Billy Corgan – The Smashing Pumpkins – Musician – 2026 – Far Out Magazine (Credits; John Shaw)
Sat 17 October 2026 17:35, UK
Heavy metal didn’t emerge overnight, nor can its creation be credited to any single band. Instead, the genre developed gradually, with several pioneering acts helping to shape its distinctive sound.
However, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan believes Led Zeppelin played a particularly important role, laying down what he describes as the “blueprints” for heavy metal.
When Led Zeppelin formed, heavy metal had yet to emerge as a distinct genre. Instead, they were a rock and roll band with a darker, heavier edge that set them apart from many of their contemporaries. Over their decade together, they continually pushed the boundaries of their sound, introducing new ideas and techniques that would influence generations of musicians and continue to resonate today.
During a discussion about his favourite metal albums, Corgan controversially named Zeppelin’s 1975 album Physical Graffiti despite the band not being a traditional metal group. The Smashing Pumpkins singer is aware that Led Zeppelin isn’t what most people think of when discussing the genre, but he felt it was only right to give props to the scene’s forefathers.
Corgan admitted to Music Radar: “It’s hard to call Zep’ metal’, but they did create different blueprints that are still being used in Riffland. I love this record because it is so damn dark. ‘In My Time of Dying’ is as heavy as anything released. Maybe not ‘heavy’ heavy, but emotionally… total oblivion.”
Meanwhile, in a different discussion with Rolling Stone, Corgan spoke again of his passion for the group. The Smashing Pumpkins founder was discussing his love of wrestling and said Jimmy Page has a similar X factor to Shawn Michaels. He said, “Jimmy Page comes to mind, having met him once. When you think of what Jimmy Page created, it’s kind of mindblowing. You’re standing there talking to that man, and there’s a mystical quality to his being”.
Adding, “He’s not still running around like he looked in 1975, but there’s something about him. Whether it’s fairy-like or mischievous, there’s a mirth in his spirit that’s still there. When you think of Led Zeppelin music his guitar is almost like a lead vocal, so you almost have like two lead vocals, which is kind of the insanity of Zeppelin.”
Credit: Far Out / Open Culture
In the same interview, Corgan further heaped praise upon the band and spoke of how he “always respected” Led Zeppelin for calling it a day following the death of John Bonham. He added, “When John Bonham died, they announced the band is done. They didn’t step back and think about it. I’ve always respected that because he was their brother, and they knew it wasn’t gonna be the same without him. And I had to learn those lessons the hard way.”
Corgan continued: “When Jimmy Chamberlin left the band in ’96, I thought, “I’ll just get somebody. The band is big, and we’ll find somebody great. It won’t be the same, but it’ll be just as good in a different way.” It just doesn’t work like that. You just don’t replace your brother like that.”
Although Led Zeppelin never considered themselves a heavy metal band, they inadvertently helped bring the emerging genre to mainstream audiences, perhaps without even realising the extent of their influence. However, their impact stretched far beyond metal, shaping countless other styles and cementing their reputation as one of the most influential bands in music history.
Is Physical Graffiti Led Zeppelin’s best?
It might not be considered their best, but it certainly holds a lot of weight with their lead singer claiming it to be the pinnacle of their output. Plant didn’t hesitate when asked by Rolling Stone for his own favourite record, and revealed: “Physical Graffiti, strong stuff. And it sounded good too. It sounded very tough, but it was also restrained, exhibiting a certain amount of control as well.”
As recently as 2018, in a feature-length piece with Dan Rather, he spoke in further detail about the intricacies of the track that make it so perfect to him: “It was a great achievement to take such a monstrously dramatic musical piece and find a lyric that was ambiguous enough, and a delivery that was not over-pumped,” said Plant.
“It was almost the antithesis of the music, this lyric and this vocal delivery that was just about enough to get in there.”
Physical Graffiti was the dawning of a new chapter for the band as they now had full creative control with no overlords following their exit from Atlantic Records, and went independent with their new label Swan Song Records.
ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE 
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.