Ongoing History Daily: Why is metal called “metal?” (Part 2)

Last time, we began tracing the etymology of the term “heavy metal” when applied to music using the research of Professor Deena Weinstein of DePaul University.

Her research points to rock writer Mike Saunders who used the term in a review in the November 12, 1970, edition of Rolling Stone. In a review of the band Humble Pie, he called them a “noisy, unmelodic, heavy-metal-laden crap-rock band.”

But we can go back a little further—and there’s a Canadian connection. Legendary music critic Lester Bangs used “heavy metal” as a musical descriptor while writing for CREEM magazine in the issue dated February 7, 1970, when he described The Guess Who. I quote: “With a fine hit single, ‘Undun,’ behind them, they’re quite refreshing in the wake of all the heavy metal robots of the year past.”

Note that in both cases “heavy metal” is supposed to be some kind of insult. But once the term was introduced into the language, other people began to pick use it to describe loud, heavy guitar rock.