Did the Beatles help influence Heavy Metal?
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Topic: Did the Beatles help influence Heavy Metal?
Posted By: Rank1
Subject: Did the Beatles help influence Heavy Metal?
Date Posted: September 01 2009 at 12:00
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We all know the Beatles were the biggest influence on people like Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons but the Beatles did have a influence on Heavy Metal.
Of course they did not invent Heavy Metal and there were others more influential but they played a part from popularizing feedback on "I Feel Fine" to lead bass fuzz distortion on "Think For Yourself". Both huge elements in Heavy Metal Even some of the Beatles earlier songs like "It's All Too Much" recorded during the Sgt Pepper sessions now listen the feeback at the start and the guitar sound. The Beatles. The popular Hendrix chord with it's distortion sound was done on "Taxman" before Hendrix and it was rumoured to have influenced Hendrix "Purple Haze". "Helter Skelter" uses drop tuning with power chording. The distortion sounds on "Revolution" was very dirty sounding and the Mother Superior part on "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" screams Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath was influenced by the dark and gloomy fade-out section of the Beatles "I Want You" which can be called proto-metal.
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Replies:
Posted By: The Runaway
Date Posted: September 01 2009 at 13:00
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I guess you can say they influenced it in certain parts, but The Beatles had such complexity in the last days of their Beatle lives, they had not thought of influencing a musical genre, more than influencing a musical generation. ------------- http://www.formspring.me/Aragorn224" rel="nofollow - Trendsetter win! The search for nonexistent perfection. |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: September 01 2009 at 13:38
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Yeah. The Beatles were pretty much a paradigm shift for rock music of any kind... before them it was pretty much the exception rather than the rule that rock musicians wrote all their own songs for example. ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: September 01 2009 at 15:48
Another round for the Beatles. Thanks, the Heavy-Metal doesn't have anything to do with the Blues. 
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Posted By: Kashmir75
Date Posted: September 10 2009 at 23:36
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I think arguably they did influence Heavy Metal. Listen to Helter Skelter or Yer Blues on the White Album. Very heavy stuff for the time period.
------------- Hello, mirror. So glad to see you, my friend. It's been a while... |
Posted By: Henry Plainview
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 00:15
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Little known fact: The Beatles actually influenced themselves. Paul has a time machine, I read it in the National Enquirer. ------------- if you own a sodastream i hate you |
Posted By: AlbertMond
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 04:03
What does this mean? ------------- Promotion so blatant that it's sad: 
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Rank1 wrote:Posted By: Man Erg
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 04:42
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The Who,Cream,Jimi Hendrix and The Kinks, especially the riff to 'You really Got Me' were an influence on The Beatles so you could say that The Who and The Kinks were an influence on heavy metal before The Beatles. McCartney has said that when he wrote 'Helter Skelter', he wanted it to sound as hard as and as loud as The Who as upto then The Beatles has not done anything nearly as 'heavy' as The Who.
Black Sabbath were as much influenced by Cream (Sitting on Top of the World,White Room,Tales of Brave Ulysses etc.) as The Beatles The Beatles were keen observers of the music scenes developements that were happening in various genres (e.g. Avant Garde,Late 1960s Blues Boom,Musique Concrete,Classical etc.) at this time (1966-68) and would integrate anything that took their fancy.The Beatles were just as much influenced by as an influence upon other artists. ------------- 
Do 'The Stanley' otherwise I'll thrash you with some rhubarb. |
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 10:13
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[QUOTE=Man Erg]The Who,Cream,Jimi Hendrix and The Kinks, especially the riff to 'You really Got Me'
This is so true. I remember in 1964, hearing You Really Got Me for the first time. I thought what in the world is that sound on the guitar? It seemed that everyone else at that time, was playing either straight through the amp with reverb or only slight distortion. But Dave Davies hard edged approach was groundbreaking to many guitar players in 65'. This is not a debate over who did what first. This was during the British Invasion times when a straight and a more accessible guitar sound was excepted by the bulk of the public. But Dave Davies brought in that roughness in style and kids loved it.
