Heavy Metal

The expression “heavy metal” to describe rock music that is usually electric guitar based and always loud has become increasingly popular in pop culture. However, it might seem a little strange that such an expression would be used to describe music. In order to find the origin and the reason why “heavy metal” is used as a label for music, it is necessary to examine some of the symbolism behind the two words.

First, in the 1950s “heavy” came to mean “serious or profound.” Therefore, since the music that falls under this label often addresses serious, and sometimes profound topics, the genre of music came to be known by that adjective.

The reason “metal” was used as a second part of the label for the hard rock genre of music is partly because metal is usually heavy. Also, many bands in the genre had names of metal (for example Led [lead] Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly etc.). When taking these factors into account, it is not hard to see why “heavy metal” was chosen as a label for this style of hard rock music.

Here is an example of how this expression is used:

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/for-heavy-metal-a-light-touch/ (see title and 1^st line of article)

Conheça também A Melhor Escola de Inglês:                   

Heavy Metal