Heavy Metal essay (2)

Originally written 20 April 1989, for a Critical Approaches to Popular Culture class

In 1980, the authoritative Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll declared that the genre of heavy metal was dead¹. A loud, insistent, abrasive form of music that had dominated the Billboard popular music charts from the early to mid 1970’s, metal had indeed fallen on hard times by the end of the decade. But dead? If so, it has most assuredly resurrected. Led by a group of glam-metal artists whose home base is Los Angeles, California, heavy metal is back, “stronger and faster than ever, filling stadia, making chart inroads and reaping millions of dollars”², not only through the sale of albums and concert tickets but also in the marketing of studs, leather, skateboards, fanzines, comic books, T-shirts and other paraphernalia. In essence an economic phenomenon, symbolically the revival means more. Heavy metal may well represent the last bastion of youth culture in North America.

History

The heavy metal form first emerged at the end of the 1960’s. Its musical roots lay in the blues-rock revival movement headed by supergroups like Cream, but metal was also inspired by Blue Cheer, a band known for having the biggest amplifiers in rock, and by the virtuoso guitar-playing style of Jimi Hendrix and the early Kinks and Who³. Led Zeppelin, whose first album was released in 1969, is generally acknowledged as being the first authentic heavy metal band, however, setting the standards both in terms of sound—described as “sluggish, lumbering, loud distortion”⁴—and playing style:

Though Led Zeppelin progressed beyond the archetype they set, bands that followed them cemented it. Black Sabbath and Deep Purple also added a death-rock element with their dark imagery and lugubrious sound, while American bands like Kiss and Alice Cooper emphasized glamour, using spectacular, theatrical stage set-ups and wearing elaborate costumes and make-up. Metal received little “radio air-play and was almost universally scorned by critics, but millions of young consumers loved it. In the 1970’s, everyone was “going platnum”⁶.

Socially, politically and economically, the decade was one of expansion and consolidation, and heavy metal seemed to fit right in with the general mood. “Led Zeppelin, the last band of the hippies, inaugurated a decade of downers”⁷ As the ideals of the 1960’s were absorbed into the mainstream, the pursuit of decadence seemed to succeed the pursuit of love⁸, and the change was reflected in the texts of American popular culture. For the music industry this meant overall growth and fragmentation into highly disparate genres; heavy metal shared the charts with art-rock, blues-rock, country-rock, folk, pop, bubblegum and punk. Youth, once considered a unified mass with common goals, was now addressed in terms of distinction. Each genre constituted its young audience by purporting to express their authentic feelings⁹, now less a sense of the defiance of the ‘60’s than one of marginality¹⁰. Bands made albums that were considered to be reflective of their own personal vision and development¹¹ and were followed by the fans who shared that vision. These remained on the charts for extended periods of time, with long gaps between releases while artists undertook lengthy tours to promote them¹². The expensive strategy worked so long as money flowed freely, but gradually stagnation set in, and the decade ended with an economic slump. Heavy metal, known as the music of young, working-class white males, also suffered declining sales.

The regrowth of the music industry to its current healthy economic state began in 1982-83 with the New Romantic movement: young, stylish, British groups with synthesizer-based, dance oriented music and a compelling video image. The industry recognized that the market had changed and adapted to it. In particular, they realized that “youth culture was no longer necessary”—that the young had aged, and the youth of the day were not as wealthy or large¹³ a segment as they had been. Music aimed instead at reaching a mass audience, including but not exclusive to the young, instituting a “process of generic stabilization” that led to music which manifested “an almost unprecedented degree of homogeneity”¹⁴. Single songs, promoted on radio, in dance clubs and on MTV, became the basis of album sales. Turnover was rapid, and the artist’s own persona became important—in stylistic terms only, not in expressive ones. Long term individual success was difficult to ensure¹⁵, but the industry itself once again boomed.

The Meaning of Metal

Despite the dominant trend, however, the “new” heavy metal continues to “intensify authenticity and produce youth culture”¹⁶—and the strategy is still proving highly successful for them. The bands sell millions, with virtually no radio play, and often without singles, without videos. Their audience is almost exclusively the young, whom they continue to constitute through membership. As is usual with subcultures, the distinction is made as much in stylistic as musical terms. The sound is inspired by the heavy metal artists of the past—the wailing singer, virtuoso guitarist, drum solos, solid bass and riff-based songs continuing to be standard—but groups have also been inspired by punk and now play in a style called speedmetal, which at times is virtually indistinguishable from hard core punk¹⁷. They have also borrowed from rhythm and blues and rap, which provides a more rhythmic feel to the music¹⁸. Nonetheless, songs are still sometimes very long, solos continue¹⁹, and generally, you cannot dance to heavy metal. The songs purport to be “anthems to teenagehood... an expression of teenage angst”²⁰, and bands are credited for having a “genuine rock’n’roll attitude”²¹.

