Metal Family Tree

This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Thin Lizzy are a very influential rock / hard rock band. They even occasionally dabbled in heavy metal. Phil Lynott was the bassist and vocalist as well as at differing times being the primary writer. Him and drummer Brian Downey were the only consistent members that lasted until the death of Phil in 1983. Since that time the band has remained active essentially as a tribute band. Because Phil died young some of his influences will be from second hand sources as original sources are limited, but the difference will be noted.
Starting with the first album the band consisted of Phil, Brian, and guitarist Eric Bell for their first three albums. After that time the band switched to a four piece consisting of Scott Gorham on guitar, who has been the only consistent member since that time, and on second guitar was Brian Robertson for five studio albums. Gary Moore was in for one album, and Snowy White was then in the band for two. Finally John Sykes filled the second guitar role for the final Thin Lizzy album. The final two albums also saw an additional role in the band with Darren Wharton on keyboard.

Note: I’ve seen several guitar player mention that they didn’t receive as many writing credits as they probably deserved, some more bitter about it than others. Each have some credits to them though.

Phase One

Phase one of Thin Lizzy consists of the first three albums on which the band played as a three piece with Eric Bell.

Django Reinhardt

Max Roach

Buddy Rich

Elvin Jones

Elvis has been dubbed the king of rock and roll. He is said to be an influence on Phil

Roy Orbison

The Shadows were the backing band of Cliff Richards and would eventually be an instrumental rock band. Eric and Gary both named Hank Marvin as his first influence. Snowy named them as the first band he was listening to before hearing Clapton.

Wes Montgomery

Curtis Mayfield

Joe Pass was a jazz guitarist who collaborated with many other notable jazz players. Eric named him as an influence.

The Animals was a blues based rock band. Phil named their version of “House of the Rising Sun” as an influence.

The Yardbirds had a slew of important guitar players come out of the band, such as Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Eric named them as an influence. Gary named Jeff Beck with the Yardbirds as an influence.

Johnny Kid and The Pirates

The Kinks where a rock band he receive a lot of credit for the distortion on their hit “You Really Got Me”. Downey named them as an influence.

The Mamas & The Papas were a folk/pop band. They are said to have been an influence on Phil

The Rolling Stones are among the biggest bands to come out of the 60’s Downey named them as an influence. Scott is a huge fan.

Jimi Hendrix is one of the most revolutionary and influential guitarists of his day. He is said to have ben an influence on Phil. Gary also named Hendrix as an influence.

Van Morrison

Jeff Beck is one of the early guitar legends with his Jeff Beck Group. Phil named their album *Beck-Ola* as an influence. In particular he named Rod Stewart as a vocal influence and said he thought Stewart’s voice had really improved for this album. Scott is a huge fan.

Sly and The Family Stone were a Soul / Funk group. Phil was a fan.

Billy Cobham was an influential jazz and progressive rock drummer. Downey named him as a favorite.

Heads, Hands, & Feet were a British country rock band. Phil named Chas Hodges as an influence on his bass playing.

Phase Two

Phase Two of Thin Lizzy saw a change from a three piece band to a four piece with two guitar players. This phase consists of Scott Gorham on guitar along side guitarists Brian Robertson for five studio albums, Gary Moore was in for one album, and Snowy White for another two.

B. B. King is a blues great. Robertson named him as a player he admires. Gary also names him as an influence.

Freddie King

Otis Rush

Dick Dale

Albert King

John McLaughlin

Albert Collins

John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers are an important blues / blues rock band featuring many important players. Gary named Eric Clapton Peter Green, and Mick Taylor with John Mayall as influences. Snowy said when he first hear Clapton with John Mayall that was what he wanted to play like.

Fleetwood Mac were a blues based rock band. Scott said he is a big fan and their stuff with Peter Green

Free were a blues based rock band. Scott named Paul Kossoff as an influence.

ZZ Top are a big blues rock band. Robertson said he was a big fan after discovering them on tour through Texas.

Return to Forever were a jazz fusion band. Gary named Bill Connors as an influence.

Rush are an influential progressive hard rock band. Downey named Neil Peart as a favorite drummer although Thin Lizzy was active prior to rush or Neil’s joining of the band.

