Heavy metal is a genre of music that emerged during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a darker and aggressive mutation of rock music. Heavy metal music’s emergence coincided with the decline of the youth culture and anti-war movement that drove the imagination of the young generation during the early 1960s (Weinstein). Heavy metal musicians positioned themselves as opposing both the dominant culture in America and the rock counterculture (Kontinual). Musically, the genre saw an appropriation from closely related rock and blues. Many practitioners of metal music identify classical musicians as a source of inspiration as well. Heavy metal music also borrows imagery and fashion from the psychedelic and anti-war movement that predated the genre.
Musically, heavy metal appropriates elements of blues music. American blues music was a source of inspiration for British rock musicians in the early 1960s. Heavy metal musicians amalgamated aspects of blues music with psychedelic rock to produce the signature sound of the genre. The influential British band Cream combined unison riffing popularized by blues musician Eric Clapton and his bass guitarist Jack Bruce, and the double bass drumming of blues rock drummer Ginger Baker to create a unique heavy sound that would later be emulated by various metal musicians (Charlton). Black Sabbath, widely regarded as the first heavy metal band, started out as a blues-jazz band and have said to be heavily influenced by blues music (Dunn). Black Sabbath popularized the use of the “blues scale”- the pentatonic scale - using it exclusively in their title song “Black Sabbath” (Huey). In addition, the guitar is the primary instrument in heavy metal music, an instrument that has its roots in African and Americ...
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...extreme themes such as Satanism, heavy metal music has managed to produce a product that is quite unique in the history of music. This uniqueness ensures that, despite the era or cultural norm, heavy metal music will always have its core of dedicated fans.
Works Cited
Charlton, Katherin. Rock Music Styles: A History. McGraw Hill, 2003.
Huey, Steve. "Black Sabbath review." n.d. All Music. .
Kontinual. "http://www.anus.com/metal/about/history/." n.d. The history of heavy metal music. Web Site. 21 1 2014.
Metal: A headbanger's journey. Dir. Sam Dunn. 2005.
Walser, Robert. Heavy Metal. Grove Music Online, n.d.
—. Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1993.
Weinstein, Deena. Heavy Metal: The Music and its Culture. De Capo Press, n.d.
The satanic cult panic in part contributed to the conviction of Misskelley, Echols and Baldwin. Baldwin himself describes this assumption; “I can see where they might think I was in a cult,” he said, in that 1993 interview, “because I wear Metallica T-shirts.” (Rich, 2013). The article goes on to explain that the crime happened at the end of the five-year satanic panic period that had plagued American popular culture. These boys did not dress like other teens; they did not listen to the same music. Metal music especially music from bands like Metallica were frowned upon because of their expletive lyrics. When the public established that the boys were different from them, they developed stories that would align with their beliefs. The article establishes that after several weeks of investigation and no clear leads, “rumors of satanic involvement assumed greater urgency” (Rich, 2013) By doi...
It could be argued that ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’ served exemplary as testament to the changing attitudes towards rock music and psychedelic acid rock of the time. The prevalence of the genre was tangible, even the AFVN (American Forces Vietnam Network) added a special channel in 1968 for those soldiers serving overseas who had reported an interest in the musical style (Kramer, 2006). Perhaps this song was indeed the natural progression of music in a time of so much uncertainty for an entire generation fraught with equal parts revolutionary ideals and Cold War paranoia. The track’s tone, ambiance were defined by an eerily dark otherworldliness unheard of up until that point in rock music and arguably not replicated again until Black Sabbath’s NIB
In rock music its target audience is the youth. And by youth I am not referring to teenagers, but instead to the mentality of youth, the adults and teens still in the sociological stage between being a ‘kid’ and accepting the responsibilities of ‘adulthood’ [Weinstein pg6] These youth negotiate the genre and change it to their liking. For example both males and females have different subgenres of rock targeted specifically at them. Males are seen from a young age as being naughty and rowdy, not very responsible and thus given more freedom. While girls are seen as quiet and polite, with very low aggression. These traits have reflected in the genres that are targeted at the two genders. Males were targeted with Heavy Metal as it expressed the qualities the very qualities they will have to give up in order to become adults and how they will lose their freedom. While for females rock music is soft and romantic, females will typically grow up faster than males and leave youth behind in order to take up responsibilities. An example of how the music was negotiated to fit the two genders is seem in the 1960s when performers such as Carole king and James Taylor transformed themes of protest into sentimental commentaries, romance and illusions of youth. [Weinstein pg 12-13] While heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath sung about politicians and how disgusting they are for exploiting young people in the name of greed which is shown in the song Wicked World. This very characteristic of rock being created by the youth for the youth is still alive today, for example during the 2004 presidential election Green Day released American Idiot. The song was about how the media and political are brainwashing Americans to remove their individuality. The singer wanted to warn America of this and prevent them from turning into ‘idiots’ and
Although considered the day Rock ‘n’ Roll was born, many other events in American history have given foundation to this much loved idea. Rock ‘n’ Roll is much more than just music, rather it is the movement which underlines cultural imperialism. Rock had been promoting a culture of comfort and freedom from social constraints as well. Although the style of ‘Rock music’ is easily adaptable into many different sounds, it is still thoroughly identified by its definingly amplified rhythm. The sudden worldwide popularity of rock and roll resulted in an unparalleled social impact. Rock ‘n’ Roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language in a way few other social developments have equaled. The social impact is so large that rock stars are worshipped worldwide. In its early years, many adults condemned the style of music, placing a stigma on its name, and forbid their children from listening and following its ways. Many considered Rock ‘n’ Roll culture as a bad influence to all people, but as the genre aged and the now not-so-young crowds had matured, Rock was respected and
influential in the North as well. Blacks moved from the South to the North and
Beginning with the late 1960’s counterculture in San Francisco, music and drugs will forever be inter-linked. Hippie bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and Phish are associated with marijuana, mushrooms, and LSD. Modern electronic “rave” , or club music is associated with MDMA or Ecstasy. When one thinks of rock and roll, sex and drugs immediately come to mind. While the use of drugs is not essential for the creation or performance of all new music, it was certainly in important factor for the counterculture music of the late 1960’s. While some of the most important and influential music was made with the help of psychoactive drugs, it was often to the detriment of the artist. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and countless other tremendously talented artists had their lives cut short due to drug use. Drugs were most often good for the music, but deadly for the music makers.
