Collin Patrick Zelli

First Year Writing

Prof. Caton
5/10/2015
The Fans of Metal Music
Oh my God, turn that crap off - How can you even tell what theyre saying? - Thats not
even music thats just noise. If you ask any metal fan, I guarantee these phrases have been said
to them before. These people who prefer the taste of a more durable, louder, genre of music that
is far from mainstream pop, are their own breed of people. These people are called Metalheads.
Now, because Metal is so different from the average vocal/instrumental sound, it is more of an
acquired taste. Not everyone can enjoy the sound of angry screaming, tuned down guitars, and
blazing fast double bass pedals. Metal has come a long way from its original sound, and fans
have evolved to fit this change as well. So why or how does someone begin listening to Metal
music in the first place how is that taste acquired? To answer this question, I will analyze
several works of scholars which includes a study on metal music fans (adolescents), an
encyclopedia dedicated only to metal bands of every genre, a couple metal songs and a pop song
for comparison.
Before these we dive into this hardcore head-banging journey, we must first discuss: what
exactly is metal music? As someone who has been listening to metal music for at least eight
years, I define Metal music as my own addictive stimulant. William Phillips and Brian Cogan
define metal in their Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music as ... a musical subgenre of rock and
roll and an explicit subculture with its own rules, rituals, and conflicting sets of ideologies, and
fashion (Phillips, Cogan 3). Metal music is very similar to rock and roll, except metal music is
heavier in the sense of tuned down guitars (for some styles of heavy metal), a louder vocalist,
faster drums, and sometimes a more angry sound. Metalheads can often be spotted wearing
clothing like skateboarding shoes or leather boots, black or blue jeans, and usually a band shirt

(with or without sleeves). The music that a metalhead listens to often plays quite a large role in
their life.
For many other metal fans and myself, it is what can pick me up and get me going, and
put me in a more optimistic mindset, depending upon the type of genre of metal. It can make me
feel indestructible and dangerous, which may not necessarily be a good thing but there are
purposes for that later to be explained. An MIT webpage dedicated to metal music describes the
origins of heavy metal, and what it is:
Each of these groups [referring to The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and The
Kinks] contributed to the creation the "rock band" archetype: loud, unpredictable, rebellious,
and even dangerous. By the latter half of the 1960's, the next generation of "rock stars"
began to sow first seeds of protypical Heavy Metal. Drawing inspiration from their blues and
rock and roll forebearers, "hard rock" acts, like Cream (Tales of Brave Ulysses), Led Zeppelin
(Communication Breakdown), and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Voodoo Child), provided
the soundtrack for a generation increasing disaffected by social injustice and the escalating
war in Vietnam. (Pearson 2014)

From this quote, it claims that Rock and Roll is what Metal Music evolved from, with
contributions and a secondary foundation in blues, which is an important benefaction to the
genre of metal.
In essence, metal is basically just a harder form of Rock (kind of ironic if you think about
it as elements rather than just genres of music). Metal also has a lot of subgenres, or variations
of the genre of metal. The term subgenre in metal includes but is not limited to: Heavy Metal,
Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Christian (Religious) Metal, and metalcore. Although
metalcore is already a subgenre, it also has subgenres, which can be nearly anything by creating
an unusual sound and adding the word metal or metalcore to that new title. Metal Music is in a

constant cycle of evolution. Metal music has its origins in Southern Blues, but one would never
really notice that because it has evolved greatly into the very different and unique sound that it
has today that so many people love.
This is a worthy topic for research and to even read about because so many people
underestimate/misjudge what metal music really is and why people listen to it. A lot of people
stereotype metal as the type of music drug addicts listen to, or people who dress in all black and
are incredibly unusual and very different from society. These are the people that think there are
angry drug-using white kids that walk around in black trench coats and hate everyone in the
world around them, much like the two criminals who decided to murder twelve students and one
teacher.
Some misinformed people believe that it was the music that the Columbine Massacre
Shooters listened to that inspired them to commit that horrific atrocity. The two gunmen listened
to metal Bands like Rammstein, and Marilyn Manson. Manson responded by saying: The
tragedy was a product of ignorance, hatred, and access to guns. I hope the medias irresponsible
finger-pointing doesnt create more discrimination against kids who look different (Canal de
ThiagoManson, 2009). Manson was just trying to defend the innocent metalheads who would
never even think of doing something so incredibly awful and promote metal music in its positive
sense by trying to get people to realize that music did not cause their actions - they caused their
own actions because they were not mentally stable.
In reality, people of all kinds listen to metal music. It is a flavor that all ears can taste and
enjoy. It is important to clear up the stereotypes and get rid of the hackneyed idea that mainly
drug addicts and people with problems listen to metal, because its not true and it is crucial that

