My idea is to have a thread with what everyone thinks is "the most metal" song of each year during the 1970s. By "most metal", it can be the heaviest song, most defining or most influential to metal, or all at the same time, for each year. I'd like to propose the following rules:
1-Link to audio source (youtube, etc), in URL BB code form
2-Never repeat a song that has been mentioned before (this is not a poll, neither a vote)
3-Giving comments and rationale, of course, is encouraged, as well as discussions
4-No need to specify a song for each year, if you're not sure of any metal song released in 1974, then no need to try and find one. Others will !
5-Please, no "contenders". If you quote a song, it must be the heaviest or "most metal" in your own opinion. Might be hard to do in the late 1970s.

I believe these rules should prevent the thread from becoming a "lists only" thread. Also, for consistency:

6-Year of first official studio release. For instance, if an album was recorded in 1969 but released in 1970, the year is 1970. If a song was first released on an official live album in 1977 but only in 1978 on a studio album, then it is 1978.

I'll begin:

1970: Black Sabbath - Paranoid
1971: Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave
1972: Deep Purple - Highway Star
1973: Black sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1974: Deep Purple - Burn
1975: Black Sabbath- Symptom of the Universe
1976: Rainbow - A Light in the Black
1977: Scorpions - He's a Woman, She's a Man
1978: Judas Priest - Exciter
1979: Motörhead - Overkill

They are mostly mainstream known classics, but the point is that I want to be shown otherwise and discover "new" old music.

For me, replace Scorpions with Moxy - Ridin' High http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quSqMRz_Qmk
Heavy-assed song that wouldn't sound out of place on a Motorhead album. Great guitar tone and that intro scream rules.
Whole album delivers. Very underrated and obscure band.

Wow, that Moxy tune is sick, never heard of them. Tho it sounds much more like hard rock rather than heavy metal to me.

Your list is obiously missing the mighty "Black Sabbath" (song) and some of Sad Wings. And Paranoid is the less heavy and metallic song of that album imo, i rather put Iron Man, War Pigs or Hands of Doom. I would also add some Riot, songs like Warrior or Road Racin. Good list tho.

I would say that Black Sabbath's Cornucopia or Under the Sun is heavier than Highway Star for 1972.

If we're talking generally "most metal" though, surely the up tempo riffing and certainly the solos of Highway Star make it a worthier contender? (Much as I love Sabbath Vol. 4).

Definetly a good idea for a thread, but since I don't have my collection on me at the moment, it's kind of hard to do a year-by-year thing off the top of my head. Give me some time over the weekend and I'm sure I can put something here.

But for now, from 76 I'll put Scorpions' Virgin Killer (the song). I know, it resides in the same year Priest's The Ripper existed. But this right here is a perfect example of 70's speed metal. Though an exceptional record on its own (Hellcat, Catch Your Train, Yellow Raven own), but with the most uptempo song off of this record along with some of Klaus' most vocal theatrics, I'd go with this one.

Not a bad list, but don't you think Iron Man is far heavier, more influential, and more important than Paranoid?

"Paranoid" does have that 16th-note chugging though, which was to become one of the most recognisable metal techniques in future times. i'd say that "Under the SUn" was by far the most heavy song of 1972 (that I've heard), but not necessarily the most metal...I would indeed choose "Highway star" because of its speed, theatrics and technicality...it sounds like it was a precursor to speed metal and that is damn important.

I want to remind people that a heavy sound does not neccessarily equate to metallic qualities.

Well that's true. Metal is not just heaviness, there are other distinctive qualities to it. There are some modern rock bands that are heavy, but that alone isn't enough to make them metal.

Id say "Black Sabbath" is alot heavier/more metal than Paranoid.

Under The Sun might just be the heaviest song of the 70s, or Into The Void.

Hard to believe that opening riff of Under The Sun is from 72.

I have really no suggestions right now, but I suppose I should post here my congratulations to the author of this thread! Really, nice idea you had!
A great thread indeed.

1966- Sonics - The Witch (maybe not so metal but certainly pretty raving mad)
1967- Art - Come on up
1968- Sound of Imker - Train of Doomsday
1969- King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man
1970- Emerson, Lake And Palmer - The Barbarian
1971- Flower Travellin Band - Satori Part 1
1972- Nightsun - Nightmare
1973- Queen - Modern Times Rock N' Roll
1974- Blast - Damned Flame
1975- Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe
1976- Judas Priest - Tyrant
1977- Judas Priest - Dissident Agressor
1978- Judas Priest - Exciter
1979- Mythra - Killer

Included some 60s just cuz

I'll try and go for some less obvious picks here so no Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Motorhead, or Priest...


