Revisiting the old debate about the origins of metal, and the controversies surrounding it

27th27 Jununeun thh 228 Junuune thh ANAND VENKITACHALAM 1st1s ppure foooodoo lawla eenacteacteste US.SS. MickMickeyckeyey Wrirrigght wwinns 14t4th4t UUS Womomenomen’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’sen OpenOpen Goloolf ChamChampiamppioonsship.ip PPresidesidenideent LyndLyndonndoon Johoohnsonnsoon aututhouthorihorrisesse fififififififirstfifififififirfififififififirfififirfifirfirfifififirst ggroound comoombbat forcforcesrces VietVietnaetnam.namm. tionable lyrics, particularly those in heavy metal songs. The PMRC used music professor Joe Stuessy to testify against metal. Professor Stuessy alleged that these songs focused on violence, substance abuse, perversion, S&M, and Satanism.

American musicologist Robert Walser then analyzed 88 metal songs’ themes to determine if Stuessy’s claims were valid. In Walser’s analysis, the dominant theme in these songs was “longing for intensity”. He found that the negative themes described by Stuessy and the PMRC were uncommon.

Also, psychologist Jeffrey Arnett analysed the lyrics from 115 metal songs. He found that the top three messages were about violence, angst and protest.Metal artists have had to defend their lyrics in front of the US Senate and in courtrooms. In 1985, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider was asked to defend his song Under the blade at a US Senate hearing. In 1986, Ozzy Osbourne was sued because of the lyrics of his song Suicide solution.

In 1990, Judas Priest was sued in American court by the parents of two young men who had shot themselves five years earlier, allegedly after hearing the subliminal statement MMahatmhatmatm GGanndhhi getetset aarrestrestedsted foroor theth fififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififirsfifififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififrstrs timetime aftfterfteer camampaamppaigniigningning foroor IndiInddian rigightighhts Souoouth Afrffrica.ica. TheTh CommCommunmmuunistis PParrty oof Chihinahina founfoundeundedde andan ChenChen Duxuuxiu elecelecteectedte itsitt leadleaderader.er A band’s lyrics must be analysed in the wider context of their total sound and not just as an individual aspect. do it in a Priest song.

While the case attracted a great deal of media attention, it was ultimately dismissed.

In some predominantly Muslim countries, heavy metal has been officially denounced as a threat to traditional values. In countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, and Malaysia, there have been incidents of heavy metal musicians and fans being arrested and incarcerated.

Music critic Robert Christgau has called metal “an expressive” mode. “It sometimes seems it will be with us for as long as ordinary white boys fear girls, pity themselves, and are permitted to rage against a world Shahakehakkespeaspeareeare’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’s’sre Glolobelobbe Theheatheatreatre bburnsrn downdown.wn they’ll never beat,” Christgau had said.

Writer James Parker states that while the use of hell-and underworld-oriented themes in heavy metal can be “dark and disturbing”, they are “honest about human nature”, and as such, listening to metal lyrics can be beneficial for listeners’ mental health. Parker finds that such lyrics can “keep us sane”. According to ethnographer Keith Kahn-Harris, the defining characteristics of extreme metal can all be regarded as clearly transgressive: the “extreme” traits in death metal or black metal bands’ lyrics are all intended to violate or transgress given 330 Jununeun tthh Jululyul sstt cultural, artistic, social or aesthetic boundaries.

Extreme metal lyrics often describe Christianity as weak or submissive, and many songs express misanthropic views such as “kill every thing”. A small number of extreme metal bands and song lyrics make reference to far-right politics; for example, the Swedish black metal band Marduk has an obsession with the NaziPanzer tank, which can be seen in works such as Panzer Division Marduk.

The Swedish power metal band Sabaton’s writing is based on wars of the past. The German group Blind Guardian, looked on to as one of the earliest power metal bands that wrote fantasy-based lyrics, primarily based on the writings of JRR Tolkien. For example, Nightfall in Middle Earth is inspired by Tolkein’s The Silmarillion.

Overall, a band’s lyrics must be analysed in the wider context of their total sound and not just as an individual aspect. Contrary to what is believed, the negative attitude of lyrics in metal is not glorification of anything, but in its totality, the music and the lyrics are simply an outlet for people to express their anger. IANS Pr i n t e d a n d d i s t r i b u t e d by P r essReader P r e s s R e a d e r . c o m + 1 6 0 4 2 7 8 4 6 0 4 • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • ORIGINAL COPY • COPYR I G H T A N D P R OT E C T E D B Y A P P L I C A B L E L AW