Some of the more popular heavy metal bands include Led Zepplin and Black Sabbath. Bands like these helped put the heavy metal genre on the map, and more bands soon followed suit as the wild music sound became more popular.
When you listen to heavy metal and compare it to other rock music, you´ll find that heavy metal is one of the most extreme forms of music. Not only is it louder, but the sounds are harsher and the beat is definitely at a much louder pace.
The most common instruments in a heavy metal band include the drums, a bass guitar, and regular guitar. There should be two guitarists, one for rhythm guitar, and the other for lead guitar. Keyboards were once popular in the early days of heavy metal, but were eventually phased out. They are still used by some bands, but shunned by others.
Volume and distortion is often considered the two most important aspects to heavy metal. If you look at the leaders of heavy metal genre, like Ted Nugent or Tony Iommi, you´ll find that their hearing is either gone or going bad quickly because of this fixation with insane volume levels.
As technology has advanced, new and different ways of changing and distoring the guitars sound have come around. Heavy metal bands have adopted these new sounds, as long as they are heavy and thick.
Heavy metal bands always put importance on the stage presence during a live show. Presentation and image is always key to a good heavy metal band, and this makes for great entertainment if you love a live heavy metal show.