1970 - Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come
1971 - Flower Travellin' Band - Satori pt. 1
1972 - Uriah Heep - Rainbow Demon
1973 - Pentagram - Forever My Queen
1974 - Budgie - Crash Course in Brain Surgery
1975 - Rush - Bastille Day
1976 - Rainbow - Stargazer
1977 - Riot - Warrior and Scorpions - Sails of Charon (couldn't leave either of these out)
1978 - Rainbow - Gates of Babylon
1979 - Legend - The Wizard's Vengeance

Even though it probably doesn't fit on this list, I think some stuff off of Led Zeppelin's 1975 effort Physical Graffitti and 1976's Presence always struck me as being pretty darn dark, if not outright heavy. The riffing of songs like Achilles last Stand rivals some of the stuff mentioned here, as it is unusually fast and heavy for a Led Zeppelin song.
Even though the don't compete with Black Sabbath's Sabotage from the same year, In the Light from Physical Graffitti always struck me as being especially dark and brooding, and The Wanton Song has really heavy riffing, and this dissonant feel to it. (at least for Led Zeppelin Standards)

No Led Zeppelin = Not a serious list.

I like the inclusion of Mythra there. 1979 would easily be the hardest year of this decade to choose a song, but you've really gone for an off the wall choice there. Love it.

I kept this to full releases, and not including demos, otherwise the likes of Pentagram, Angel Witch and Tygers of Pan Tang would have come under serious consideration here. I also limited this to one band entry only, otherwise Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Motörhead probably would have had numerous entries.

1970 - Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song
1971 - Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave
1972 - Deep Purple - Highway Star
1973 - Budgie - Breadfan
1974 - Scorpions - Speedy's Coming
1975 - Rainbow - Man on the Silver Mountain
1976 - Judas Priest - Tyrant
1977 - Urchin - Black Leather Fantasy
1978 - Motörhead - Overkill
1979 - Mythra - Killer

The inclusion of "Paranoid" is kind of absurd. It has a structure resembling punk rock than metal. I think it's the only punk rock oriented tune Sabbath ever did. I'd go for "Hand of Doom" or "Black Sabbath" instead.

Edit: Publishing my list now:

1970: Black Sabbath - Electric Funeral
1971: Black Sabbath - Into the Void
1972: Black Sabbath - Cornucopia
1973: Budgie - You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk
1974: Deep Purple - Burn
1975: Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe
1976: Judas Priest - Island of Domination
1977: Scorpions - The Sails of Charon (Could easily be the first power metal or epic doom metal song)
1978: Judas Priest - Beyond the Realms of Death
1979: Cirith Ungol - Frost and Fire

As someone noted, Paranoid, though upbeat and somewhat pop-sounding at the time, has some elements that became trademarks of "fast" metal songs, in my opinion, it lay the basis for speed metal, and indirectly, thrash, etc. The songs Black Sabbath, Iron Man and War Pigs have "doom" elements that at first were known only to doom metal bands (Candlemass, etc) and eventually became part of metal as a whole, only much later (I think it took until the 90s before slow classic Sabbath became universally worshipped). As for Zeppelin, I think their heaviest was in 1969, so not for this thread. I left the 60s out thinking someone else might do a 60s thread (and an 80s thread, etc). Immigrant Song is definitely influential for metal and less blues than their non-acoustic stuff. I'm basically trying to stay out of heavy blues, and trying to find where metal did away with most of its blues elements.

I hesitated for "The Ripper", though it does sound metallic and non-bleusy, the tempo is rather slow. Since JP would be there anyway, and I felt bad that Kill the King wasn't mentioned, I thought Dio ought to have his contribution outlined with A Light in the Black.

I have some bands to check out.

Even though the album on a whole perhaps isn't metal, Triumph's Street Fighter was incredibly heavy for 1976.

EDIT: Squadran's The Wall for 1979 too, lots of fast speed metal riffing and over the top falsetto, with some slower proto-USPM touches to boot.

Just had to check to see if anyone posted Legend and you beat me to it. But here's another song of theirs that is pretty good

Legend-From the Fjords

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTQH-PBbBSg

"Paranoid" is simply 'fast' punk rock or proto-punk for that matter. It's not quite metallic. It could easily have been an MC5 or The Stooges song. "Symptom of the Universe" serves as proto-thrash metal.

Glad to see some mention of Budgie's "In for the Kill" at the '74 slot. I'd suggest the title track though. Has that galloping pace that really feels like it influenced Iron Maiden later.

