What makes it Metal or Heavy Metal.?

bluecat

Is it all the rough shouting, or the endless widdly widdly guitar bits that are so unmelodic.

Sporky

I don't think any of the metal I like has widdly widdly.

fretmeister

“A guitar oriented slightly distorted sound” was the original definition.

Funkfingers

Spandex and cucumbers, mainly.

Fishboy7

Jeremiah

Lead guitar may or may not be heavy metal, but a guitar made of lead definitely would be.

theatreanchor

Awwww, have the nasty heavy metal men hurt your little ear drums? Just put Santana back on. He’s doesn’t widdle at all. 

mrkb

Funkfingers said:

Spandex and cucumbers, mainly.

And ladies (and male singers) in fishnets?

ThePrettyDamned

I like plenty of metal that has neither widdly widdly guitars, nor rough shouting.

I like plenty of blues that has tons of widdly widdly guitars and very rough shouting. 

blobb

I only joined the band because you said it was Heavy Metal.

bobacco

ThePrettyDamned said:

I like plenty of metal that has neither widdly widdly guitars, nor rough shouting.

I like plenty of blues that has tons of widdly widdly guitars and very rough shouting. 

Howlin’ Wolf is basically Rob Halford, give or take half a dozen kilos of leather. 

Stevepage

It's clearly the leather underwear that makes it Metal

sev112

To quote Saxon … “Wheels of Steel” 

OilCityPickups

To me Metal is just the most fun to play: I've played in bands from jazz and punk to rockabilly and blues = but I really have a ball when I can turn up and go a bit mad. 

thermionic

I find the endless subgenres fascinating though:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_genres

Some of them must have only a couple of  bands in them, each looking at the other’s integrity with disdain.

GoFish

Yes!! More Manowar! Moar!

Though not more Yes, perversely enough.

• To be a little serious - I always think that Heavy Metal actually predated Metal which had by then grown to cover other subgenres.
• I'm pretty confused about the distinction between Rock and Metal. Things that were metal are now rock. But at the time, the distinction was very important. Also, some things are never Rock, only Metal. Manowar got this.
  
• Rob Halford  is basically Howlin Wolf with a fluffer squeezing at the appropriate moment a high note is needed. Which is lots.
  

Philly_Q

I'm not sure how to interpret the question(s).  I thought the thread title was asking what's the difference between "Metal" and "Heavy Metal", but then the opening post seems to just be asking what metal/heavy metal actually is.

Anyway, no simple answer.  And as noted, there's lots of metal with no rough shouting and/or no (allegedly unmelodic) widdly widdly bits.

Lestratcaster

I'm more into metalcore which is a modern style of metal. More screaming but mixed with singing. More double kick drum copying the guitar riffs and syncopated rhythms. Also more use of production like synths and strings.

To me 'metal' is the classic 80's bands or Metallica, Pantera etc. Metalcore is the 2009 era onwards like Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage etc etc.

ICBM

Black Sabbath

Start there...

It did.

'Characterised by the bass following the guitar parts in unison' was one of the early definitions I think. 'Containing a prominent flat-5th interval' might be another one (a lot of it does).

Anyway, Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath (on Black Sabbath ) does both.

Sabbath are also probably the only one of the original 'heavy metal' bands who would now be considered Metal, rather than heavy rock or classic rock.

OilCityPickups

Lestratcaster said:

I'm more into metalcore which is a modern style of metal. More screaming but mixed with screaming. More double kick drum copying the guitar riffs and syncopated rhythms. Also more use of production like synths and strings.

To me 'metal' is the classic 80's bands or Metallica, Pantera etc. Metalcore is the 2009 era onwards like Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage etc etc.

I see Metal as like a huge banquet with a dish to suit every mood ... If you want and apocalyptic then Sleep or Candlemass, if you want Symphonic then  Dimmu Borgir ... there's Rammstein for theatrical moments or old school from Sabbath or Maiden ... currently I am really into these guys 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTzaT2cy2sU 

Lestratcaster

OilCityPickups said:

Lestratcaster said:

I'm more into metalcore which is a modern style of metal. More screaming but mixed with screaming. More double kick drum copying the guitar riffs and syncopated rhythms. Also more use of production like synths and strings.

To me 'metal' is the classic 80's bands or Metallica, Pantera etc. Metalcore is the 2009 era onwards like Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage etc etc.

I see Metal as like a huge banquet with a dish to suit every mood ... If you want and apocalyptic then Sleep or Candlemass, if you want Symphonic then  Dimmu Borgir ... there's Rammstein for theatrical moments or old school from Sabbath or Maiden ... currently I am really into these guys 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTzaT2cy2sU 

It's a very broad genre let's put it that way. The old school stuff doesn't have as much detailed syncopation for rhythm, the newer stuff typically has breakdowns and 2-bar patterns for them with the 2nd repeat changing. The kick drum is definitely louder in the mix!