How British Legends Laid the Foundations for Metal Music, and Croatian Bands Evolved it Further

Since the genre’s inception decades ago, many bands from around the world have toyed with the formula to embrace it as their own. Croatia has long boasted a thriving and exciting metal scene, but many of these headline acts may not be here today without a cohort of British legends.

Forming Legends with the Inception of Metal

While the murmurings of metal will have rumbled through underground gigs for years prior, metal truly came into being as a mainstream genre in 1968 at the founding of its three pioneers. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath were all founded in Britain that year, defining the metal sound and, particularly in the case of the latter, creating the distinct mood and aesthetic to go along with the sound.

Even now, Paranoid, Black Sabbath’s debut album, is hailed by the likes of Louder as quintessential in the genre. In the 1970s, a toned-down wave of metal swept the US through the likes of Van Halen and Kiss, followed by another British resurgence headlined by Judas Priest and Motörhead, who pivoted from the early blues influence into pure metal and even some punk rock infusion. Iron Maiden continued Britain’s prominence through the decade. Now, these pioneers of metal are hailed as music legends in every corner of entertainment.

They’re the archetypes for modern musicians and continue to draw in fans to any and all offerings. The all-time greats even bring their hard-hitting music to the reels of slot games. Both Ozzy Osbourne and Motörhead headline the branded slots selection of the Hippodrome online casino. Fittingly, the British casino venue lauds these metal legends through their official games. Each boasts the distinct theme of the metal pioneers and features many of their hit tracks. Sitting alongside other entertainment titans like the Jurassic Park and WWE slots is only fitting.

Croatian Metal Adapting the Genre Further

Often characterised as a part of the Yugoslav hard rock and heavy metal scene, Croatian bands have risen to the fore with a distinct sound that puts a distinct local twist on the genre. Many see Divlje Jagode among the most influential in this regard. Originally formed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1970s, the band got the call-up from London to create an album as the Wild Strawberries in 1986. The venture didn’t quite pan out, but in 1994, they reformed in Zagreb and continue to perform today, boasting 97,390 Spotify monthly listeners.

After Divlje Jagode comes the 197 Split-formed Živo Blato. The band is very much a heavy metal one, but tracks clearly draw from founder Siniša Vuco’s history as a folk and rock singer, giving hits like Kasapa iz Đakova a novel twist. In the 2000s, a modern wave of Croatian heavy metal made its way onto the scene, headlined by Omega Lithium. Praised across Europe after finding fame on YouTube with the song Stigmata, they released two albums.

After that, they disbanded, with two of its members forming what is perhaps the biggest Croatian metal band out there today. In 2011, Marko Matijević Sekul and Zoltan Lečei paved a new path with Manntra, which bundles together industrial sounds and folk music into the metal genre. Lyrics are drawn from Croatian folklore and myths, further emphasising the unique mix of sounds in tracks like Kiša, Yelena, and Vila.

These mighty Croatian metal bands certainly draw from the pioneering efforts of British legends. Still, each has worked the template to their own unique setting, making Croatian metal another distinct entry to the sprawling genre.