Vinnie Colaiuta

Phase Three

Phase Three of Thin Lizzy like phase two adds a change in the band structure with the addition of keyboardist Darren Wharton. He joins for the final two Lizzy albums, and is a prominent writer on the final. The final album again sees a change in the second guitar spot, adding John Sykes. John, previously in Tygers of Pan Tang, was quite a bit younger than other guitarists of the band and his influence reflect that of a younger generation.

Ritchie Blackmore

Pink Floyd are one of the more well known progressive rock bands. Darren named them as an influence.

Genesis were a big progressive rock band. Darren is a fan.

Led Zeppelin are one of the most important hard rock bands to exist. John named Jimmy Page as an influence.

UFO are an important hard rock band. John named guitarist Michael Schenker as an influence.

Steely Dan were a soft rock / Rock band. Darren named them as an influence.

Scorpions were among the earliest heavy metal bands and teetered between hard rock and heavy metal over the years. John named Uli Roth as an influence as well as Michael Schenker who filled the same lead guitar spot in the band a different times. In particular he named *Virgin Killer and Taken By Force*, both Uli albums.

John named Gary Moore (yes, previously also of Thin Lizzy) as an influence on him.

In previous bands Phil played covers from The Beatles, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Free, and Jeff Beck.

Phil mentioned Slade having great live shows when they toured together. He didn’t specifically mention their music as an influence, but praised their state performance.

Brian Downey’s earliest influence was from his dad who was the drummer in a local pipe band when he was younger and was a lover of jazz. He said back then all he had was radio which played Irish jig music, dance bands, plus a little pop and also crooners. He also had an older cousin who lived with them and through heard country and western. He first wanted to play after hearing stuff like Elvis Presley, Billy Fury, Cliff Richard, The Shadows, Hank Williams. Then there was the Beatles which had a big impact.

Eric is influenced by Jeff Beck according to Downy. Eric didn’t name him directly, but did name the Yardbirds.

Eric says he first fell in love with music listening to classical music as a kid. He said eh first wanted to play guitar after hearing Lonnie Donegan. He also said he is influenced by some Rockabilly.

Scott’s real love of music came from the British invasion, so much so it was the reason he moved there.

Brian Robertson first began as a classically trained pianist for eight years before picking up guitar. He says he’s not a fan of flashy players like Hendrix. He mentions being a fan of ZZ Top, after discovering on tour in through Texas. He said he admires guys like B. B. King. I have seen other blues guitarists as his influences, but have not been able to corroborate them.

Gary named some favorite songs which are all songs by his noted influences with the exception of “Sarah” from the first Thin Lizzy album.

Darren was classically trained on piano as a kid.

John said Think Lizzy was one of his all time favorite bands prior to joining them.

Bands influenced by Thin Lizzy!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Bay Area Thrash Legends

Dio needs introduction, several of his guitar players were influenced by Lizzy

Grindcore to Death Metal to Melodic Death

eclectic heavy metal with a melodic death root

Sources:

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1353355/Phil-Lynott-Thin-Lizzy-influences-Elvis-Presley-Jimi-Hendrix-Van-Morrison-Phil-Lynott-doc
https://www.loudersound.com/features/phil-lynott-birth-of-a-legend
https://geirmykl.wordpress.com/2022/05/24/article-about-phil-lynott-thin-lizzy-from-new-musical-express-april-21-1973/
https://blues.gr/m/blogpost?id=1982923%3ABlogPost%3A488526
https://www.musicconnection.com/in-the-box-eric-bells-thin-lizzy-journey/
https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/11/thin-lizzy-eric-bell-interview.html
http://www.thinlizzy.org/brian_d.html
https://www.hotpress.com/opinion/happy-birthday-brian-downey-revisiting-a-classic-interview-22889009
https://www.loudersound.com/features/scott-gorham-and-brian-downey-life-with-thin-lizzy-and-the-phil-lynott-we-knew
https://glidemagazine.com/234573/scott-gorham-of-black-star-riders-and-thin-lizzy-shares-stories-on-lynott-kossoff-new-lp-interview/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea-C83L8FWY
https://geirmykl.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/article-about-brian-robertson-thin-lizzy-from-sounds-september-28-1974/
https://www.goldminemag.com/features/brian-robertson-happily-exists-out-of-the-spotlight
http://rockandrollgarage.com/guitarist-gary-moore-and-the-13-musicians-that-inspired-him-the-most/
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/gary-moore-favourite-songs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osWvZX3ZzNc
https://www.rockpages.gr/dare/
https://web.archive.org/web/20080410173028/http://www.johnsykes.com/AtomicInterview.htm
https://www.metalexpressradio.com/2008/01/28/interview-with-john-sykes-thin-lizzy/

