So you think that ‘70s heavy metal starts and ends with Black Sabbath? That nothing else released during metal’s inaugural decade could match the thunderous grind of Tony Iommi’s guitar? Well, that’s just not true and today we intend to prove it with our gallery of the 10 Heaviest Albums of the 1970s Not Recorded by Black Sabbath.

Even as heavy metal was taking shape, in the wee months of 1970, there were countless bands vying to be the loudest, toughest, scariest and – yep – heaviest on the block, and in the most far-flung corners of the globe, too. That’s because Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and select others transformed heavy music into a genuine commercial phenomenon, well beyond the underground; everyone wanted in on the action.

And so they came, wielding irresponsibly amplified and distorted guitars and basses, drums like marauding elephant herds, and hairy, charismatic vocalists unafraid to wreck their vocal cords in order to rise up over the surrounding din. It was awesome!

READ MORE: The Best New Rock + Metal Band of Each Year of the 1970s

So awesome that many self-important music critics seeking to hail rock’s virtue as an art form, not a visceral expression of anger or alienation, couldn’t stand it! They attacked, dismissed and all around vilified heavy metal until all but its biggest success stories had been pushed back into history’s footnotes, along with some of the genre’s most exciting and heaviest albums.

View the 10 Heaviest Albums of the 1970s Not Recorded by Black Sabbath below.

10 Heaviest Albums of the 1970s (That Aren't By Black Sabbath)

Gallery Credit: Ed Rivadavia

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