Metal music

Its rituals…

Brief history of metal...

Genre of rock music developed in 1960s, early 1970s

England – United States.Roots: blues, rock and psychedelic rock.Heavy metal : developed a thick massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion extended guitar solos and emphatics beats. Early Heavy Metal: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple attracted large audiences – critically reviled.Mid – 1970s: Judas Priest, helped genre’s evolution including in songs, its blues influence. Motorhead, introduced a punk – rock sensibility, increasing emphasis on speed.Before the end of the decade, Heavy Metal had attracted a worlwide following fans known as “Metalheads” or “Headbangers”.

In 1980: Glam Metal became a major commercial force. Motley Crue. Trash Metal broke into the mainstream . Metallica. Mid – 1990s: Nu Metal, which incorporates funk, hip hop and Metalcore, expanded the definition of the genre.

Categories in this genre…ALTERNATIVE METAL (ALT. METAL) - Think System of a Down. Heavy guitar riffs; typically, these riffs have a pronounced experimental edge, including unconventional lyrics.BLACK METAL - Burzum, Immortal or Emperor, anti-Christianity and Satan.

CLASSIC HEAVY METAL - Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath.

DEATH METAL - Death or Morbid Angel. For its melodic equivalent, Dark Tranquility or In Flames. Death Metal often deals with death, brutality and violence, though not as much Satan as Black Metal.

DOOM METAL - Pentagram or Saint Vitus. Slower and "heavier" than other genres. Basically "Funeral March" Metal.

FOLK METAL - Eluveitie, Finntroll or Korpiklaani: Metal with violins or other folk instruments.

GLAM METAL (HAIR METAL, POP METAL) - Motley Crue, Poison, early Pantera. Combines the flamboyant look of glam rock and playing a power-chord-based heavy metal musical style.

GOTHIC METAL – Moonspell, Paradise Lostor Tristania. Combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. Lyrics are generally melodramatic and mournful with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences .

INDUSTRIAL METAL - Ministry or Nine Inch Nails. Repeats metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals.

METALCORE - All That Remains, As I Lay Dying or Killswitch Engage . All the melody of metal vocals with the guitar virtuosity of punk rock.

NEO-CLASSICAL METAL - Yngwie Malmsteen. Subgenre of Heavy Metal music that is heavily influenced by classical music.

NU METAL – Korn or Coal Chamber. Combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop.

POWER METAL - Blind Guardian, Kamelot or Stratovarius. Often deals with fantastical, metaphysical themes and vocals very high.

PROGRESSIVE METAL (PROG METAL) - Andromeda, Opeth or Symphony X. Probably the most complex and ambitious metal genre, drawing inspiration from classical music and jazz fusion in terms of compositional structure.SPEED METAL – Motorhead. Extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding music.

SYMPHONIC METAL – Haggard, Therion or Nightwish. Metal with lots of keyboards or other symphonic instruments.

THRASH METAL - Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica or Slayer. Characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of this genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs.

Viking Metal - Bathory. Viking Metal often deals with themes like the illusion of free will and the innate evil that all men have, rejecting the notion that human existence holds meanings, it tends to muse on the nature of infinity and immortality.

 

The fans…

Metalheads or Headbangers: subculture of fans. Nowadays there are Metalheads all over the world and they are not stereotypically male, heavyset and long - haired. Poseurs: (fake Metalhead) a person who behaves or dresses in a way that is intended to impress other people and is not sincere.

Mosh Pits…

Throughout history, dance has been deeply embedded in rituals, a central part of most ritualistic celebrations. Different types of dancing including slam-dancing, are categorized as “ritual trance” due to the way they physically act on the human nervous system by contact and manipulation of the body. Likewise, when moshers slam into each other, their bodies are physically injured, spurring a neurophysiological reaction that supposedly brings equilibrium and balance to both individuals and groups.Although moshing is a dance form which seeks to distance itself from all others before it, it can be understood as ritual, a category long recognized by social theorists as exhibiting a combination of structure, associated with control, and antistructure, associated with freedom.

Moshing is an expression/reaction from the music by the crowd at a concert. The crowd will then chain react in front of the band and stage

(known as the Pit) at a certain point in the music and will furiously and passionately push and body slam each other to the music.

But this is just a more extreme form of dance for an extreme form of music. Mosh Pits can be intense, hot, slimy and sticky.

It takes a certain personality, to be able to appreciate Mosh Pits. They are a way of showing respect for the music and telling the band that

this song is AWSOME.

Headbanging…

Type of dance which involves violently shaking your head (sometimes doing Devil Horns) in time with Metal music.

Common cause of injury: intoxication

narcotics

to close to someone else

also known as bangover, “mosh neck”.

How to headbang…

Instructions1 -Stretch your neck well before you start to headbang. This is of

supreme importance. If you do not warm up, you can find yourself in traction quite quickly. Start by performing gentle head rolls. This means you roll your head slowly from side to side. Then grab the top of your head with one of your hands and pull gently in the opposite direction. Repeat toward the other side. Make sure you feel good and loose.

2 -Nod your head gently as the music starts to play. There is plenty of time to headbang. Start slowly to make sure you are truly warmed-up.

3 -Increase the motion of your headbanging. As the music quickens, nod your head with greater range back and forth. Harder and faster is the key here.

4 -Swing your head all the way down to your waist and then back up again. Continue this in a circular motion to really rock out to your favourite music or band.

5 -Add some of your own flair. The great thing about headbanging is that it’s completely up to you how you do it. You can add jumping, air guitar, leg kicks and other killer moves to your routine.

Weblography…

Cracked.com

Wayango.com

Wikihow.com

Varietystortu.com

Marianela PerroniProfesorado de Inglés

4to año.