Research Paper.docx



Kyle BrunerHugh StantonMr. Jay GrossEnglish 12 B (3)9 May 2014Metal: A Misunderstood GenreMetal, sometimes still called Heavy Metal, is the the most complex, technical, and creative genre by far outside of Classical. Built on the sounds of Blues and Psychedelic Rock, Metal has evolved into an entirely different concept from the distortion heavy, baritone laden sound of the mid-70s. Today, the genre includes dozens of sub genres, many of which are extremely intricate or technical in nature. (T) The misconceptions regarding Metal and Metalheads must be eradicated through education, with the few, legitimate complaints about vocal styles addressed. Metal was never built on Satanism or the occult, in fact, there are even a large number of expressly Christian bands as well. It is true early Metal pioneers Black Sabbath relied heavily on low, booming power chords, but most modern Metal subgenres have a much stronger focus on quick, technical playing. Metalheads are often derided by society as being less intelligent than their peers, but new research and a cursory examination of the facts prove contrary to the accepted beliefs of society. The solution to the problem of misconceptions is so simple, it is almost beautiful. Educate people on what Metal is and who Metalheads really are.One of the all-time, most popular myths about Metal is the music is occultic or Satanic in nature. With images such as the above coming to mind. (BLOODSRIT 1) This is frequently repeated by older members of society who without any explanation as to why Metal is Satanic. Even if all these people know about Metal is from old bands such as Black Sabbath, than they are still wildly misinformed. Ozzy Osbourne, vocalist for Black Sabbath, “member of the Church of England, kneels and prays backstage just before going on” (Ravo 1). Metal does have incredibly “dark” subject material, but it is rarely Satanic in nature. If someone were to listen to a Metal song, and could understand the lyrics, he would be more likely to hear about loss, abandonment, death, life, hatred, the dangers of drugs, war, and even love, than Satan, hell, or witchcraft. A great example are the lyrics of Metaphysics of The Hangman by The Ocean, which deals with the concept of where morality and ethics are actually derived from. “Where do your values come from? From inside yourself? Or from some self appointed moral cognoscenti who disguised their own ideas as universal truth?” (Rosetti 1) Another song dealing with heavier concepts is Oblivion by Mastodon. The song is about a man who has to deal with the fact that he is dying and has to leave his loved one behind. “How can I tell you that I've failed? Tell you I failed… Leaving you behind with my lonesome song now I'm lost in Oblivion” (Sanders 1) There are bands who sing about Satanism, but they are hardly the genre defining force society makes them out to be. Two of the most common complaints about Metal boil down to it being too “loud” and the artists having no skill. These two complaints are actually related to a degree, but not in the way society might think. One example is the typical drummer for the average Death Metal band, which is normally considered the subgenre with the least complexity and creativity. The staple drum beat requires the drummer to be able to pull off fast blass beats, two fast and precise bass pedals playing 16 step notes, one hand playing at 200 BPM, with two hits per beat, and the other playing 8 step notes. This is the most basic beat to be seen and it is already far above the paygrade of the average Rock drummer. Of course society interprets this as incredibly loud, but it is simply not true that the musicians are talentless hacks. The real reason people think of it as incredibly loud, is because they do not have the musical background to absorb what is happening and interpret it as nothing more than a wall of sound. The best reason people come up with to hate Metal is that they sound like nothing more than screaming monkeys and dying dinosaurs. All one have to do is look at subgenres like Black, Death, or Grind to see how prevalent gutturals, shrieking, and screaming is in Metal. The lyrics are practically indecipherable without a webpage open for people to read along as the song goes on. Some members of society question how other people could ever enjoy the growling vocals Metal has become famous for with the rest of society. The reason why Metalheads enjoy that sound is the same reason why Metal bands call their singers vocalists. They view the voice as another instrument to layer atop of the rest of instruments in the band. It can also be compared to spicy food. Some people need to eat very mild food all the time, even the slightest bit of spice is too much for them. Others crave a little pain with their food, making spice a natural fit for them. Guttural vocals are a lot like spice in the analogy. Only some people enjoy it which is okay. Other people just need to accept different enjoy differing levels of “spice”. Some of these Metal bands which really heavily on growl still put a great amount of effort into providing intellectually meaningful lyrics. The argument also entirely ignores subgenres and bands which use a mix of scream and clean, use only clean or operatic vocals, or