Heavy Metal

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are generally associated with masculinity and machismo.

Heavy metal began as a distinct subgenre of rock music in the mid-1960s, with the release of albums by bands such as Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the Jeff Beck Group. The genre quickly gained popularity and spawned a number of subgenres, including thrash metal, death metal, speed metal, and doom metal. Heavy metal has been highly influential in popular culture, and has been featured in video games, movies, television shows, and comic books.