82-year-old defends his love of metal

[ABlairican Pie]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7826717.stm

[catlover79]

That's awesome.

[Nighthawk76]

I know this post is way off topic, but I hate when both Led Zeppelin and Van Halen are referred to as heavy metal. Rush and Aerosmith have been referred to as metal as well. I don't see how any of these bands can be regarded as such. When I think of heavy metal I think of bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden and other bands with a dark and evil image with lyrics to match. Van Halen are the total opposite of this. Their music is about having fun and enjoying life. Sometimes with an important message thrown in ("Right Now", "This Dream Is Over"). I think one of the reasons why I hate it when Van Halen and Led Zeppelin are referred to as metal is because the bands that are unquestionably metal (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Judas Priest) have always turned my stomach and I hate it when bands I love are put into the same catagory. I know that Jimmy Page gets very upset when Led Zeppelin is referred to as a metal band too.

[ABlairican Pie]

Originally Posted by Waking Up Laughing

I know this post is way off topic, but I hate when both Led Zeppelin and Van Halen are referred to as heavy metal. Rush and Aerosmith have been referred to as metal as well. I don't see how any of these bands can be regarded as such. When I think of heavy metal I think of bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden and other bands with a dark and evil image with lyrics to match. Van Halen are the total opposite of this. Their music is about having fun and enjoying life. Sometimes with an important message thrown in ("Right Now", "This Dream Is Over"). I think one of the reasons why I hate it when Van Halen and Led Zeppelin are referred to as metal is because the bands that are unquestionably metal (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Judas Priest) have always turned my stomach and I hate it when bands I love are put into the same catagory. I know that Jimmy Page gets very upset when Led Zeppelin is referred to as a metal band too.

That's true, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen may have had a hand in the development of heavy metal, as have Rush and Aerosmith, but I don't regard them as metal. The members of Rush don't even consider themselves heavy metal, though they and other such bands are of great interest of metal fans. The reason why Black Sabbath is considered the first
heavy metal band was that, according to Tony Iommi, is that no one ever did
things the way he did when he began playing on their first album. No one ever did guitar like he did, their first song, "Black Sabbath", was way too radical, people either loved it or hated it, those three haunting tri-tones played at earth-shattering levels. And no one ever wrote lyrics the way that Geezer Butler did, with songs about the carnage of war, devils and demons, and even God, and the dismal state of the world at the time. Something about the way they played on their first two or three albums was so toxic-sounding that it could only be called heavy metal. Heavy metal was originally a reference to radioactive materials used in the production of atomic weaponry, and it fit Black Sabbath's music perfectly.

[browneyes106]

This old guy seems pretty cool.

[phoebe7165]

That was a great story!! Also the fact that his wife doesn't really mind it either!!

[catlover79]

This couple sounds like they'd be a lot of fun to hang out with.