With the advent of punk rock, bands like Black Sabbath began to slightly decline in popularity. The punk movement explosion, however, led to a new breed of heavy metal. That is, a new genre. These bands abandoned some of the bluesy-sludgy sound of Black Sabbath and picked up the tempo, as well as writing more openly aggressive lyrics. The most successful bands were primarily (but not always) from Britain. Examples include Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Saxon.
British band Judas Priest debuts with their album, Rocka Rolla, and is classically considered the first heavy metal band to emerge after Sabbath debuted
English band Black Sabbath release their first, self-titled album and Paranoid. With occult/horror-based lyrics and heavily down-tuned guitars, Sabbath is the first definitive heavy metal band.
Other bands with similar influences to Black Sabbath are also labeled as heavy metal. These bands, however, actually follow a hard rock sound. These mistaken bands include Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Iron Butterfly.
The fusion of blues-rock and psychedelic rock set the stage for early heavy metal guitar techniques, especially through the use of distortion and feedback. Precursors include The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Vanilla Fudge.
Update Sources
