The first of a series of fun articles aiming to explore the impact that Rock and Heavy Metal artists/bands had on the world and the impact the world had on them. This series will cover a number of artists so all favourites will be presented.
Please note: There is no specific reason (e.g. greatness, preference etc) for the order bands are presented!
AC/DC
It’s not that this conclusion derived from rigorous research, yet no one can deny AC/DC’s awesomeness, even the animal kingdom. I wonder how the great white would react to Lady Gaga but all I know is that I wouldn’t want to be there when it happens...
Full shark story here.
Full shark story here.
IRON MAIDEN
Probably the band responsible for not so much as incorporating but establishing the intelligence factor in Heavy Metal. It’s frontman, Dr. Bruce Dickinson a.k.a. “The Air Raid Siren”, is the definition of a renaissance person. His talents range from piloting, fencing, writing, broadcasting, script-writing, acting, marketing, and some more which I am sure he doesn’t care sharing. He has a history degree from Queen Mary, University of London (for those that don’t know already, one of the best in the UK and worldwide) and has recently been awarded an honorary doctorate of music from the same University. The University’s announcement can be found here.
BLACK SABBATH
Widely famous, not just for being the godfathers of Heavy
Metal but for other oddities as well. We all know about their obsession with
the occult and have heard a thing or two of Ozzy’s mischief. But the most
distinctive characteristic that defined what Black Sabbath came to be during
the past decades is Iommi’s re-invention of the “Devil’s chord” or the tritone.
The tritone was also evident in Wagner’s compositions and represented evil
(i.e. devil, sex, and lust), for which it was banned during the Middle Ages. When
asked how he came up with it, Tony said that it simply felt right.
Imagine how
differently Heavy Metal would have evolved if Iommi hadn’t “discovered” the specific
musical interval. For those of you that do know a bit more about music here is
a piece on how to play like Tony. I’d like to see you
try!
AEROSMITH
Admittedly, the most remarkable thing about Aerosmith is
Steven Tyler’s wide vocal range and technique. Steven featured in National
Geographic’s documentary “The Incredible Human Machine”, where you can
literally see his vocal chords vibrating at up to 170 times per second during
his famous scream falsetto on “Dream On” whilst performing live! Some say he’s
falling into the category of a low tenor. You can catch the clip from the
documentary here.
There are very few
vocalists that have amazing vocal abilities and it’s no surprise that many come
from the Rock and Heavy Metal genre. I came across this interesting blog post
where a voice teacher with no prior knowledge of them, analyses the vocals of 5
great Heavy Metal singers, amongst them, the great Rob Halford. Although the
title is a bit patronising for its purpose, it is still worth a read. Read it here.
Watch this space for the next chapter of this series.
Chapter 2 can now be found here.
Watch this space for the next chapter of this series.
Chapter 2 can now be found here.
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