Konichiwa! I realized last night that I've been mentioning metal music a lot lately because, well, music is basically the core of my life and metal is the genre I tend to listen to the most, but I also realize that there are A LOT of misconceptions about metal, so I'm going to try to debunk some of those and also explain the different subgenres of metal, so just bear with me since it's kind of a lot of information. Also, I'm about to get on my soapbox and it might be a while before I get off, so just bear with me. If you get butthurt easily, then you may just not want to read this post at all!
The biggest issue I personally deal with when I tell people I listen to metal is hearing the comment, "So you worship Satan?" This is usually accompanied with a face that looks something like this. (O.O) My answer to this is NO. First of all, I'm a Roman Catholic and pretty devout at that, so the mere fact that anyone would ask me that is really offensive. Second of all, yes, there are some subgenres of metal associated with Satanism, particularly Satanic Metal and Black Metal, but I largely dislike both of those genres. Metal is an extremely broad genre and I can almost guarantee you that you've heard at least one song by a metal band before and never knew it was metal. Also, there's such a thing as Christian metal... Just so you know...
Another issue I've seen is that many people believe that metal music is created by unintelligent people because many metal songs have lyrics that are deceivingly simplistic or because some people have trouble understanding the vocals. This is also a myth. Many of the metal songs I've listened to are very deep and metaphorical but they sometimes use simple imagery and metaphors to allow the listener to see, in a sense, what it is they're singing about. Also, the ones that don't have deep lyrics are usually meant as a joke or are just extremely emotional.
Oh, this one's a biggie too: metal promotes criminal activity and murder. So wrong. Yes, there have been cases in which people who are associated with metal music have been arrested and have committed crimes, but I dare anyone to tell me of any genre of music or any subculture that doesn't have anyone at all in its entire history who has been arrested before. Pop fans, I have two words for you: Justin Bieber. Need I say more?
Feminists are about to really hate me... I'll start by saying that I am completely against modern feminist ideals because I don't believe in subjugating anyone and, frankly, women shouldn't have completely equal rights to men because we aren't capable of the same things as they are, just as men can't do some of the things we women do. Now that I've put that out there, here's the stereotype: metal is sexist. WRONG! Yes, there are things out there like Sleaze Metal and many bands use sex as the theme for some of their songs, but really things like that are generally not meant to be taken seriously and if they are, then obviously the singer is just being a jerk. Also, Glam Metal (more commonly known as Hair Metal) is defined by the fashion of its musicians who are usually men that wear makeup and strive for an appearance of either femininity or androgyny. Any valid complaints? *crickets chirping* Didn't think so.
Ugh, this one is annoying, too. Apparently metalheads are all fascist and racist. I don't know why I'm even addressing this one because it's so obviously wrong. No, we're not all fascist, racist, neo-Nazis. Are some metal fans? Sure. But again, there are crazies everywhere.
The next myth: metal is bad for children. Okay, so metal is largely geared toward teenagers and older children as a way to deal with the crap life throws at you without resorting to violence. I don't want to think about how many times metal has kept me from doing something harmful to myself or someone else. Metal is a beautiful outlet for releasing those feelings that everyone experiences but are considered taboo. In case you aren't sure what I'm hinting at, I'm talking about the desire to self-harm and/or kill oneself. I won't take it any further than that.
Oh, this is a bad one. Fellow musicians, brace yourselves: metal takes no skill to play. Yeah, how about all the people that believe this just try to play one metal song on guitar. Or sing power metal. Tell me again about how you think that metal is easy.
And finally the one that may possibly be the worst: metal is just screamo by another name. *sigh* I just don't even know what to do about this one... First off, no, metal and screamo are not the same thing. Screamo is actually a pretty ambiguous genre when you consider that most things some people call screamo are things that many others would call emo. But that's something for another day. Now, sometimes shrill or screaming vocals are included in metal music, but most of the time the singer will actually be singing. Also, screaming takes a lot of effort to learn to do. I can't scream at all (at this point I'm referring to the "emo scream") and it's really impressive when someone can scream well. More impressive to me is when someone can Power Metal scream which is generally extremely high pitched, long, drawn out, and performed by a male singer. I reference you to PelleK for pretty much any and all good examples of power metal technique.
Now that I'm off of my soapbox, I'll get to the fun part! Subgenres and subgenres of subgenres! I'm only going to cover a few and those will be the ones I like to listen to and am most familiar with. The rest are on this link and while there are some errors, it is basically a decent overview of metal subgenres with examples of artists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_subgenres
Alright, here we go!
1. Glam Metal/ Hair Metal- Oh yes, you know what this is! This is my absolute favorite type of metal and I know that many people look poorly on it, but it's really good stuff. It's just really fun to listen to and while some of the themes of the songs are... questionable at best, the artists are normally extremely skilled. Plus, if you're a dude who can have long hair and wear skin tight jeans and makeup while still looking manly, you're obviously doing something right. My favorite Glam artists are Cinderella, Black Veil Brides (let's not fight over this one, eh? Trust me, they're Glam Metal), Warrant, and Poison.
2. Power Metal- I've talked about this a lot lately. Power metal is that great stuff that just makes you feel invincible and like you can take on the world. If I'm having a bad day or I just need a confidence booster, I always listen to power metal. It's amazing. Some good artists are Helloween, Rata Blanca (they sing in Spanish, FYI), and PelleK.
3. Industrial Metal- This is a pretty interesting subgenre. I don't really know how to describe it other than it's basically like slapping everything metal you've ever known into one genre. You get stuff like heavy guitars, distorted vocals, and synthesizer tracks all in one song. I only listen to one band of this genre, Rammstein (they sing in German), but the link says that Marilyn Manson is apparently industrial metal?
4. Traditional Metal/ Classic Metal- These are the guys who keep it old school. This is just basically that original metal sound that ended up evolving into all of the subgroups. This is what I was talking about when I've said that pretty much everyone has heard some metal before and just thought it was rock. Examples of Trad. Metal are Blue Oyster Cult (needs more cowbell!), Alice Cooper, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this and maybe learned a little something. If you're one of those people who freaks out when someone mentions metal music, keep in mind what I mentioned in the beginning and maybe think twice before you insult someone, eh? Metalheads are really cool people, I promise! Also, I apologize for all my ranting, but I won't apologize for what I love! I'll catch you reader-sans later! Rock on! (\m/^_^\m/)
- Turtle-chan
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