This chapter focuses on heavy metal music and culture in the Middle East. It provides a summary of previous research on metal in the region and touches upon common clichés of metal as a source of counterculture, revolution and change. It then addresses the complicated relationship between metal studies and Orientalism. It is the author’s contention that research on metal in the Middle East has been directly influenced by Orientalist discourse. The author further argues that the impact of this discourse has led to the politicisation and exoticisation of a particular figure – the ‘Muslim metalhead’. This chapter seeks to contribute to the current discussion on ‘Oriental metal’ as an attempt to exotify the very existence (and art) of metalheads from a region that has been geopolitically framed as the ‘Middle East’.

This chapter explores the impact of ‘subgenre qualifiers’ that modify a genre title and distinguish between, say, ‘melodic death metal’ and ‘progressive death metal’. Endemic within contemporary metal discourse, these qualifiers function both to describe and prescribe the specific focus of a given subgenre, affecting composition, production, performance and reception (among other areas). Focusing on technical death metal, the chapter investigates the prescriptive nature of creativity contained within a relatively precise definition of ‘technical’ developed through consistent usage by artists, reliable acknowledgement from audiences and continual reinforcement by critics. By examining discourse from critics and artists, we can observe how subgenre qualifiers are used creatively, sometimes cast as a conceptual constraint against which an artist struggles, sometimes interpreted as a challenge and an explicit focus for an artist’s musical endeavours. The chapter considers how artists and listeners navigate technical death metal’s delimited forms of expression as a case study of the ostensibly highly stratified nature of modern metal.

Metalcore is a slippery concept. A relatively new genre category, dating from the early 2000s, it provokes wide disagreement about what counts as metalcore and arguments within metal scenes about its legitimacy. This chapter provides an overview of metalcore as an ‘abject genre’, a useful shorthand term for nu metal, screamo, and a variety of core subgenres that have been widely criticised by metal fans. Beginning with commonalities that metalcore shares with other abject genres – some mass popularity, stylistic alterations of traditional metal traits that detractors view as simplified dilutions, quotidian rather than supernatural lyrics, and associations with marginalized categories of identity – I then outline diverse historical accounts by other authors to argue for a more complex view of chronological and conceptual boundaries than an individual narrative might allow. Finally, an analysis of Currents’ ‘Silence’ (2017) provides an example of metalcore as an amalgamation of stylistic qualities from multiple sources. I conclude with thoughts on the utility of abject genres as a concept for reception histories and the potential for metalcore’s complexity as a genre to teach broad lessons about genre in popular music.

This chapter interrogates what it means for heavy metal to identify as ‘outsider’ music in the 2020s and beyond. Resistance, transgression and rebellion have long been central to metal’s generic identity, where metal has long traded on a reputation as ‘outsider’ music, a genre populated by proud pariahs who exist on the edge of acceptability. However, such rebellion has been troubled by metal’s commercial success, geolocal diversification and generational shifts amongst fans, where ‘resistance’ takes on different trajectories as metal manifests within multiple political zeitgeists and contexts. This chapter then explores how metal’s politics of transgression have played out in varied ways as metal communities worldwide negotiate shifting ideological contexts and markets, calling into focus questions of performative transgression and commodified dissent. This chapter thus leads with a central provocation: Is it still possible for metal to be rebellious in the twenty-first century? And has it ever really been?

What is the relationship between metal and the wider leisure, tourism and entertainment industries? How can metal be a place for countercultural resistance while being a part of the modern leisure industry? In this chapter, metal as a space for leisure and tourism is explored. It first discusses how metal is leisure, for musicians and for fans, by exploring the meaning and purpose of leisure and leisure’s relation to modern society. It looks at how metal is a part of the wider entertainment industry, and how that industry is best defined as commodified popular culture. Finally, the chapter discusses three specific forms of tourism and leisure industries that align with metal: tours, festivals and the recent growth of metal holiday cruises.

People move their bodies to metal music and interact with it – they dance. Audience members and performers on stage do so in various ways, some of which have become iconic practices of metal, such as headbanging, and others which seem rather uncommon and are not as closely associated with metal at first sight, such as belly dancing. This chapter aims to provide an introductory overview of dance practices in metal, their social organisation and avenues for future research. Therefore, the social organisation of mosh pits is investigated, discussing them as contested communities since they offer communal experiences while simultaneously perpetuating existent obstacles to participation, especially along the lines of gender identities. The subsequent section turns to gaps in hitherto research in order to emphasise the need and possibilities for further research. These include an expanded scope beyond headbanging and moshing in extreme metal, dance practices in virtual spaces and the global south, histories of metal dance and the relation between music and movement in metal.

