Heavy metal – a music style, cliche and a way of life

Heavy metal is … a style of music that has evolved from hard rock. distorted guitars, fast playing of the instruments, vocals that are often only identifiable as such for non-insiders after repeated listening, and the whole thing in quite a loud volume. heavy metal is listened to by long haired guys in black clothes, who like to be decorated with tattoos, leather, rivets and bandpatches and permanently emit the smell of beer.

tolerance in heavy metal

Heavy metal - music style, cliche and attitude to life

So far, so cliche. But heavy metal is one thing above all: an attitude to life. in principle metal works like a douglas store: "come in and find out". Only, who is once in, usually does not want to come out… the reasons for it? We can list those with pleasure:

yes, well, they exist, the discussions about the "only true metal. and not every metalhead is familiar with all genres of heavy metal. And many a 15-year-old fan of avenged sevenfold may not imagine that the now somewhat (!?) confused ozzy osbourne actually used to be a "metal god" – just 30 years ago. But that is it. At this point a beer is opened (so that the above-mentioned cliche is also fulfilled), a little discussion and then it’s good.

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fact is: there is friendship and helpfulness, mainly but not exclusively among "metalbrothers. A metalfan in a scooter at a metalconcert? No problem, we get him where he needs to go, so he can see "his" band at its best. at the concerts there is a pleasant, depending on the size of the location almost family atmosphere. bands also make an above-average effort to give their fans what they want. At smaller concerts it is not surprising to meet your hero in person at the merchandise stand, take a selfie, get an autograph or pick up a guitar plectrum.

from the hardrock and nwobhm (new wave of brithish heavy metal) of the 1970s, many heavy metal genres have evolved over the last decades. After the doom metal, which was embodied by bands like black sabbath or saint vitus, followed at the beginning of the 1980s, for example, the speed metal, thrash metal, power metal and the more extreme grindcore. Then, among others, the glam metal, death metal, black metal and the pagan metal. in the 1990s music styles like industrial metal, metalcore, funk and numetal emerged. for most metalheads, heavy metal is not just a style of music, it is a way of life.

constancy of metal

value conservatism, consistency, tradition – are these really the terms that first come to mind in connection with heavy metal?? But if you think about it, how else can you explain that bands like iron maiden, judas priest, slayer or megadeth still storm the charts and fill concert halls to bursting point more than 35 years after their foundation?? The fact that the latest albums by slayer and iron maiden have knocked german hit queens off their charting throne doesn’t mean that heavy metal has now become socially acceptable, though. It also doesn’t mean that the bands are still in such demand, even though they largely still sound the same as they did 30 years ago, but precisely because of that.

once you start listening to metal, you won’t change your style of music anytime soon. You have found something that stays, that connects and that is fun.

anti-commercialism of the metal

A band that only makes music for the sake of money and fame will have a hard time in metal circles. what counts here is first and foremost the dedication to the music. Many metalheads will have already been annoyed that band shirts of metallica, iron maiden, AC/DC or guns’n’roses are now being sold by companies like H&M and actually aldi. Traditionally, band shirts are worn at the merch stand at concerts, or rather at the. festivals or purchased in relevant online stores. but the heavy metal fan doesn’t even have to be afraid of that – despite discounter band shirts and hipsters who out themselves as part-time fans, still (almost) everything remains as it always was.

How did heavy metal come into being as a way of life??

That it was in the late 1960s, or. the early 1970s needed a counter-movement to daisy-picking hippies was actually clear. and the appearance could hardly be more opposite: dark outfit, dark world view. but wait – if the lyrics are often about hopelessness, destruction, catastrophes, struggle and war, or discontent, does that mean that we metalheads are a consistently depressed lot who would do better with a referral to psychotherapy than a metal record? Not at all. Let’s call it profound – as a dark contrast to the candy-pink pop- and schlager-industry, to deal with it instead of fading it out. it’s a fact – the feelings sung about in metal do exist: grief, anger, loss, sorrow, pain, but also lust, hope and joy. the emotions are real, true – not for nothing a whole genre of heavy metal identifies itself with it: true metal. in the same breath, of course, the founders of manowar are always mentioned, who in their songs deal inflationarily with the concepts of glory and honor, and have declared war on the "posers" ("they can’t stop us, let them try, for heavy metal we will die.")

if anyone should still be worried about us and our lifestyle, we can refer to a study of the humboldt state university in california. There it was found out that people, who listened to heavy metal in their youth (resp. Still listening), are much happier, more successful and better integrated into society than followers of other music genres. The prevailing cohesion and sense of community within the scene are therefore also a positive factor for young people looking for support.

And who thinks that heavy-fans don’t understand fun, should urgently visit one of the many multi-day festivals. here it shows, that the metal-fan has more than black frocks in his closet, many outfits and also the equipment he brings with him can’t be beaten in weirdness and originality. even vacations and festival feeling can be combined without any problems: with the annual "full metal cruise" or the "70.000 tons of metal" cruise. (contrary to reports of her death, people still like to look for "helga" at festivals).

by the way: if your houseplants thrive better when they are played with heavy metal, you have to test it yourself. Neurobiologists and neuroscientists still disagree a bit on this one.

A short history of heavy metal

Doom Metal - probably the most undervalued style of the heavy metal scene

So far, so tasty. now that we know why we like to listen to this style of music so much, let’s take a closer look at what we are actually listening to… and for that we have to go back in time to the end of the 1960s. we were born in the united kingdom, our parents are blues and hard rock. the first born bands are black sabbath, led zeppelin and deep purple. Black sabbath is also said to have been instrumental in the further development of subgenres such as doom metal and black metal. However, the USA also had some pioneers of this new musical direction, namely Steppenwolf, Kiss or Alice Cooper.

nowadays the term "heavy metal" or "classic metal" is mainly used for bands that follow the traditional style from 1970-1980. Let’s dig up a few examples:

Judas priest, motorhead, motley crue, iron maiden, venom, accept

to avoid discrepancies: in our lists of examples not only the best of the best make it, but also the bands that first came to the author’s mind. If your favorite band has been forgotten: mea culpa. Let’s open a cliche beer on it.

