The Art of Heavy Metal

Shaunt Sulahian

April 29, 2012

English 114B

Professor Dinsmore

                                                            The Art of Heavy Metal

I would like to focus on the identity of heavy metal music and how it influences identity and certain spaces for individuals who listen to heavy metal and go to frequent rock shows. I prefer to speak about this topic because I am not only in a heavy metal band, but also a more Alternative-Latin oriented group. Both groups attract a totally and undeniably different crowd and vibe, and it’s intriguing to see why that is. I am a fan of all genres of music ranging from classical to death metal and even electronica; I would also want to try and tackle the idea of what elements of music attract a certain crowd more than another. However, I would like to keep my focus directed towards heavy metal because of one reason.

Being involved with music at an early age has taught me that music has constantly evolved over the decades, each with carrying out certain trends that tend to die out rather quickly. Nevertheless, heavy metal is one massive genre that has obviously evolved, but has not died out. It is still considered to be shocking and still gives individuals of all ages the much needed rush in their lackluster lives. Heavy metal can be such an enormous presence in one’s life and can truly act as a soulful manifestation. Beginning with the true godfathers of heavy metal, Black Sabbath has shaped all that is metal over time. With the influence of Sabbath, metal has become a culture and a way of life to most individuals who are involved with heavy music in general.  For example, later front-man of Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio, began popularizing the metal horns which is a worldwide famed hand gesture used at heavy metal concerts (Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame). Metal creates this powerful sense of unity amongst its listeners. One does not simply pull up the metal horns at a Coldplay show.  This “culture” has its own rules and regulations that individuals make an effort to learn because they adore the genre. One must be weary if he or she does not know how to act and behave at a metal show. Some situations might even possibly get out of hand if an individual does not have any knowledge of how massive hordes of people behave at these shows. For example, besides the metal horns, there are acts like head-banging and moshing which can potentially become dangerous if one does not know how to act accordingly. I speak from experience when I say that straining your neck is the least of your worries. Head-banging began in 1968 at a Led Zeppelin concert, and it has since evolved into different styles. It is widely known and accepted in the metal community, even though most individuals are unaware of its potential dangers. Although it does not serve has a huge health risk, head-banging often can lead to a stroke. It is a common art for individuals at a metal show as well as in their bedroom (Hendrick). Moshing, however, is a way more extreme type of art in the world of heavy metal. A mosh pit by definition is an area at the front of the stage at a rock concert where individuals dance in a violent and frantic manner. Over time, the controversy regarding moshing has amplified and continues to do so. The violent forms of expression have resulted in a few deaths over a period of several decades, but individuals blatantly state that they are not trying to hurt each other while participating in a pit. Some even follow a certain form of etiquette while in a mosh pit. Examples of this would be that if a pit is flowing in a clock words motion, you must do the same. If an individual goes against the flow of the pit, then he or she is more likely to be severely injured. Also, one should wear the right gear. Heavy clothing is a necessity if one does not want excessive bruising the morning after. The more common rules would obviously be to help an individual if he or she is lying on the floor, and not physically force or throw anyone into the pit. Nevertheless, mosh pits are huge a form of expression along with head-banging in the world of metal. During many instances, artists will emphasize from the stage to start a pit to keep the energy of the show alive. However, they will also stress about the dangers and will caution the audience to help anyone who has fallen down. These attributes can give one the idea of what the environment at a rock show would look like. No matter how extreme these acts might get, fans of the genre will continue participating in these actions because they are energetic and passionate individuals that not only understand the vibe of a metal show, but actually crave this active form of expression (Safeconcerts).