This chapter discusses sub-Saharan Africa’s history with rock and metal, where Africa’s scenes are found today, and how those two genres have rooted themselves into the world’s ‘final frontier’ – whether it was during a difficult period of authoritarianism or through the organic passion of fans who found a genre that best represented their interest. As Africa’s various rock and metal scenes have unfolded during different periods in different countries under different circumstances, and continue to meet various challenges such as continued political strife, economic disparities and poorly developed infrastructures, this chapter also highlights what African metal bands sound like, the languages used in metal performances in Africa, and what if any local sounds and instrumentation acts are infusing (or, are they paying homage to their Western heroes?). Though the genres’ introduction into the African continent has met various difficulties, and continues to do so, African heavy metal stories tell of music that is empowering performers and excited fans alike.

This chapter explores the evolution of the djent subgenre from the perspective of the musical, technological and environmental factors that have shaped its identity. The chapter considers the early circumstances of djent’s emergence during the early mid−2000s, with particular reference to the online culture which contributed to its wider transmission and proliferation. Key musical influences are also discussed, including djent’s roots in progressive metal and the work of bands such as Meshuggah and SikTh, as well as the subgenre’s interaction with electronic music aesthetics and popular music. A principal focus of the chapter is on the role of emerging digital technologies, particularly Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) and digital amplifier and drum kit modelling software, in the formation of djent’s musical and sonic characteristics. Finally, the chapter considers djent’s position as a subgenre within modern metal music and evaluates, with reference to the critical reception literature, the debates that persist concerning its legitimacy within metal.

The sonic evolution of heavy metal is the story of the seminal musicians who engineered the metal sound and its numerous interpretations. This chapter illustrates that evolvement, highlighting key bands and performers whilst exemplifying their innovative techniques and concepts. It was a process initiated by Black Sabbath in the early 1970s and subsequently expanded, firstly by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands of the later 1970s, and then, more radically, through the emergence of thrash, death metal, black metal and grindcore during the 1980s. Subsequent innovators, from the 1990s onwards, adopted fusion as a way of redefining metal. By incorporating musical elements derived from pop, hip-hop and classical and folk music, they were able to fashion a plethora of imaginative crossovers, including nu metal, folk metal, symphonic metal, industrial metal and dance metal. The chapter concludes by noting the most recent developments in metal where elaborate assimilations of contrasting musical idioms showcase established metal devices in new and unusual contexts.

The gender of metal and the relationships between the music, misogyny and women have long raised eyebrows amongst popular commentators and scholars. Yet many metal fans claim that the genre is at heart an inclusive, even equal one, ready to welcome all fans regardless of gender, race and sexuality. This chapter gives an overview of thinking about the gendered meanings of metal, its origins in the music of Black blues women, the constraints on women’s music-making, the 1980s moral panic around metal and sexual violence, the gendering and queering of genre, women’s empowerment in metal and metal as a vehicle for feminist fury. I argue that placing women’s metal stories at the centre of our focus reveals different aspects of metal and its culture, and opportunities for understanding metal’s relationship with gender. Claims to inclusivity are exaggerated because metal exists in a sexist world and is not immune to societal discourses. The myth of equality is problematic because it impedes progression towards better inclusion. And yet metal provides opportunities for joy, power and for challenging misogyny for women, opportunities which are beginning to be grasped.

Metal music has been undergoing a remarkable sonic development. Pioneering releases of the early 1970s by Black Sabbath already contained all essential ingredients of metal’s sonic signature. The growing need for heavier sounds was afforded by a rapidly advancing recording technology, alongside the exploration of production techniques and aesthetics. This chapter traces significant developments in metal music production from the 1970s to the 1990s by looking at key artists, albums and audio professionals to outline how heaviness in recorded form developed in the genre. Many of the analysed engineering practices were adopted, improved and have become standard in contemporary metal production. In this process, production was brought to the fore, making it an increasingly fundamental element of the music, even an art form in itself. This development led to what has become metal’s standard hyper-real aesthetic, which will most likely be pushed further in the ongoing and genre-defining quest for greater heaviness.