Intelligence is Value

What Is Heavy Metal?

Metal began in the late 1960’s to early 1970s. Also known as heavy metal, it began as a combination of psychedelic and blues rock. It is distinguished from pop music for its heavy use of guitar and drums, particularly for its heavy distortion of picking the guitars and bass. Metal also uses double bass pedal for the drums. It’s different from rock music which traces its influence from various music genres such as blues, jazz, funk, soul and Latino. Metal is therefore a sub-genre of rock music.

The vocals can be theatrical or gruff, with some bands developing their unique style that distinguishes them from the others.

Most of the themes are poetic in nature. Lyrics are inspired by fiction, mythology, politics, and social issues, making metal more diverse than pop music in general. The dark themes are in response to pop culture’s happy, who-cares attitude. Metal reminds the listeners that not all endings are happy and that darkness and misery sometimes have to be dealt with head-on.

It wasn’t until Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath arrived in the music scene that metal became a distinguished art form.

Today there are different sub-genres of metal. They are usually identified by themes. One example is progressive metal which has longer songs, and more complex composition and use of instruments. There are portions of the song where instrumental solos are highlighted, much like classical composition.

Metal Is Like Classical

It has been said that the metal genre resembles classical music and that fans of both genres were proven scientifically to have the same psychological profiles.

Metal is also full of theatrics and incorporates visual themes as part of the overall package. Some bands claim influence from classical composers and were musically trained in the classics. There are also similarities in the scale, melody and the range of instruments used by the metal bands and the orchestra.

Today there are bands classified under symphonic metal, a type of progressive metal music, who employ extended musical parts and fewer lyrics to tell a story. Besides the guitar, bass guitar, drums and piano, others have also employed other stringed and wind instruments to create variety.

Singapore’s Metal Underground

Yet metalheads, as what metal fans are called, have a bad reputation among people who love mainstream music. It’s not surprising therefore that metal, as well as alternative music artists and bands, perform underground. International metal bands have performed in the country however.

In Singapore, metal is not as popular as pop and indie, two primary music genres often heard on the radio. In the 1960s, the underground music scene began. Underground bands were able to survive for decades and are still going strong. In fact, there is a documentary about Singapore’s underground music called (re)Surfacing: 50 Years of Alternative Music in Singapore which talks about its success. Metalundergound.com currently has a list of 26 Singapore metal bands, but there could more performing underground.

Some of the most popular are Draconis Infernum, Itnos, and Wormrot.