Why is it that people feel comfortable playing some genres aloud more than others? At first glance, the answer seems obvious. Popular music is popular, “other” music is not. However, such a hasty answer ignores a few important factors, each of which can be attributed to context. After all, music has a venue, an audience and a message. To play music aloud requires a confidence in its appropriateness in a setting. Most genres have exactly such a niche. Standing in stark contrast, though, is metal.
Aside from its fans, metal doesn’t generally have a setting. Imagine walking into a college party, only to be greeted by guttural vocals and frantic, blasting drums. The thought is ridiculous — the context and genre don’t align whatsoever. Of course, I’ve oversimplified the diverse array of sounds and subgenres comprising metal, but the point stands. Almost universally, metal is loud and aggressive. Aside from concerts, it doesn’t have a public venue. To most, its message is either lost behind harsh presentation or is simply unappealing. So why, then, does metal retain an audience?
From the outside, it’s a difficult question to answer. In my experience, metal tends to be something you get or you don’t. Even for a metal fan, general preferences are often defined in black and white. For example, one generally enjoys or dislikes harsh vocals. Succinctly, metal is polarizing. This, of course, is completely symptomatic of metal’s tendency toward the extreme.
Since its very beginnings, metal has pushed the boundaries, delving into uncharted and unconventional territory. In fact, the entirety of metal’s evolution is marked with a series of extreme developments in music. Nearly 40 years ago, Black Sabbath introduced evil-sounding, distorted guitar riffs into the world of rock, effectively inventing heavy metal. Around that same time, Led Zeppelin’s speedy, intense riffs shook the foundations of music. From there, the genre branched out: bands such as Judas Priest and Metallica synthesized speed and dark atmosphere, and metal saw the development of harsh vocals through bands such as Death, Napalm Death, and Cannibal Corpse. This envelope-pushing continued, branching out into abnormal time signatures, unconventional song structures and downtuned guitars. In line with the times, metal musicians drove each of these characteristics, creating a wealth of sub-genres and musical nuances. Interestingly enough, every one of these elements exists as commonplace in metal today.
Paradoxically, metal has no appropriate context, yet still attracts listeners. Metal albums frequently debut on the Billboard 200 Chart, seeing thousands of initial sales. Wacken, a German metal music festival, saw around 75,000 attendees. In some cases, metal albums such as Metallica’s self-titled effort have sold millions after skyrocketing to mainstream popularity, maintaining a considerable audience simply because it takes an extreme, paradigm-shifting approach. Essentially, metal is popular because it has no intention of being so. While metal absolutely thrives as a musical corner case, though, it still retains musical merit. This quality, often born of the honesty involved in writing “unpopular” music, is also a source of enormous popularity for metal.
In general, most listeners immediately write off metal. After all, it seems like noise to a novice ear. However, the music is actually an intricate combination of melodies and complex rhythms. Whether they’re pleasing to the listener, they are an enormous part of what makes metal interesting. It’s simply a matter of presentation that separates metal from other music. In essence, metal songs are similar to horror movies. Horror is entertainment in the same form and uses the same techniques as other genres. Its presentation is extreme, but it still contains all the signature traits of a movie.
Though it holds a large audience, metal simply doesn’t have a general venue (other than a concert hall, of course). It will never see an “appropriate” setting unless it ceases to be what it is. Instead, it will continue to branch through sub-genres, pushing the boundaries of music indefinitely. Some branches will float to the top of the music scene and others will fade away. Such is the nature of experimental extremism.
Gage DeZoort is a Viewpoint writer.
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