What is "Heavy" in Metal? A Netnographic Analysis of Online Forums for Metal Musicians and Producers

Metal music studies defines "heaviness" as the genre's sonic signature but has rarely explored the sonics or the related discourse. This study analyzes message boards to determine how music producers and musicians use the "heavy" metaphor in their discussions. Practitioners&...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Popular music and society Vol. 45; no. 5; pp. 633 - 653
Main Authors: Herbst, Jan-Peter, Mynett, Mark
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Bowling Green Routledge 20.10.2022
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:
Appropriation
Discourse analysis
Genre
Heaviness
Heavy metal music
home recording
metal music
Metaphor
Music
music production
Musicians
sonic metaphors
ISSN:0300-7766, 1740-1712
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Metal music studies defines "heaviness" as the genre's sonic signature but has rarely explored the sonics or the related discourse. This study analyzes message boards to determine how music producers and musicians use the "heavy" metaphor in their discussions. Practitioners' strategies employed to achieve heaviness are scrutinized to learn about what considerations influence their decisions. The findings suggest that while heaviness is based on a core set of musical features, it is open to appropriation, modification, and development. Heaviness has become a suitable impetus for the genre's evolution and iconically represents what metal music stands for to its community.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0300-7766
1740-1712
DOI:10.1080/03007766.2022.2114155