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"I like smoke and lightning...heavy metal thunder..." Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf
And thus in 1968, the phrase "Heavy Metal" was born. Arguably, the song itself may very well qualify as one of the first examples of this new breed of high-energy rock 'n' roll music. Consider the overdriven guitar and organ tones; the snarling vocals; and the pounding bass and drums. Read more

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Gibson LE Lzzy Hale 2018 Explorer Ebony Gold Hardware with Case

Classic Explorer features like 57 Classic and 57 Classic+ humbuckers combine with great touches like all-gold hardware and 7-ply body binding to make this limited-edition gem really pop! There’s no doubt ...
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Drum Workshop Design Series 5 Piece Acrylic Shell Kit Drum Set

Design Series is a DW kit through and through. From the mini Turret lug, to Remo USA-made Suede 'outline' logo heads, to a sleek silver and white badge, its looks are fresh and decidedly familiar. Add to that ...
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PRS MT 15 Mark Tremonti Signature Guitar Amp Head

The MT 15 produces massive tone in a low wattage amp. Whether recording, practicing, writing, or playing a small room, this amp has everything you need. The MT 15 is a commanding two channel amp with balanced ...

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Mapex Armory Studioease 6-Piece Fast Size Drum Set

The Armory Series is the latest realization of the Mapex hybrid shell concept. A fusion of birch and maple delivers the ultimate tonal expression, and the SONIClear bearing edge allows the drumhead to sit flat, ...
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PRS Dustie Waring CE24 Floyd Limited Edition Floyd with Gigbag

The progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me has a sound that is both heavy and melodic, lush and menacing. It is this demand for versatility without sacrifice that led to the development of guitarist ...

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ESP LTD James Hetfield Iron Cross Electric Guitar with Case

Distinct graphics and signature James Hetfield tone make the Iron Cross guitar an incredible instrument! ESP LTD loads the guitar with a set of EMG JH Signature active pickups which are clean and clear as well as ...
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Ampeg SVT7 Pro Bass Guitar Amplifier Head

The SVT7 Pro bass amplifier head is the next step in the evolution of Ampeg’s PRO Series: 1000 watts of Ampeg tone at 15 lbs. Ampeg's SVT7 PRO pumps out a ferocious kilowatt of pure Ampeg tone in a compact ...
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Charvel USA Guthrie Govan Signature HSH with Case

As a preeminent modern virtuoso, U.K. guitar master Guthrie Govan dazzles all who hear his playing. Charvel spent two years of meticulous development with Govan to first introduce his Guthrie Govan signature model ...

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Gibson LE Les Paul Studio Elite 2018 Silverburst with Bigsby with Case

Stylish and elegant, the Special Run Gibson Les Paul Studio Elite guitar delivers on design, tone and playability. Producing a warm, full tone with a balanced response, the Studio Elite also features a Bigsby ...

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PRS Paul Reed Smith CU24 Custom 24 Gen III with Case

The PRS Custom 24 is the original PRS…the guitar Paul Reed Smith took to his first trade show in 1985. A perennial favorite with musicians, the Gen III Custom 24 builds upon the incredible legacy that has ...
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Dunlop EVH 5150 Overdrive Effects Pedal

The MXR design team has collaborated with Eddie Van Halen to deliver a full range of powerful saturation and hyper driven tones right at your feet. The resulting EVH 5150 Overdrive joins hand-adjusted multi-stage ...
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Orange PPC412C 4x12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet

Orange speaker enclosures, like Orange amplifiers, are built to last using extremely rugged construction and manufacturing techniques. Every Power Projection Cabinet is manufactured utilising 13 ply high density ...
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Ampeg SVT Classic Bass Guitar Amplifier Head

The Ampeg SVT CL Classic Bass Amp Head is a legendary, 300-Watt powerhouse! Other companies keep trying to recreate the classic all-tube sound of the 60's and 70's Ampeg heads, but it's just not the same as ...
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Ampeg PN410HLF Pro Neo Bass Guitar Amplifier Cabinet

The Ampeg PN410HLF Bass Cabinet is a modern, lightweight bass enclosure with 850 watts power handling and four 10 inch drivers. Built to handle the power of high-output Ampeg bass heads. Also made out of the ...
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EVH 5150III EL34 50 Watt All Tube Guitar Head

With a more modern British-style sound thanks to EL34 power tubes, the 5150III EL34 head yields smooth contours, great sag and saturation than heads loaded with 6L6 tubes! Independent volume and gain control for ...
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Peavey 6505 Plus Guitar Amplifier Head

The Peavey 6505 Plus Guitar Amp Head features six 12AX7 preamp tubes and four 6L6GC power amp tubes, with presence and resonance controls and three-band EQ for taming their notorious tone. Peavey proudly ...
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Marshall JCM800 2203 Reissue Tube Guitar Amplifier Head

