The rise of metal music: How heavy metal got its name (and reputation)

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Heavy metal, the loud, guttural, aggressive subgenre of rock also known simply as metal, has clawed its way from the blues rock sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s to courts of law and even the halls of Congress. 

Decades after its rise, the genre has found its place in mainstream music, but it didn’t come without a fight. Here’s a look back at the history of metal – and the sinister reputation it sought to overcome. 

The rise of metal music

The backstory:

Heavy metal surfaced in the 1970s, but its roots date back a decade earlier to blues rock bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, all of whom laid the groundwork for a darker, "denser, more thunderous offshoot," as described by Black Sabbath. 

"Metal to the untrained ear, it sounds dangerous and sometimes it's loud," Austin Westfall, a LiveNow from FOX journalist and heavy metal expert, explained. "It's theatrical, it's dark, it is confrontational."

The origins of the term "heavy metal" are a bit murky. Some trace it back to a piece written by poet William S. Burroughs in the early 1960s called "Uranian Willy the Heavy Metal Kid," but it wasn’t about music. Steppenwolf’s 1968 song "Born to be Wild" mentions "heavy metal thunder," but that was about motorcycles. 

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Historians say music journalist Lester Bangs was the first person to mention "heavy metal" in a music magazine. Another writer and musician, Mike "Metal Mike" Saunders, also started spreading the word on "heavy metal" around the same time, according to Loudwire. 

‘Satanic Panic’

As the genre grew more popular in the ‘80s, so too did fears that the lyrics were barbaric, satanic and luring young people to the devil.

What they're saying:

"For a lot of adults, I think, especially back in the ‘80s, because it was parents that were really concerned about this stuff, the images and the lyrics, they felt like a threat," Westfall said. "It has to do with a discomfort, a certain discomfort, with something that at least looks like a rebellion. I think in the ‘80s, the fear was that lyrics could corrupt a kid."

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A series of tragic events involving young metal listeners further fueled those fears, leading to multiple lawsuits, congressional hearings and the era of "Satanic Panic."

In 1985, the parents of 19-year-old John McCollum sued Ozzy Osbourne and two record labels, accusing the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" of encouraging their son to kill himself through the lyrics of his song "Suicide Solution." McCollum was listening to the song the night he died by suicide. The judge dismissed the case, citing Osbourne’s First Amendment rights. 

In 1990, two U.S. families sued the British metal band Judas Priest and its record label after their sons attempted to kill themselves. One of the sons died, but the other survived and lived for another few years. 

According to History.com, the lawsuit accused Judas Priest of adding subliminal messages to their songs encouraging people to end their lives. A judge also dismissed that case, ruling that although subliminal messages did exist on Judas Priest’s 1978 "Stained Class" album, "they were not intentional and did not cause the two youths to form a suicide pact," The Associated Press reported. 

"Sometimes I think people confuse depiction with endorsement," Westfall said. "Metal talks about all kinds of stuff. It talks about war, chaos, addiction, religion, death, alienation, corruption. These are heavy things. But talking about darkness isn't the same as promoting it. And I think that sometimes is where the line gets blurred."

‘Washington wives’ step in 

Dig deeper:

As the issue played out in courts, controversy over heavy metal also made its way to the halls of the U.S. Capitol thanks to the "Washington wives." 

Tipper Gore, wife of then senator and future Vice President Al Gore, joined forces with other wives to form the Parents’ Music Resource Center (PMRC). Their mission was to combat "porn rock, a catch-all for the explicit sins and excesses depicted in some of the rock music of the time," according to Tulane University. 

The group used their influence to push for warning labels on explicit albums, which led to contentious congressional hearings in 1985. Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, guitarist Frank Zappa and even country singer John Denver appeared before Congress to oppose the labels.

"As a parent myself and as a rock fan, I know that when I see an album cover with a severed goat's head in the middle of a pentagram between a woman's legs, that's not the kind of album I want my son to be listening to," Snider told lawmakers. 

Two months after the hearing, Gore’s PMRC got the recording industry to agree to add  "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" stickers to albums. Although they’re not required by law, most record labels still carry explicit content warnings today. 

Heavy metal forced exorcisms, priests claimed

The war against heavy metal music didn’t stop with the "Washington wives." In a 1990 sermon, Cardinal John O'Connor told of two exorcisms performed by Catholic priests, blaming heavy metal music for providing "help to the devil," UPI reported at the time. 

He mentioned 'Suicide Solution' by Ozzy Osbourne as an example. 

Heavy metal evolves

What's Changed:

For metal fans like Westfall, the "vibe" that legends like Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest pioneered is still present in modern metal, but "what has changed is the production."

"I think the musicianship has evolved," he said. "The stuff that used to take two hands and two feet to do on a drum set, for example, back in the ‘80s, people are now doing with one limb what they used to be able to do with four limbs back in the ‘80s. 

"People are constantly getting better at everything. That's what I noticed most when I put an album on that was made in the 2020s versus is the 1980s. That musicianship level has gone up quite a bit."

Westfall also points out that while it may not be everyone’s favorite, heavy metal these days appeals to people of all ages. 

"You go to these concerts and there's people that are 10, 20, 30 years older than me, and there's also people that are 10, 15 years younger than me that are at these shows," he said. "So this is a type of music and this is a genre that's clearly appealing to, even though it's not mainstream like it used to be, it's appealing to a wide range of people."