missing the following things:
1. Release of Master of Puppets
2. Release of Scream, Bloody Gore and the formation of Death Metal
3. The bloody emergence of Black Metal (church burnings etc)
4. Killing of Dimebag
5. Release of The Blackening
I’d also liked to have seen something about Blackwater Park but hey, call me an Opeth fan boy.
Lamb of God
@Joel & Colm
Phew! There was me thinking I was the only one! Thanks guys. Can’t beat a bit of cheesy, OTT, optimistic power when the mood takes you. All together now… ‘So cy it out my friend, I’m aliiive!’
The defining moment:
Helloween release Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Part I, and power metal begins. Metal has its kitsch genre, and pop music has no excuse to exist.
I just had a thought- the great German metal bands of the eighties: Kreator, Destruction, Sodom… and Helloween. Spot the odd one out
1. Didn’t Zakk replace Jake E lee not Randy Rhoads?
2. Saxon were one of the highlights of the first Donnington – even wrote a song about it
3. Priest release of British Steel
4. The Stooges and the Dolls should get a namecheck
5 . Death of Bon Scott
6. NWOBHM..
7. Am clearly too old for this site..I’ll get me coat
Ramones? Metal?
as much as i love them and think they will become legends in their own right…. i wouldnt say Lamb of God is one of metal’s defining moments, the Dimebag shooting should take that place me thinks and the Dee Snider courtcase should be mentioned.
overall though – a good list
Not enough Sabbath.
They invented pretty much every form of metal.
Most of them on their first two albums.
‘At The Gates release Slaughter Of The Soul and melodic death metal begins to take off. In Flames become amazing and their riffing is later copied (usually badly)’
at the gates release slaughter of the soul, in flames copy it badly
Brad Gillis replaced Randy and Jake E. Lee replaced Gillis, Zakk didn’t come along until a while later.
1: Deep Purple write “Smoke On The Water”, one of the top 2 riffs of all time (won’t say what the other one is, don’t feel like an argument at the moment).
2: Judas Priest get taken to court over a fans failed suicide bid and win.
3: KISS release “Alive”. (note to 90% of the people reading this website: nearly every guitarist in you record collection bought their first instrument because of this album… FACT!!!)
@jack
No. In Flames released The Jester Race at almost the same time as Slaughter of the Soul. Whoracle might be better but In Flames had their own sound that was already established when At The Gates released their masterpiece. They didn’t sound the same back then- At The Gates were much more thrashy and riffy while In Flames were all about those HUGE lead guitar lines. Obviously they’re a touch different nowadays…
I’m with Colm…No Shuldiner, no tampa Death, no Black Metal Circle and the “Mayhem” that followed them around? No, of course Metal Hammer would suck on Lamb of Dog’s balls one more time – word to the wise: Lamb of Dog SUCK!
Can’t believe Chuck Schuldiner didn’t get a single mention. NOT COOL
no mention of paradise lost, my dying bride or candlemass
Doom Metal
This list forgot DIO! Unforgivable, for there is None More Metal.
What about Halford “coming out” showing how tolerant metallers really are? (And no, I’m not gay)
And like it or not, if you are prepared to mention stuff like Lamb of God and metalcore, you have to acknowledge the whole Glam scene in there somewhere. It has its place in history. These “all-time” kind of lists always tend to favour the current flavour-of-the-month too much IMO.
Appetite For Destruction should also be acknowledged for the timeless classic that it is
good add ons to the list people glad no emo or scene faggots have tried to add on
That’s cos they know they’re not METAL
…..Although your post does rather contradict the Rob Halford observation I made
How the fuck did dimebags death DEFINE metal?
Repka, nice one on the mention of German metal bands. Metal Hammer, you say that Megadeth have ruled from the very first record. They haven’t always been like that. Remember stinkers like “Cryptic Writings” and “Risk”? And as for defining moments left out, any word on the mention of the following:
Bathory(influenced black, viking, folk metal etc…)
Manowar(became the loudest band on the whole fucking planet)
Earache records(the early bands they signed)
@ Loman
Glad you support my points but if you’re gonna bash Lamb of God count me OUT! I think putting them on this list as defining metal is hasty and premature as they’re still a young band but Sacrament was awesome and if it wasn’t for Crack the Skye Wrath would be my metal album of the year!
