clifchamb said:
What is the diffenition of Metal? Can Sabbeth and Extreme as well as Bon Jovi be considered metal or just Hard Rock?
clif
Depends entirely on who you talk to. Most people who take more than just a cursory interest in the history of Heavy Metal will tell you that Bon Jovi and Extreme at least at one time or another were considered Heavy Metal. I say most, because there are people who think Bon Jovi has always been considered hard rock, and now more currently, heartland rock (Heartland rock is the Segar/Mellancamp/Petty/Etheridge camp, where the musical emphasis is sorta "proud to be American"-ish.) And with Extreme, the core lineup were general metal heads even though the music smacked of pop commercialism.
Sabbath is, was, and always has been metal. They are largely responsible for the genre, along with Deep Purple (circa "In Rock") and Uriah Heep (circa "Uriah Heep") who really turned heads and steered many musicians in a heavier and darker direction.
It gets even more confusing, because Led Zeppelin is not ever seriously considered heavy metal (although they certainly made an impact on the genre). Granted, they certainly hit heavy metal a few times, but they were never consistent in that style.
Contrast that with Def Leppard, who was largely responsible for the British metal movement of the 80s (termed "New Wave of British Heavy Metal", or NWOBHM), and was considered heavy metal by default, despite the fact they later totally abandoned that style for a more commercial lite rock style.
By now you should have a firm grasp on the lack of real specifics of Heavy Metal.
Cy