Rock
England
Led Zeppelin
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About Led Zeppelin
It wouldnât be entirely accurate to say Led Zeppelin invented heavy metal. Formed by latter-day Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page in 1968 (originally as The New Yardbirds), the quartet were among a wave of bands taking the blues-based British Invasion sound in a louder direction. However, no other group wielded their might with such an authoritative sense of groove and grandeur. In Pageâs hands, blues-based riffs became as wildly complex as his solos, while the rhythm section featured a drummer (John Bonham) whose kick-pedal could leave craters and a secret-weapon bassist (John Paul Jones) who served as the industrial-strength glue that held it all together. If heaviness was Zeppelinâs only attribute, their place in rock history would still be assured. But their thundering sound was always balanced by a disarming delicacyâbest exemplified by the quiet-to-loud ascension of their perennial classic-rock-radio countdown winner, âStairway to Heaven.â Sure, the groupâs golden-god frontman, Robert Plant, possessed a shriek that could summon a fleet of rampaging Vikings (see: 1970âs âImmigrant Songâ). But his obsession with psychedelic-folk acts like The Incredible String Band yielded a deep well of tender acoustic serenades, and he swiftly outgrew the girl-done-me-wrong narratives of the blues to weave Tolkien-esque tales that presaged metalâs fascination with medieval mythology. Plus, Page was not only a redoubtable riff machine, but a visionary producer who reimagined the rock album as a widescreen war epic. You can hear that cinematic sensibility take root in the brain-scrambling breakdown of âWhole Lotta Loveâ (as avant-garde as blues-rock boogie could get in 1969) and achieve its apex on 1975âs âKashmir,â an epic Eastern-inspired odyssey where Jonesâ sinister, Mellotron-manipulated string arrangement proved heavier than any guitar-powered rocker in their repertoire. Zeppelin seemed to be entering a fascinating new phase with 1979âs synth-injected In Through the Out Door, before Bonhamâs untimely death a year later brought the band to a sudden end. But through the hair-band wailers of â80s, the militant rap-metal of Rage Against the Machine, the battered blues of The White Stripes, and the 21st-century swagger of Greta Van Fleet, the aftershocks of Led Zeppelinâs seismic â70s canon reverberate forevermore.
Musical InfluencesLed Zeppelin's musical influences include The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and more.
Influenced by Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin has influenced the music of Queen, Shawn Mendes, Metallica and more.
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