As I stated before, metal unifies its listeners, which is very much emphasized in present times. If one considers America’s top 40 when it comes to radio stations, one might speculate that heavy metal is a dying art. It breaks my heart to say that it is an awkward time for metal & Rock 'n Roll as electronic music along with hip hop has for the most part taken over radio stations (Robinson). I believe it is because of this reason that fans and listeners to heavy metal around the globe unite when they see that another individual shares there taste in music. For example, I have encountered multiple instances of seeing an individual wearing a band t-shirt, and I would approach them and begin a conversation regarding the band. I am also often approached in similar situations. In my mind, heavy metal is so under the radar, that I begin comparing these situations in my personal everyday life. For example, my ethnicity even relates to this type of unity when I describe the bond that heavy metal brings up between two individuals. There are about 9 million Armenians worldwide, and the Armenian Genocide of 1915 caused a lot of torment and horror to our race. Therefore, although Los Angeles has a great number of Armenians, there is that same sense of unity when Armenians come across one another regardless of their whereabouts. At least this is how I roughly interpret the unity amongst metal fans in this day and age. It also does not help that MTV has completely shut off all that is heavy metal and Rock 'n Roll. I might even go as far as to say that it has stopped being involved with music, which is extremely unfortunate, being as it was a huge contender for the genres to strive amongst its listeners and newly formed bands to develop a solid reliable fan base. With television and radio lacking in their support of heavy metal or rock music in general, it is obvious that the genre is in somewhat of a hole. With little exposure to the masses, individuals do not get the full effect of this genre of music. Only the ones passionate about the genre will go and put in the effort to dig up music from their favorite artists. Other forms of music get more attention because of today’s market and trends. Electronic music is heavily marketed and is in its prime, while it draws huge crowds to electronic music/light shows called Raves. Therefore, it is my duty as an avid heavy metal fan and songwriter to use my talents to do everything to bring back the likes of Rock 'n Roll in general and heavy metal in particular, to the masses (Sulahian).

Conclusively, I myself might be a head-banger and an occasional mosher, but nevertheless I am proud of it. I wrote this essay based on both research and life experiences. Listening to metal daily is almost a necessity for my state of being, and because of its impact on my life, I will make an endless effort for the genre to grow and prosper with my music, and perhaps even try to popularize it as well.

                                                            Works Cited

Sulahian, Rouben. Interview with Shaunt Sulahian. 29  Apr. 2011.

“Black Sabbath Biography”. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.

Safeconcerts. “Crowd Surfing & Moshing”. Safeconcerts. 2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2012

Robinson, Peter. “Is Rock ‘N Roll finally dead?” The Guardian. 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2012

Hendrick, Bill. Metal Health: “Headbanging Hurts”. CBS News HealthWatch

                2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.

Heavy Metal : A Way of Life

For my essay, I would like to focus on the identity of heavy metal music and how it influences identity, certain spaces for individuals who listen to heavy metal, and gender roles. I would like to speak about this topic because I am not only in a heavy metal band, but also a more Alternative-Latin oriented group.

Both groups attract a totally and undeniably different crowd and vibe, and it’s intriguing to see why that is. Being that I am a fan of all genres of music ranging from classical to music to death metal to electronica, I  would also want to try and tackle the idea of what elements of music attract a certain crowd more than another. However, I would like to keep my focus directed towards heavy metal because of one reason. Being involved with music at an early age has taught me that music has constantly evolved over the decades, each with carrying out certain trends that tend to die out quickly. Nevertheless, heavy metal is one massive genre that has obviously evolved, but has not died out. It is still considered to be shocking and still gives individuals of all ages the much needed rush in their lackluster lives. Heavy Metal can be such an enormous presence in one’s life and can truly act as a soulful manifestation. Beginning with the true Godfathers of heavy metal, Black Sabbath have shaped all that is heavy metal and over time. With the influence of Sabbath, metal has become a culture and a way of life to most individuals who are involved with heavy music in general.  For example, later front-man of Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio, began popularizing the metal horns which is a worldwide famed hand gesture used at heavy metal concerts. Heavy metal creates this powerful sense of unity amongst its listeners. One does not simply pull up the metal horns at a Coldplay show.  This culture has its own rules and regulations that individuals will make an effort to learn because they adore the genre. I will expand on this topic in the coming week. 

