Metal had been born at the start of the seventies, when kids were given two choices over which form of heavy rock they liked. In Britain, this was roughly dependent on the number of O-levels they got. Grammar-school kids tended to go for the clever end, the progressive end, which got progressively cleverer until it imploded in a fog of maths in the mid-seventies. Metal was much simpler. It was formulated, which didn't mean musicians lacked technical ability (check Deep Purple's 'Fireball' for early, dextrous metal) but it did mean it was easier to follow.
B. Stanley, Yeah yeah yeah: the story of modern pop (2013), 566
I think this chapter on metal is wrong, but it's very quotable and an interesting take. Later in this chapter, he also gets Queen spectacularly wrong (simultaneously a 'singles hit machine' and 'entirely detached from pop', p.569).
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