Metal Family Tree

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Van Halen were revolutionary when they emerged. They have been on my list to do for a long time and with the recent passing of Eddie Van Halen I decided I can’t put it off any longer. As much as Jimi Hendrix brought forth a revolution for guitar players, a decade later Eddie would revolutionize guitar again. Besides guitar Eddie also played all keyboards in the band. Easily Eddie is one of the most influential guitar players there has ever been. The core lineup of Van Halen was consistent with Eddie and Alex at the heart of the band. Michael Anthony was on bass from the first album through 2006 at which time bass was taken over by Eddi’s son Wolfgang. The classic line up would be with David Lee Roth on vocals for the first six albums. He was replaced with vocalist/guitarist Sammy Hagar for the next four albums. This period is often referred to as Van Hagar. Gary Cherone would be the vocalist for one album. Dave would return for an album again in 2012. Writing in Van Halen has always been a collaborative effort with writing credits shared but Eddie was the one behind the riffs. Because Gary Cherone was only in the band for one album I will put his influences at the bottom instead of with the main list.

Showtunes

Broadway brought to the T.V., Dave’s earliest influences from from showtunes like West Side Story and Damn Yankees.

James Brown was Soul Brother No. 1. He was a big influence and Dave.

Major Lance

Marvin Gaye

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

Dick Dale

Wilson Pickett

The Temptations

Lou Rawls

The Dave Clark Five were a rock / pop band very similar to the Beatles. After moving to the US, DC5 was the band that made Alex and Eddie want to play rock music.

The Yardbirds featured the most influential guitar players of their time including Eric Clapton. Sammy named them with Clapton as an influence.

The Who were rock band occasionally verging on progressive and hard rock. Eddie named Pete Townsend as a big influence on his rhythm playing. Michael is also a big fan of John Entwistle. They are also an influence on Gary.

Cream were a very influential psychedelic blues based band. Eddie named Eric Clapton as his biggest influence and said he use to learn his solos note for note. Particularly he was a fan of the live stuff. Michael named Jack Bruce as one of his bigge… — Cream were a very influential psychedelic blues based band. Eddie named Eric Clapton as his biggest influence and said he use to learn his solos note for note. Particularly he was a fan of the live stuff. Michael named Jack Bruce as one of his biggest influences. Like Eddie, Sammy said he tried to learn all of Clapton’s solos.

John Mayall had several guitar players notably Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Eddie said he prefers Clapton’s stuff with Cream but Sammy was into everything Clapton and was equally inspired by his time with John Mayall and also named Peter Green as … — John Mayall had several guitar players notably Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Eddie said he prefers Clapton’s stuff with Cream but Sammy was into everything Clapton and was equally inspired by his time with John Mayall and also named Peter Green as an influence.

The Electric Flag were a psychedelic blues rock / soul band. Michael named them as the first band that made him want to play bass and named Harvey Books as one of his biggest influences.

Led Zeppelin are one of the most influential and earliest hard rock bands. Michael named John Paul Jones as one of his biggest influences. They are also an influence on Gary.

Elton John

The Persuasions

Mother’s Finest is a Funk based rock band. They are an influence on Dave.

The hard rock band Montrose was where Sammy got his start. Sammy said that Ronnie Montrose was an influence on him and he still plays guitar like him.

Alex and Eddi’s dad was a musician who played saxophone and clarinet on live radio. They both started playing piano and taking lessons around 6 or 7 years old as their parents wanted them to be concert pianists. They played classical style. Originally Eddie played drums and Alex played guitar but Eddie says they switched when Alex got better at drums than him. They both studied music (theory) under Truman Fisher who also taught Frank Zappa. Eddie said he learned what not to do but Alex learned theory very well although Eddie writes most of the music.

In a interview with Eddie in 78, he said that Dave didn’t even own a stereo and listened to what ever was in the radio.

Although it might seem reasonable that Hendrix was an influence on Eddie, but in fact he said he liked him but never really got into him and never even bought any of his records. He said he was never really that inspired by Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore either. He did however say he grew up with a lot of The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, Cream, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix.

