The year was 1970, and I came into the world during a rare April blizzard in Iowa which left several feet of snow everywhere and a state in shock. Was it the weather? Was it the fact that I was the first boy after four girls? Maybe it was something in the water or my mother’s diet…
There are but a few, fleetingly feeble recollections from the earliest years of my existence. Those that aren’t shrouded in the haze of nearly 38 years on our spinning blue marble are of music. At some point someone gave me a radio which somehow magically ended up on one of the few rock stations in Cedar Rapids at the time. While my parents enjoyed Lawrence Welk and the big bands from the 30’s and 40’s, I was internally drawn to the stylings of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and Rush. The part in Whole Lotta Love from Led Zeppelin II where John Bonham and Jimmy Page go off completely into an orgasmic tirade of notes and cymbals terrified the hell out of me, yet at the same time sent me to a place where I’m sure no other children between the ages of 2 and 5 had gone or could go. My mind had already been opened nearly a decade and a half before the pot and acid would appear. Had my parents been hippies, things would have made more sense, but they were hardcore Catholics from an era when distortion was (and still is) just noise.
Black Sabbath belting out, “I AM IRON MAN!!!” over the airwaves in the dark, late at night, was to me a spiritual offering from the gods of some distant forbidden planet. It was a force to be reckoned with, and something that went against the standard flow of easy listening popular music which was permeating nearly all fronts of society. This was a crucial era for rock and metal because things were about to change drastically in the mid 70’s. Disco was close to being born, and lines were being drawn in the proverbial sand. Thankfully an internal force, well beyond my comprehension at the time, was keeping me planted firmly on rock (no pun intended) and roll which would eventually evolve into metal. Maybe Ritchie Blackmore in the black wizard's hat playing Highway Star also had something to do with it.
For some reason I was drawn mostly to Black Sabbath, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest and Deep Purple during the early years. That particular style of music with the pounding drums and distorted guitars stood out in stark contrast to everything else at the time. Screaming guitars and vocals with relentless tribal backbeats did something to me as a person which I noticed didn’t have much of an effect on anyone else. There were a few individuals around me during those early years who may have had that early spark of musical enlightenment, but they were too few and far between. Aside from one or two of my six sisters who played key roles in my musical awakening, I wouldn’t meet people with similar musical tastes until around the age of 10 or 11.
In 1978 at age 8 I bought Van Halen I. Looking at the cover and David Lee Roth on the back and then the track listing, I was pretty much convinced these guys were dead serious about rock & roll and man was I dead on. Running With the Devil??? HELLS YES! I’d love to run with the devil. For years I’d been taught that the devil represented almighty evil and the destruction of mankind as we knew it. What child wouldn’t want to experience that for himself? It's a true story that my first guitar was made out of an Erector Set. I would later graduate to cardboard cutouts with strings and frets drawn on the neck. Who didn't want to be Eddie Van Halen playing Eruption?
+ 
Van Halen I - (1978)
+ 
+ 
+ 
In 1980 in the 5th grade at the ripe age of 10, I brought Van Halen’s Women and Children First to class to the horror of my teacher and many of the students. Apparently Michael Anthony holding up a joint while Eddie Van Halen was pointing at you, almost beckoning you to follow, made people nervous. Keep in mind that at that time, I attended a private Catholic school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the behest of my parents. You know, family tradition and all. Like you have a choice as a kid anyway? Looking back now, it’s pretty obvious that that would be another huge factor in what would take shape over the coming years through the 80’s and into the 90’s.
++
Van Halen - Women and Children First (1980)
I would get into musical arguments with Elvis fans about what was heavier (like there was any doubt?) and delve ever so briefly into the beginnings of Kiss. Gene Simmons blowing fire and spitting blood affected everyone whether you loved it or hated it. My fascination with Kiss was short-lived as my musical ear had already been finely tuned to heavier, more progressive concepts in the rock and metal genres. Ozzy was striking out on his own with Randy Rhoads doing two of what would be his heaviest albums ever, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. It was in the beginning of the 80's that Rock & Roll branched off completely into Metal as the distortion got louder and crunchier, and the music faster and more technical. Guitarists were now shredding the fretboards as drummers busted out the double bass and let it rumble.
Although I would stick to my roots as a child, I would openly embrace the heavier stuff and was constantly seeking new and unusual thought-provoking music which nobody else was into, at least in my neighborhood or at school. Iron Maiden would be a major catalyst in which direction my musical tastes would go.
In 1982 at the age of 12 I walked in the door with Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast.
Iron Maiden were going places in music that few dared, and touching on subjects that were pretty taboo in my part of the country. I wouldn't be surprised if the idea of album burning originated somewhere in Iowa. Regardless of all the baseless contraversy surrounding Iron Maiden's '82 offering, British Heavy Metal was alive and well in The United States. The dueling guitars were now accompanied by someone who knew the bass guitar like the back of his hand, and added some serious speed. It wasn't an original concept in the least, but it was much heavier than anything previously offered. Geddy Lee from Rush and Mike Rutherford from Genesis circa 1970 - 1975 (roughly) were amazingly gifted bass players, but Steve Harris of Iron Maiden seemed like he had something to prove. His bass riffs were way over the top and relentless.
