So I was at work today, sifting through my usual round of news sites, when I saw this very interesting article in The Atlantic. I check the Atlantic mainly to read the columns by Andrew Sullivan and Christopher Hitchens, but here and there another writer will catch my eye.
Contributing Editor James Parker has written a piece called How Heavy Metal Is Keeping Us Sane. James Parker commonly writes on cultural topics, from dissecting the appeal of pop-stars, to the many trends circulating through television. I'd read a couple of his articles before, but had no clue he was into Metal, which made my finding this article a very pleasant surprise.
The thrust of his argument goes as follows: heavy metal music taps into the chaotic core impulses of the human psyche and provides an outlet for all of that energy that is otherwise untouched by lighter forms of art and music. (My paraphrasing)
I've heard and made similar arguments before when discussing metal with people who either don't listen to it, or simply don't like it. It is true that aggressive music provides a level of catharsis and release that other music fails to reach. Parker describes it like this:
But when it starts to get heavy, dilating your blood vessels and stirring the roots of your hair, you know you are approaching the primary vision—of man besieged, man pulled apart, man suspended over gulfs of penal fire.
Couldn't put it better myself. He goes onto describe how by being in touch with such brutish impulses, Metal embodies the reality of the world around us, which thereby damns the message of something like "easy-listening" to little more than an untenable lie.
As much as I enjoyed the article, I'd like to think of Metal as something more than just another "I'm ok, you're ok" sort of therapy session. In other words, I'd like to think of Metal as enjoyable for its own sake. That and he does make a few generalizations about Metal fans and lyrics that could use some clarification, even if partly true. In mentioning Nu-Metal and the backlash against it, he could have mentioned the waves of bands that came after it in more detail. However, I like his side observation about Metal and its symbiotic relationship with Punk. He very wisely notes Punk's distaste for grandiose and fantastical themes, an attitude carried on to this day in much of the Hardcore scene. Despite these subtle differences, I think the appeal of Punk and Hardcore is very similar to that of Metal. While the structure and theme may be different, the impulses are all the same.
Anyway, I'm glad I found this article and I wanted to share it with all of you guys. Once again, you can find the article on The Atlantic's website.
Parker, James. How Heavy Metal Is Keeping Us Sane. The Atlantic, May 2011.
