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1.
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Roy Brown
Good Rockin' Tonight (1947): Probably as far back as rock & roll can be traced. |
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2.
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The Kingsmen - The Kingsmen In Person
Louie Louie (1963): Often considered the first garage rock song. |
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3.
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Him & The Others
She's Got Eyes That Tell Lies (1966): This from where I think we can start calling things for hard rock. |
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4.
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Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum
Summertime Blues (1968): This is what I consider the first heavy metal song ever. It is a cover of an Eddie Cochran song. You could still hear a blues element, but it is so much heavier than anything before, and I think it could be considered metal. I think this song is more metal than anything released by Led Zeppelin. |
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5.
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Love Sculpture
Farandole (1969): The first neoclassical song ever. |
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6.
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The 31 Flavors - Hair
Distortions of Darkness (1969): The first doom metal song ever. |
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7.
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Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Paranoid (1970): This is the first song that really sounds as traditional heavy metal. |
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8.
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Deep Purple - Machine Head
Highway Star (1972): This is often considered as the first speed metal song ever. Probably the only Deep Purple song I would accept as metal. |
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9.
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King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic
Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two (1973): Could be the first example of both progressive metal and avant-gade metal. |
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10.
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Blast
Damned Flame (1973): First hardcore punk song. |
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11.
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Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Stone Cold Crazy (1974): This is often considered as the first thrash metal song ever. Although the vocals sounds very bluesy, the guitar riff sounds very thrashy. Black Sabbath ripped this riff off for their "Symptom Of The Universe" one year later. Metallica has mentioned this song as a big influence for their sound, and they have also covered it. This song was written and first performed live as early as in 1969, and therefore also pre-dates "Highway Star" as the first speed metal song, but I go with the release dates here, and I don't know how it sounded in 1969. I think this was the most thrashy song of the entire 70's. |
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12.
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Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'N' Roll
Kill The King (1978): This is often considered as the first power metal song ever, although some people would go back to Rainbow's "Stargazer". "Kill The King" is the fastest and most metallic song Rainbow has done. |
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13.
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Venom - Welcome To Hell
(1981) This album (I can't pick one specific song) starts what became black metal. Many people refuses to call Venom black metal, and wants to call Bathory the first pure black metal, but since Venom came up with the term, I think they have more right than anyone else to use it, and there is no other term that could describe Venom's music, since I don't think it's really thrash, it is too dark for it, and I think not aggressive enough. I don't think black metal has to be equally aggressive, only dark. |
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14.
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Golgotha (UK) - Dangerous Games
Dangerous Games (1984): Thin Lizzy's "Emerald" from 1976 was suggested among the comments as the first folk metal song ever, and it has somoe folk influences, but I choose Golgotha's "Dangerous Games" from 1984 as the first pure folk metal song. Of course other bands too like Led Zeppelin had earlier had folk influences, but they didn't really mixed it in metal, and also Black Sabbath, but only on instrumentals which didn't have a metal element. |
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15.
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Bathory - Bathory
(1984): While people claim that "Welcome to Hell" with Venom may be the first black metal album, because of its lyrics and speed, I think this album is the first that qualifies to that genre, although some may argue they more developed that sound with subsequent two albums. |
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16.
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Possessed - Seven Churches
(1985) This album is often considered the first example of death metal. Many people say this isn't more death metal than Venom is black metal, and states Death's "Scream Bloody Gore" album as the first example of death metal, but, just like in the case of Venom, Possessed came up with the term, and I think they have their right to use it. (I'm not sure if they ever have used the term to describe their music, or if they only named a song so; perhaps someone else here have better knowledges in that.) |
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17.
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Lone Rager - Metal Rap
Metal RAPsody (1985): This is, to my knowledge, the earliest example of rap metal. Lone Rager only released this single. |
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18.
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Melvins - Six Songs
(1986): This EP marks the start of the sludge metal genre. |
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19.
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Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
(1986): The first epic doom metal album. |
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20.
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Celtic Frost - Into The Pandemonium
Mesmerized, Rex Irae etc. (1987) . While this alsbum is often considered the first full avant-garde metal album (while earlier individual tracks could be argued have existed), some of the tracks merits as some of the first gothic metal songs. First gothic metal album, could be argued being "Necrospirituals" by Stillborn. |
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21.
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Dream Death - Journey Into Mystery
(1987): This is the start of the death doom genre, although sometimes also labelled as thrash doom, or death thrash. It has an element of all three genres. |
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22.
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Napalm Death - Scum
(1987): I chose this as the first grindcore album, although Repulsion already had released "Horrified" as demo in 1986, but that album wasn't officially released until 1989. Both bands had earlier released demos which I haven't heard. The discussion could go on who of them that really could be considered the true pioneers of grindcore. |
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23.
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Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Blood Fire Death (1988): This song is often considered as the first example of viking metal. Bands like Legend and Heavy Load had used viking themes long time before Bathory, but these bands were musically more heavy metal than viking metal, and I have no idea whether or not Bathory was influenced by those bands. |
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24.
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Atheist - Piece Of Time
(1989) This album is the start of the technical death metal sub-genre. |
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25.
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Believer - Sanity Obscure
Dies Irea (Day Of Wrath) (1990): I think this could be considered as the first pure symphonic metal song. Of course Celtic Frost has experimented with symphonics since 1985, and especially on their 1987 album "Into The Pandemonium" and the song "Rex Irae (Requiem)", but (to my knowledge) none had taken the symphonics so far before Believer. |
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26.
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Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
(1990): I think this album marks the start of the groove metal genre, although it is their next album "Vulgar Display Of Power" they would develop it full out. Perhaps other thrash bands had some form of groove earlier, and if you have any suggestion of a song that could be called groove metal earlier, you can suggest me in the comments. |
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27.
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Earth - Extra - Capsular Extraction
(1991): This EP marks the start of drone metal as genre. This is the same year as Melvins released the album "Bullhead" with the song "Boris", which would give name to a Japanese drone metal band. |
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28.
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Suffocation - Human Waste
(1991): This EP marks the start of the brutal death metal sub-genre. |
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29.
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Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream
In Death's Sleep (1991): I chose this song as the start of the melodic death metal sub-genre. Exactly where to draw the line to where something becomes melodic is of course impossible, and of course 80's death metal too had some forms of melodies. |
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30.
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Burzum - Burzum
(1992): This album marks the start of the atmospheric black metal sub-genre. |
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31.
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Master's Hammer - The Jilemnice Occultist
(1992): This album is the first example of symphonic black metal. |
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32.
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Thergothon - Stream From The Heavens
(1994): This album is often seen as the start of the funeral doom metal genre. |
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33.
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Korn - Korn
(1994): The first nu metal album. |
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34.
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Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve
(1995): Has been suggested as the first math metal album. |
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35.
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Meshuggah - Chaosphere
(1998): Has been suggested as the first djent album. |
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36.
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Alcest - Le Secret
(2005): I think this EP is the start of blackgaze. |