But – why "heavy metal? Good question, next question… because this is not completely clarified. Was it william S. Burroughs, who invented uranian willy, the heavy metal kid, in his novel "the soft machine" in 1962? or steppenwolf, who sang the praises of "heavy metal thunder" in 1968? but is it only because the music style went along with loud motorcycles? Or is this how people used to describe the atmosphere at a metal concert – loud and crushing?? next conjecture: perhaps the term refers geographically to the heavy metal industry of birmingham, from whose haze many then current bands originated (judas priest, led zeppelin, black sabbath…)? Maybe you just had to find a term that was even harder and more aggressive than hard rock. and metal is harder than stone… but you see, to give a concrete answer is really not possible.

The further development of heavy metal

bands like black sabbath or deep purple attracted a lot of attention in the middle of the 70s, although not necessarily only positive. The bands broke with existing social norms, the long hair, naked torsos and made-up faces met with criticism, as did the sung lyrics.

In the 1980s, two genres became particularly popular: glam metal and thrash metal. Glam metal bands (also ironically referred to as "hair metal") focus primarily on show and external appearance. one reason why this genre was often not taken seriously by other metal fans and the musicians were ridiculed as "posers. Since the emergence of the grunge scene, glam metal is seen in a much more relaxed way, and has also grown again with young bands like kissin’ dynamite.

Well-known representatives of glam metal:
twisted sister, poison, steel panther, cinderella

Thrash metal

thrash metal is a faster and more extreme type of heavy metal, a kind of fusion of hardcore punk and heavy metal. Note the correct spelling THRASH (engl. For threshing, beating) in contrast to TRASH (English for waste). Exactly the punky was the reason, why also this genre was eyed critically by some metallers in the beginning. The songs of thrash metal often deal with war, violence and social grievances. Many of the most famous thrashers are still active and very popular today:

Metallica, anthrax, megadeth, slayer, kreator, sodom, destruction

The 1990s: metal goes into crisis

The 1990s definitely brought about an identity crisis for metal. The reason for this was, among other things, the emergence of the grunge movement, especially kurt cobain with nirvana. While some bands devoted themselves to commercialization and paid homage to the "god" MTV, others made room on stage for depressive alternative rockers with greasy hair. Hip-hop and pop music were also increasingly found in the charts, record sales stagnated. Among young fans, "no future" was the order of the day, right up until figurehead kurt cobain committed suicide. After that the grunge wave disappeared as suddenly as it had come, much to the joy of the heavy metal fans, who bravely endured this thirsty period.

power metal

The Hamburg 'pumpkinheads' HELLOWEEN write German music history

In 1997 the swedish band hammerfall with their album "glory to the brave" contributed significantly to the re-emergence of heavy metal. Suddenly old heroes like helloween or gamma ray reappeared, the finnish band nightwish filled the halls with the soprano tarja turunen and the technically skilled german band edguy enthused the audience. There are two genres that stand out in this time: power metal and symphonic metal.

Strictly speaking, you have to separate european and american powermetal, the latter never really becoming popular. As the name implies, power metal is particularly powerful music, played fast, the singers often have a classical vocal training (e.g., a classical guitarist).B. Attila dorn from powerwolf). If orchestral arrangements are also used, one speaks of symphonic power metal or epic metal. ballads are common, the basic mood in power metal is quite positive.

Famous bands of powermetal:
sabaton, blind guardian, stratovarius, rage, rhapsody (of fire)

Well-known bands of symphonic metal:
nightwish, epica, sonata arctica, within temptation

Black metal

black metal - occultistic, satanistic and misanthropic facts

the subgenre of black metal also emerged in the 1980s. originally, the term was used for bands with satanic lyrics, and violence and paganism are also often found here. the home of black metal is norway and sweden. Black metal is considered one of the most extreme forms of metal, characteristic is the guttural vocals, which can offer everything from high screams, croaks to deep growls, distorted or overdriven. The sound is often simple and relies on the repetition of simple riffs (also sometimes disparagingly dismissed as "rehearsal room sound"). In the 1990s, bands like immortal, dissection, gorgoroth and dimmu borgir made their mark on the scene. especially the swedish black metal scene didn’t make only positive headlines, so several arsons, grave desecrations and other crimes were on the account of members of several bands and their fans.

In the course of further development, black metal also experienced a certain commercialization, which in the eyes of some followers represented a decline. Also some bands turned away demonstratively from satanism, which was also not seen in all places gladly. the center of the scene shifted from the far north to eastern european countries, but german and u.s. bands also gained importance.

Still in the lyrics often hate, unwillingness to live and misanthropy are sung, also death longing often occurs. Other elements include the spiritual development of one’s own being, nature in general, and fantasy themes. Some bands are inspired by philosophers like nietzsche for their lyrics.

worth mentioning is the mostly scary appearance of the musicians, completely black clothes, patron belts, often swords, axes or clubs, and black and white face paint complete the outfit. Also artificial blood is sometimes used. the elaborately designed band logos are often difficult to read, and inverted crosses or pentagrams are often found as well.

Famous black metal bands:

Watain, behemoth, mayhem, darkthrone, funeral

In no way does this list of genres claim to be complete, that would go beyond any framework. Hopefully it offers an interesting insight into a long-lived, independent scene that stays true to itself though.

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Christina Cherry
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