10 Best Hard Rock Albums Of The 1960's
6. Vincebus Eruptum - Blue Cheer
May I introduce to you: the world's very first metal band. While it may be a stretch considering Black Sabbath's debut later down the line, Blue Cheer were the first group to take rock and roll into much darker territory. Though they may not have preached about demons, their punishing riffs and ear-piercing volume was the start of much heavier things to come.
On the surface, these songs are just the standard blues rock of the day, with tracks including old traditionals like BB King's "Rock Me Baby," but the real magic is what Blue Cheer does with them. From the first time they picked up guitars, the group was all about volume and creating an absolute frenzy of sound onstage. Take their cover of "Summertime Blues" for example. The song stays true to the Eddie Cochran original, but the guitar is absolutely screaming in the background, which leads to a chaotic middle section that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
There may have been more psychedelic blues bands before Blue Cheer, but Vincebus Eruptum is where the acid rock genre really got its teeth. With it being a favorite of members of Rush and the Doors, this album was what gave rock that extra push to be something much heavier than a little distortion.