Led Zeppelin

About Led Zeppelin

Are they the first metal band? Rock gods Led Zeppelin have left an enduring legacy as one of the biggest bands in the world and their blues drenched anthems sounds every bit as electrifying as they did when they were fresh. Robert Plant's dominating sex-shaman lyrics and stage presence, John Bonham's superhuman rage behind the drums, Jimmy Page's iconic reinvention of the electric guitar and John Paul Jones' heavy, experienced bass work all melted together to produce an epic rock sound. Born out of the ashes of loose 60's mod group The Yardbirds, Led Zeplin came together with a lot of professional experience under their collective belt. Each band member would have commanded the spotlight in a band with lesser men, but on Led Zeplin's debut, commonly referred to by fans simply as Led Zeplin I, they clicked perfectly. Though heavily influenced by blues riffs-two cuts were written by gritty American bluesmen Willie Dixon-songs like the furious "Dazed and Confused" or "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" featured intricate guitar work that owed a debt to traditional English folk music and trancy Indian ragas. Led Zeplin II saw them tightening their hard sound-Page seems to channel Mississippi while Plant snarls along and they continue to experiment with acoustic/electric duality and their force-of-nature-live show began stretching to over three hours. But on Led Zeplin III they attained a whole new level of rock, amping up traditional Celtic riffs and dealing with surprisingly mystical themes on tracks like "Immigrant Song" and "Out On the Tiles." The title of their fourth album is unpronounceable (Zoso, Four and Runes are all acceptable) and is widely considered their strongest full album. Getting even more occult, they reference Lord of the Rings and it features three of their heaviest cuts, "Black Dog," "When the Levee Breaks" and the untouchable "Stairway to Heaven."