10 Rock Albums That Invented Entire Genres
5. Van Halen - Van Halen
Before the ‘80s kicked in, metal was known as a pretty scary genre. While there were bands that were adjacent to metal before like AC/DC and KISS, their songs were still way too abrasive to get your average rock and roll fan into the genre. Metal may have been intense, but Van Halen turned all of that intensity into one big party.
On their first record, Van Halen made the ultimate metal party experience, with David Lee Roth holding court as one of the best frontmen of his generation. If you’re coming to a Van Halen record though, it’s because of Eddie’s solo work, reinventing the way most guitarists played by employing tapping into his solos like on their cover of You Really Got Me or the showcase Eruption.
Regardless of how forceful it is though, these songs were more about going out and hitting the town instead of the brewing intensity of Black Sabbath. Van Halen may teeter on the edge of being a metal band, but this is the kind of record that could get any potential fan to see what the fuss is about for metal music.