Rock ‘n’ roll and 20th Century Culture According to Philip Ennis, rock ‘n’ roll emerged from the convergence of social transformations which resulted from World War II (Ryan 927). Despite its pop culture origins, rock music is arguably one of the strongest cultural factors to develop in this century. Artists such as Lennon, McCartney and Dylan defined the emotions of a generation and, in the last decade, it as even been acknowledged by members of the establishment which it hoped to change as a major influence in the country. In order to understand how rock went from a sign of rebellion to a cultural icon, it is necessary to understand where it came from.
The ‘60s were the age of youth, as millions of children’s from post World War II became teenagers and rebelled against the conservative fifties. Denying civil rights to African-Americans and liberation to teenagers in previous decades and Vietnam War, created a vortexes which lead to massive rebellion against the status qua. Music of the 1960s was characteristic of the revolution that was going on during the decade. It was a time of rebellion and counter-culture in which the teenagers and college students were critical of government, business, religious institution and other various aspects of life. Era marked by civil rights movement, Vietnam War, environment of drug abuse and sexual freedom formed new music like: folk rock, soul and psychedelic rock. These genres starkly contrast the teen idol music of ‘50s pop mainstream. Writes John Covach; “World was exploding, and rock musicians were listening more closely than ever.”(Covach, 152) Such stark contrast in pop music directly relay to changing social culture in America, which further echo’s the relationship between music and culture.
Rock and Roll has the most incredible history. Before there was rock and roll, there was blues. Most people think rock music started with Elvis Presley, but he didn’t record his first single until 1953. The first recorded song described as “Genuine Rock-and-Roll” was “Rocket ’88” by pianist Ike Turner and singer Jackie Brenston in 1951. Rock-and-Roll music in the 1950’s was described as a mixture of jazz, blues, country, and has a strong guitar, bass, and drums.
Rock music is a term that should be familiar. Originally dubbed “rock and roll” in the 1940’s and 1950’s, rock and roll is almost always fronted by an electrical guitar and heavily influenced by blues, R&B, and even country music. By the late 1960’s and early 1970’s rock and roll began to be shortened to just “rock music”, and the entire style starting branching out into other sub-genres such as punk rock, heavy metal, garage rock, hard rock, among others. The sub-genre in question however is Alternative Rock, which is generally defined as despite following the fundamentals of rock music, it strays away from what is considered “mainstream” at the time by using concepts such as extensive underground music association, muddied or distorted guitars, more prominent use of power chords, and even a sort of rebellious or defiant attitude in lyrics and sound.
Many people and many styles of music influenced Rock and Roll. The styles included Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Bluegrass, Boogie-Woogie, and Rockabilly. Each was a major factor into the introduction of a new style of music called Rock ‘N’ Roll.
It was New Year’s Eve. Often during so, the clubs and bars would be brimming with youth and underage teenagers waiting to count down to New Year’s Day. However, I spent my New Year’s Eve in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The sports arena was mostly crowded with middle aged adults and everyone was there not to watch a game, but to bid farewell to a legendary hair metal band, Mötley Crüe. The band’s career spanned three decades and they ended it all at the birthplace of hair metal - Los Angeles, California. I really enjoyed the show because even though the band has aged staggeringly, they managed to maintain the elements of a hair metal concert – face-melting guitar solos, pyrotechnics, female dancers in skimpy clothing, and to
...as known for back in the rocker days of the late 1900s. Metal artists such as Judas Priest to Marilyn Manson have been accused “…of encouraging Satanism, drug use, suicide, and promiscuous sex” (Haenfler, 2013, p. 61). All these subcultures are seen as normal to the people within them. The idea of audience relativity is what makes society view them as deviant.
Punks and Goths have coexisted for decades and continue to be, distinct social movements built upon different music, films and fashion characteristics. The Goth subculture has survived much longer than others from the same era, for instance Mods, Skinheads, Hippies and Rockers. However the movement first emerged in England in the early 1980s (Subcultureslist.com, 2016) which continues to diversify, to respond to social and cultural changes. Post punk and Goth bands such as Bauhaus, Rosetta Rose, The Cult, Alien Sex Friend, Sisters of Mercy and The Crüxshadows (AllMusic:2016) have had an enormous influence and impact in forming and developing the movement we see today in the 21st century. In this essay we will be analysing the Goth subculture
The occult is on the rise; many young people are seeking their spiritual identity through Satanism. Satanism has become an issue of great concern in our society. It is a phenomenon that crosses the city limits into the rural areas of our nation. Satanism is not just a big city problem. The news wires carry story after story about young children being kidnapped, only to be found later as victims of some bizarre ritualistic crime. This paper will analyze and will come to a conclusion to the most frequently asked question “What makes a person to convert his/her religion to Satanism?” To do so, this paper will examine the following areas: Effects of Satanism on our youth and society, does power attracts young people to become a Satanist? And is music a factor in changing one’s religion to Satanism?