The Proto Metal Appreciation Thread

 

Just to reassure you, this is the lightest any of the proto metal bands gets - nevertheless, I think they're an important part of metal's history.

 

 

In the early 1960s, the guitarist of this proto metal band was a member of The Cellar Rockers - who sounded like this (clean-edged, pure rock and roll):

 

 

...before they disbanded, they tried again under the moniker The Hunters, in 1966, with a little success - again, check out the guitar playing and interesting use of modes to conjure a Russian flavour here:

 

 

 

The guitarist in question then released a solo album entitled "Talent For Sale":

 

The only song I could find on YouTube is "Revival of The Cat" - so here it is, but there's not much metal interest - it's a very soulful song - but with great guitar playing:

 

 

 

 

All of these are a pretty surprising prelude to the might of his next project, the mighty Brainbox: - and this was all on their debut album released in 1969. The rest of the album isn't even vaguely metallic, just really well played, progressive music with an interesting fusion of hard rock and soul.

 

 

 

 

 

The next installments will be far more metallic - not to mention scary - so hang on in there!

Fear not, normal service will resume in this thread - for the time being, check the ever-growing proto metal database; http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/proto-metal(subgenre).aspx

 

(scroll right down for a continually updating list - almost every band has at least one vid for your enjoyment!)

 

This band didn't release their album back in the day - I'm always a little suspicious of posthumous releases, as modern remixing and mastering techniques tend to add a metallic sheen where there was none before. But in this case, Bulbous Creation have that "authentic" sound, as the production appears to be untampered, and some blissfully dark, metallic and even Satanic song titles and lyrics. I'm not sure how authentic the album title is, but "You Won't Remember Dying" has a great ring to it!

 

The album is mostly blues rock, but it's gems like these that stir the blood of proto-metal addicts everywhere - I mean, it was recorded in 1970, so it's not very likely that these guys had actually heard Black Sabbath, and yet...;

 

 

 

 

(does that sound a bit like "Dazed and Confused" or is it me?).

 

 

 

- a few Priestisms in that last one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that's what I call a double dose of HEAVY.

 

Captain Foam is the unlikely name of the hero of this single - the date of release1968 is suggested by most sources that actually attach a date to it. I find it hard to buy that from the sound of the production, the styling of the Picture Sleeve, but I've heard a few of the other undated singles released on that label, which sound far more like music from 1968. I'll put one or two of those below so you can verify it for yourself - the sound here really is that astonishing for the time.

 

Not much is known about our Captain, other than he was from Ohio, and was billed as a one-man band (although he included a drummer in his live sets, who was known as The Doctor - if he played all the instruments on the recording, then he was an unbelievably astonishing all-round musician. The suggestion is that he drafted in some session musicians - but no-one seems to know where he came from, or where he went afterwards, or even who he was...

 

 

Soundling strikingly like a metal version of Jefferson Airplane, with hints of Argent and Van Halen (1:05 - 1:30ish) the only single, No Reason is a real psychedelic curiosity with massive, bone-crushing riffs, defining the term "drenched in feedback".

 

The B-Side is far more chilled and mellow, but maintains a nice, melancholic tone that wouldn't be completely out of place on a Black Sabbath album - and continues in the Airplane mould, so perhaps the 1968 date isn't so far-fetched.

 

Whatever - here are both sides. Prepare to be destroyed utterly by the A-Side.

 

A: Side

 

 

B: Side

 

 

First up, a Canadian band featuring guitar legend Walter Rossi, with a name (and sound) that wouldn't have been out of place in the NWoBHM;

 

From 1972 - the intro is stunning, although it kinda takes a dive after that;

 

 

 

This one is like a lost Led Zeppelin piece...

 

 

and this defies belief

 

 

 

 
Next up is a French band, with the auspicious monkier Chico Magnetic Band. This lot, especially Chico himself, were a bunch of wierdos, ready to try (and successfully pull off) anything. I read all the time about bands who "push boundaries" and "explore new musical territories", and I'm almost always disappointed that these bands end up being awful rehashes of something else I'm familiar with, the only "twist" being that they're just not as good.