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 10:20
Great post. Certainly the influence of the Beatles on early "metal" pioneers probably wasn't zero, but I would think it was pretty minimal compared to the other artists Lee cited above. |
Posted By: June
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 10:40
Hehe... a thread about the Beatles that led to discussing the Kinks, awesome 
In any case, I totally agree with Man Erg.
I mean, I love The Beatles as much as the next gall, but it doesn't mean that they invented or had an influence on everything.
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Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 20:45
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If you are employed within the popular music industry, no matter in how tenuous a capacity, and are NOT influenced by the Beatles, it really is time for a career change doncha think ?
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Posted By: OzzProg
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 21:04
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"SHE'S SO HEEAAAVVYYY!!!"
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Posted By: J-Man
Date Posted: September 11 2009 at 21:16
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Yes. While Revolver is not heavy metal, for 1965 it can be regarded as one of the first "proto-metal" albums. I would say they influenced almost every genre of rock music. Prog, metal, pop rock, everything. I can't think of any rock band (to a respectable level) that would say something bad about the Beatles. They are a huge influence on music in general, including heavy metal. ------------- 
Check out my YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime |
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: September 12 2009 at 00:41
Someone should post a thread on the Kinks. Would like to read people's opinions on Kinks material from 1966 to 1979. It would be an experience to check out people's impressions of Ray Davies' lyricism.
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Posted By: Man Erg
Date Posted: September 12 2009 at 01:30
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Slightly off topic
If you are looking for a band that has influenced many artists look no further than The Velvet Underground and their first album. For an album that intially sold around a thousand copies,it's influence is phenomonal.Lennon was a big fan of the album and it is the bedrock of Bowie's career.If it had not been for that album and a smattering of Anthony Newley I don't think the 'The Dame' would have taken the musical path that he chose. -------------
Do 'The Stanley' otherwise I'll thrash you with some rhubarb. |
Posted By: camilleanne
Date Posted: September 12 2009 at 06:02
Yes..
------------- The planet is fine the people are f**ked. -George Carlin- |
Posted By: June
Date Posted: September 12 2009 at 08:00
There are one or two Kinks thread buried somewhere.
But what have you got against post 1979 Kinks stuff?
  @ Man Erg: Mentioning VU is a really good point.
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Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: September 12 2009 at 08:04
Furriest kudos for the above certainly. I think the Velvets would have baulked at being called a 'pop group' while the Beatles are perhaps the only band I can think of where such a term does not contain even a speck of the implied pejorative. -------------
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Posted By: The Block
Date Posted: September 12 2009 at 09:14
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if the Beatles influenced anything it was defiantly the prog rock movement with Abbey road. I see what you're saying but they seemed to have influenced more psychedelic prog than heavy metal. -------------  |
Posted By: ModernRocker79
Date Posted: September 12 2009 at 09:51
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The thing is the Beatles influenced almost everyone in rock and pop music. Jimi Hendrix said this about the Beatles that to him they should him how to make albums and how how to push the limits of the studio. That is the main difference between the Beatles influence and say the Kinks or the Velvet Underground the Beatles influenced more areas of music.
I see progressive elements and metal elements on "I Want You She So Heavy" The track might as well been two different songs because that instrumental section I remember reading that this was an influence on Black Sabbath. Now if you listen to the remasters listen to "Helter Skelter" it sounds like close to Heavy Metal now. So yeah the Beatles had an influence on Heavy Metal but it wasn't nearly as huge as the Beatles had on Pop/Rock, Psychedelic Rock or even Folk Rock and you need to ask the Byrds who got them to be an electric band.
The thing I think some people miss on the Beatles is how pop influenced their music is and at the same time how experimental it was. It's like anything pop related in experimental music l the Beatles really started it Avant Pop, Psychedelic Pop, and Crossover Prog. Brian Eno just the other day commented he adimred how rock artists like the Beatles and the Jefferson Airplane were creating not merely rock records but lushly conceptual aural landscapes or atmospheres.
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Posted By: Kashmir75
Date Posted: September 14 2009 at 22:51
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Well, two genres of music I love above all others are prog and metal.
