In the late 1960s a number of bands began pushing the limits of blues-rock into a new genre which would be called heavy metal.[1][2] By the early eighties the heavy metal genre began a slow division into various sub-genre categories to better describe the stylistic differences that were growing out of the original heavy metal movement. And by the end of the 1970s many of the earliest heavy metal bands had long since disbanded. Some of the bands included in the original movement were:
Although the band are commonly classified as hard rock, and considered pioneers of heavy metal they have always classified their music as "Rock n' roll." Their 1980's album Back in Black is the second best-selling album of all time.
Because of their 1970 albums, Black Sabbath and Paranoid, Black Sabbath is considered to be one of the pioneering bands of the genre. Also laying ground for doom metal and stoner rock, with the release of their album Master of Reality. They have been called the greatest sludge metal band of all time[7]
Kiss rose to prominence in the mid and late-1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, and pyrotechnics.
Since the 1970s, many subgenres and movements have emerged, playing their own interpretation of "heavy metal", these can vary greatly. Below in alphabetical order, are links to the many heavy metal subgenre lists on Wikipedia, with three notable examples of bands from each genre under them.