We all have heard about that music genre where aggressive sounds dominate: from powerful guitar solos to the like-screaming singing. And no wonder this genre is not only popular, but it has had its fair share of controversy surrounding it. In this article, we will not discuss the different subgenres of metal, as they are many and it will be hard to detail each one in-depth.
Now let’s talk a bit about its history. It appeared in 1960-1970 in the United Kingdom and the United States. Although its “parent” genre is, obviously rock, more exactly blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock, heavy metal managed to take them to the next level and to become a genre on its own different from its roots. When a new genre appears with it comes its pioneers, which in this case are Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Although the critics were at first skeptical about the music that these bands were singing, they thought there was nothing special about these songs, heavy metal bands managed to prove them wrong with their strong guitar leads, which required great skill, not to mention the drummers and the vocalists which also had to possess specific abilities. With time, these critics became more open-minded and even honored some of the bands for their talent. Heavy metal proposed a new type of music, which, in time, attracted audiences and created a strong fanbase, which is called “metalheads” or “headbangers”.
When we think of this type of music, many of us associate the word “loud” with it. But, did you know that classical music had a tremendous influence on it? Many of the well-known guitarists have studied classical music. Let’s take an example: Richard Hugh Blackmore, who was one of the founding members of Deep Purple, is well known for his solos influenced by classical music, especially Bach and Vivaldi. It may sound weird that a music genre we consider peaceful and relaxing, such as classical music can be associated with the exact opposite. As we all know, opposites attract, and that seems to be the case with these two.
Now that we have talked about the genre, let’s see what makes people like this music. Metal songs have been described as “outsider music for outsiders”, so we can see that they provide a sort of refuge for those who were categorized as “wired” within their social group or who cannot simply find a place within the groups they are in or the society. Or others simply enjoy the music, and each metalhead has its own view regarding why they like heavy metal. Recent evidence shows backs up the fact that listening to these types of songs can be a way for us to process our anger healthily and does not make people more 2 / 2 violent. This belief that metalheads are more aggressive or violent has appeared with the genre, and as we can see not only it is just a label for the fans it is also false.
As to end this article, I would like to recommend to you some metal bands for those of you who maybe want to discover something new or maybe get into this music genre, so here they are:
- Amaranthe
- Slipknot
- Within Temptation
- Lamb of God
- Korn - Metallica
- System of a Down
- Rammstein
- Powerwolf
- HELLYEAH
- Stone Sour
- Marilyn Manson
- Linkin Park
- Disturbed
Editor
Alex Sasarman
Comments