Musical expressions can create connections between individuals and the social-ecological systems they inhabit, helping people become aware of sentiments and behaviors caused by disruptions to these systems.
Metal music’s song structures often act as allegorical representations for and symbols of human tensions related to disruptions in human systems. Certain metal subgenres can heighten people’s awareness of such sentiments through lyrical themes and instrumentation choices.
Origins
Heavy metal music originated in Great Britain during the late 1960s and early 1970s as an outlet to the economic turmoil that gripped their country at that time. Young people sought an expression that was more rebellious, loud, and expressive than rock music at that time – this eventually resulted in heavy metal becoming an idiom that today is widely employed across multiple contexts.
Named for Steppenwolf’s song, William Burroughs’s novel Naked Lunch and rock critic Lester Bangs’ piece in Creem magazine as its source material; many accounts also credit Steppenwolf’s song “Born to Be Wild,” William Burroughs’s novel Naked Lunch and Lester Bangs’ piece from Creem magazine with giving rise to it as the founding texts. Though its roots may differ significantly from an author’s name; nevertheless it serves a similar function: to classify certain texts together; to distinguish them from one another while authenticating certain texts by using other works (Foucault 452).
Heavy metal music has long been held responsible for many social problems, from crime and violence to despondency and suicide. Some may regard its influence as negative; however, metal has also long served as an outlet for many anxieties and desires within its audience.
Additionally, this genre isn’t as nihilistic and aggressive as some would assume; instead it draws inspiration from traditional Spanish folk music – a relatively modern trend featuring fast-paced guitar riffs, powerful vocals and lyrics drawn from Spanish history, mythology, and culture.
FIU professor Nelson Varas-Diaz’s new book “Rock and Roll in Latin America: Musical Experiments to Challenge Colonialism” shows heavy metal’s profound connection with Latin American music and culture. Improvisational metal music acts as a potent antidote against racism, political persecution, neoliberalism, extreme capitalism and democracy’s demise; these aspects include racism, political persecution, neoliberalism extreme capitalism as well as democratic death. He conducted ethnographic fieldwork and interviewed over 100 musicians and listeners from Puerto Rico the Dominican Republic Mexico Colombia Chile Peru Argentina as part of his research for his book.
Influences
Metal music has evolved into its own subculture. Not just confined to its musical expression, metal also represents an active lifestyle and community of fans that support it. Metal can provide comfort for those feeling alienated from society while simultaneously showing rebellion; offering a place for them to vent anger and frustrations without being judged or rejected by society at large. Unfortunately though, its acceptance still varies among societies worldwide and remains mostly subcultural.
Genre influences come from many different cultures all around the world. Additionally, this genre is very flexible and can be integrated into multiple media forms: movies, video games and theatre are all potential uses for it. Furthermore, its music can help evoke various feelings from horror to romance while acting as an effective stress reliever.
Heavy metal music draws heavily from Latin America and the Caribbean. Varas-Diaz’s class listens to bands from each country one at a time, studying their lyrics to gain more insight into their context. For instance, they listened to Arraigo’s “Vidala para Que Sigas,” from Argentina, and learned it is about maintaining hope while advocating for social justice among future generations.
Metal music’s influence upon nature is also significant. Since humans began worshipping nature as deity, metal musicians have used music to interpret nature and its divine nature for themselves. Black Metal band Ulver’s album “Altar of the Horned God” presents nature as a temple with altar and horns reminiscent of sacred temples – showing how humans do not necessarily need to act like gods in order to emulate godlike actions themselves.
Punk rock music was also influential. Popular during Spain’s Movida Madrilea countercultural movement, punk rock bands such as Kortatu, Kaka de Luxe, Radio Futura and Alaska y Dinarama had a profound impact on Spanish rock genre; many are still performing today.
Styles
Metal music has evolved significantly throughout its long existence in various parts of the globe. Beginning its journey in Los Angeles and later flourishing across American university campuses before eventually spreading across Great Britain as people learned how to play this style of music.
In the mid 20th century, heavy metal music became an overwhelmingly popular choice among industrial workers from every sector of commerce. Particularly prominent was Birmingham’s industrial area where heavy metal first made an impressionful statement.
Mago de Oz was Spain’s inaugural metal band and is still an extremely popular group today, having released three five-year albums with progressive metal sounds that had all of today’s trends present in their music. Mago has since produced three more lines which has cemented them as an influential brand within their market place.
Now there is music created by various metal groups of various genres. Additionally, specific bands that specialize in such forms as thrash metal and power metal also produce their own genre-specific works, with trends emerging within each one of their works.
Metallic music made by people drawn to metal’s big guns has its own elegance and stands out with work of great charisma. Industrial workers have long been at the center of producing group-created tunes of every sort.
Metal groups’ work is distinguished by the exuberant energy and precision of their guitarists; creating music with an inexplicably powerful impact.
Early heavy metal bands were composed almost entirely of men, with women rarely appearing on stage. Recently however, more female performers have emerged onstage–particularly within symphonic metal and power metal subgenres such as Nightwish, Delain and Within Temptation.
Subgenres
Heavy metal music has evolved into many subgenres over time, such as thrash metal, speed metal, power metal and melodic metal. Melodic metal has emerged more recently within this genre and combines elements of classic heavy metal with orchestral music and keyboards; an example is Nightwish who use this subgenre.
Glam rock first emerged as a trend during the early 1970s, featuring heavily distorted guitars, anthemic songs, theatrical images, and heavy distortion. David Bowie, T. Rex and Alice Cooper are examples of this genre; later after its collapse came punk rock and alternative metal with both employing heavy metal aesthetics as well as using distorted vocals and powerful drumming to define themselves as subgenres of this category.
Other groups, like Jethro Tull, also bridged the gap between psychedelic rock and heavy metal with sounds resonant of both styles. Psychedelic rock combines elements from both genres – the escape-from-reality fantasies associated with heavy metal with drugs that alter perceptions or produce visions while heavy metal typically emphasizes more realistic themes such as loss and mortality.
Heavy metal’s hallmark style was defined and formed through blues rock, which contributed significantly to defining and developing its distinct elements. Blues rock combined traditional blues with rock’s energetic sound for an intense and heavy musical style; rock historians consider this form of heavy metal the precursor. Heavy metal emerged as an identifiable musical genre during the 1970s.
Heavy metal was marked by its signature guitar-and-drum sound that featured strong rhythms accompanied by classical, blues-like or symphonic instrumentation – such as palm muting or syncopated chords on guitar. Seven, eight and nine string guitars became hallmarks of heavy metal as a genre.
Metal Latino is a style of heavy metal music incorporating Spanish vocals and Latin percussion instruments, crossing traditional heavy metal, power metal, and symphonic metal genres while drawing influence from salsa and merengue music.