Heavy metal | History, Music, Bands, & Facts

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</figure> </div><div class="topic-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-top justify-content-between"> <div class="d-flex flex-column"> <div> <div> <h1>heavy metal</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">music</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-block md-topic-tools qa-action-buttons mb-15" data-topic-id="258947"> <button class="js-tooltip btn btn-sm btn-outline-blue border pr-10 border-2" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="more_vert"></em> More Actions </button> <div class="md-more-popover popover popover-sm p-0 font-14 z-1"> <div> <a class="js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" href="/print/article/258947" target="_blank" > <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 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Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. </div> <div class="label mt-20 mb-10">Select Citation Style</div> <select class="js-citation-format-select form-select"> <option selected value="mla">MLA</option> <option value="apa">APA</option> <option value="chicago">Chicago Manual of Style</option> </select> <div class="citation font-serif border rounded p-15 mt-20" data-authors="Robert Walser" data-title="heavy metal" data-published-date="25 Oct. 2024" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/art/heavy-metal-music" > <div class="citation-text"></div> </div> <button class="js-copy-citation-button mt-20 btn btn-xs btn-outline-blue border shadow-sm pr-10" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="file_copy"></em> <span class="js-citation-status-text">Copy Citation</span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-share-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=258947] .md-share-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="share"></em> Share </button> <div class="md-share-modal size-lg d-none qa-share-modal"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10" data-icon="share"></em> Share </div> <div class="label my-20">Share to social media</div> <div class="md-social-toolbar-circle d-flex align-items-start inverted" data-value="share" title="heavy metal" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/art/heavy-metal-music" > <a class="social-icon facebook justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>Facebook</span></a> <a class="social-icon x justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="x" href="https://x.com/britannica" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>X</span></a> </div> <div class="label pt-20 mt-20 mb-5 border-top">URL</div> <a class="font-serif text-truncate d-inline-block" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/heavy-metal-music">https://www.britannica.com/art/heavy-metal-music</a> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-feedback-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal=".md-feedback-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="message"></em> Feedback </button> </div> <div> <button class="qa-external-website-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=258947] .md-websites-modal"> <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 mr-5" data-icon="link"></em> External Websites </button> </div> </div> <div class="md-feedback-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom"> Feedback </div> <form method="post" action="/submission/feedback/258947"> <div class="my-20"> Corrections? 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Author of <em>Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music</em>; editor of<em> Keeping Time: Readings in Jazz...</em></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Robert Walser</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-10-25T00:00:00CDT" >Oct 25, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/heavy-metal-music/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Alice-Cooper-American-musician" topicid="2126009">Alice Cooper</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Rob-Zombie" topicid="2243838">Rob Zombie</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Ozzy-Osbourne" topicid="433767">Ozzy Osbourne</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Steven-Tyler" topicid="1454500">Steven Tyler</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Eddie-Van-Halen" topicid="1292002">Eddie Van Halen</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/art/rock-music" topicid="506004">rock</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/rap-metal" topicid="1484944">rap metal</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/nu-metal" topicid="1484942">nu metal</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/speed-metal" topicid="559093">speed metal</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/heavy-metal-music"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref666447"></span>heavy metal</strong>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/genre-literature" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">genre</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/rock-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">rock</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">music</a> that includes a group of related styles that are intense, virtuosic, and powerful. Driven by the aggressive sounds of the distorted <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/electric-guitar" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">electric guitar</a>, heavy metal is arguably the most commercially successful <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="genre" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre" data-type="MW">genre</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/rock-and-roll-early-style-of-rock-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">rock music</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Although the origin of the term <em>heavy metal</em> is widely attributed to novelist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-S-Burroughs" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">William Burroughs</a>, its use actually dates well back into the 19th century, when it referred to cannon or to power more generally. It also has been used to classify certain elements or <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="compounds" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compounds" data-type="MW">compounds</a>, as in the phrase <em>heavy metal poisoning</em>. <em>Heavy metal</em> appeared in the lyrics of <span id="ref1311585"></span>Steppenwolf’s “<span id="ref1258679"></span>Born to be Wild” (1968), and by the early 1970s rock critics were using it to refer to a specific style of music.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Mid-1960s British bands such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cream-British-rock-group" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cream</a>, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Yardbirds" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Yardbirds</a>, and the <span id="ref1311586"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeff-Beck" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jeff Beck</a> Group, along with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jimi-Hendrix" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jimi Hendrix</a>, are generally credited with developing the heavier drums, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/bass-guitar" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">bass</a>, and distorted <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/guitar" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">guitar</a> sounds that <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="differentiate" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/differentiate" data-type="MW">differentiate</a> heavy metal from other blues-based rock. The new sound was codified in the 1970s by <span id="ref666448"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Led-Zeppelin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Led Zeppelin</a>, <span id="ref1311591"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Deep-Purple" class="md-crosslink ">Deep Purple</a>, and <span id="ref666449"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Sabbath" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Black Sabbath</a> with the release of <em>Led Zeppelin II,</em> <em>Deep Purple in Rock,</em> and <em><span id="ref1311587"></span>Paranoid,</em> respectively, which featured heavy riffs, distorted “power chords,” mystical lyrics, guitar and drum solos, and vocal styles that ranged from the wails of Zeppelin’s <span id="ref1311588"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Plant" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Robert Plant</a> to the whines of Sabbath’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ozzy-Osbourne" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ozzy Osbourne</a>. By developing increasingly elaborate stage shows and touring incessantly throughout the 1970s to make up for their lack of radio airplay, bands such as <span id="ref1311589"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kiss-band" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kiss</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/AC-DC" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">AC/DC</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aerosmith" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aerosmith</a>, <span id="ref1311590"></span>Judas Priest, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alice-Cooper-American-rock-band" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alice Cooper</a> established an international fan base.