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- Volume 1, Issue 1, 2014
Metal Music Studies - Volume 1, Issue 1, 2014
Volume 1, Issue 1, 2014
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Amalgamated anecdotes: Perspectives on the history of metal music and culture studies
By Brian HickamAbstractMetal music and culture studies has witnessed rapid growth since its first international scholarly conference in 2008. Six years later, there are regular conferences and symposia; the International Society for Metal Music Studies (ISMMS); a refereed journal; archives of primary sources; a comprehensive bibliography; and robust scholarly communication. This article examines the history, status and future of metal studies. Through interviews with several key players, the story of ‘how’ and ‘why’ this new field of study emerged is illustrated.
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Dark epistemology: An assessment of philosophical trends in the black metal music of Mayhem
More LessAbstractThis article attempts to characterize a negative form of postmodernism as expressed in examples of black metal. Black metal is discussed in reference to a collection of examples from the music and comments of individuals of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Through an integration of ideas advanced in postmodern philosophy and theory, this article attempts to describe a realization of epistemological darkness that is demonstrated within black metal, and this discussion concludes by considering the limitations of essentialism in relation to the art and its themes.
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Tracking timbral changes in metal productions from 1990 to 2013
More LessAbstractThe metal scene has undergone an evolution in sonic characteristics that is partially rooted in music technology developments and associated production techniques that have given rise to a set of identifiably distinct ‘metal’ timbres. The science of psychoacoustics provides a measurable way of assessing these perceptual changes. This article proposes a methodology for psychoacoustic analysis in order to track the evolution of metal-specific timbres, and to speculate on the development of, and applications for, timbral metering in metal production. Sampling, synthesis and digital editing techniques have given rise to entirely new genres of music, yet metal as a genre has remained ostensibly with much the same musical format. Nevertheless, the sonic fingerprint of modern metal production often bears the hallmark of these computer-aided developments. In particular, the metal audience is now, consciously or not, used to the sound of triggered drum samples and sound replacement, ‘re-amping’ guitar and bass signals, and the restricted dynamic range of the ‘loudness war’. As a genre that is known for taking joy in all things loud, both anecdotally and in academic research, the issue of manipulating dynamic range compression in order to increase perceptual loudness in modern music production is perhaps even more pertinent to the metal genre than in other popular music forms.
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The Trooper or the Sandman? Iron Maiden’s conservatism versus Metallica’s experimentalism in their philosophies towards musical creativity
By Samir PuriAbstractThis article considers the differing philosophies towards artistic expression of Metallica and Iron Maiden, two defining bands in the heavy metal genre. It explores the contrasting mentalities that have seen Metallica adapt their musical style on numerous occasions, while Iron Maiden have stuck doggedly to a particular musical path. This article has two aims. First, it sheds light on why two of the heavy metal genres most load-bearing creative and commercial pillars are so unevenly fashioned in terms of creative ethos. Second, it extrapolates wider insights into notions of authenticity in heavy metal music. What are the implications of a band relying on a self-referential sense of how its music ought to be fashioned, versus welcoming in outside influences to reshape one’s artistic core?
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Predictors of communal formation in a small heavy metal scene: Puerto Rico as a case study
AbstractHeavy metal music has constantly been under scrutiny due to its perceived negative effects on its listeners. Quantitative research has focused on heavy metal music as a risk factor for mental health problems and antisocial behaviour. This research agenda has neglected to explore and quantitatively document how the music can foster positive outcomes among its listeners, in particular a strong sense of community. Fans and producers of heavy metal music constantly reference community as an important aspect of the sonic experience. Still, few studies have addressed the communal experience in heavy metal music from a quantitative perspective. Therefore, the specific aims of this study were to (1) document levels of sense of community among members of the Local Metal Scene (LMS) in Puerto Rico, (2) explore differences on sense of community among core scene members and those at its periphery, and (3) explore predictive variables that can explain sense of community among its members. We present data from a larger study of the metal scene in Puerto Rico, which used a mixed methods approach including ethnographic observations, qualitative interviews and surveys with members of Puerto Rico’s metal scene. Results evidence high levels of sense of community, with existing differences among members of the same scene. Furthermore, our results identify six predictive variables of importance for sense of community among the LMS in Puerto Rico.