individuals are not judged by the music they listen to or the way they dress., and shed some light
on the underrated and addictive genre of metal and all its subgenres.
According to research by Peter J. Rentfrow and Jennifer A. McDonald, of the University
of Cambridge, and Julian A. Oldmeadow of the University of York, there are certainly
stereotypes as to who listens to metal music. Using a sample of 80 British young adults, we
aimed to replicate and extend previous research on the stereotypes that young people have about
fans of various musical genres. It was hypothesized that individuals attribute similar
psychological characteristics and social categories to fans of certain styles of music and that
those distinct associations are generalizable(Rentfrow 2009). Prior to the experiment, they
thought that the type of music someone listens to can kind of define who they are and vice versa.
From their experiment, they found that most people believe that angry lower class white males
listen to metal music. This is not true. It is only a stereotype and very few actually think of why
someone listens to metal; most incorrectly perceive it as a trashier, disorganized, and depressing
genre along with the fans.
There are so many songs that exemplify the motivation or basis of positive control and
determination for many individuals today. One example would be The Great Unknown by The
Ghost Inside. The Ghost Inside is a post-hardcore/metalcore band from Los Angeles, California.
A quote from this song would be Go and do what makes you happy. That's what I'm saying.
I'm done waiting for my life to come to me. So I'm headed into the great unknown. And I'm not
going alone (The Ghost Inside 2015) this tiny portion of the song has a lot of meaning behind it.
It can be interpreted in several different ways but all those ways basically revolve around taking
control of ones life and being more optimistic. These lyrics are compelling and encouraging.
People who listen to this may have the courage to venture out into the great unknown and

finally do what they used to be too afraid to do or what was previously thought to be impossible.
A message like this could be the driving factor to steer an adolescent away from their unfortunate
drug habits, or it could be what keeps them focused on their ultimate goal, whatever that may be.
From Jeffrey Arnetts research that he conducted, it was found that music absolutely does
have impacts like this on its listeners. He interviewed a large group of adolescents on their music
preferences but only 44 out of 167 participants liked listening to metal music. When asked about
metal music and if it puts them in any sort of mood, some adolescents that were surveyed said
that it gets them energized, revved up. Some Metalheads described the feeling of listening to
metal music as a vicarious release of aggression, and they said It calms me down (Arnett
83),
It is not uncommon to see a metal fan today with lyrics from their favorite song tattooed on their
body. Figure 2, below, shows the lyrics from a song by Hatebreed called In Ashes They Shall
Reap.

