HEAVY METAL: UNDERGROUND OR FRATERNITY
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by on 05-11-2005
HEAVY METAL: UNDERGROUND OR FRATERNITY
A lot has been written, primarily over the internet but also through many traditional and independent publications, regarding heavy metal as an “underground” music genre.. To be sure it no longer holds a dominant status in the sales figures of major record labels, nor does it dominate the touring market as it once did in it’s 80’s heyday. The question I present is: How did it come to this? At one time metal music was a prominent, even dominant, commercial force.. It is the opinion of this writer that it boils down to two factors: definition and fraternity.
As anyone who peruses the current, readily available media can attest, defining just what constitutes heavy metal can be a testy subject. When I was growing up in the late 70’s the words “heavy metal” were used to describe one band more than any other: Kiss. This can largely [...]