My mum loves the Beatles, but she says she doesn't like Helter Skelter or Revolution 9. To me, The White Album is easily the heaviest and proggiest stuff they ever recorded. The band wanted to make something really heavy, that would really freak people out, with 'Helter Skelter'. It seems, that in my mother's case, they completely succeeded! So, yes, I do think the Beatles had an effect on shaping Heavy Metal. Black Sabbath, the early forefathers of metal, were heavily influenced by the Beatles. Sabbath, too, wanted to freak people out. If people would pay to see horror movies, why not make people pay to listen to scary music? It is fair to say just about every rock subgenre was at least in part influenced by The Beatles. ------------- Hello, mirror. So glad to see you, my friend. It's been a while... |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: September 15 2009 at 06:48
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I'm surprised no one mentioned "Hey Bulldog." That probably had quite a bit of influence on up and coming metal artists. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Area
Date Posted: September 28 2009 at 20:20
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"Helter Skelter" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon/McCartney, and recorded by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles - The Beatles on their eponymous LP The Beatles (1968), better known as The White Album. A product of McCartney's deliberate effort to create a sound as loud and dirty as possible, the clangorous piece has been noted for both its "proto-metal roar" and "unique textures." It was one of several White Album compositions interpreted by Charles Manson as coded prophecies of a war to arise from racial tensions between blacks and whites.
McCartney was inspired to write the song after reading a 1967 Guitar Player magazine interview with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Who - The Who 's Pete Townshend where he described their latest single, "I Can See for Miles" as the loudest, rawest, dirtiest song The Who had ever recorded. McCartney then "wrote 'Helter Skelter' to be the most raucous vocal, the loudest drums, et cetera" and said he was "using the symbol of a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helter_skelter_%28ride%29 - helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom—the rise and fall of the Roman Empire—and this was the fall, the demise."
In British English, the term helter-skelter not only has its meaning of "in disorderly haste or confusion" but is the name of a spiralling amusement park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helter_skelter_%28ride%29 - slide .
McCartney has used this song as a response to critics who accuse him of only writing ballads.
The Beatles recorded the song multiple times during the The White Album sessions. During the 18 July 1968 sessions, a version of the song lasting 27 minutes and 11 seconds was recorded, although this version is rather slow and hypnotic, differing greatly from the volume and rawness of the album version. Another recording from the same day was edited down to 4:37 for Anthology 3, which was originally twelve minutes long. On 9 September, eighteen takes of approximately five minutes each were recorded, and the last one is featured on the original LP. After the eighteenth take, Ringo Starr flung his sticks across the studio and screamed, "I've got blisters on my fingers!" The Beatles included Starr's shout on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereo - stereo mix of the song (available on CD); the song completely fades out around 3:40, then gradually fades back in, fades back out partially, and quickly fades back in with three cymbal crashes and Ringo's scream (some sources erroneously credit the "blisters" line to Lennon; in fact, Lennon can be heard asking "How's that?" before the outburst). The mono version (originally on LP only) ends on the first fadeout without Ringo's outburst. The mono version was not initially available in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States - US as mono albums had already been phased out there. The mono version was later released in the American version of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rarities_%28American_Beatles_compilation%29 - Rarities album. In 2009, it was made available on the CD mono re-issue of the White Album as part of the Beatles in Mono CD box set. According to Chris Thomas, who was present, the 18 July session was especially spirited. "While Paul was doing his vocal, George Harrison had set fire to an ashtray and was running around the studio with it above his head, doing an Arthur Brown." Starr's recollection is less detailed, but agrees in spirit: "'Helter Skelter' was a track we did in total madness and hysterics in the studio. Sometimes you just had to shake out the jams." ------------- "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." (Paul McCartney - Beatles) 
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Posted By: Conservationist
Date Posted: September 29 2009 at 14:42
Not to mention Motorhead. As far as did they influence the genre... I'd point more toward Link Wray, Blue Cheer, Iggy Pop, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Cream, and so on. |
Posted By: Earendil
Date Posted: November 13 2010 at 17:37
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Absolutely. Example: |