69. History of Rock Music: 8. Extreme Metal, ACJ Music Academy

How are you?

Following the last week, I am going to start my 69th lecture.

The topic for this week is “Extreme metal”, the 8th theme of “The History of Rock”.

This lecture is a summary of the contents of “69. History of Rock Music: 8. Extreme metal” introduced on November 19, 2016.

“Extreme metal” is a term that comprehensively defines a number of subgenres related to heavy metal that have developed since the early 1980s. This genre is generally more aggressive and harsher than other metal styles, normally with lyrics of dark and sensational themes, and covers themes that go beyond moral and religious limits.

The main genres of the Extreme metal are Black metal, Death metal, Doom metal, Speed metal and Thrash metal.

Black metal emphasizes heavily distorted guitar sound with fast tempo, screaming vocal style and tremolo picking. Representative bands of Black metal include Venom, Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost and Mayhem. Black metal expresses extreme anti-christism and advocates Satanism that makes inaccessible to the majority of people, and mainstream culture is hostile to the genre. 

Venom

Death metal uses techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking with a low-tuned guitar adding heavy distortion, and is characterized by growling vocals, screams, and aggressive and powerful drumming. The theme of the lyrics covers violence, Satanism, supernaturalism and mysticism. The pioneers in this genre include Obituary, Morbid Angel and Possessed.

Morbid Angel

Doom metal generally uses a slower tempo, a lower-tuned guitar, and a heavier sound than other metal genres. The music and lyrics deal with the feelings of despair, fear and perdition to come, and were greatly influenced by Black Sabbath's early works. Pagan Altar, Saint Vitus and Candlemass are bands that have contributed greatly to defining Doom Metal as a unique genre.

Candlemass

Speed metal originated in the late 1970s, rooted in “New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM)” and is defined as “extremely fast, harsh and skillful music”. Exciter, a Canadian Speed metal band formed in 1978, is considered one of the first Speed metal bands, and Accept, a heavy metal band from Germany, contributed greatly to the development of this genre.

Exciter

Thrash metal is characterized by a fast tempo and overall aggressive music, typically using fast percussion beats and low-end guitar riffs. The lyrics covers social issues and criticizes the privileged class with straightforward and threatening language. Thrash metal influenced on subsequent extreme metal genres such as Death metal and Black metal. Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer are the four major groups that pioneered this genre and gained popularity.

Slayer

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Next week, I will lecture 9th topic “Punk”.

Thank you.

66. History of Rock Music: 5. Metal, ACJ Music Academy

How are you?

Following the last week, I am going to start my 66th lecture.

The topic for this week is “Metal”, the fifth theme of “The History of Rock”.

This lecture is a summary of the contents of “66. History of Rock Music: 5. Metal” introduced on October 29, 2016.

Heavy metal, or Metal, is a genre of rock music that developed mainly in the United States and Britain between the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Most critics refer to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, or Black Sabbath as the first heavy metal band, but some refer to Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, or Blue Cheer as the first heavy metal band.

Iron Butterfly

In the mid-1970s, punk rock appeared and gained popularity in response to the social atmosphere at the time, but in the late 1970s, as the popularity of punk rock gradually declined and new wave music began to gain popularity, new heavy metal bands appeared and this phenomenon is called the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).” 

The bands included in the NWOBHM are Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard, and Heavy Metal regained popularity in the early 1980s due to the NWOBHM and the album “British Steel” by Judas Priest released in 1980. 

Iron Maiden

Album "British Steel", Judas Priest (1980)

By the mid-1980s, Glam Metal gained enormous popularity, and the new bands such as Warrant, Poison and Cinderella at the time were important bands in this field.

Warrant

In the 1980s, various sub-genres of heavy metal were developed outside of the commercial mainstream. The representative sub-genres are Thrash metal, Death metal, Black metal, Power metal, Doom metal and Gothic metal.

Thrash metal was born in the United States in the early 1980s under the influence of hardcore punk and NWOBHM, especially speed metal. The sound is faster and more aggressive than existing metal and glam metal bands, and the lyrics deal with social issues or nihilism. Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer are called "Big Four of Thrash Metal."

Anthrax

Thrash metal was developed and divided into more extreme metal genres, one of which is Death metal. Venom, one of the NWOBHM bands, is also one of the important pioneers of Death metal, introducing and emphasizing elements of blasphemy and demonism.

Venom

Black metal originated in Europe between the early and mid-1980s, and Venom, Mercyful Fate, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Bathory are representative bands. The vocals using screaming and growling, guitars with increased distortion, fast tremolo peaking frequently used and dark mood are emphasized and topics dealing with demonism are common.

Celtic Frost

Power metal gained popularity in the late 1980s due to the backlash against Death metal and Black metal. It is centered around upbeat and epic melodies and themes, and the prototype of this sound is Helloween, a German band in the mid and late 1980s.

Helloween

Doom Metal originated in the mid-1980s, and its major bands include Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Trouble and Candlemass. It is characterized by making the music slow enough to crawl in contrast to speed emphasis of other metals. Doom Metal can find its roots in the early Black Sabbath in terms of the subject of the lyrics and approach to music.

Saint Vitus

Gothic metal is a fusion genre that mixes Gothic rock of dark mood and heavy metal of heaviness, and applied Gothic elements to various styles of heavy metal. It was born in Europe with its origin in the formation of Death-Doom Metal, a fusion of Death Metal and Doom Metal. The lyrics are usually dark and self-reflecting, inspired by personal experiences and Gothic novels. The pioneers of Gothic metal are Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema.

My Dying Bride

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Next week, I will lecture 6th topic “Alternative Rock”.

Thank you.