Iron Man Rises: Tony Iommi and the Making of Metal
Behind the heavy riffs and dark themes of Black Sabbath lies the genius of Tony Iommi. His ability to turn adversity into innovation created a sound that became the backbone of heavy metal.
From tales of torture chambers whispered in dusty corners of history to the roar of sold-out stadiums, one name echoes through the ages: Iron Maiden.
Behind the heavy riffs and dark themes of Black Sabbath lies the genius of Tony Iommi. His ability to turn adversity into innovation created a sound that became the backbone of heavy metal.
How did Children of Bodom get their name? It’s a journey that takes us through early career hurdles, a haunting Finnish mystery, and the band’s rise to international fame.
Album titles like “Shit Beast” and “Shit Happens” are no accident. Gutalax revel in the revulsion. Their music is a symphony of the scatological, a celebration of bodily functions most would rather ignore. If you’re easily offended, look away, but if you have a twisted sense of humor, they just might be your new favorite band.
The music scene wasn’t just changing – the whole world was shifting. Hair metal was a party in a decade that crashed hard. Grunge was the hangover, raw and real. But nothin’ lasts forever, not the good times, not the bad.
Before corpse paint and church burnings, there was Venom – a band that laid the groundwork for metal’s most extreme subgenre, whether they intended to or not.
Imagine music so heavy it feels like a physical weight. That’s doom metal. Its slow tempos, low-tuned guitars, and deep, guttural vocals transform sound into an overwhelming experience.
Metallica’s masterpiece, “Master of Puppets,” made history as the first metal album inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. This landmark event solidified the album’s cultural significance and paved the way for greater recognition of metal music’s artistic value.
Rock n’ roll excess met Canadian border control, and Lemmy Kilmister paid the price. Fired from Hawkwind, his arrest might have ended a career – instead, it fueled the birth of Motörhead.
Before Death or Morbid Angel, there was Possessed. Their 1985 album “Seven Churches” cemented their status as death metal pioneers, influencing generations of artists with its musical aggression and confrontational lyrics.
“Most murderous cult on the planet.” These words ignited a firestorm. Nergal’s onstage attack on the Catholic Church pushed Poland to confront where freedom of expression ends and censorship begins.
Dave Mustaine’s journey from Metallica exile to Megadeth icon wasn’t a straight line. Cold calls. Scripted pitches. Quotas. This was Dave Mustaine’s world before Megadeth.
Metallica’s history is filled with iconic bassists, but who came first? Ron McGovney, the band’s original bassist, often gets overlooked.
Before djent became a buzzword, there was Meshuggah. Their uncompromising vision, technical mastery, and willingness to shatter expectations cemented their place not just as originators, but as true revolutionaries of metal.