The new glam-metal is very concerned with look, not to individualize band members but rather to reinforce the sound, which may be described as “adolescent ugly rendered tribal”²². Heavy metal artists are distinguished in particular by their long, scraggly hair. They also tend to wear tight clothing made of spandex, leather and lace, exposed at the chest, sometimes featuring see-through bottoms, usually drawing attention to the genitals with bulging pouches, leather strips and/or studded cups. Metal accessories include spiked collars and arm bands; oddly placed, non-functional zippers; flashy guitars; fright make-up; earrings; tattoos; and demons and dragons jewellery and patches. Their fans do not necessarily aspire to precise imitation of the stage outfits, but they are also likely to have long, unkempt hair and to have holes in their jeans, and they do buy spiked accessories, leather jackets and heavy metal T-shirts. They also spend their time reading comics and riding skateboards²³.

It is a look and a sound designed to be unappealing to the masses. The music is insistent and distorted and is usually played loud. It is accused of being “more noise than music”, of being “appalling”, of “all sounding the same”²⁴. It does not lend itself well to jingles or to orchestral adaptation, or even to re-interpretation as another form of rock—it is not easy to co-opt. The style, furthermore, is deliberately ugly. Those who like it—primarily young males—form an in-group from which everyone else is excluded. They all share a feeling—but is it one of defiance? What are the young trying to express through their adherence to heavy metal? The possibilities are of great concern to many parents, churches and juvenile officers. They fear that the young are being damaged by heavy metal, that their morals are being corrupted²⁵, that an irresponsible, even dangerous lifestyle is being encouraged and adopted²⁶. In the 1970’s fundamentalists amused themselves playing records backward and deciphering obscure symbols in search of satanic and drug-related messages in rock. Now they need go no further than the album covers, song titles, and promotional videos of heavy metal artists. They tend to isolate the prominent use of such symbols, attribute them to some committed atrocity, and conclude that metal is damaging all youth. This sort of reading is much too simplistic and does little to explain the music’s mass appeal.

Take satanism, for example. It is trendy to credit the current rise in satanic crime to metal music, but the roots of the link lie back with Led Zeppelin, whose founder Jimmy Page was very interested in black magician Alexis Crowley. Rumours were rampant that the band had sold their souls to the Dark Forces in return for material success, and multiple record players were ruined trying to decipher “Stairway to Heaven” played backward. Satanic and irreligious symbols are used much more blatantly now, however, in evidence in band names—Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Possessed; album titles—Highway to Hell, Friends of Hell, The Coven; lyrics (“666 is the number of the beast”—Iron Maiden); and album covers, band crests and video images of demons and death. It seems unlikely, however, that the bands use these symbols in order to “turn” kids into Satanists, seeing as almost none of them practice overtly. There is even one Christian metal band, Stryper, who toss Bibles into the audience. Young satanic murderers do often draw on heavy metal imagery, but not exclusively, or even predominantly so²⁷. Very marginal bands who want to make a greater impact are most likely to make excessive use of such symbols, but it is not a very successful strategy. Satan is not drawing kids to metal.

The use of drugs and alcohol, though an older argument, is not as easy to dismiss. It is clear that many, probably most, heavy metal artists do use drugs, and they make no secret of that fact in interviews. There have been deaths from overdoses and car accidents caused by drunk driving, and early metal was directly associated with the use of Quaaludes, a “downer” which induces a death-like torpor²⁸. However, while there are some metal songs purported to be promoting “Cold Gin” (Kiss) and being “High and Dry” (Def Leppard), this is not a dominant theme and plays almost no part in the imagery. This is not “acid” rock. Drugs are certainly part of the metal concert scene, but of course, they are also part of the general rock concert scene. They are a part of being young, which many of the artists and virtually all of the fans are. It is very difficult to credit metal specifically with the drug use which is occurring generally. Furthermore, many of the older artists are now sheepishly making anti-drug statements, with no decline in their popularity as a result of it.