1) The Magazine: In the mid-1970's publisher Len Mogel discovered a new French adult science fiction/fantasy comic magazine "Metal Hurlant" (Screaming Metal). Mogel was impressed with the concept, licensed an American version for it and named it Heavy Metal. The first issue was published in April 1977 and it introduced the work of Europe's greatest graphic artists to the American audience. The magazine was a huge success and still remains to be one of the most popular non-mainstream comics. It has also spawned two R-rated movies: "Heavy Metal" (1981, a remastered version published in 1996) and "Heavy Metal 2000" (2000).
2) The Musical Style: Heavy metal is a genre which originated from the blues-rock and psychedelia of the late 1960s. It is characterized by loud distorted guitar riffs, strong bass lines and powerful drum work, often combined with aggressive vocals. Early influential heavy metal bands include Motörhead and Black Sabbath, followed later by Iron Maiden and Metallica. There are dozens of subgenres for heavy metal nowadays, ranging from dark styles of death and black metal to more melodious and technical ones like power metal.