Originally Posted by Oriphiel

The term "Heavy Metal" was coined back in the day to describe Steppenwolf, Zep, Cream, Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, Stray, Lucifer's Friend, etc. Used by fans and critics alike. No matter what anyone says, or how deeply into semantics they want to get, they are the first wave of the genre. Regardless of where Metal goes in the future, just because the roots look different from the trunk doesn't mean they're not part of the tree. People should just get over it and argue about something that isn't a weird non-issue.