Early Family Tree and Updates

As always, thanks for the support. Slightly early and as always please don’t share yet, we have the Darkthrone family tree. Pharaoh which I would have loved to get to, unfortunately wont be happening soon due to time, but perhaps someday. Suidakra which I was looking forward to doing is also scrapped for now. Unfortunately I wasn’t finding much information on influences. I think many interviews may be done in their native language of German, but I was unable to find very much and absolutely nothing for some members including some that have had a big impact on the band. Darkthrone and Pestilence will go up next week. I’m currently working on At the Gates and soon will start on Yngwie Malmsteen and possibly Twisted Sister. If I can, I have a few others I plan on squeezing in the next few weeks. After that it looks like the family trees will slow back down and I can return working on the Metology research.

Early Family Tree Release: Fear Factory

As always, thank you for your support. I’m currently wrapping up the Darkthrone family tree and will be starting on Pestilence next. The Metology project has been put on hold for a few weeks until I get through some family trees for some of the bands with up coming albums. After that I can put more time to the deep dive of heavy metal evolution.

Early Family Tree Release: Helloween

Welcome to the metal army. This family tree will be posted in a couple weeks for everyone else so please don’t share. This is an important one with Helloween credited by many as the fathers of power metal. It was also a more time consuming one to do. I had difficulties finding sources for some key members but was eventually able. Not to mention a bass player who named every bass player he ever heard of as an influence which took extra time to go through. At the moment there is a lot of tree’s I’m trying to get out with in the next couple months, so besides the weekly recommendations my main focus will be family trees till I’m caught up for a while. Not every tree will be up for early access but I will try to keep some coming consistently. Currently I’m nearly done with Fear Factory and will be moving on to mostly likely Dark Throne next unless I also have time for Pharaoh. Pharaoh are a lesser known band, but I really like them and think they have been around long enough to make the list if I can fit them in.

Welcome To The Metal Army

Welcome to the Metal Army. Thank you for becoming a supporter of The Metal. This is the first early access / behind the scenes post. First off as I’m sure some of you realize, I time family trees with new releases from prominent bands. Most recently Artillery was posted. On off weeks when no big bands are releasing anything I go back to important bands that I haven’t got to yet. The newest of which was Slayer. I have also recently been working on Exodus and Morbid Angel. Please do not share these. Other trees will not link back to them yet but links to influences will work for bands already added.

As part of the current Metology project which is being done behind the scenes I am currently tearing through 1980. Starting from 1970 I’ve been I’ve been studying the characteristics of heavy metal in order to present a well researched and articulated “text book” on heavy metal and the evolution of its musical stylings. I have currently defined the primary styles of the time and articulated in the clearest of terms what defines metal. I’ve defined the differences between hard rock and heavy metal as well as the sub-genres of that period, notably Early Heavy Metal, Traditional Heavy Metal, Speed Metal and Doom Metal, as well as Early forms of Speed, Progressive, and even the earliest hints of Epic and Symphonic.

To go along with this study of metal evolution I’m currently working on a title system that describes a bands positions in lineage. Some titles I’m currently using are more self explanatory than others. For example Black Sabbath would be the Fathers of metal. Most people would know what that means but more specifically the title of Father would have a very specific definition. In this case it would be given to a band that is both the originator of a style as well as being the first to release a full metal album. Other titles I’m currently defining would be Pioneer which would refer to any band to adopt a style early on with out being inspired by others of that style. Apostles would be bands that are only inspired by the originators, noting them as the first bands to follow the lead of originators of a genre. This will all eventually be posted in probably a Metology dictionary of sorts. The whole purpose is to make an actually legitimate study of heavy metal music the same as any other academic study. Obviously it isn’t something for everyone. One does not need to study geology to recognize a pretty rock when they see it, but someone can tell you what kind of rock it is and how it was created or compares to a similar rock.

For now welcome to the metal army and check out the early access to Exodus and Morbid angel Family Trees.