There are over 130+ known Paranoid covers (not counting Ozzy's) entered as songs in the Metal Archives.

I'm not denying that it also had an influence on some punk (Johnny Rotten for instance really likes the song), and actually, punk also had an influence on NWOBHM and also Megadeth, Metallica, etc.

Not a huge amount on NWOBHM. Punk had a much bigger influence on metal in America a few years later than it did in Britain at the time. In the UK at the time, there was a huge divide between the punk and metal communities. The few bands of that era that were influenced by punk include Venom, Tank and Robespierre. Paul Di'Anno was influenced by punk, but the rest of Iron Maiden hated it. Punk was reviled generally reviled as noise and "music anyone can make" at the time, while punks viewed metal of the time as being out of touch and as a tired old genre that had run its course.

I think most people know about this. Punk showed some NWOBHM bands that you could form your own band even though you weren't a virtuoso.. Diamond Head have admitted that influence from punk.

Musically speaking, I believe that some punk songs, like Anarchy in the U.K. or God Save the Queen, were influential in the development of 80s metal, and the leader of the band behind these two songs, John Lydon formerly of the Sex Pistols, is as an admitted "fan" of early Black Sabbath and especially the song Paranoid.

Hence, Paranoid being seen as proto-punk by some is no discredit to it as an influential metal song, quite the contrary. Personally, I believe it influenced both, and in both ways contributed to influence metal.

You can hear much Black Sabbath doom influences on early Priest track, notably Saints in Hell, actually.

anyway: 1975 - King Crimson - Red
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfwy0BRBc5g

1977 - Judas Priest - Let Us Prey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VmRM5zslHE

Red is actually from 1974 (recorded and released).

Saints in Hell is an "omnibus" Sabbath song. Actually, both it and Paranoid start with a repetition of an A/E chord turning to an E5 by hammering on the b note. But the pace is generally mid-tempo and not as doomy as some Sabbath songs are.

Entire Sad Wings of Destiny is definitely Sabbath inspired. I don't find much doomy sensibilities in Priest's other works. Early Priest has significant amount of progressive rock as well. Most notably this:

"Run of the Mill" is pretty much the heaviest Pink Floyd song Pink Floyd never recorded.

Whoever mentioned Emerson Lake and Palmer earlier in the thread I wholeheartedly agree with, and reckon several of their dystopian sci-fi flavoured tracks could be good contenders in their respective years. Check out Knife Edge, from 1970. Huge bass, extended solos, manic drumming, bleak lyrical themes... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQQdYokbp4E

I'd also submit Genesis' track The Knife, particularly the live versions, e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YvKoOdP-Wg . Again, most of the heaviness is coming from keyboard, but there is certainly a reasonably metallic riff in there in places, and I think this kind of track certainly proved influential in what followed.

Love the description of Run of the Mill as a lost Pink Floyd track too haha!

Sorry , that's Nile Song. It is like a prototype for sludgy doomy metal.

^ +2. Voivod did an awesome cover of it on The Outer Limits.



Melvins covered it live as well.

I'd say youre right about "Black Sabbath" (the song.) One of the heaviest things of that whole decade, and it was barely the beginning of the year 1970 that it came out.

A pretty good list, all in all.
"Frost and Fire" from 1979 is what I always think of when I think of classical old school traditional heavy metal.

Would UFO "Lights out" (circa 1977) qualify? They were not a metal band per se, but had a few songs which were definatly solid metal for the time.

How is this total 70's metal classic not on this thread? Many good choices have been made for sure, but this one must be included:

Rainbow: Kill the King

well, I guess this song is quite heavy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muQFi8JOOkw

For the records: it's taken from "My ancestors", one of the first albums byChrissy Zebby Tembo with his prolific band "Ngozi Family". From Zambia, 1974, 100% Black Sabbath-style

I just checked out that Chrissy Zebby Tembo guy- holy crap, this guy's great!!! How come hardly anyone's heard of this guy?
I obviously know very little about African music; and I'm sure I'm not alone. Some of his stuff does sound like that Sabbath proto-metal sound, other tracks are total fuzz psychedelic rock, either way, it's all great stuff.

Two jazz fusion songs with really heavy intros:




By the way:

I think that this is heavier and maybe it's the first pure metal song ever:

What on earth is punk about Paranoid? The typical punk song is I-IV-V-IV, or just I-IV.

I mentioned it already, but I chose Exciter by Judas Priest.

To other posters who mention songs (sometimes from the 60s) without bothering mentioning the year, can you try a little harder ?

1973 - Icecross - Nightmare (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFnrq2S7KeA)