Now the tone, feel and vibe of the heralded Marshall JCM800 heads is available again - and they're better than ever! The all-tube Marshall JCM800 2203 Reissue Tube Guitar Amplifier Head is one of the most ...
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Charvel Warren DeMartini Signature Snake Pro Mod Electric Guitar

Ready to Ratt-n-Roll! The new Pro-Mod Warren DeMartini Signature Snake was designed and built to Warren’s demanding specifications. Features include a Custom Designed Seymour Duncan humbucker, Seymour Duncan ...
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Epiphone Tony Iommi SG Custom Electric Guitar

The Ltd. Ed. Tony Iommi Signature SG Custom: The “Godfather of Heavy Metal” reinvents the “SG”! Epiphone proudly announces the all-new Epiphone Ltd. Ed. Tony Iommi Signature SG Custom, ...
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Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster Rosewood Fingerboard with Case

A top seller, the Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster guitar is modeled after Malmsteen’s favorite Fender. The Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster has been newly updated with a White-Black-White pickguard, a ...
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One might think this iconic classic was written and recorded by Deep Purple — one of the undisputed pioneers of heavy metal music who would arrive on the scene a bit later. But the story of Heavy Metal doesn’t begin here. Because as we all know, any “new” trend is typically spawned by whatever came before it, right?

Let’s climb into our DeLorean and travel back in time to 1964, when The Kinks released You Really Got Me (later covered on Van Halen’s eponymous debut album, if you need further validation). Then jump ahead to 1965 when The Who unleashed a feedback-laden anthem of youthful rebellion called My Generation on the unsuspecting public. After a quick recharge of the flux capacitor, we find ourselves in 1966 for the release of Cream’s debut Fresh Cream; followed closely by The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s psychedelic rocker Purple Haze in 1967; The Jeff Beck Group’s hard rock-infused blues album Truth in 1968; Blue Cheer’s bombastic cover of Eddie Cochran’s Summertime Blues, also in 1968; and the 17-minute opus In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly, released in…yep…1968. Oh, and let’s not forget about Led Zeppelin’s first vinyl offering released in 1969, which included the aggressive rockers Communication Breakdown and How Many More Times.

Now we’re getting somewhere! But although individual songs by the above-mentioned artists may have qualified as early examples of Heavy Metal Music, no one coalesced its various elements consistently, or completely “owned” the genre as did four working-class lads from Birmingham, UK whose newly-formed band went by the rather ominous name of Black Sabbath. Almost comically — and in what was no doubt an intentional masterstroke of marketing — Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut album was released on Friday the 13th, February 1970. Never before had music this dark and aggressive been married with lyrics about the occult, horror, politics, and blue-collar concerns. These guys weren’t just dabbling or experimenting — they totally embraced this new genre they helped create and remained faithful to it throughout the band’s entire existence.

In later years, Heavy Metal music became a bit schizophrenic and splintered off into numerous sub-genres; simultaneously embracing elements of hook-laden mainstream pop while its evil twin became faster, darker, and even more aggressive. 1977 saw the major label debut of Judas Priest and with it, a new leather-bound look that would be adapted by many other heavy metal acts. Almost simultaneously, Van Halen burst on the scene with their eponymous debut album — and the long-haired metal guitar God was born. They were soon joined by other West Coast-based bands like Quiet Riot, Ratt, Mötley Crüe, and W.A.S.P. Most of these new “Hair Metal” bands placed a major emphasis on gender-bending style, outrageous showmanship, catchy hooks, and overblown guitar solos.

Meanwhile, Thrash Metal was spawned by infusing elements of Punk Rock with Heavy Metal, resulting in an onslaught of fast, lower-register, highly aggressive songs that completely eschewed the slick, poppy approach of their Hair Metal counterparts. One notable contributor to the Thrash Metal movement was Slayer, whose 1986 album Reign In Blood is considered to be one of the definitive examples of the genre. Further splintering the Heavy Metal category were Death Metal, Black Metal, Power Metal and Doom Metal — all taking the genre even deeper into darker territory. While not nearly as commercially viable as their Hair Metal counterparts, these bands cultivated a highly-dedicated, hardcore group of fans that exists to this day.

Bringing us into the modern era of Heavy Metal, we now have Metalcore; Djent; Deathcore; Mathcore; and NWOAHM (New Wave Of American Heavy Metal), all incoporating a wide variety of styles that preceded them. One fine example of such an amalgam is A Day to Remember, who successfully mixed Metalcore with Pop Punk, while incorporating elements of Post-Hardcore and Easycore. ADTR has released six albums under the Indianola and Victory banners, with their latest release Bad Vibrations being marketed by their own independent label and Epitaph Records.

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