About

Heavy metal (often referred to as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, originally in the United Kingdom and later in the United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are often associated with masculinity, aggression and machismo.

History

The first heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath attracted large audiences, though they were often derided by critics, a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden and Saxon followed in a similar vein. Before the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as "metalheads" or "headbangers".
During the 1980s, glam metal became a commercial force with groups like Mötley Crüe and Poison. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, while other styles of the most extreme subgenres of metal like death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles such as groove metal and nu metal (e.g. Pantera and Slipknot, respectively), which often incorporates elements of grunge and hip hop; and metalcore, which blends extreme metal with hardcore punk, have further expanded the definition of the genre.^[1]

Reception

Since heavy metal music tends to glamorize anti-Christian practices such as Satanism, homosexuality, promiscuity, Nazism, drug abuse, occultism, and bestiality, the music genre has faced criticism from parents groups, school administrators, politicians, music critics, and religious organizations.^[2]

Impact

Fandom

Despite the genre's criticism, studies of fans of heavy metal are surprisingly gentle and easy-going. One such study compared heavy metal fans to fans of classical music, observing that they were quite similar in that they were creative and at ease but not outgoing. At concerts fans are generally respectful of and look after one another.^[2][3] This impression of metal fans is evident online.

Related Memes

Death Metal Rooster

Death Metal Rooster is a viral video showing a rooster putting on an impressive display of crowing to a death metal soundtrack.

331Erock / Eric Calderone

331Erock is the YouTube handle of metal guitarist Eric Calderone who reinterprets a variety of pop songs and opening themes to TV shows and video games as metal songs, often infusing his own original solos into the arrangements. He currently has 1,124,451 subscribers.

First World Metal Problems

First World Metal Problems is an advice animal image macro series featuring a photograph of a man with a ponytail sitting on a bench wearing a black Stormtroopers of Death (S.O.D.) t-shirt and a solemn expression. The captions typically include trivial frustrations experienced by those who listen to the metal genre of rock music.

Girugamesh

Girugamesh (Japanese: ギルガメッシュ Girugamesshu) is the name of a Japanese metal band, which was derived from the ancient Sumerian king Gilgamesh. On the web, Girugamesh now refers to an internet meme that sprang out of a web commercial made for the 2009 Sakura-Con, an annual anime convention in Seattle.

#Metalgate

#Metalgate is a hashtag campaign used on Twitter to counter the stereotype that fans of heavy metal music hold ultra-conservative values and political beliefs. The campaign was promoted by GamerGate supporters as an offshoot of the movement in December 2014.

Search Interest

External References