Ever since 1963, when US surf rock legend Dick Dale got Leo Fender to make him a louder amp, the quest for volume has continued. Here at Flying Nun we have labelled that ongoing quest under the blanket term ‘Heavy’. In the ‘60’s, the word "heavy" meant "potent" or "profound" and often alluded to "heavy music", which was typically slower, more amplified variations of standard pop. The first use of "heavy metal" in a song was in Steppenwolf’s "Born to Be Wild", while many consider the San Francisco band Blue Cheer’s 1968 debut album, ‘Vincebus Eruptum’, the first true heavy metal album. The genesis of metal is widely considered to be Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, often referred to as the “unholy trinity”. However, there are arguments about whether these and other early bands truly qualify as "heavy metal" or simply as "hard
rock".
During the 70s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence, while Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Beginning in the late 1970s, bands in the new wave of British heavy metal such as Iron Maiden and Saxon followed in a similar vein. By the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as "metalheads" or "headbangers".
During the ‘80s, glam metal became popular with groups such as Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe and Poison. Meanwhile, underground scenes produced more aggressive styles and thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Since the mid ‘90s, ‘heavy’ has continued to evolve into many sub genres including groove metal and nu metal, while bands such as Earth, Sunn O))) and Deafheaven, sometimes called post-metal, have incorporated dark ambient textures and psychedelic and shoegaze sensibilities into their heavy sounds.
Here at Flying Nun we like it loud and keep an ear to the ground for local heavy sounds like Beastwars and The Datsuns while making sure to stock heavy classics from the past on vinyl LP, including Queens of the Stone Age, Black Sabbath and Rage Against the Machine. Come along to one of our Flying Nun record stores - based in Auckland and Wellington. We'll try and help bring the noise.