Thoughts on As Nature Made Him

As Nature Made Him was undeniably a painful read. A tragedy like this hopefully opened the worlds eyes in a sense where they should almost always like nature take its toll. This does not mean that if an individual has a disease, it should not be treated, but this does show that Mother Nature always has its way of taking care of a certain situation. The act of nurture obviously influences a child growing up. Society shapes and changes an individual along with the extreme influence of parental figures, but this will not change someone from who they want to become at heart. However, I had this same mindset even after I read this book and watched a few documentaries. Regardless of the hormones that you inject inside your system, your heart and mind will not change. Nature will overcome nurture at all costs, and David’s tragedy is a prime example of this case. It is obvious that scientists wanted to thoroughly study this case because it is one of the most intriguing events that I have ever read about. I was highly interested in experiment involving the rats. The scientists proved to Dr. Money that Nature would overcome Nurture, but unfortunately that amount of evidence was not suffice. Regardless, David proved this theory to the world himself, when he expressed himself in the documentary. David’s story was heartbreaking to learn about, but it really strengthened my thoughts on this subject. Parental figures should give their children guidance, advice, knowledge, and love, but they should never even dare to tell them what they should or have to become. We’ve seen this story and we now know how it ends. Just wish for David that it could have possibly ended differently. 

Persepolis:Space

Marjane grows up in Iran in a more or less reserved space. She is a curious and rebellious young girl at the very start of the book, and continues the same way as she grows older. Growing up as a teenager in Iran, Marjane and her family have several interests that are not accepted in the Iranian society. For example, she grows fond of heavy metal and begins to roam the street corners in ways to find and somehow smuggle new music. Also, Marjanes parents enjoy wine and casual family get together and need to take extreme caution because the government does not allow keeping alcohol in the households. This already shows a very reserved communistic space. Marjane moves out of Iran to live in Austria. Marjanes parents feel like she will be able to express herself freely and live in a safer environment by sending her to Austria. Although this is true, Marjane still feels like she us surrounded by superficial people who take her freedom for granted. She fears she is becoming someone that she is not is this alternate society. In Iran, women are criticized, just for being women. There were frequent hate crimes against women in communist societies, and if their heads were not covered, men were to urge them in public to cover it up by referring to them as “sisters”. In the West, women were treated as equals, and still are. After the collapse of the soviet union, hopefully things Iran settled down a bit more regarding the discrimination against women. As my parents also lived in the Soviet Union, they would tell me stories on how it was expected for a man to support for a family. I can name only a few cities which this is not the mentality of the society. This is one thing the East and the West surely have in common. The idea that even though women are treated as equals, and  even though there are certainly extremely powerful woman figures all over the world, men will always be the ones that are expected to take control of the family and provide for them.

Project Space: Essay

For this essay, I would like to discuss the effects of elementary, middle-high school, and college on an individual’s space. Transitions between schools can truly be a stressful situation for someone, especially if they are not well informed on what’s to come in the approaching years. I would like to give my take on how these school years affected my own personal space in comparison to the different school settings. Schools will noticeably vary from public to private institutions, as well as charter schools, and the vast array of many universities, but I would like to speak about the only two institutions in my life that I have attended.  This includes an Armenian private school called AGBU which carried out elementary, middle school, and high school. I am currently attending Cal-State Northridge.

Although all settings were featured in the same learning institution at AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union), the transitions between each setting still put pressure on most of the kids. Regarding my space in elementary, I felt free for the most part as I was not a demanding child. Discipline was never a problem for me as I would attend Tae Kwon Do for throughout all my elementary/middle school years, so I definitely knew how not to act out of place. I made new friends every year and had some of the greatest childhood memories in this school. Each year we only had one individual teacher that offered her guidance as we progressed through the months. I believe it was in my last year of elementary school when lockers were introduced. This was the first significant change to my space as we always kept our books and belongings in our desks. The courses were not much of a burden to me, as I knew school was my priority and would accomplish all my tasks at hand. I thought of school as my job, and had a great mindset as a child. My parents influence was strong on my mentality as I absorbed their teachings like a sponge, ironically much more than what was actually taught to me in school. Not many kids complained in elementary as the first five years of school had flown by. My friends and I felt comfortable in this setting as we were anxious for what was to come. We had no worries and not many pressures and like many other kids, elementary was more of a joyous experience than any other schooling institution. It defined a small percentage of our lives, but I would love to speak for all kids when I say that memories are created in one’s elementary years that will surely never be forgotten.

