Haenfler Chapter 5: Heavy Metal-Moral Panics, Satanic Scares, and Moral Entrepreneurs

SOCI 211

Where did heavy metal emerge from?

industrial, working-class cities like Birmingham England, but the music quickly became a suburban, middle-class phenomenon, and in the US working-class identity is less centralized

What are glam rockers?

mixed the flair of early punk and glitter rock with pop music to produce a gentler, catchier sound

Why did fans call glam rockers “hair metal”

band members wore makeup, colorful clothes, and impossibly big, teased hair

What genre attracted more women than earlier metal and thrash?

glam rock

What did glam rock focus on?

partying and good times (the “rock and roll lifestyle”), which contrasted with thrash and death metal’s more pessimistic themes

What is thrash metal?

sometimes called speed metal, influenced in part by punk ushered in a heavier, faster, less flamboyant sound that somehow managed to co-exist with glam

Why did thrash metal kids identify themselves as the opposite of glam?

they were less frilly and more substantive

What kind of metal concerts did mosh pits and slam-dancing become ubiquitous?

thrash concerts

What is slam-dancing?

entails running at one another and slamming together (usually at the shoulder), making a metal concert a full-contact affair

How did death metal fans differ from thrash metal and glam rockers?

they have a particular fascination not just with death but with the especially revolting (to the outsider) details involved

What do death metal fans embrace?

the disgusting, gory, and horrific aspects of death, as reflected in the bands’ names (ie., Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse, Carnage, etc.)

What is the music like in death metal?

loud, but often faster even than thrash, with guitars turned down to produce a low, rumbling sound

How did death metal drummers play the drums?

they played with two bass drums often so fast that the rhythm sounds like a machine gun

How did death metal singers sing?

they’d grunt, screech, and growl unintelligible lyrics ranging from graphic depictions of assault and murder to social commentary

What is viking metal?

originated in Scandinavia and paired Norse mythology with an “epic” sound that often included keyboards

What aspects did viking metal haved in their music?

contains racist and anti-Semitic imagery, encouraging youths to protect their national, native heritage from outsiders, and more often it contained anti-Christian messages or retells mythological stories

What is nu metal?

often sung in a rap-like cadence, combines the alienation and indignation of thrash with more mainstream styles, drawing fans including preppy suburban kids, goths, and skateboarders wearing oversized pants

What is doom metal?

low-tuned, often slow, extremely heavy music; has undergone a resurgence, inspired by experimental metal band Neurosis

What is alienation?

a state of being isolated or disconnected, feeling outcast and oppressed

How did metalheads respond to alienation?

they took pride in it, reacting to ostracism by rejecting the goals and values of society

Metal more often reinforces what kinds of themes?

hypermasculine themes of sexual power, domination of women, and risky behavior

How did most metal groups portray women?

very negatively, with some CDs displaying bound or tortured women and others were sexually misogynistic

How does thrash metal treat women?

excludes women almost entirely through female exscription, a process that made women absent or invisible

How is moral outrage in metal different from that in rap?

that generated by heavy metal (with its primarily white performers and audience) is significantly less than that caused by rap (audience and performers primarily black), reflecting the ongoing power of race in our culture

What is babymetal?

a Japanese kawaii metal band fronted by three female singers that blends metals riffs with cutesy Lolita styles and features pop-sounding vocals and elaborate dance routines more common to pop and R&B concerts

How do the women of metal challenge gender roles much like the women of punk and rap?

they defy the stereotype of women as groupies, asserting their power in a male-dominated subculture

How do women in metal present their physical features?

their beauty, as much as their musical talent, is often center stage, even if their tattoos and dyed hair offer a slightly different version of femininity

In what ways do metalheads perform authenticity?

they construct the rest of the world and other musicians as fake and metal as somehow more “real”

How do thrash metal fans view synthesizers and keyboards?

they think they’re inauthentic, as were videos, love ballads, and singing about “scoring chicks”

How do metalheads in the doom scene view melodic pop metal?

they scoff at it, praising sonically deep, heavy riffs

In virtually every metal subgenre, is it easier for men or for women to maintain authenticity?

men

Metalheads pay particular attention to what they perceive as contradictions in politics and organized religion, like what?

often criticized by Christian organizations, metalheads will point to scandals such as the Catholic priest molestation scandal, popular pastor Ted Haggard’s homosexual relationships while preaching about other sexual sins, and wealthy evangelist Tony Alamo’s 175-year sentence for trafficking minors

Why do Norwegian black metal bands use the phrase “black” metal?

it contrasts “Christian notions of purity”

What is a moral panic?

when a significant number of people in a society believe that a group of “evildoers” pose a threat to the moral order and therefore must be stopped

What is the first stage of a moral panic?

someone or something is defined as a threat to value or interests, often by someone in power

What is the second stage of a moral panic?

the media depicts the threat in an easily recognizable form, amplifying the perceived danger while offering incomplete information

What is the third stage of a moral panic?

public concern grows rapidly as more people become aware of the threat

What is the fourth stage of a moral panic?

authorities and opinion makers issue a response, calling for swift action to quell the threat

What is the fifth and final stage of a moral panic?

the moral panic recedes or results in social changes such as new laws or increased law enforcement

In general, what do moral panics reflect?

greater social anxiety

What are two of the biggest moral panics associated with heavy metal?

claims that metal encourages Satan worship and promotes suicide

What is the longest running moral panic associated with metal subculture?

satanism

What is subliminal black-masking?

encoding hidden messages into music discernible only when the music is played backwards

Who did moral panics about Satanism tend to occur among?

fundamentalist Christians with relatively little education who live in rural areas

Where are Satanism scares most prominent?

places suffering economic recession and/or where people perceive a decline in traditional religious and family values

Metalheads who sport inverted crosses or pentagrams are likely not Satanists—what is Satan a symbol of for them?

rebellion and open disdain for mainstream society

What is a folk devil?

someone who embodies evil and is held responsible for the suffering of the community

What do folk devils serve as?

“visible reminders of what we should not be” and often become scapegoats for other social problems

A folk devil is not necessarily a specific person—what is it?

a role, such as black metal fan or skinhead

What are moral entrepreneurs?

people who bring attention to a problem, create rules, label deviants, and then try to have the rules enforced

How is labeling theory used by moral entrepreneurs in metal music?

metal performers are not inherently deviant; rather, moral entrepreneurs label them, their music, and their behaviors deviant

What are moral entrepreneurial campaigns (moral crusades)?

used to convince politicians and the public to take immediate action against the tide of filth and restore values and decency to society

What do moral entrepreneurial campaigns require?

rule creators and rule enforcers

What are rule creators?

perceive a social problem and create new social rules or laws to redress the problem

What are rule enforcers?

implement the new rules, monitor those to whom the rules apply, and sanction rule breakers

Do rule creators or rule enforcers define and label deviant acts?

rule creators

How did the Parent Music Resource Center affect metal music?

claiming that heavy metal glorified violence, drug use, suicide, and promiscuous sex, it used its considerable political clout to call for Congressional hearings investigating rock, eventually forcing the recording industry to adopt Parental Advisory labels

How are attempts at censorship for metal music considered symbolic politics?

they’re designed to promote politicians’ popularity rather than actually change anything

What do symbolic politics appeal to?

citizens’ concerns and fears, usually using emotional expressions of outrage, oversimplified or ambiguous arguments, and half truths