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Headbanging in Nairobi: The emergence of the Kenyan metal scene and its transformation of the metal code
More LessAbstractIn this article, I discuss the development and structures of Kenyan metal culture. In doing so, I show that this local metal culture is dependent on an urban setting that provides electricity, performing venues and the Internet. Furthermore, a growth period is encountered that is characterized by a slowly increasing structural complexity. Additionally, I outline the idea of a metal subject in general and a Kenyan metal subject in particular. Therefore, I follow a praxeological approach that shows that, even if the Kenyan metalheads’ aim is to reproduce the social practices of the global metal culture, new forms of metal practices are thereby produced and the so-called metal code is transformed. I conclude this article by proposing the idea of four transformative boundaries that lead to the emergence of a genuinely Kenyan metal sound. These boundaries are communicational and technological boundaries, boundaries of skill as well as boundaries of local culture.
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The Metal King: Alexander the Great in heavy metal music
More LessAbstractWhy are heavy metal bands so interested in the figure of Alexander the Great? The present article develops the argument that there are two overshadowing reasons: (1) the bands reconstruct the figure as a symbol of masculine power and communal unity; and (2) Alexander becomes part of a larger tradition already at an early stage of heavy metal’s history that many bands were interested in maintaining and revisiting. Several heavy metal tracks about him are explored and examined to substantiate this hypothesis. It is shown how these tracks associate him with a number of interrelated, recurring themes, such as conquest, community, imperialism, legacy, masculinity, nationalism, power and unity. These in turn help to project him as a figurehead of warrior virtues and also as a heroic bringer of culture. This is particularly true for Greek heavy metal bands, and their contribution is analysed at length. It is demonstrated how Greek metal songs also offer an intriguing insight into Greece’s political conflicts. Finally, it is suggested that, in his role as a powerful culture-hero and king, Alexander is capable of becoming an allegory for heavy metal itself.
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Lyrical stresses of heavy metal and rap
Authors: David Geliebter, Ari J. Ziegler and Evan ManderyAbstractTwo hundred and ten college students were played either a rap or heavy metal version of a song and surveyed to determine lyrical recollection and comprehension of the song’s themes. Students who heard the heavy metal version paid less attention to the song’s themes and had worse lyrical recollection. This data strengthens the argument that heavy metal music has a lesser lyrical stress than rap. Consequently, a ‘gangsta’ heavy metal song is less likely to be repeated, taken to heart and acted upon than a gangsta rap song. This finding offers important support for a non-race-based theory explaining the disproportionality between criticism of gangsta heavy metal music and gangsta rap music.
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Determinants of the production of heavy metal music
More LessAbstractThis study examines 55 independent variables to determine which ones relate to the formation of heavy metal bands. Certain demographic and economic factors can be identified through multi-variable regression analysis to be robust determinants of the number of heavy metal bands per capita in each country in 2012. The robust determinants identified in this study are: the percentage of the population that is Catholic, the percentage of the population with no religion, the latitude of the country, whether the country has a Scandinavian legal history, the number of years that the country was under Marxist rule, the percentage of the population that are males between the ages of 15 and 24, and the number of concert halls per 1 million people.
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Reviews
AbstractFrom cultural politics to pleasurable affects: Female metal scholarship’s contribution to metal studies
Death Metal and Music Criticism: Analysis at the Limits, Michelle Phillipov (2012) Lanham: Lexington Books (172 pp.), ISBN: 9780739164594, Hardback, £35.85 ISBN: 9780739197608, Paperback, £24.12
Affective Intensities in Extreme Music Scenes: Cases from Australia and Japan, Rosemary Overell (2014) Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (224 pp.), ISBN: 9781137406767, Hardback, $90/£53
Why Music Matters, David Hesmondhalgh (2013) Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell (204 pp.), ISBN: 9781405192415, Paperback, £19.99
Heavy Metal: Controversies & Countercultures, Titus Hjelm, Keith Kahn-Harris, Mark Levine (eds) (2013) Sheffield, UK: Equinox Publishing (260 pp.), ISBN-10: 1845539412, Hardback, £55.55, ISBN-13: 9781845539142, Paperback, £19.99
Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult, Dayal Patterson (2013) Washington: Feral House (485 pp.), ISBN: 9781936239757, Paperback, £19.99
Underground Never Dies! It is Not Black and White Anymore!, Andrés Padilla (2013) Santiago, Chile: Doomentia Press (505 pp.), no ISBN, Hardback, €48.00
Death Metal Epic I: The Inverted Katabasis, Dean Swinford (2013) Dayton, Ohio: Atlatl Press (160pp.), ISBN-10: 0988348438; ISBN-13: 9780988348431, Paperback, £7.99
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