Crack the Skye really is a fantastic album. Until I heard Crack the Skye I’ve found Mastodon tolerable but not really quite understood what all the fuss is about, but the prog elements, the cleans vocals and the way it all comes together is amazing.
Heaven and Hell’s album is another album I’d have to put for album of the year.
I definitely think there should have been shout outs to Euronymous, church burnings, At The Gates, Carcass, and Venom.
I think Master of Puppets’ release should get a mention – how many people learned to play guitar almost purely based on this album!
No mention of Emperor and/or Bathory is quite surprising too, or the release of British Steel.
Another band who I personally think have been HUGELY influential to the scene are Deftones. Maybe they don’t spring to mind immediately, but they’ve pretty consistently churned out evolving albums that have been ahead of the curve, and a lot of bands quote them as a major influence. Subtleties from earlier stuff can be heard in a lot of music today. Just my thought…
What about Priest creating Metals image??
Surely that should get a mention!!
i think metals fight with the PRMC should get a mention, the result of that was the “parental advisory” label, thats pretty defining
You forgot Fear Factory releasing Demanufacture…
Way to pander to the fucking mainstream! Ministry were hardly the first industrial band (Coil are heavier than them and they don’t even need a guitar)
1986: The year both Master Of Puppets and Reign In Blood were released. After this, every metal band not named Anthrax or Celtic Frost should’ve just gone home. FACT.
Oh, and The Ramones may not be metal, but they fucking rule(arguably the best rock band The US has ever produced). FACT.
Your the forgetting the year of 1986 – when it became the finest year of thrash metal with the release of Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood and Peace Sells… But Who’s buying?
I think Bruce Dickinson returning to Maiden in ‘99 was a pretty big monent aswell,, considering that Maiden has just gone from strength to strength since he came back.
Somewhere In Time, Rage For Order, Orgasmatron, the aforementioned Peace Sells…
Yep, 1986 was a watershed year for metal.
1986 saw the release of “Eternal Devastation”, “Pleasure To Kill” and “Obsessed By Cruelty” as well.
Unfortunately, 1986 also saw the tragic death of Cliff Burton, definitely a dark but pivotal event in Metallica’s history.
Alice Cooper. Shock rock. One of the first metal musicians to wear ‘evil’ make-up and cross-dress.
All-round metal God.
Definetly a lot of metalcore bands from MASS. I noticed that. and yes, LoG!! love that!
Being a citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I must say I’m pretty proud of our local boys. I’m also happy about our liberal cannabis laws too. : )
Randy Rhoades died in 81/82 – Zakk Wylde joined Ozzy in 88.
How about Iron Maiden headlining Donington in 1988?
Dio replaces Ozzy in Sabbath?
Tony Iommi suggests writing ’scary music’ in 1968/69?
Rob Halford and co. donning leathers and studs?
Philthy ‘Animal’ Taylor practising using two bass drums while Lemmy and Fast Eddie join in, thus creating ‘Overkill’?
Venom coining the term ‘Black Metal’?
Pantera dropping the glam?
No, it was definitely ‘Walk This Way’. Honestly, bloody amateurs!!
Chronologically, it was ‘walk this way’.
However, stuff like ‘I’m the man’, ‘Lethal(w/UTFO), and ‘Bring the noise’ were far more influential on nu-metal than ‘walk this way’, I’m sure.
Nothing about prog; pink floyd, scorpions, meshuggah, opeth, cynic, dream theatre, gojira?
Fuck sake guys
And no mention of Van Halen is ultimate fail.
The amount of guitarists that wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for him is stupidly big
Can. Of. Worms.
Fucks sake lets just list everything thats happened in metal from day one and then everyone will be happy!
March 10, 1940 THE BIRTH OF CHUCK NORRIS
Erm hellooo?? Is no one going to comment on saying that Korn shaped nu-metal?? As good as they were then (they have gone down hill now) I would’nt say they shaped Nu-Metal.
zakk replaced jake e lee in ozzy’s band and faith no more invented nu metal not korn
Faith No More!?! HELL NO, KoRn is the founder of nu metal definitely not faith no more, they’re like grungemetal
dave mustain was kicked from metallica he doest leaves
they kicked him