Metal Heads : The Pioneers Of What We Now Call Thrash Metal Essay

“If you came here to see spandex and big hair, this ain’t your band”, Metallica’s “war cry” throughout the early eighties. While the rest of the hard rock bands wanted to get rich and a lot of women, Metallica, as in the words of former lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, “Our hole existence pretty much was guitar, dominating the world and getting liquored up”.

A "stereotype" is a social perception of an individual in terms of group membership or physical attributes. Stereotypes are generalizations made about a group and then attributed to all members of that group.

Yet with all the wonderful things that music can do for human beings, could it possibly be responsible for them committing suicide, or murder? In this paper I am going to explore the chaos that occurred in the 80’s and 90’s when heavy metal music faced accusations that the music and lyrical content was driving adolescent and young adults to commit suicide and murder. I will argue that it is not the music or the lyrics that result in such violent behaviors; rather, individuals with underlying psychological issues such as depression, or anger disorders tend to be more attracted to heavy metal music.

Chapter 18 was engaging to read and discuss in class. Throughout the chapter, we were give a detailed description of two concepts that came to life during the 1960s and further on. One of these concepts was, ‘The Power Trios’ which displayed the musical capacities of many guitarists. Most of them were given double duties by playing both the rhythm and lead roles. Just like any other genre of rock and roll the influence of the power trio came from Chicago blue bands and specifically from the Muddy Waters trio. The second concept we talked about was Heavy Metal. This style of music is strongly supported by drum and bass rhythms, which were developed in Britain. This genre of music was highly criticized by social media due to the negative attention

Heavy Metal is a genre of music that is defined by Dictonary.com as an “aggressive and heavily amplified rock music, commonly performed by groups that wear spectacular or bizarre costumes”. Another definition listed is; “a type of rock music characterized by a strong beat and amplified instrumental effects, sometimes with violent, or nihilistic lyrics” By definition we see heavy metal is an aggressive style of rock music that often characterized by strong amplified instrumental effects and a strong beat.

“Heavy metal music has been a source of criticism ever since its’ birth in the late nineteen eighties” (Coss). Many people criticize this type of music because there is anger shown in the lyrics. Although the lyrics can be controversial at times, there is no evidence saying that heavy metal music causes violence. “Its’ controversial lyrics and harsh sounds have made it the target of much blame for psychological and behavioral problems in teenagers” (Coss). Parents of teenagers now and in past decades have worried about their kids listening to this kind of music. Most parents do not want their kids to listen to this kind of music; they are afraid that the music will lead to devastating effects in society. Another reason why parents do not like heavy metal music is that the music is extremely loud and ear shattering. Most people over

A phrase coined by many emerging bands in the early 1980’s, ‘alternative rock’ has become an increasingly more popular term used to describe artists that try to be innately different, yet veer away from the establishment and wish only to play the music they want to play without “selling out”. While it isn’t as concentrated or specific as other genres like hip hop or classical music, alternative music encompasses a wide variety of artists and songs over decades, most of which could be subcategorized into grunge, metal, punk rock, progressive, new wave, and even mo

So who are these young teenage girls and what are they doing on stage with a metal band? Are they really into metal? What kind of music do they play? Are they good? What has the metal community’s reaction been to them? Are they the “real deal”? Is life like a flat circle? Let us answer these questions one by one.

Heavy metal music has been around now for quite some time now and over the decades has been collecting more and more enthusiasts. Within the heavy metal scene there are many different types of groups and subcultures but really only two that stand out. One type of subculture within the heavy metal industry is the “true believers” who trust in everything heavy metal has to offer and will pride themselves on going against the norm and challenge society. The second type of subculture is the one who enjoys the music and tends to be less intense when considering themselves as heavy metal enthusiasts. The ladder of the two subgroups is pretty straightforward and can be understood much easier than the former.

To those who have not been exposed to other genres besides mainstream music, I am hoping to give you some insight on a headbanger’s roots. With new metal bands popping up in local cities, it’s important to understand the history behind the genre. Like every other genre, heavy metal can be traced back to it’s roots, to the moment where everything changed and turned into something that will continue to affect people for years to come. It caused an uproar first in England, and then spread like wildfire to all four corners of the world. Heavy metal was a musical revolution that brought together diverse groups of people while influencing new genres, ideas, and lifestyles worldwide

A fresh look at Norway's notorious black metal scene, from a striking new angle. While the genre's Norwegian pioneers settle into middle age, wiping off the corpse paint and embracing family life, three obsessive fans from vastly different religious and political backgrounds – Colombian Hector, Greek Kaiadas, and Iranian Sina – risk family ties, freedom, and even their souls to perform in the place where black metal became synonymous with Satanism, arson, and murder. Heartfelt and surprisingly funny, Blackhearts examines just how far people will go for the music they love.

From a young age we are thought to do what we love, as it will make everything you do easier. While contemplating the topic for this paper I remembered that old wise advice that we are always thought. What do I love? Grunge music. It was a no brainer and after listening to various bands from the grunge music era it was a no brainer. So, now that we have the topic laid out, what exactly is grunge? Grunge music, which is a sub-genre of alternative rock and punk rock is music which is known for heavily distorted guitars and loud angry vocalists. Some of the most famous grunge bands include: Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam just to name a few. So, what exactly makes grunge, grunge? What

Donmez claims that heavy metal resonates with ‘dark ecology’ because Heavy Metal does not fear intimacy with the underprivileged, the absurd, or the subject (2014, p. 75). According to Timothy Morton, we perform or construct ‘nature’ as something pristine and wild, and we exclude dirt and pollution from it (2014, p. 75). The way artists portray heavy metal goes hand in hand with the “wildness” that comes from dark ecology. The reputation of the genre includes rampage and terror which leaves the audience with a sense of disturbance. Heavy metal lyrics mention bodily fluids, defecation, use of house-cleaning chemicals for drugs, the inhalation of toxic materials, fatal diseases, child abuse, rape, and incest(2014, p. 76). These topics are all

In the study completed by Fiona Malpass, David Havard, Karis Benford, Ana Costescu, Angeliki Sofitiki, and Donna Taylor of the University of Westminster, results show personality outcome of heavy metal listening to be “…stronger composite preference for the heavy metal tracks was associated with higher Openness to Experience, more negative attitudes toward authority, lower self-esteem, greater need for uniqueness, and lower religiosity” (377). They also state that “In addition, men showed a significantly stronger preference for the tracks than women. These results are discussed in terms of the psychological needs that contemporary heavy metal fills for some individuals” (377). This shows that music can also effect personality differently based upon gender. Further research was completed just on women with the genre of heavy metal by Milton Becknell, Michael Firmin, Chi-En Hwang, David Fleetwood, Kristie Tate, and Gregory Schwab who are college student researchers from Cedarville University, Cedarville, OH. They state that “More recent research, however, suggests that Arnett's position is more representative of females than males (Lacourse, Claes, & Villeneuve, 2001). The general assumption is that heavy metal music listeners release or unload their pent-up frustrations into the loud and intense sounds which they

Stereotypes are a part of everyday life. They help us differentiate and categorize to make quick decision on a person's character; however, stereotyping can be misleading or incorrect resulting in false judgment and mistreatment. In the workplace, this can show to be especially heinous. Stereotyping is a preconceived notion that all members of a group are the same, and behave in the same way. This act of judging others based on perception can cause many problems; especially when linked to the work environment.