It might seem strange that the three groups who are perceived to have started metal, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin, have all distanced themselves from the idea. Although this clearly shows that they don’t think much of the heavy sound that followed in their wake, it also confirms that each group believes themselves to be much more singular than the genre that would later produce, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, and Slipknot.
Although Sabbath, Deep Purple and Zeppelin were all amongst the heaviest rock outfits of their time, they were all different beasts. Yes, all had first class frontmen, undisputed icons, and rhythm sections of legendary proportions, but all pursued different paths. Regarding Deep Purple, they covered much stylistic ground in their time, thanks to guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s love of everything from rock to medieval music and the creative options offered by keyboardist Jon Lord. Led Zeppelin would also explore a colourful array of sonics, and would delve deep into the folk, world music and other sounds not hitherto heard on the global stage.
As for Sabbath, they were by far the heaviest of the lot, with Ozzy Osbourne’s wailing vocals, the sinister lyrics of bassist Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi’s titanic de-tuned riffs, and the world’s most muscular rhythm section creating a sound unlike anything that came before it. Producing incredibly dark early cuts such as ‘Black Sabbath’ and ‘The Wizard’ which typified their position as steadfastly anti-hippie and anti-flower-power – with their sound the antithesis to those produced in California – 1970’s Black Sabbath is hailed as the first fully metal album.
However, Black Sabbath, and particularly the man who gave them their most metallic element, Iommi, have always been totally against the idea that they are metal, and maintain that they are a hard rock band. This is an idea that both Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin members have echoed throughout the years.
Iommi, who has always been the most vocal Black Sabbath member in opposing the idea that they’re metal progenitors, has also backed up the arguments from his peers. He once named a Deep Purple classic as his favourite hard rock album of all time, and even highlighted a track he dubbed as “hard to beat”: the high-octane ‘Speed King’.
A tour-de-force by each band member, featuring searing Ritchie Blackmore guitars, Ian Gillan’s piercing melisma, and technically brilliant keyboards, not only can you listen to it as an exemplary slice of early 1970s hard rock, but it’s easy to perceive how its unrelenting energy inspired later metal acts.
“I always liked Deep Purple, and my favourite album of theirs is In Rock,” Iommi told Classic Rock in 2024. “It has one classic song after another. They always used to come up with great riffs, and Speed King is hard to beat.”
“It’s a great, energetic song that shows every member of the band doing what they did best,” the guitarist continued. “[Ian] Gillan’s vocals and the keyboards of Jon Lord… They were such great musicians.”
