Metal Metal Land: In the Beginning...: The Legacy of Birmingham and Metal in the West Midlands

In the Beginning, there was no heavy metal. The darkness was directionless without a master. Then one day, a steel mill worker in the city of Birmingham, England, was involved in an industrial accident that severed his fingertips. Any other man would consider himself lucky, but this man was a musician and needed his fingers for his guitar. The young worker fell into a depression, as he believed he would never again be able to play that rock 'n' roll music that spoke to him. With a little innovation and a down-tuning, he would find he could play again and change the world.

We all know the story: That man was Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath's riff master, and that is how metal was born into this world. How fitting that it was forged in a city that was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution? Despite playing an important part in the economy, no one wants to spend the eternity of their lives slaving over an assembly line or boiling in front of an oven; they aspire to be something more than the common rabble for the rest of their lives. They demand respect and freedom.

Black Sabbath started their metallic march to infamy in the late Sixties. Very soon, another legend would rise out of the industrial city: Judas Priest. With the rise of the NWoBHM movement, the West Midlands saw many local acts gaining popularity, such as Quartz, Diamond Head, and Cloven Hoof. As the years went on, all the members of Sabbath and Rob Halford would go on to have solo careers before eventually returning to their respective bands.

Extreme metal also flourished in Birmingham and the surrounding towns. Napalm Death emerged in '81, spewing their punk-influenced diatribe against injustice. There's also Sacrilege-- one of the first extreme metal acts to feature a woman on vocals--, Godflesh, and Benediction. Cathedral and Bolt Thrower exported their brands of doom and death metal out of the city of Coventry. Cancer were fucking shit up in Telford when they first started.

There have been a ton of new acts that have been killing it, no matter what your taste is. Into the whole shoegaze-y post-metal scene? Go check out Jesu. Blackened crust punk? Blast some Fukpig! Industrial deathly blackgrind (sure, let's call it that now)? Go fucking mental to some Anaal Nathrakh! And there is plenty more than just that. Let's see what new shit we can uncover, shall we?

Hrafnblóð

Telford

Blackened Death Metal

Shebrew
Birmingham
Stoner Doom

Acid Goat
Birmingham
Stoner Doom

Mithras
Rugby
Experimental Death Metal

Watch Us Fade

Tamworth

Death Metal

Yamakunt
Birmingham
Sludge Metal

Absinthropy
Leamington Spa
Blackened Post-Metal

Herne
Birmingham
Blackened Folk Metal

Fury
Worcester
Traditional Heavy Metal

Danmaku
Birmingham
Thrash Metal

Obzidian
Stafford
Progressive Death Metal

Haerken
Birmingham
Melodeath

Hordes
Birmingham
Blackened Sludge Metal

The Mighty Wraith
Birmingham
Power Metal

Parole
Coventry
Sludge Metal

Beautician
Stratford-upon-Avon
Deathgrind

Internal Rot
Leamington Spa
Deathgrind

Arrogant Destruktor
Birmingham
Black Metal

Sealclubber
Stourbridge
Progressive Sludge Metal

Kroh
Birmingham
Stoner Metal

Trappazat
Telford

Methodemic
Birmingham
Speed Metal

Angmaer
Wolverhampton
Black Metal

Esoteric
Birmingham
Funeral Death Doom

Bleak Zero
Stoke-on-Trent
Post Metal

Theoktony
Telford
Death Metal

Soden
Worcester
Stoner Metal

Purify the Horror
Birmingham
Grindcore

Burden of the Noose
Birmingham
Sludgy Grindcore

So whatcha think? Like it? Love it? Wanna put your dick in it?  Good. You a Brummie with another recommendation? I'd love to hear it! So if you're in the UK and see any of these names pop up at a local venue, I say check it out!

It's fascinating to see just how far they've branched out since Sabbath right at the root of it all.

Stay heavy, my friends.