Who are the forefathers of metal as we know it today? To answer this question one must ponder what true metal really is? VH1 wants you to believe that bands such as Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith paved the way for today's metal gods with their "oooh" and "ahhh" lyrics and undistorted sound. If a band is inpired by the likes of Aerosmith, should they really be considered part of the metal genre, no matter how far it continues to expand? Do metal bands really play at the MTV music awards? Do true metal bands really wrap scarves around their mic-stand? To me metal is defined by bone-chilling, heart-wrenching, pulse intensifying guitar riffs in standard or drop tuning combined with throaty, screaming lyrics and growls about death, dishonor, payback, retribution, war, religion, and the like, not about girls and love - unless of course we are referring to certain songs by Cannibal Corpse and Pantera. To the first-time and experienced listener alike, true metal (including underground, black metal, pagan metal, dark metal, death metal, extreme metal, gothic metal, grindcore, hardcore, heavy metal, metalcore, sludge metal, speed/thrash metal, viking metal, and the like) should conjure "a new level of confidence and power", not something that I have experienced while listening to Stone Sour. Metal should make you want to reach out and decapitate someone.

In my mind, the forefathers of Metal (bands formed pre-1990) are:

BLACK SABBATH

SLAYER

CANNIBAL CORPSE

IRON MAIDEN

JUDAS PRIEST