The genre John Entwistle couldn’t stand: “Very limited”
Heavy metal as a genre has been dragged from pillar to post from the very moment it first emerged. Few genres receive the same level of criticism, and it’s always been a source of disdain for old-fashioned rock ‘n’ rollers. Take, for example, the late John Entwistle from The Who.
As a bassist, Entwistle’s main point of intrigue whenever he listened to music is an obvious one, and heavy metal didn’t capture his interests like other genres. He felt as if metal didn’t allow bassists to show off the full spectrum of their technicality and claimed he would have felt held back if he played the four-string in a metal outfit.
That perspective wasn’t entirely surprising given Entwistle’s own approach to the instrument. Nicknamed ‘The Ox’, he was known for treating the bass less like a rhythmic anchor and more like a lead instrument, weaving intricate, melodic lines that cut through The Who’s wall of sound. In his eyes, any genre that reduced the bass to a supporting thud rather than a dynamic voice was always going to feel creatively limiting.
It also speaks to a wider generational divide in rock music. Where players like Entwistle came up in an era that prized individuality and tonal exploration, much of early heavy metal leaned into sheer power and uniformity. While that aesthetic appealed to millions, it inevitably left musicians like him cold, especially those who viewed the bass as something far more expressive than just a tool for reinforcing the low end.
For somebody who wasn’t a fan of the genre, Entwistle did strangely liken The Who to a “heavy metal” band in 1981. Speaking with Rolling Stone, the bassist explained: “It’s like being in two different bands. Onstage, we’re almost heavy metal. On record it’s so toned down.”
He added: “That’s a real failing. The only Who album I listen to a lot anymore is ‘Live at Leeds’. That’s the heaviest album we’ve ever made. Maybe we should do the next album live. At least it’ll sound like us.”
Nine years later, Entwistle spoke about metal again, this time with the Institut National de L’audiovisuel of France, and he offered a frank critique of the genre. “Heavy metal, I find very limited because most of the bass players just pull all away and make thumping noises,” he brutally said.
He continued: “So, I mean, most bass players concentrate their attention on funk, all this hitchhike bass playing (Imitates a hitchhiker using the thumb), which I found really restricting. It’s too percusive sound that doesn’t travel in an audience.”
Entwistle went on to explain how he believed there was no new ground to conquer for bassists, and metal was a repercussion of the exhaustion of the instrument. He continued: “I feel like everything has been done by now. I mean, I can learn how to play faster. I can learn how to play differently. But there is only a certain amount of combinations of notes and chords.”
Interestingly, in 2019, The Who’s Pete Townshend claimed they were responsible for inventing heavy metal. However, seemingly, Townshend meant the early incarnation of the genre rather than what it’d morphed into by 1990 when Entwistle disregarded it.
He told the Toronto Sun: “We sort of invented heavy metal with [The Who’s first live album] Live at Leeds [1970]. We were copied by so many bands, principally by Led Zeppelin, you know heavy drums, heavy bass, heavy lead guitar and some of those bands, like Jimi Hendrix for example, did it far better than we did. Cream, with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, they came along in ’67, same year as Jimi Hendrix, and they kind of stole our mantle in a sense.”
Listen to the audio below from The Who’s Live At Leeds, and conclude for yourself whether it was the night that started heavy metal.