It's true that Motorhead and Venom were doing even heavier things, but at that particular time I wasn't totally sold on their music or I was too terrified to give it a listen. For some reason Venom album covers terrified me more than anything Iron Maiden was putting out which doesn't make much sense but there it is. I guess in a sense I didn't think either of the two bands were as good as what I was listening to anyway.
Iron Maiden would continue to be a personal favorite of mine because the concepts they brought forth were always interesting and entertaining. They would eventually play a major role in my progression as a musician, and my ever growing taste for progressive musical concepts.
In 1984 I was handed two albums which would radically change my concept of metal forever.
+ 
Talk about your epic moments in music history! These two monsters would literally change the face of music forever and crush any doubts about metal being a phase or fad. The very first time I put these albums on to make copies onto tape cassette, I actually made a bee-line for the door and didn't come back until they were over.
"On through the dead of night, with the four horseman ride, or choose your fate and DIE!!!"
Are you kidding me? Jump In The Fire??? HELLS YES!!! Not since Running With the Devil had I been challenged so, and I gladly accepted. Metallica's Kill 'Em All showed people what happened when you got pissed and turned up some Marshall fullstacks until your ears bled. Ride the Lightning would take the same chunky in-your-grill concept, speed it up, and then toss in some even more progressive flavors.
"Soon to fill our lungs, the hot winds of death, the Gods are laughing, so take your last breath!"
My spine still tingles every time the guitars come roaring in from the very depths of hell at the beginning of Fight Fire With Fire, right after the deceivingly light acoustical intro. Lars and the boys managed to drop a nuclear bomb with Ride the Lightning, and show everyone what metal really was. It was chunky. It was screaming. It was fast. It scared the holy crap out of everyone, and made you bob your head up and down trying to keep up. Head-banging was born. These boys were dead serious and taking no prisoners, and represented a genre that would eventually spawn a plethora of others, each one darker, faster and heavier.
If I had to choose a handful of bands that sent me in the direction of heavier metal thoughout the 80's and 90's it would probably be the above. Dio, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Joe Satriani , Megadeth, Mercyful Fate, Metallica, Judas Priest, Rush, Slayer, Testament, Ozzy Osbourne, and Dream Theater all played pretty key roles as a teenager advancing towards adulthood. I'm sure I'm forgetting a million different influences, but I think these were probably the standouts that really spoke to me on some level. Each one retained something special that was heavy, fast, progressive, dark, or terrifying.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Credit
Does Metallica get full credit for starting what's now known as Heavy Metal? Of course not. In my humble opinion I think that honor clearly goes to Black Sabbath who were doing chunky, driving metal riffs long before anyone else. Sabbath was darker and went against anything popular in culture at the time, which would end up being a hallmark of sorts for heavy metal in the 80's up through today. It's also important to note that although metal remains my favorite genre, I enjoy a wide range of music, mainly through my love and devotion to heavy metal. Had it not been for Iron Maiden, I never would have discovered the early 70's progressive behemoth Genesis. If you think they weren't serious about music and progressive concepts, check out Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Steve Harris knew something the rest of us youngsters didn't. There were other very influential bands like Yes, The Who and Jethro Tull as well who were exploring more advanced musical avenues which surely inspired some of the heavier bands listed above.
It was earlier bands like these that gave rise to the heavier bands in the 80's and 90's which in turn gave way to what metal fans listen to today. Without influences like Mercyful Fate, Metallica and Slayer, I doubt we'd see the kinds of furious, up-in-your-grill metal coming out of Europe and The United States up to, and including today. Bands like Symphony X, Dream Theater and Nevermore have not only continued to get more progressive, but with each successive release get heavier and explore darker themes.
If you wanted your metal even darker and heavier in the 90's you were given bands like Death who spawned a plethora of sickeningly brutal metal bands like Carcass, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth ,amongst a host of others. Wanted more power in your metal? Bands like Iced Earth, Blind Guardian and Helloween had the genre covered. I think it's safe to say Metal went every which way possible and continues to do so today. With bands today like Opeth, Nile, Decapitated and Behemoth, it's quite clear that Metal is alive and well and will be with us forever.
________________________________________________________________________________________
What defines Heavy Metal?
There seems to be a concensus amongst metalheads (those devout few who don't have any ABBA or Madonna in their collections), that there's a special vibe they get from hearing a stack of Marshall amps with the knobs all cranked to full blast, a driving backbeat, and a singer who somehow manages to capture your attention through lyrics which are usually sexually explicit, go against current policies or tell an interesting story. Metal says you've been to church and you didn't quite buy it. Metal says you know what everyone else is listening to, and quite frankly you don't give a crap. Metal says you question the system and the ideals put in place by people listening to music you revile. Metal says you have something to say which people might find offensive, and you are going to say it anyway.
Forgive me if I don't find the latest Robbie Williams offering to be touching and thoughtful, but I'd just as soon eat broken glass, thanks.
johnnyrio 2008