Tsatsishvili, V. (2011). Automatic Subgenre Classification of Heavy Metal Music. Master's thesis, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Abstract: Automatic genre classification of music has been of interest for researchers over a decade. Many success-ful methods and machine learning algorithms have been developed achieving reasonably good results. This thesis explores automatic sub-genre classification problem of one of the most popular meta-genres, heavy metal. To the best of my knowledge this is the first attempt to study the issue. Besides attempting automatic classification, the thesis investigates sub-genre taxonomy of heavy metal music, highlighting the historical origins and the most prominent musical features of its sub-genres.
For classification, an algorithm proposed in (Barbedo & Lopes, 2007) was modified and implemented in MATLAB. The obtained results were compared to other commonly used classifiers such as AdaBoost and K-nearest neighbours. For each classifier two sets of features were employed selected using two strategies: Correlation based feature selection and Wrapper selection. A dataset consisting of 210 tracks representing seven genres was used for testing the classification algorithms. Implemented algorithm classified 37.1% of test samples correctly, which is significantly better performance than random classification (14.3%). However, it was not the best achieved result among the classifiers tested. The best result with correct classification rate of 45.7% was achieved by AdaBoost algorithm.
(Source: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/37227#)
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Hill, R. L. (2013). Representations and Experiences of Women Hard Rock and Metal Fans in the Imaginary Community. Ph.D. thesis, University of York, York, England.
Abstract: This thesis questions dominant representations of women hard rock and metal
fans, and contributes to the undeveloped area of scholarship on women’s
pleasure in music. I address the questions: how does the metal media represent women fans?; what is the impact of that representation?; and what can a consideration of women’s musical pleasure tell us? I work within the fields of popular music, subcultures, gender and metal studies and build upon feminist studies of rock music (e.g., Schippers 2002, Fast 1999 and Wise 1984).
The research sits alongside feminist work exploring the pleasures of metal (Overell 2010, Riches 2011), and Brown’s work on metal media (2007, 2009). A new framework, the imaginary community, allows a consideration of the gendered ideology of the genre and takes into account private modes of fandom. To establish the ideology I examined letters pages in a key hard rock and metal medium, Kerrang! magazine, between 2000-8.
Drawing on Barthes’ Mythologies (1957), I employed a semiotic analysis to expose the representation of women through myths. Using this representation as a comparative tool, I conducted interviews with women fans who liked bands featured in Kerrang!. I analysed the discourses mobilised in their responses to questions about their participation in communal and private activities (e.g. magazine reading, concert attendance); their interpretations of the groupie stereotype; and their preferences for particular bands. I argue that women fans are misrepresented as groupies and this impacts upon women’s ability to express their fandom. Considering women’s pleasure in the music draws out the ways in which women’s fandom challenges both the myth of the woman fan as groupie, and the reading of metal as a masculine genre. I conclude that exploring women’s fandom can provide fresh perspectives on hard rock and metal: we must be prepared to take women’s fandom seriously. (Source: PDF of PhD thesis)
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Morton, M., & Opipari, B. (2024). Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir. New York City: Hachette Books.
Abstract: "A gritty, revealing heavy metal memoir by Lamb of God’s lead guitarist and co-lyricist, which explores both his life in music and his tumultuous path through addiction and into recovery.
DESOLATION is the story of Morton's lifelong quest for clarity and self-acceptance, and shows how the pressures of career success and personal battles eventually came into conflict with Morton's dedication to the creative process. Intertwined with addiction, self-destruction, and the path to eventual surrender and recovery, Morton also reveals the greatest personal tragedy of his life: the death of his two-day old daughter, plunging Morton further into hopelessness. Surrounded by bandmates living their wildest dreams, Morton wanted nothing more than to disappear, ingesting potentially lethal cocktails of drugs and alcohol into his system on a daily basis.
And yet, amidst the harrowing heartbreak, there were moments of triumph, hope, and incredible personal connection. Morton developed close relationships with his bandmates and crew members, sharing experiences that have made for some strange and hilarious tales. He's also gained a greater sense of purpose through interactions with his fans, who remind him that his work reaches people on a deeply personal level. Through the highs and the lows, Morton learns how to find presence and gratitude where he once found fear and resentment, a process that he considers a gift of spiritual awakening.
DESOLATION is, at its core, about Morton's journey as a musician navigating self doubt, anxiety and the progressive disease of addiction, and ultimately finding relative serenity. Perfect for fans, new and old, as well as anyone who has ever been tested and brought to their limits, DESOLATION is a highly-satisfying, full-throttle investigation of the human experience. "
(source: Hachette Book Group)
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Baltazar, L. M. F. (2013). Are Heavy Metal Music Bands-Musicians, Managers of Their Own Music Business?: A Multiple Case Study: Portuguese vs. Finnish Bands (Anabela Dinis, Ed.). Doctoral thesis, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal.
Abstract: "The Music Industry is a very complex world that embraces different and broad segments needing of academic exploration. The big majority of studies and/or academic approaches to this unique business world have been focusing greatly on the record labels side but have failed to address the role of those who make the music – the musicians/artists. This is exactly what the present study aimed to understand: What is the role of the musicians in the music business? Aren’t they one of the key elements, essential players, within the whole industry, if not the most important elements ever?
The industry of music includes a large number of creative and wise musicians/bands behind one of the most discriminated music genres in the music history – Heavy Metal Music. However, diverse studies have demonstrated that Heavy Metal is recognized as a music genre that generates profit, with an increasing legion of fans all over the world hence, also considered popular music. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand how Heavy Metal Music bands and musicians succeed and how they manage to conciliate artistic creativity and commercial demands. By making a multiple case study analysis within two different settings – Portugal versus Finland – it will be shown that Heavy Metal bands / musicians possess business skills that allow them to manage and conduct both the artistic and business activities of their music business. In some of the cases, it will also be raised their entrepreneurial skills in innovating and finding new ways of reaching the audience and becoming more successful whilst doing what they love the most – making music and playing it live."
(Source: ProQuest Dissertations Publishing)
Ciências Sociais e Humanas (Social Sciences and Humanities).
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Herbst, J. - P. (Ed.). (2023). The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Abstract: “Exploring the musical styles and cultures of metal, this Companion is an indispensable introduction to this popular and distinctive genre” (source: Amazon.com).
“Since its beginnings more than fifty years ago, metal music has grown in popularity worldwide, not only as a musical culture but increasingly as a recognised field of study. This Cambridge Companion reflects the maturing field of 'metal music studies' by introducing the music and its cultures, as well as recent research perspectives from disciplines ranging from musicology and music technology to religious studies, Classics, and Scandinavian and African studies. Topics covered include technology and practice, identity and culture, modern metal genres, and global metal, with reference to performers including Black Sabbath, Metallica and Amon Amarth. Designed for students and their teachers, contributions explore the various musical styles and cultures of metal, providing an informative introduction for those new to the field and an up-to-date resource for readers familiar with the academic metal literature” (source: https://www.cambridge.org/).
Collection: The Cambridge Companions to Music.
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