Heavy Metal

Heavy metal or metal is a genre of rock music that developed between 1968 and 1974 , largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic 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 first heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple attracted large audiences, though they were often critically reviled, a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden followed in a similar vein. Before the end of the decade, heavy metal had attracted a worldwide following of fans known as "metalheads" or "headbangers".
In the 1980s, glam metal became a major commercial force with bands like Mötley Crüe and Ratt. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica and Megadeth, while other styles like death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles such as nu metal, which often incorporates elements of grunge and rapping; and metalcore, which blends extreme metal with hardcore, have further expanded the definition of the genre.

Heavy metal is traditionally characterized by loud distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound, and vigorous vocals. Metal subgenres variously emphasize, alter, or omit one or more of these attributes. New York Times critic Jon Pareles writes, "In the taxonomy of popular music, heavy metal is a major subspecies of hard-rock—the breed with less syncopation, less blues, more showmanship and more brute force." The typical band lineup includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist. Keyboard instruments are sometimes used to enhance the fullness of the sound.

Heavy metal is typically characterized by a guitar-and-drum-dominated sound, strong rhythms and classical, bluesy or symphonic styles. However, heavy metal sub-genres have their own stylistic variations on the original form that often omit or alter many of these characteristics. There is a very wide variety of sounds and styles within the genre of Metal.

The most commonly used line-up for a metal band is a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer (who may or may not be an instrumentalist). Keyboards were popular with early metal bands (especially the organ and occasionally the mellotron), but were gradually used less and less frequently. Today they are used by some styles (prog metal, later black metal) and shunned by others, though as different subgenres develop they have begun to become more popular. The guitar and the sonic power that it projects through amplification, however, is the key element in heavy metal music. Distortion of the guitar sound is used to create a more powerful, "heavy'" sound. Later, more intricate solos and riffs became a big part of heavy metal music. Guitarists use sweep-picking, tapping and other advanced techniques for rapid playing, and many sub-genres praise virtuosity over simplicity. Also, as technology has developed, new ways of altering the guitar's sound have been
adopted.

Metal vocals vary widely in style. Vocalists' abilities and styles range from the multi-octave theatrical vocals of Judas Priest's Rob Halford and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, to the intentionally gruff vocals of Metallica's James Hetfield and Lemmy from Motörhead .

Information provided through internet research on Wikipedia

Music Video Origins and Goodwin's Theory

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a piece of music. Music videos are primarily used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. The origins of music videos date back much further, but it was in 1980's when MTV based their format around the medium. Before this music videos were known as 'illustrated song', 'filmed insert', 'promotional film/clip' or 'film clip'.
In China music videos were simply known as 'MTVs' because the network was responsible for the popularity of music videos in the country.
Music videos contain a range of different film-making techniques including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as absract film. Some videos combine all these different elements and blend styles such as animation or visual effects with live action.
It is also common for music videos not to interpret images from the song's lyrics, making it less literal than expected.


Goodwin's Theory

University Lecturer and theorist Andrew Goodwin identified a number of key features in music videos. They are:

- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
- A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Genre-related style and iconography present.
- Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist.
- Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.
- Intertextual references to other media texts may be present.

He says that music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song as well as the artist. These common links create relationships with one another in music videos. The reason for close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require, be it a 'bad boy' image like many rappers or an uncaring individualistic attitude given to independent artists. Voyeurism is used to increase the video’s attractiveness, and particularly catch the attention of males with female images reflecting sexual or seductive attitudes. A common use of Voyeurism is the use of the 'direct gaze'. He also stated that intertextuality is often employed in humorous videos, to reference other media texts and draw comparisons between them.

An example of a famous music video director would be:

Michel Gondry:
Born in France Gondry has gone on to direct videos for The Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Beck, The White Stripes, and many other cutting edge artists. His capability of adapting new technologies in editing, animation, motion graphics, and storytelling by continually creating new visual media that stimulates the eyes, ears, and brain has made him one of the world's most influential screenwriter, film, commercial, and music video director.

An example of Gondry's Work:



Music Video Analysis



"Zombie" is a protest by the Irish band The Cranberries.

This particular music video defies some aspects of Goodwin’s theory. The song features a much heavier style of music which is uncharacteristic of the band’s usual sound, more like the grunge/alternative metal sound that was popular at the time than their usual alternative rock style.

However there are some conventions such as the relationship between lyrics and visuals, as throughout the video we are met with images linking to the themes of war and terrorism. We see soldiers walking through bombed streets, linking to the lyrics “They are fighting, with their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their guns”. Also the constant link to children within the video, as one of the main themes to the song laments the troubles in Northern Ireland and in particular the killing of two children in an IRA bombing in Warrington England.

The use of black and white images links to the dark nature and messages of the music. Being quite unique in its style, the mix of the singer’s Irish voice on a heavy metal song acts on the visuals within the video as we see unusual religious references of the golden singer standing with her back to a cross surrounded again by golden children, expressing the innocence of the children lost to terrorism.


This information was a result of researching through Wikipedia and Michel Gondry blogs