10 Extremely Underrated Proto-Metal Albums

The late ’60s and early ’70s was arguably the greatest time for music since fucking Mozart. Rock ‘n’ roll, prog and psychedelic music had pushed popular culture to uncharted territory, while planting the seeds for Black Sabbath and the heavy metal revolution.

Here are some of the proto-metal albums that made it all possible, and if you don’t see your favorite in this article, chances are it’s on our list of Underrated Metal Albums from the 1970s.

One of the great ‘70s power trios, New York City’s Dust had a two-album run that proved to be historically important for the early years of heavy metal. The band went all-in on big riffs and heavily distorted bass, with crushing drums from Marc Bell (later known as punk legend Marky Ramone). These guys were way ahead of the curve.

The same year Black Sabbath broke with their debut album, Atomic Rooster created an equally evil record with Death Walks Behind You. This album is packed with classic prog energy, lush piano work and sinister themes. It’s far from an unknown LP, but it deserves to be praised as a key moment in proto-metal, perhaps more so than Blue Cheer or Budgie.

With legendary heavy metal producer Martin Birch at the helm, Switzerland’s Toad helped birth doom metal with their 1971 self-titled album. This is all about the virtuosic guitar work of Vic Vergeat and the wailing vocals of Ben Jaeger — holy fuck was this ahead of its time. Toad doesn’t just touch Black Sabbath territory… it hints at the future rip-roaring style of Judas Priest. Praise this band.

The story of Amon Düül is a weird one. Originally founded as a political art commune in West Germany, the group split into two bands, with Amon Düül II becoming leaders in the krautrock scene. The band’s 1969 album, Phallus Dei, is a bizarre work filled with chanting, heavy riffs and swirling keyboards. So many bands can trace a stylistic mark back to this album, from Mercyful Fate and King Diamond to Opeth and Kyuss.

Bagpipe black metal from New York City… yep, that’s Cromagnon. Orgasm is so much more than its opening track, though. It essentially invented industrial metal with its second track, “Ritual Feast of the Libido,” and noise metal with “Fantasy.” Then there’s the druid-like chanting of “First World of Bronze” while a guitar blindly shreds in the background. This may just be proof of time travel.

Trace Van Halen‘s “Eruption” straight back to this album. With the iconic Carmine Appice on drums, Cactus put their stamp on American heavy metal with this 1970 debut. This album has criminal levels of swing to it, which got Cactus compared to Led Zeppelin on a number of occasions. You can hear exactly how this album would help shape the future of metal in the US of A.

More distortion than Hendrix? Frijid Pink utilized one of the most diabolical guitar tones of the early 1970s on their self-titled debut — so fuzzed out it almost disappears from the mix. You’re seriously missing out if you haven’t heard Frijid Pink‘s version of “House of the Rising Sun,” which comes in at the 22-minute mark. Makes the Animals sound like absolute pussies.

What a fucking album cover! Young Flowers played their part in the flower child movement of the late 1960s, but some of their music sounds more like a bad ketamine trip than a sunshiny acid binge. There’s a sinister proto-metal darkness at the edges of Blomsterpistolen, and waiting for those moments to take over makes listening to this album a unique experience.

Here’s some of the deepest proto-metal blues you’ll ever hear. Rumplestiltskin was basically a collaborative effort between the best blues rock players in the UK, strewn together by producer Shel Talmy. This album is a feast if you’re into pure chops… just eight straight tracks of killer session musicians playing their asses off.

Did Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward play in this band before joining Black Sabbath? How the fuck did this exist back in 1969? Hailing from Scotland, Writing on the Wall had their finger directly on the pulse while recording The Power of the Picts. All they were missing was an awesome lead vocalist. The spoken-word vocal parts on this album are awesome, as are the more typical rock ‘n’ roll vocals, but just imagine if they had a pure occult rock singer. This would’ve been iconic.