Figure 2

The Lyrics read Born to bleed, fighting to succeed, built to endure what this world
throws at me! These are motivational words which prove that the lyrics as well as the factor of
motivation play an important role on the mind of Metalheads. Just like in The Great Unknown,
these Hatebreed lyrics are about being ready to face the future, and get through whatever is
necessary to succeed, which means overcoming obstacles and rising up to face challenges.
Another song that has a deep meaning behind it would be And Then There Were None
by Exodus. The song conveys a less optimistic sound, but does have a more positive message
hidden deep within. It describes a wasteland in which death is common and global suffering is an
everyday thing which could help people imagine it and realize that with war, that is the type of
situation humanity is headed towards unless they are to act as soon as possible and fix it.
According to a journal article by Jeffrey Arnett some adolescents enjoy songs like this by bands
like Exodus because of these positive messages that promote proactiveness and thinking about
the bigger problems. Although only 11% of people surveyed in Arnetts research said the lyrics
were the main reason they listened to the song, those statistics may be slightly outdated,
considering they are more than twenty-four years old, and metal has changed quite a bit from
then. Nevertheless, these are the kinds of facts that can still be relevant today. Feeling the real
emotion behind the lyrics of a song is something that can never die or be misinterpreted.
The positive message in lyrics is something that can be seen throughout many types of
music but is at first more hidden beneath the raw and heavier sound of metal. Exodus was
admired for their songs concerning child abuse and the threat of nuclear war; one subject like
Motley Crue because of the things they stand for, in particular to drug use (Rentfrow, 2009).
Some Exodus lyrics from And Then There Were None are: Wheels grinding the glares
blinding, Bullets flying all around your head, Tanks crushing and soldiers rushing, If you live

you'll wish that you were dead. From this, the listener can imagine the desolate situation caused
by a nuclear war and begin to understand why it is awful and should be avoided at all costs. This
song delivers a positive message because it describes all the horrors of a situation like nuclear
war, and tries to show how awful it would be, driving those adolescent listeners, as the leaders of
the next generation, to lean towards peace and proper diplomatic solutions, rather than violent
outbreaks and uses of weapons of mass destruction. With a message like this, it may empower its
listeners and stimulate change in the world.
Metalheads prefer songs that like And Then There Were None and The Great
Unknown rather than songs like Nicki Minajs Anaconda, because it lacks both motivation
and a positive message. In Anaconda, words are thrown together seemingly to no regard for
what they actually mean and who it impacts. Some lyrics from Anaconda are Oh my gosh,
look at her butt (Minaj 2014) (which is repeated four times for that verse, and then repeated
again four times in another verse), He keep telling me it's real, that he love my sex appeal
Because he don't like 'em boney, he want something he can grab (Minaj 2014) and Yeah, he
love this fat ass (Minaj 2014). In these lyrics, Onika Maraj, AKA Nicki Minaj, objectifies
herself as only a sex object and basically men only like her for her curvaceous body. This
implies lack of self-respect. Some may claim it that it is not about seeing it women as sex
objects, but if many people would not think so incredibly abstractly to try to figure out what
Minaj is actually trying to imply. If interpreted in the same, more direct, way someone can
interpret a metal song, they would easily believe it objectifies women and implies that it is
acceptable to only see a woman as a sex object.
Now there are absolutely plenty of examples of improperly portraying women as sex
objects in a lot of metal music, but that would be metal music from several decades ago that has

greatly decreased in popularity and mostly forgotten. Today, there are few metal songs that even
mention a part of anyones body in a sexual manner. Mtley Cre is one of the most popular
bands from the 1980s that was into the type of lifestyle of sex and drugs and heavily
incorporated that into their songs. For the past decade or so, metal music artists have tended to
drift away from that and most try to evade their drug habits, like the Christian metal/metalcore
band Memphis May Fire. Matty Mullins, the lead vocalist of Memphis May Fire who sings about
how the wrong kind of relationship can make someones life - more specifically their career - a
lot more difficult and even ruin it in their song Jezebel. Memphis May Fire has more recently
become a Christian metal band after Matty found his love for God and tries to guide his listeners
towards Jesus after he himself found peace by following Jesus. Personally, I cannot think of a
single more recent song that I have heard that really glorifies drugs and sex. Despite the massive
library of metal music on mine and my brothers iTunes account, there are absolutely still metal
bands that do glorify sex and drugs, but significantly reduced numbers of those that do.
I have quite a bit of experience with metal music, and I started getting into older metal
and rock when I was younger and progressively moved into heavier and heavier metal, as do a
lot of metalheads. I believe that I started listening to metal music because it was relevant to my
own situation. My situation consisted of me being younger than everyone in my class because I
started school a year early. This alone caused quite a few problems because they all started to
grow up, and I felt like I was just a developing fetus. I lost a lot of friends almost overnight due
to these changes. Thus, a lot of bullying began and I was constantly told that I essentially wasnt
good enough for the world and I was nothing but a useless nerd. I believe that I began listening
to metal music because I needed to scream louder than anything - but I couldnt; and so listening
to others scream the same emotions I was feeling kind of cancelled them out. As one participant