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/sound-check-musical-vocabulary-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/30/254330-131-1B200240/young-girl-playing-trumpet.jpg" alt="Young girl wearing a demin jacket playing the trumpet (child, musical instruments, Asian ethnicity)" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="19047" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/23141-004-12A94725/Eddie-Van-Halen-1986.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/258947/19047"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/23141-004-12A94725/Eddie-Van-Halen-1986.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/23141-004-12A94725/Eddie-Van-Halen-1986.jpg?w=300" alt="Eddie Van Halen" data-width="250" data-height="300" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/23141-004-12A94725/Eddie-Van-Halen-1986.jpg" data-href="/media/1/258947/19047">Eddie Van Halen</a><span>The driving force behind the success of the Los Angeles-based band Van Halen was the virtuosic guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Heavy metal’s popularity slumped during the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/disco" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">disco</a> years at the end of the 1970s, but it became more successful than ever in the 1980s as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Def-Leppard" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Def Leppard</a>, Iron Maiden, and Saxon headed the “new wave of British heavy metal” that, along with the impact of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eddie-Van-Halen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Eddie Van Halen</a>’s astonishing guitar virtuosity, revived the genre. A wave of <span id="ref1258680"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/glam-metal" class="md-crosslink ">“glam” metal</a>, featuring gender-bending bands such as <span id="ref1258681"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Motley-Crue" class="md-crosslink ">Mötley Crüe</a> and Ratt, emanated from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Los-Angeles-California" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Los Angeles</a> beginning about 1983; <span id="ref1320088"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Poison-band" class="md-crosslink ">Poison</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Guns-N-Roses" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Guns N’ Roses</a>, and hundreds of other bands then moved to Los Angeles in hopes of getting record deals. But heavy metal had become a worldwide phenomenon in both fandom and production with the success of Germany’s Scorpions and other bands from Japan to Scandinavia. The most important musical influence of the decade was the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="adaptation" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adaptation" data-type="MW">adaptation</a> of chord progressions, figuration, and ideals of virtuosity from Baroque models, especially <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Sebastian-Bach" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bach</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-Vivaldi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vivaldi</a>, to heavy metal. Like Van Halen, guitarists such as <span id="ref1320089"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ritchie-Blackmore" class="md-crosslink ">Ritchie Blackmore</a> (of Deep Purple), <span id="ref1329219"></span>Randy Rhoads (with Osbourne), and <span id="ref1329220"></span>Yngwie Malmsteen demonstrated new levels and styles of rock guitar technique, exploding popular <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="stereotypes" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stereotypes" data-type="MW">stereotypes</a> of heavy metal as <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="monolithic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monolithic" data-type="MW">monolithic</a> and musically simple.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Heavy metal fragmented into subgenres (such as lite metal, death metal, and even Christian metal) in the 1980s. A smaller <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/reggaeton" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">underground</a> scene of harder styles developed in opposition to the more pop-oriented metal of <span id="ref1320090"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bon-Jovi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bon Jovi</a>, Whitesnake, and the glam bands. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Metallica" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Metallica</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Megadeth" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Megadeth</a>, <span id="ref1320092"></span>Anthrax, and <span id="ref1320091"></span>Slayer pioneered <span id="ref1258682"></span>thrash metal, distinguished by its fast tempos, harsh vocal and guitar timbres, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/aggressive-behaviour" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">aggressiveness</a>, and critical or sarcastic lyrics. The more broadly popular styles of heavy metal virtually took over the mainstream of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/popular-music" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">popular music</a> in the late 1980s, but the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="coherence" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coherence" data-type="MW">coherence</a> of the genre collapsed around the turn of the decade; bands such as Guns N’ Roses and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nirvana-band" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nirvana</a> pulled fans in different directions, and many fans also defected to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/rap" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">rap music</a>. Through the 1990s, many stars of previous decades, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Van-Halen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Van Halen</a>, Metallica, and Osbourne, experienced continued success alongside newer groups such as Soundgarden, but the name <em>heavy metal</em> was less often used to market these groups or to define their fan <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a>.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Heavy metal musicians and fans came under severe <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="criticism" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criticism" data-type="MW">criticism</a> in the 1980s. Political and academic groups sprang up to blame the genre and its fans for causing everything from crime and violence to despondency and suicide. But defenders of the music pointed out that there was no evidence that heavy metal’s exploration of madness and horror caused, rather than <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="articulated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/articulated" data-type="MW">articulated</a>, these social ills. The genre’s lyrics and imagery have long addressed a wide range of topics, and its music has always been more varied and virtuosic than critics like to admit.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/contributor/Robert-Walser/4405">Robert Walser</a></span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":258947,"pageLength":703,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Heavy metal | History, Music, Bands, & Facts | Britannica