Death Metal Music – Natalie J Purcell (1)

Photograph by N.J. Purcell The topic of race in metal is as fascinating as the topic of gender. Previous studies have found that metal heads are disproportionately white, and the survey results of this study confirmed these findings. Of those surveyed, 91.1 percent were white, 1.5 percent were black, 3 percent were Hispanic, and 4.5 percent fit into none of these categories. Thus, overall, less than 10 percent of those surveyed were not white. What can account for this? It is possible that methods of data collection affected the results of the study to some degree.

A number of participants were recruited online, and Internet access is greater for whites than for minorities. However, it is unlikely that that would account for much of the variation, and, in general, it seems justified to state that the metal scene possesses a disproportionate percentage of whites. Location may account for some of the variation. Much of the data was collected from persons living in suburban environments, and in such locations, there are fewer minorities than in urban environments.

Research observations at metal shows in diverse New York City, as opposed to predominantly white northwestern New Jersey, seem to suggest this. In this area of New Jersey, it is quite rare to see a black person at a metal show, although there are usually at least a few non-whites. On the contrary, in New York City, the proportion of white to non-whites appears to be about even. That is, there are about as many persons from all of the minority groups combined (especially African American, Asian, and Hispanic) as there are white persons.

Therefore, the location of the metal show itself will significantly affect the racial breakdown of the attendees. Minorities who do attend shows do not seem to feel out of place. They do not stick together, nor do they keep separate from white people. Race relations seem perfectly normal and friendly. Yet why are there so many more white persons involved in the metal scene? This is a complicated question that has much to do with the role of metal in providing a community or a family.

Part I. Defining Death Metal 1. The Genre and Its Sub-Genres 2. Fundamental Dynamics of the Scene 3. Lyrical Content Part II. The History of the Death Metal Scene 4. Origins: 1984–1988 5. Rise and Fall: 1989–1994 6. The Present: 1995–2002 Part III. Death Metal and American Politicians 7. The Skeleton in America’s Closet 8. The Politics of Censorship 9. Content Regulation Today and Tomorrow Part IV. Confronting the Consumers of Carnage 10.

Facing the Demon 11. Demographics 12. Attitudes 13. Philosophy and Ethics 14. Behavior 15. Concluding Opinions on Death Metal and Violence Part V. The Mind of the Metal Head and the Heart of the Underground 16. The Subcultural Phenomenon 17. Rebellion and Religion 18. Horror, Gore, Porn, and the American Mind Epilogue: Personal Reflections on Death Metal Appendix A. Project Goals, Implications, and Methodology Appendix B. Topics of Focus and Research Hypotheses Appendix C. Coded Survey Appendix D. Sample Interview Questions Appendix E.

Criticism of Methods and Suggestions for Future Research Notes Bibliography Index of Terms OceanofPDF.com Death Metal Music The Passion and Politics of a Subculture Natalie J. Purcell McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London OceanofPDF.com Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Purcell, Natalie J. Death Metal music : the passion and politics of a subculture / Natalie J.

Purcell. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7864-1585-4 1. Heavy metal (Music)—History and criticism. I. Title. ML3534.P91 2003 781.66—dc21 2003007616 British Library cataloguing data are available ©2003 Natalie J. Purcell. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

On the front cover: Sean McGrath of Impaled. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com OceanofPDF.com Acknowledgments This book is dedicated to all those in the Death Metal scene who generously gave their time and effort to this project. Thank you so much to the research assistants and to every interviewee who devoted time and thought to this endeavor: Pete, Killjoy, Kyle, King, Paul, Jeremy, John L., John G., Erik, Seth, Adrianne, Rob, John D., Brian, and Dana.

Special thanks are extended to Matt Medeiros for supporting this project from the start, to Jason Netherton and Matt Harvey for providing a wealth of advice and information, to Iris Duran for lending a critical eye and a helping hand, and to Bill for his help and generosity.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 412fffbe10bffcc8
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 5,242,433 bytes (5.0 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9780786415854
• Pages: 297
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 416.65 minutes
• Total Words: 83,331
• Total Characters: 514,449
• Average Words per Page: 280.58
• Average Characters per Page: 1732.15

Most Frequent Words

metal (1357), death (859), music (461), fans (311), scene (284), lyrics (277), one (267), bands (230), violence (221), horror (220), like (220), people (202), many (200), violent (128), band (128), also (120), often (114), even (114), shows (109), social (107), new (106), question (106), album (100), media (97), percent (97), much (96), it’s (96), american (95), life (94), between (94), however (93), study (90), society (89), culture (84), part (81), gore (78), good (78), world (78), behavior (76), time (76), feel (75), although (74), work (73), mainstream (73), religion (70), get (68), think (68), see (67), political (66), negative (66), school (65), something (64), variable (64), survey (63), general (63), way (63), genre (61), number (61), seems (61), musicians (60), themselves (60), first (60), positive (60), itself (59), yet (59), heads (59), nature (58), value (58), films (58), com (57), research (57), different (57), toward (57), themes (56), find (56), release (56), questions (55), ethical (54), show (54), rather (54), found (54), make (54), never (54), perhaps (53), thus (53), human (53), personal (52), paul (51), values (51), religious (51), entertainment (50), early (50), low (50), sound (50), songs (50), philosophy (49), extreme (49), males (49), seem (49), made (48).

PDF Download