Black Sabbath Who?
Discussing the real originators of heavy metal, Blue Cheer.
In the last few weeks I have seen people post about the ‘original heavy metal band’. In my mind we can give some credit to Ozzy and his group, Black Sabbath but lets not call them the ‘fathers of metal’.
There was a group that came out two years before Black Sabbath released their self titled album as their first salvo that was supposed to revolutionize rock and roll. This group was based in San Fransisco and they went by the name of Blue Cheer.
Blue Cheer was led by Dickie Petersen who was emerging in the San Fransisco psychedelic rock scene and had a reputation for wanting to do things louder than everyone else. He was joined by guitarist, Leigh Stevens, and drummer, Paul Whaley in 1968 to release the first of its kind, a heavy metal album by the name of Vincebus Eruptum.
Before we get into their debut album, lets find out who the real founders of heavy metal were.
Who is Blue Cheer?
Blue Cheer as noted got their start in San Fransisco during the the mid 1960s. They named themselves after a form of LSD which was very popular in the city among the counter culture movement. Owsley Stanley the chemist who developed Blue Cheer was also a patron of the emerging psychedelic rock group, The Grateful Dead.
The group got their start after being heard by then Hells Angel member, Allen ‘Gut’ Terk, who originally suggested the band cut their ensemble down to three musicians after seeing Jimi Hendrix perform in Monterey at a pop festival. Having three members also coined a term, ‘power trio’, which meant the band consisted of an electric guitar, bass guitar, and drummer.
Vincebus Eruptum
The album got its start at Amigo Studios in North Hollywood, California during the summer of 1967 and got its name from the Latin, victory over chaos.
Fitting as they were known to play their live shows above an ear splitting level that was normally between 130-140 decibels (for comparison, a shotgun blast is 130 decibels and firecrackers are 140 decibels).
Billy Altman in 1968 noted that they were so loud, ‘that much of the crowd in the front orchestra was fleeing.’
Summertime Blues
The album starts off with an in your face acid washed cover of Eddie Cochran’s hit, Summertime Blues. Keep in mind that this song originally came out in the 1950s when Rock and Roll was getting the side eye from many musicians and listeners. I mean what better way to pay tribute to a pioneer of Rock and Roll by kicking it up a notch in terms of loudness so your contemporaries in the 1960s can also give you a side eye.
It was a scream fest with loud guitars and drums. Things that make heavy metal what it is today. If you don’t believe me just listen to groups like Insane Clown Posse, Dimmu Borgir, or GWAR.
At the time no one had heard anything like it and it probably felt like a Marty McFly moment when he tells the kids at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance that they may not appreciate it but their kids were going to love it.
This song would peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at #11 and placed the band in high demand to perform at various shows across the country.
Doctor Please
Another song on the album written by the band’s front man, Dickie Peterson was called, Doctor Please. This song in Dickie’s own words was glorification of the drug scene that was emerging in San Fransisco. He explained that it was about taking this pill or that pill that was proscribed by what we now call your primary care physician. The song also gets right in your face with a heavy metal explosion of sound from Peterson and Stevens on their guitars. Throughout the seven and half minute metal fest you can’t help but wonder what kind of trip they experienced to inspire this song.
The song is performed very well given the technology that existed in the late 60s, but you do definitely get parts of the song that are washed out by inferior recording equipment. Ironically, they wanted this song to be the single that came from the album and the recording company (Phillips) overrode them and it was probably for the best as the album may not have had the exposure it had when they used Summertime Blues instead.
Out of Focus
Another original song written by Peterson was labelled, Out of Focus. This song was probably written with the younger generation in mind as things in the country were slipping from bad to worse with the escalation of the Vietnam War.
The lyrics themselves make mention of someone trying to find their way in the darkness that surrounds them. Maybe it was a drug induced darkness created by the drugs that were mentioned earlier, or was it a call to the country’s youth to wake up and realize that things were rapidly changing. Either way, this song is another absolute shred fest that elevates the band to astronomical levels of cacophony.
What makes this song a true heavy metal song is the range of Leigh Stevens. He is given space to play his way, as frigging loud as possible. In the loudness there is a form of magic as he plays his electric guitar. You might think to yourself, hell this guy sounds like Jimi Hendrix, but let me be the one that breaks the news to you, he was doing this before Jimi Hendrix.
Now that we have put the argument to rest of who the real creators of heavy metal were, I urge you to listen to this album and their follow-up album, OutsideInside.
Sadly the group never reached the fame or success of Black Sabbath but their legacy lives on in the music we hear today. Like the turbulent times of the 1960s the band also experienced their own turmoil as they broke up a few short years later and went through many lineup changes over the years.
In the spirit of the song, Out of Focus, what better pairing for the album, I present to you the Dark and Stormy.
Dark and Stormy
2 ounces dark rum
1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
Ginger beer, to top (about 5 ounces)
Garnish: lime wheel