abstain from vocals all together. The band Cult of Luna’s album Eternal Kingdom is created around a fictional diary they found while practicing in an abandoned mental asylum. The story goes the man who wrote it killed his wife and blamed it on an owl and a tree man. (Interview: Cult of Luna 1) Some of the Metal bands and artists of today, such as Mastodon, Fair to Midland, Diablo Swing Orchestra, and Devin Townsend, entirely esque growls or make very light use of them. A growing trend is actually entirely instrumental bands. These bands have entirely abandoned the notion the notion of vocalists, stating “vocalists in metal bands in 2012 are pretty much irrelevant, relics of a bygone era.” (Neilstein 1). Dismissing all of Metal because of the vocal stylings of certain bands is not just lazy, it is horrible reasoning all around. Careful examination will show society that Metal has far more to give than a few grunts and death rattles. It often covers complex lyrical themes which would resonate incredibly well with huge portions of society, if they could only look past a few subgenres, and explore the wealth of content hiding beneath.The worst falsehoods of all, are the ones leveled against the fans of Metal, or “Metalheads”. They are often called things such as stupid, antisocial, deviant, drug abusers, mean, violent, or sexist. Some members of society actually act as if the image below was a serious representation of the stereotypical Metalhead (Things Non-Metalheads Say 1). Now that 2171700-114300the evidence is finally here, it can be seen common stereotypes of Metalheads are nothing more than a farce. “One of the most surprising things is the similarities between fans of classical music and heavy metal. They're both creative and at ease but not outgoing” (Harding 1). Metalheads are not the loud and obnoxious sort, but laid back people who enjoy doing their own thing. Supposedly, they are also “gentle” (Harding). Metalheads are not stupid either, “surveying over 1,000 students between the ages of 11 and 18. A majority of the students listed heavy metal as their favourite music” (Pallanik 1). Another study reports “Researchers found that, far from being a sign of delinquency and poor academic ability, many adolescent "metalheads" are extremely bright and often use the music to help them deal with the stresses and strains of being gifted social outsiders.” (Fleming 1). This research proves that the biggest label, of them being less intelligent than the general population, is undoubtedly false. Metalheads are just people. Albeit, they have a unique subculture, they are by no means the monsters rumour makes them out to be.The best way to solve a problem regarding some form of prejudice is education. Especially education of the youth, as they are less set in their ways and more open to change. If society’s opinion of Metal and Metalheads is to be changed, it will come through education. Analogies can be made to racism. While most would consider racism an entirely different matter, at its heart it is the same issue. One group of people considers themselves to be superior to another, more marginalized group in society. For example, in Germany everyone in the school system is educated on the Holocaust. “Teaching the subject of the Holocaust and the Nazi era is mandatory in German schools and in addition to the classroom curriculum, almost all students have either visited a concentration camp or a Holocaust memorial or museum.” (Germans, Jews, and History 1). The idea is to teach kids early on about the sort prejudices which lead to one of the most horrific events in modern history. On a smaller scale the same idea should be taught about less often thought about groups. Just because no one has rounded up and killed Metalheads does not mean there should not be education in schools about the dangers of prejudice against any group of people or the kind of music they want to listen to.Metal and Metalheads are highly misunderstood by society. Society believes their music is nothing more than occultism or witchcraft, while ignoring all the songs touching issues Pop would never mention. The music is derided as being “loud, skilless, drivel”, ignoring how long it takes to get to the level of being able to employ even the most common of skills used in Metal songs. Society assumes Metalheads to be nothing more than longhaired, stupid, dangerous freaks, when even a cursory examination shows many of them to be creative, intelligent, gentle and relaxed people. Misconceptions about Metalheads abound and nothing is more powerful than education when it comes to eliminating hateful, thoughtless prejudice. Dark, thoughtful, innovative, and technical, the only genres that can even compare to Metal, are Jazz and Classical. Metal has a long list of hurdles to get over before it can ever be accepted by society, let alone be enjoyed by more than a small percentage of people, but it can get there one day. Hopefully one day, Metal will be put on the same pedestal as those genres; but in the end, it does not really matter what society thinks about Metal or Metalheads. They have been banging heads and rocking out for over 40 years, and they are doing just fine without society’s approval. ................
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