of the study said, It calms me down (Arnett 83). As shown from the survey in Arnetts
research, it was found that people mainly listen to metal music to get energized and motivated or
they listen to it for stress relief. Ive found that the lyrics in a lot of popular metal songs,
including The Great Unknown and And Then There Were None, have a lot of motivating
words that inspire all those that listen.
Metal music has inspired and empowered me in quite incredible ways. It wasnt just
dealing with bullying that drove me to be a metalhead. In high school, I played hockey, soccer,
golf, lacrosse, and I even tried bowling. For hockey, soccer and golf, getting the right mindset
before a game is important and so I would listen to very motivating songs like The Great
Unknown by The Ghost Inside so that I can become optimistic and confident prior to the puck
drop and just be an animal on the ice or the field. The music gave me a feeling of domination
over the other team. The metal music I listened to absolutely had an impact on my personal
performance because it gave me that feeling of empowerment that lasted throughout the game.
Although Metal music isnt the most popular music in the world right now, I have shown
that Metal packs a wallop. It is more authoritative and more positive than Nicki Minajs
incredibly adept and super intelligent hit song Anaconda because songs like And Then There
Were None by Exodus emphasize raw emotion and real situations/problems rather than adult
themes and ignorant lyrics. People need to understand that most Metal or modern day metal
music is not music that is about worshipping the devil, killing people or anything that far out of
the norm. The people of that mainstream pop genre who judge and underestimate hardcore sound
clearly have not looked into this genre deep enough. Metal music gives Metalheads a sense of
euphoric happiness and fuels human emotions to an extreme. Pop doesnt quite give that effect.
People mosh at concerts to metal music, and deployed soldiers listen to metal before or even

during a mission to get them pumped up and ready to be in control and have supremacy in
combat. People listen to metal because it is powerful, and gives people a voice that can steer
them in a more positive direction. It is influential of their emotions and can help them to balance
or sway them to the levels fit for the situation. There is no one set reason why all metalheads
listen to metal, but at least some listen to it because of the reasons previously stated. Metalheads
are not violent drug addicts; they are just people striving to succeed and stay determined or relax
and shake off their problems.
Citations
Arnett, Jeffrey. "Adolescents and Heavy Metal." Youth and Society 23.1 (1991): n. pag.
Web. 3 March 2015.

The Ghost Inside, The Great Unknown, Epitaph Records, 2012

"Heavy Metal Tattoo." Heavy Metal Tattoo. Web. 03 May 2015. Image.
Pearlin, Jeffrey. "Heavy Metal 101 @ MIT." A Brief History of Metal. N.p., 2014. Web. 1 May
2015.
"Heavy Metal Tattoo." Heavy Metal Tattoo. Web. 03 May 2015. Image.
Rentfrow, Peter J., Jennifer A. McDonald, and Julian A. Oldmeadow. You Are What You
Listen To: Young People's Stereotypes about Music Fans. May 2009. PDF.
"Marilyn Manson - Columbine High School Massacre." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 9 May
2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6moDcEkSnY
Ray, Anthony. Perf. Onika T. Maraj. By Jamal Jones, Jonathan Solone-Myvett, Ernest Clark,
and Marcos Palacios. Anaconda. Nicki Minaj. Polow Da Don, Anonymous, and Da Internz,
2014. YouTube. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.

Rentfrow, Peter J., Jennifer A. McDonald, and Julian A. Oldmeadow. "You Are What You
Listen To: Young Peoples Stereotypes about Music Fans." Group Processes & Intergroup
Relations 23.3 (2009): 329-44. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.

http://gpi.sagepub.com/content/12/3/329.full.pdf+html
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XmOXd4X9K3706aX79HP89hvl3Y1nXOqrOX68k_9U1M/edit