Quiet Riot released Metal Health (Bang Your Head) as the title track from their breakthrough 1983 album, which became the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard 200. The song peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is widely credited with bringing heavy metal into the mainstream pop culture consciousness.
Origins and Inspiration
- Title and Lyrics: The title is a play on “mental health.” Lead singer Kevin DuBrow wrote the lyrics based on personal experiences of being slighted throughout his life, featuring the famous line “I’ve got a mouth like an alligator.”
- Musical Influences: The band aimed for a simple, straight-ahead groove inspired by AC/DC. The structure was originally developed in a pre-Quiet Riot band called Snow under the title “No More Booze.”
- The “Bang Your Head” Refrain: Drummer Frankie Banali credited bassist Rudy Sarzo with the idea, having observed English fans playing air guitar and moving their heads violently during tours with Ozzy Osbourne.
Production and Marketing
- Producer Deal: Influential producer Spencer Proffer agreed to record three original songs for free if the band recorded a cover of Slade’s “Cum On Feel the Noize.” The resulting album, Metal Health, featured that cover as the lead single, which hit #5.
- MTV Breakthrough: The music video was pivotal, depicting DuBrow escaping a padded room while wearing a mask and straightjacket. Les Garland, head of programming at MTV, championed the video after it received strong response in Texas and Oklahoma, leading to heavy rotation that drove sales.
- Chart Success: While the Slade cover broke the band, “Metal Health” solidified their status, becoming their second top 40 hit and an anthem for the 1980s glam metal era.
Legacy
- The song helped pave the way for the photogenic hair bands of the late ’80s, such as Mötley Crüe and Twisted Sister, by proving that heavy metal could achieve massive pop success.
- The lyric “well now you’re here, there’s no way back” became the title for the 2015 Quiet Riot documentary, chronicling the band’s career and the impact of this defining moment.
[Intro]
Yeah
[Verse 1]
Well, I’m an axe grinder
Pile driver
Mama says that I never, never mind her
Got no brains
I’m insane
The teacher says that I’m one big pain
I’m like a laser
Six-string razor
I got a mouth like an alligator
I want it louder
More power
I’m gonna rock ya ’til it strikes the hour
[Chorus]
Bang your head
Metal health will drive you mad
Bang your head
Metal health will drive you mad
Alight
[Verse 2]
Ooh, well, I’m frustrated
Outdated
I really want to be overrated
I’m a finder
And I’m a keeper
I’m not a loser and I ain’t no weeper
I got the boys
To make the noise
Won’t ever let up, hope it annoys you
Join the pack
Fill the crack
Well, now you’re here, there’s no way back
[Chorus]
Bang your head
Metal health will drive you mad
Bang your head
Metal health will drive you mad
[Post-Chorus]
Metal health will cure your crazy
Metal health will cure your mad
Metal health is what we all need
It’s what you ought to have, ow
[Guitar Solo]
[Interlude]
Help
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Ah
Ah
[Bridge]
Bang your head
Wake the dead
We’re all metal mad
It’s all you have
So bang your head
And raise the dead, oh yeah
Metal health
It drives you mad, mad, mad, mad
[Chorus]
Bang your head
Metal health will drive you mad
Bang your head
Metal health will drive you mad
[Outro]
Oh, get your straightjackets on tonight (Bang your head)
Oh (Metal health will drive you mad)
The bad boys are gonna set you right (Bang your head)
Oh, rock ya, rock ya, rock ya (Metal health will drive you mad)
Bang your head
