Sunday, March 17th, 2024
Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.
— Peter Drucker
MUS106 Video Lecture: Intro to Metal
- Heavy metal emerged in 1970s
- Black Sabbath
- from: UK
- godfathers of Heavy Metal
- initially did blues-rock cover with a harder edge (horror film aesthetic – borrowed name from “Black Sabbath” film); bleak imagery
- down-tuned distorted guitar
- Birmingham England; working class band members
- guitarist got fingertip chopped off from factory accident, so had to down-tune the guitar (heavier guitar sound)
- contrasts with the “hippies” rock
- Black Sabbath
- NWOBHM: New Wave of British Heavy Metal
- heavy metal bands emerging after Black Sabbath (1970-1980)
- traits
- more influence from punk rock than blues
- faster tempo
- even heavier sound
- examples: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden (torturing device), Motorhead (drug reference), Venom, etc
- Iron Maiden
- The Number of The Beast
- the number: 666 (also sounds like sex)
- direct reference to Satan / devil, but the speaker (as lyrics implies) is not the one participating in the ritual (more like running away from one he accidentally stumbles upon)
- The Number of The Beast
- thrash metal
- Metallica
- started thrash metal
- initially played covers of metal (NWOBHM) & sped them up
- fast & heavy guitar riffs + hardcore punk (bringing heavy aggression and political themes)
- topics: drug use, environment, hunting animals, wars, oil extraction
- ”Master of Puppets” alluding to drugs (? confirm)
- death metal & black metal: heavy metal that is more extreme (emerging from thrash metal)
- hard rock → heavy metal → thrash metal → death metal & black metal
- death metal
- emerged from thrash metal in 1980s, central Florida
- increased complexity (super distortion, growled vocals, double bass drumming, blast beats, complex song structures)
- song themes consist of death, gore, horror, violence
- bands: Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Death
- Cannibal Corpse
- death metal band
- moved to Morrisound Studio, which was able to capture the death metal sound
- ”Hammer Smashed Face” from Tomb of the Mutilated
- nonstandard song structure
- black metal
- emerged in Europe (specifically Norway) in the late 80s / early 90s
- inspired by thrash & NWOBHM like Venom
- themes: Satanism, evil, anti-Judeo-Christianity
- musical traits: blast beats, tremolo picking, high-screeched vocals, lo-fi
- anti-metal; rebellion against “good production” (e.g., using a headset as a microphone)
- some black metal band members go hardcore on the killing theme (commits actual suicide and murder)
- Immortal
- black metal band
- considered “true black metal”; also considered extremely dangerous in 90s
- ”Call of the Winter Moon”