Heavy Metal Anyone ...? By Alexander Ghali

What exactly is heavy metal? If you answered with “A chemical substance of sorts”, you’re pretty darn close, but still way off. The correct answer: A usually extreme offshoot of rock and roll that dares to push the musical envelope and redefine music as we know it. For more than forty years (That’s right, 40!) metal has been going strong and bolstering its fan base thanks to its many diverse genres and sub-genres. But as many know, metal has been the subject of harsh criticism and censorship. Why? The most common excuse for metal’s censorship is that it is “Satanic” music that turns people away from religion. That many bands’ lyrical themes discuss Satanism and glorify Big Red are purely coincidence, and it is the artists’ inherent right to speak their mind that allows them to write music about Satan. Another common misconception about metal is that it is music for dullards who are not even basically educated. On the contrary, metal music is written by some of the most intelligent people on the planet, whether musically or lyrics-wise. You don’t hear that sort of thing in modern mainstream music (i.e, pop, RnB, etc…) now do you? Didn’t think so. On that note, metal’s detractors claim that it is music for idiots. Really now? Music that discusses historic events, mythology, and philosophy is for idiots and degenerates? That claim just reeks of irony and ignorance. Moving on, let’s go on to metal’s many genres and subgenres. First off, we have traditional metal (Many colloquially call it “Heavy Metal”), stuff like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Chateau, Motorhead, and Running Wild. An aggressive form of metal is known as Thrash Metal, characterized by its aggressive vocals and guitar riffs and its antagonistic lyrics. The big four of Thrash are Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax but we also have bands like Overkill, Testament, Sodom, Kreator, Xentrix, and Demolition Hammer. Thrash metal also has two very well-known offshoots, Death Metal and Black Metal. Death Metal is known for its guttural, growled vocals, crushing guitar riffs, frantic drumming, and usually very graphic lyrics. However, it is Death Metal that also provides a good number of bands with deep, thought-provoking lyrics. Some well-known Death Metal bands include Death, Dismember, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Unleashed, Bolt Thrower, The Chasm, Immolation, Incantation, Gorguts, Benediction, and Vader. Finally, we have Black Metal. Black Metal is easily distinguishable for its high-pitched, screeched vocals, rapid-fire guitar riffs, and usually Satanic lyrics. Once again, many Black Metal bands discuss things like philosophy, nature, and mythology. Well-known Black Metal bands include Bathory, Darkthrone, Emperor, Immortal, Summoning, Dissection, and Mayhem. Having said all that, you can pat yourself on the back for taking the time to read this article and educating yourself about the art of Heavy Metal music. I hope that with this article and checking out the recommendations mentioned, you will take a step in the right direction not only in music, but in metal in general.