Death metal is one of popular music's most extreme variants, and is typically viewed as almost monolithically nihilistic, misogynistic, and reactionary. Michelle Phillipov's Death Metal and Music Criticism: Analysis at the Limits offers an account of listening pleasure on its own terms. Through an analysis of death metal's sonic and lyrical extremity, Phillipov shows how violence and aggression can be configured as sites for pleasure and play in death metal music, with little relation to the "real" lives of listeners. In some cases, gruesome lyrical themes and fractured song forms invite listeners to imagine new experiences of the body and of the self. In others, the speed and complexity of the music foster a "technical" or distanced appreciation akin to the viewing experiences of graphic horror film fans. These aspects of death metal listening are often neglected by scholarly accounts concerned with evaluating music as either 'progressive' or "reactionary." By contextualizing the discussion of death metal via substantial overviews of popular music studies as a field, Phillipov's Death Metal and Music Criticism highlights how the premium placed on political engagement in popular music studies not only circumscribes our understanding of the complexity and specificity of death metal, but of other musical styles as well. Exploring death metal at the limits of conventional music criticism helps not only to develop a more nuanced account of death metal listening--it also offers some important starting points for rethinking popular music scholarship as a whole.

In Heavy Metal Music in Latin America: Perspectives from the Distorted South, the editors bring together scholars engaged in the study of heavy metal music in Latin America to reflect on the heavy metal genre from a regional perspective. The contributors’ southern voices diversify metal scholarship in the global north. An extreme musical genre for an extreme region, the contributors explore how issues like colonialism, dictatorships, violence, ethnic extermination and political persecution have shaped heavy metal music in Latin America, and how music has helped shape Latin American culture and politics.

Death Metal is among the most despised forms of violently themed entertainment. Many politicians, conservative groups and typical Americans attribute youth violence and the destruction of social values to such entertainment. The usual assumptions about the Death Metal scene and its fans have rarely been challenged. This book investigates the demographic trends, attitudes, philosophical beliefs, ethical systems, and behavioral patterns within the scene, seeking to situate death metal in the larger social order. The Death Metal community proves to be a useful microcosm for much of American subculture and lends insight into the psychological and social functions of many forbidden or illicit entertainment forms. The author's analysis, rich in interviews with rock stars, radio hosts, and average adolescent fans, provides a key to comprehending deviant tendencies in modern American culture.

(Bass Instruction). As the original bassist for the seminal death metal band Cannibal Corpse, author Alex Webster offers invaluable insight into the realm of metal bass guitar. This exclusive book/audio pack provides detailed, hands-on training, featuring vital bass guitar techniques and concepts. Extreme Metal Bass further demonstrates how these techniques can be applied in real-life situations within the context of a song. No matter what brand of metal you subscribe to from classic metal to modern metal and beyond Extreme Metal Bass will supply the bass skills you crave. Extreme Metal Bass also includes access to enhanced audio with demonstration and play-along tracks of all the examples in the book, plus play-along MIDI drum files for optimum practicing. This book is designed for players who use a standard-tuned five-string bass (low to high: B-E-A-D-G). If you do not have a five-string bass, a four string (tuned B-E-A-D) will work for much of the material presented.

It has been reviled, dismissed, attacked, and occasionally been the subject of Congressional hearings, but still, the genre of music known as heavy metal maintains not only its market share in the recording and downloading industry, but also as a cultural force that has united millions of young and old fans across the globe. Characterized by blaring distorted guitars, drum solos, and dramatic vibrato, the heavy metal movement headbanged its way to the popular culture landscape with bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath the 1970s. Motley Crue and Metallica made metal a music phenomenon in the 1980s. Heavy metal continues to evolve today with bands like Mastodon and Lamb of God. Providing an extensive overview of the music, fashion, films, and philosophies behind the movement, this inclusive encyclopedia chronicles the history and development of heavy metal, including sub-movements such as death metal, speed metal, grindcore, and hair metal. Essential and highly entertaining reading for high school and undergraduate courses in popular music studies, communications, media studies, and cultural studies, the Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music and Culture offers a guide to the ultimate underground music, exploring its rich cultural diversity, resilience, and adaptability. Entries for musicians include a discography for those wanting to start or develop their music collections.

The result of an extensive poll asking heavy metal fans to list their favouritealbums, this compendium combines those surveys with Popoff's original interviews with world famous rockers who reveal recording session secrets in addition to their own heavy classics and ear-splitting faves. With reviews of early metal albums of the 1960s, as well as the latest hits, this essential resource blends praise with criticism to give an honest assessment of the most influential and important heavy metal recordings.

Includes interviews with band members and fans, from countries ranging from the UK and US to Israel and Sweden, this book demonstrates the power and subtlety of an often surprising and misunderstood musical form. It draws on first-hand research to explore the global extreme metal scene.