Led Zeppelin played rock music.
Heavy metal ( or simply metal ) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s , largely in the United Kingdom and the United States . Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin , released on 28 March 1973 by Atlantic Records . Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 . The band 's heavy , guitar-driven sound , rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums , has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal , though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences , including folk music .