Heavy Metal

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Not to be confused with Metal.

Heavy metal, also known as classic metal, traditional heavy metal or traditional metal, is the seminal genre of metal music before the genre evolved and splintered into many different styles and subgenres.

The short, original, and proper term for this genre is "heavy metal", but as Michka Assayas notes in his Dictionary of Rock, the term "heavy metal" may sometimes be used in different senses. While the term can refer to the seminal style, it also can be used as a large umbrella term for any derivative subgenres. Hence the term "traditional heavy metal" or "classic heavy metal" may be employed to avoid confusion with the larger sense. In order to avoid the potential ambiguity others, like Sharpe Young, use the term "heavy metal" exclusively to refer to original genre and use the term "metal" instead to refer to the global genre including subgenres. Similarly, Paul Du Noyer also uses the term heavy metal to refer to the original style exclusively.

Authors such as Paul Du Noyer, Garry Sharpe Young, and Andrew Cope recognize many similarities between hard rock and heavy metal, but state that heavy metal tends to depart from the original blues roots of hard rock. According to this view, original heavy metal is characterized by mid-to-fast-tempo riffs, by thumping basslines, crunchy riffs, extended lead guitar solos, and clean, often high-pitched vocals and anthemic choruses. One of the most important and innovative concepts of traditional heavy metal was the use of the double lead guitar pioneered by bands like Scorpions and Judas Priest.