Eddie was also a fan of Allan Holdsworth.

The interesting thing about Eddie is that he’s questioned about influences and talks with respect about players like Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Hendrix, but he doesn’t talk like he’s very influenced by anybody outside of Clapton and Townsend. He says his playing style isn’t like any of them. With as unique as Eddie is and what he has said in interviews, I’m led to the conclusion that his uniqueness comes from himself rather than being a combination of styles that influenced him. He was a very good piano player as well and I think some of his unique guitar style comes from playing piano first. That would also explain some of the classical sounding stuff in his playing. (On a side note him and Randy Rhoads both have a similar style and both started as piano players.)

Eddie said he never used to tune the guitar to anything and Michael would just tune to him.

In the early days of Van Halen playing clubs, Alex said they had like 300 covers they knew and played everything from James Brown and Ohio Players, to Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. At the time they were expected to play five 45 minutes sets of top 40’s. Eddie said that Black Sabbath was the closest to his heart out of the bands they covered. He used to also sing lead for Sabbath songs and was particularly a big fan of “Into the Void”.

I have yet to find any interviews of Alex naming influences. I’ve seen John Bonham, Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Ray Phillips, and Buddy Ritch named by people, but I have not been able to find any confirmation of this.

If you are familiar with the “Panama” video and remember the band swinging on wires; this idea came from Dave seeing the Peter Pan Broadway show as a kid.

When it comes to Dave’s showman ship, dancing and jumping splits, that all comes from the The Berry Brothers and the Nicholas Brothers, both of which were dance teams. He also takes influence from Frankie Manning and other swing time dancers. Much of Dave’s influences come from early 60’s black culture. He names Soul Train and the movie Super Fly as having a big influence on him.

As a kid Dave played saxophone.

Gary was only on one album. His influences include Alice Cooper, Queen, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and the Who.

Bands influenced by Van Halen!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Zakk Wylde names Eddie as a big influence.

The inspiration to extreme forms of metal.

Dio guitar players have been heavily inspired by Eddie.

FUCKIN’ SLAYER!!!!!!!

Widely considered the fathers of death metal.

An eclectic metal band rooted in melodic death

Sources:

https://web.archive.org/web/20111022020333/http://jasobrecht.com/eddie-van-halen-complete-1978-interviews/
https://www.guitarworld.com/features/eddie-van-halen-first-guitar-world-interview-1981
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/who-were-eddie-van-halen-influences-1071780/
https://www.loudersound.com/features/eddie-van-halen-the-1978-interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xgmZrMw7wc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXM62CQmwDY&t=4s
https://www.vhnd.com/2020/04/04/never-before-heard-alex-van-halen-interview-from-1981/
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/story/2020-10-06/ediie-van-halen-dead-at-65-revisit-our-interviews-with-the-singular-rock-guitar-great
https://www.vhnd.com/2009/03/24/michael-anthony-my-top-3-bass-players-of-all-time/
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/music-news/david-lee-roth-reveals-surprising-van-halen-influences-235352978.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0FpV3nZpEQ
http://bravewords.com/news/sammy-hagar-talks-about-influences-new-chickenfoot-album-his-voice-today-ive-got-the-tone-ive-always-been-looking-for
https://www.loudersound.com/features/sammy-hagar-interview-diamond-dave-the-van-halens-and-a-long-life-in-rock
https://www.americanmusical.com/content--name-Gary-Cherone-Interview
https://www.guitarworld.com/magazine/tony-iommi-and-eddie-van-halen-discuss-their-careers-friendship-and-past-three-decades-our-favorite-instrument

Thin Lizzy Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

Phase One

Django Reinhardt

Max Roach

Buddy Rich

Elvin Jones

Roy Orbison

Wes Montgomery

Curtis Mayfield

Johnny Kid and The Pirates

Van Morrison

Phase Two

Freddie King

Otis Rush

Dick Dale

Albert King

John McLaughlin

Albert Collins

Vinnie Colaiuta

Phase Three

Ritchie Blackmore

Bands influenced by Thin Lizzy!

Van Halen Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

Showtunes

Major Lance

Marvin Gaye

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

Dick Dale

Wilson Pickett

The Temptations

Lou Rawls

Elton John

The Persuasions

Bands influenced by Van Halen!