Middle school on the other hand was a different beast to conquer. These years were not only more challenging but more stressful. Suddenly this environment, my personal space, felt disrupted. Throughout these years, physical education was a requirement and acted as a strong burden in my life. Running a mile twice a week was enforced throughout physical education, which made me truly despise this course. I began acting out when an instructor told me to begin running a mile. Sometimes I would simply not run and face the consequences. As I began feeling this affliction on my personal space, I became more rebellious. I was not alone in my rebellious state, as my friends had my back in these dreadful years. Throughout the last couple years of middle school, many changes began to take place in AGBU. The faculties that we knew and loved were fired for reasons that are still unknown to us until this day. This caused a very negative impact on both students and families as the future of AGBU was not looking bright. There was talk amongst many students about leaving to a public high school or any other different institution. As high school came along, many students did leave with some being my closest friends. My parents offered to take me to a public school, but at the time I did not want to accept change. I thought four years would be able to fly be, but this quickly became one of my greatest regrets as junior and senior year came along. High School did not enforce students to participate in physical education which was definitely a plus in my eyes. I tried to make the best out of my high school experience, although AGBU was drastically different then a public school setting. I often associated with public school kids as I was very active with trying to form bands. As I visited their schools, I suddenly felt like I was imprisoned in my harsh and authoritarian private school. I witnessed how my friends from other schools had such a wide range of space, seeing new faces daily and experiencing the real effect of a high school. I craved the feeling of seeing and meeting new people every day, as I was more than sick of the simple-minded and materialistic people that surrounded me. I wanted to be able to choose my own classes and be more involved with music both on my spare time and at school. I basically wanted to be surrounded by music at all given times of the day. I wanted to make productive use of my time and keep expanding my knowledge of all genres of music as I began composing non-stop in my junior year of high school. I formed my bands and played countless shows, but school still acted as more of an obstacle instead of something that would help define my musical career and help me in the long run. However, at the end of my senior year my troubles came to an end as it was time to begin my first year at a university.

I chose to go to CSUN because it was not only nearby, but it had an incredible music program. To be honest, my space and my life changed completely for the better as I began attending this university. I began taking music classes immediately and started building upon my musical knowledge. A university is just what I needed to expand my mind while keeping my stress at a minimum level. The space at CSUN is the space I desired from the moment I began high school. I love seeing new faces and associating with many different kinds of people. However, I wanted to see what type of environment my friends were in, so I visited some at different universities. I visited some friends at Pepperdine University and asked them a few questions and made a comparison in my thoughts to the college I attend to. Pepperdine is an independent, private university. My friends immediately told me one thing that stood out to them was that it was significantly more difficult than high school. Every course required them to put it a vast amount of effort even in their freshman year. They spoke about how convenient it is to be by the Malibu Beach, and how they use it as an escape to ease their minds at difficult times. I also thought that being next to the beach is an incredible way to calm your soul when you need a change of scenery. I compared these points to CSUN and thought to myself that being a Cal State school; so far this year has not put a significant weight on my shoulders. My space is not disrupted and I am significantly happier as I attend CSUN. In these seven months of attending this university, I realized that I already learned double the amount of all four years of high school combined. Every professor I’ve had acts as a knowledgeable and influential figure in my life that has redefined my learning experience. I have already met some of the friendliest and cultured people while attending CSUN, and am more than anxious to see what’s to come in the forthcoming years. I have a strong feeling that this university is going to shape who I become and cause a truly positive impact on my space, much unlike high school.

Conclusively, I feel honored and comfortable with my space as I attend Cal State Northridge. Different institutions caused stressful situations in my life, but I am blessed to have a loving family, nice hearted friends, and great professors to make both my personal space and my overall life a better place.