English 1301
Professor Huff
24 November 2012
Outsider Music For Outsider People For as long as it has existed heavy metal has consistently been stereotyped, dismissed and condemned. Everything from the lyrics, the imagery, and the guttural vocals has been badgered by everyone who does not believe heavy metal is not a form of music. I am here to set the record straight. If people were to take the time and analyze what is in the music, heavy metal is not as demonic and malicious as it is made out to be. Growing up I was always told to stay from metal music because it was deemed as devil’s music and for a long time I believed it. Fast forward to today where I cannot imagine my life without heavy metal music. I will admit the first time I listened to metal was a scary experience. The music was something I have never heard before and all the preconceived notions I believed were true. However, instead dismissing the music as satanic I decided to look into it and see what this noise truly was. What I found was, the lyrics were the most intricate use of words I have ever heard, incredible musicianship, and thousands upon millions of loyal fans. Metal has always been there to help through all the frustrations and angst I have built up and it has never disappointed me. I am forever a metal head. I will continue to head bang until I dislocate my neck while flashing the devil horns. And I will continue to defend metal until the day I die. Many problems people have with metal music is the actual music itself. Why are they screaming? Why do they have to be heavy? Anyone can play this noise. When anyone asks why do these people have to scream, I respond by saying, “Why artists have to sing or rap?” Screaming is just another way for artist to vocalize their lyrics, just in a more aggressive tone. Not everyone can play this genre. While the music may sound like machine guns going off, there is actually a lot of musicianship most people are oblivious to.