In January 1969 , Led Zeppelin 's self-titled debut album was released and reached number 10 on the '' Billboard '' album chart . In July , Zeppelin and a power trio with a Cream-inspired , but cruder sound , Grand Funk Railroad , played the Atlanta Pop Festival . That same month , another Cream-rooted trio led by Leslie West released '' Mountain '' , an album filled with heavy blues rock guitar and roaring vocals . In August , the group — now itself dubbed Mountain — played an hour-long set at the Woodstock Festival , exposing the crowd of 300,000 people to the emerging sound of heavy metal . Mountain 's proto-metal or early heavy metal hit song " Mississippi Queen " from the album '' Climbing ! '' is especially credited with paving the way for heavy metal and was one of the first heavy guitar songs to receive regular play on radio . In September 1969 , the Beatles released the album '' Abbey Road '' containing the track " I Want You ( She 's So Heavy ) " which has been credited as an early example of or influence on heavy metal or doom metal . In October 1969 , British band High Tide debuted with the heavy , proto-metal album '' Sea Shanties ''
Atlanta Pop Festival
Atlanta International Pop Festival (1969)
Heavy metal music