Reason: This page is currently a disorganized chronicle of a subculture, its music, and its subgenres, rather than a curatable aesthetic. To be a valid entry, the page must be entirely rewritten to function as a page that documents the general aesthetic of the "Metalhead" subculture, and all subgenres should be covered on their respective pages.
Metal describes a style of heavy, aggressive music. It evolved from the acid rock/heavy psych of the late 1960s, a heavier form of psychedelic rock originating in the San Francisco music scene. Metal music is typically characterized by loud guitars, fast drumming, and often intense lyrics.
History[]
Early bands credited with the origins of metal range from the heavy blues of Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, and Jimi Hendrix, to the occult rock of Coven and Blue Öyster Cult, and artists like Alice Cooper and Pentagram. MC5 and The Stooges also played a crucial role in foreshadowing the development of rock music into both punk and metal. Black Sabbath is often credited with crystallizing the genre in the early-mid 1970s.
The late 1970s and early 1980s saw the rise of the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal." During this period, bands from the United States and continental Europe established early subgenres, notably doom metal and power metal, as well as the popular Thrash Metal scene. This sonic and subcultural diversification within heavy metal continued into the 21st century.
The aggressive sound of metal led to a moral panic among some Christian parents in the 1980s, who feared the music was Satanic and a negative influence. Despite this opposition, metal remains popular and has influenced genres such as Grunge, Groove Metal, Alt Metal, Nu-Metal, and Metalcore among numerous other subgenres. Fans of metal are commonly known as headbangers or metalheads.
Music[]
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in Blues rock, Psychedelic rock, and Acid rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. The genre's lyrics and performance styles are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.
While some metalheads may introduce some variety into their musical tastes, the vast majority of their musical diet is heavy metal. This is also music that a lot of people involved in bodybuilding will listen to while working out to keep them motivated and pushing their bodies beyond their known limits to sculpt their bodies in the desired way (be they Mass Monster or Classic bodybuilders), which can lead to a lot of crossover between the Bodybuilder and the Metalhead (and sometimes a combination of the two, which can cut an imposing silhouette).
Fashion[]
Fashion tends to be really simple; t-shirts in support of their favorite band (or bands), simple jeans, boots or sneakers, and possibly a leather jacket. Metalheads in general also have a tendency to also keep their hair long with male metalheads growing massive facial hair (and, if they don't keep their hair long, they'll shave it all off). In modern days, it's not unusual for metalheads to be covered in piercings and tattoos as well (some will also dye their hair unnatural colors), but the core Metalhead fashion remains.
When you get into the Black Metal end of the Metalhead spectrum, they'll take the aesthetic to a brand new level; often appearing dressed in black with combat boots, bullet belts, spiked wristbands and inverted crosses and inverted pentagrams to reinforce their anti-Christian or anti-religious stance. However, the most stand-out trait is their use of corpse paint—black and white face paint sometimes mixed with real or fake blood, which is used to create a corpse-like and/or demonic appearance.
Another key factor of Metalhead culture is the art of crafting a "battle jacket" (sometimes referred to as a "cut-off" if the sleeves have been removed; some may choose to leave the sleeves on, but this is not common). This involves buying a denim/leather jacket (though other articles of clothing have been known to be decorated in this fashion) and covering it in various patches of different band logos, albums, and motifs. Some Metalheads will make an effort to buy their patches directly from the bands, whether that be at a concert merch table or at an officially licensed online shop to support the bands. Alternatively, some may choose to hand paint or sew their patches, or just buy them from random retailers. These choices are entirely dependent on the person.
Activities[]
- Attending metal concerts
- Listening to metal music
- Creating metal music
- Watching metal music videos
- Contributing to metal publications
- Creating battle jackets and similar items
- Drawing logos of their favorite metal bands
Media[]
Film[]
- The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
- Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986)
- This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
- Wayne's World duology (1992-1993)
- Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (The Making of St. Anger) (2004)
- Slipknot: POLLUTION (2020)
Television[]
- Headbangers Ball (1987-2012)
- That Metal Show (2008-2015)
- Metalocalypse (2006-2013)
- Shred Force (2012)
- Hysteria! (2024)
Resources[]
- https://www.metal-archives.com/
- https://mapofmetal.com/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music
Magazines[]
Gallery[]
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