An Unhelpful Guide to Heavy Metal

So... you're here to learn about heavy metal? Welcome! I'm so happy you made it here! Heavy metal is actually a genre of music I listen to on a daily basis...sometimes once a week because I'm a music student. In this very "helpful" guide, I will be giving you everything you need to know about heavy metal as a whole. That's right. EVERYTHING. Anyways, enjoy your stay, you might want to grab some popcorn and some headphones for this.

I welcome you to...

(an unhelpful guide)

What....is it?

More than just "aggressive drumming and guitar playing and lots of screamo."

For starters, this isn't about the hard metals that you would find on the periodic table of elements. Obviously. But seriously. What is heavy metal? 

In a nutshell, Heavy Metal is basically Rock 'n Roll's edgy young brother. If you need a precise definition, well...Heavy metal is a subgenre of rock music that submerged around the late 1960s and late 1970s, mostly around the UK and US and is one the most successful commercial genre of rock music. It is mainly "characterized by loud and distorted guitars and vocals; its image by aggressive male posturing and a preoccupation with sexuality, identity, and the corrosion of traditional social institutions."

Origin

The origin...is pretty complicated. There's no actual origin but more of how this particular genre was born. And who mainly starts it? Black Sabbath of course! This quartet, coming from the United Kingdom, brings together a combination of early rock 'n roll and hard-edged blues.

Just a tiny bit of information about them before we move on...

A bit of information about Black Sabbath

They were an English rock band that formed in 1968 in Birmingham until their disbandment in 2017.This band has four members, consisting of... Ozzy Osbourne, Tommy Iommi, Bill Ward, and Terence "Geezer" Butler. 

This band plays blues like rock with some heavily distorted guitar and grinding.



"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" - Black Sabbath

this took forever to fix...

However, to say that they're the first heavy metal band...well...it's actually an understatement. In the 70s, more bands started forming and picked up this style of music and started to experiment. Some of which is making guitar playing more aggressive. This is where Judas Priest comes in. 

"Painkiller" - 2009

While Black Sabbath walked, more bands ran! It is only a matter of time when "Heavy Metal" is finally born during the 80s. It starts spreading like wildfire and eventually leads to new forms of metal, like thrash metal, black metal, death metal, power metal, etc. 

As decades pass, more groups begin passing the torch of Heavy Metal and leads to some of the most "influential recordings in music history." 

" I Disagree" - Poppy (AKA: My go-to workout song)

Elements of Heavy Metal


A "periodic table" of different Heavy Metal groups

The most important instrument is the electric guitar, it creates powerful chords and mostly used to shred in rock 'n roll. The other instruments are electric bass, drums, and don't forget a screamer :D. Here's a video showing an example of these instruments that come together and form into what I call, art.

Also check out JINJER they're really good.


"Pisces" - JINJER


I'm sorry...Heavy Metal has....health benefits?

Absolutely! Heavy Metal and other forms of Metal is, believe it or not, therapeutic. Which also includes other genres of music, even the ones you have on your Spotify playlist right now. It can lessen negative feelings, help you feel accepted, and helps you with any rage you might be feeling. It also can sometimes comfort you as to how you're feeling. I'm bringing Poppy again for this one.

"X" - Poppy

But, isn't it evil?

You might be asking "But isn't it just a bunch of random noise and wanting to sacrifice animals to the devil" and I'm going to answer this right now. No. Heavy Metal isn't about those things. In fact, it's far from it. This is a big stereotype that seems to linger when it comes to heavy metal. There are also 3 other misconceptions about Heavy Metal that I'll go ahead and tackle on.

Misconception #1: "You can't understand it? Why bother listening to it?":

While this can be a true statement, you don't always have to understand the lyrics. But you'll definitely see why when you search them up online. Heavy metal tends to grasp on aggressive guitar and very harsh vocals (Screamo is a good example; Plus, it takes a lot of training since it can damage your vocal chords if not done properly.)

Misconception #2: "It's all about demons and devils":

Heavy Metal does tackle topics that most people are disturbed by (Depression, anxiety, mental health, etc) and don't want to listen about it. However, this doesn't mean that this genre is just a big cult and about worshipping the devil (I have a video at the end of this guide that tackles more on about this.)

Misconception #3: "It's all you listen to"

YES BECAUSE I JUST HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS SPECIFIC GENRE EVERY SINGLE WEEK OR I WILL NOT MAKE IT! OHMEOHMY! *Sarcasm* No, heavy metal isn't all I listen to, and I'm pretty sure most people don't listen to heavy metal 24/7. For me, I enjoy other genres of music: blues, jazz, K-pop, J-pop, Techno music, etc. {Except country}

In other words, Heavy metal is great!

That's obviously my opinion. But if you agree with me, can we be friends? I'd love to get a hold of your playlist of any new bands that I should listen to. But yes, Heavy metal is a very popular subgenre of rock 'n roll. You can enjoy it either on your drive to work, at school with friends, if there is break time, and even at a concert with other metalheads to headbang and enjoy the vibe to.

(I'd love to get a link to your playlist so I can headbang along to)

Before you go off and listen to more, if you want to, I'm adding another band to tackle the "Heavy Metal is evil" misconception, because this is one of my favorites and plus it's hilarious to listen to the lyrics of it. I'm pretty sure you'll like this one song by System of A Down. 

"Chic 'N' Stu" - System of A Down

Works Cited

“Instruments.” Heavy Metal Music, willsheavymetal.weebly.com/instruments.html.

Pearlin, Jeffrey. “A Brief History of Metal.” Heavy Metal 101, 2014, metal.mit.edu/brief-history-metal.

Cram, Preston. “History of Heavy Metal: The Difference Between Metal and Heavy Metal.” Preston Cram, 23 Dec. 2022, www.prestoncram.com/post/history-of-heavy-metal-the-difference-between-metal-and-heavy-metal.

Wright, Stephanie R. A. “Yes, Listening to Metal Can Benefit Your Mental Health.” Psych Central, 29 Oct. 2021, psychcentral.com/health/benefits-of-listening-to-metal-music.

Walser, Robert. “Heavy Metal | History, Music, Bands, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Nov. 2022, www.britannica.com/art/heavy-metal-music.

Wikipedia contributors. “Music History of the United States.” Wikipedia, 28 Nov. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_history_of_the_United_States.

“5 Misconceptions People Have About Metal Music.” Steemit, steemit.com/music/@alcibiades/5-misconceptions-people-have-about-metal-music.