 

In this case, pushing boundaries and exploring new musical territories is so inherent in the music that you can feel very disoriented after listening to this stuff - it's good shit, man!

 

Their doutput isn't 100% proto metal, but it is 100% astonishing and ahead of it's time in so many ways.
 
Here are the rockers - and they're good ones... did I say "good"? 
 
I'm talking mega-doomy Sabbath style, with added wierdness and drunkeness...
 

 
 
In the face of the above, the following may be a little predictable... for the first 10 seconds of Arthur Brown-inspired genius. Then it all goes wierd and heavy, like Santana mixed with Hendrix, Hawkwind and Sabbath. Those are just convenient reference points to avoid complete disorientation, BTW.
 

 
 
Skip this one if you're not really smitten by funky stuff, but it's my favourite from the album, proto metal or not. It is extremely heavy for the time, and very wierd. I might have mentioned that these guys are wierd. Like White Noise/Delia Derbyshire meets Grand Funk Railroad and a bunch of the heaviest Krautrockers for a particularly heavy all-nighter.
 

 
 
I need a dark room to lie down in after that lot...

Sorry Certif1ed. I have to respectfully disagree with you on AFIC second album as IMO it is more AOR oriented than thier first by far. The Foot's s/t debut has some real cookers on it with the heavy hammond hammering in the vien of Purple, and like you stated Atomic Rooster and Uriah Heep. No question there is a couple of laid back/mainstream tracks and the great ballad (Make Me) Do Anything You Want. Just a great tune to waltz with the ladies back in the day. I have Breaking Through on vinyl on the Anthem label(Rush) after Daffodil records went bankrupt, the band's original label. A big dissappointment with this album. AOR and even some soft rock/pop tracks contained.

 

I have never found Leggat's s/t debut and only release which AFIC's Hugh Leggat and Danny Taylor formed after the demise of AFIC.

 

Fantastic thread so far. Excellent reviews and info. Hope I can help out in later posts.

 

One of the reasons I haven't been able to update this thread as often as I'd like is that I'm continually hearing music that is new to me that comes from someone's dusty cellars. Usually from the darkest, dankest, most spider-ridden corners, just behind the suspicious chalk markings on the walls and floors.

 

So here are just a few of the "A"'s I've added recently, which all go to show that proto metal came into being a very, very long time ago, and it wasn't restricted to America the UK and Germany;

 

1) The Accent - not your average Brit psyche/beat act - this song has traditional metal elements on top of the more obvious origins; There's the picky, folksy acoustic intro, the heavy, revved up choruses, the long guitar solo, wooey noises, instrumental breakdowns and transition passages, and lyrics with a decidedly occult flavour. I just thought this really stood out from most of the music I've heard from 1967;

 

 

 

2) After Shave. There's the metal link, right there... so sharp I nearly cut myself. Joking apart, these guys were from Switzerland, and reviews of the time stated that they'd be better if they didn't use so much distortion. Well, I, for one, disrespectfully disagree - the distortion levels are PERECT! Very much at the bluesy end, there is also something of later Sweet/Judas Priest material in this particular song which makes it stand out from standard heavy blues;

 

 

 

3) AGUATURBIA. From Chile, these guys covered a vast amount of musical ground - quite literally, covering Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane and... Bread???? They had a female singer - and really are only included here because when they did heavy, they did it exceptionally well for 1969. Much of their back catalogue isn't metallic at all - although it's very, very well done.

 

Oh, and I haven't discovered the whole story, hence it's not in the bio yet, but I understand that they seriously upset the Catholic Church - now that's a metal attitude (for the benefit of Catholics here, I'm not saying it's right, simply that p*ssing of religious people is fashionable among some groups of metal heads).

 

 

 

More "A"s to follow... ROCK ON!