Rock Music Studies

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Toward a Systematic Understanding of

“Heaviness” in Metal Music Production

Jan-Peter Herbst & Mark Mynett

To cite this article: Jan-Peter Herbst & Mark Mynett (2022): Toward a Systematic
Understanding of “Heaviness” in Metal Music Production, Rock Music Studies, DOI:
10.1080/19401159.2022.2109358

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/19401159.2022.2109358

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Published online: 13 Aug 2022.

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ROCK MUSIC STUDIES
https://doi.org/10.1080/19401159.2022.2109358

Toward a Systematic Understanding of “Heaviness” in Metal

Music Production
Jan-Peter Herbst and Mark Mynett
School of Arts & Humanities, Department of History, English, Linguistics and Music, Richard Steinitz Building,
University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, UK

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
“Heaviness” has been one of metal music’s defining features in Heaviness; metal music;
three decades of metal scholarship. Research acknowledged its production; performance;
essential quality, but no comprehensive definition of musical heavi­ composition
ness was developed. This article, therefore, elaborates a preliminary
framework of musical heaviness by identifying its constituent pro­
duction, performance, and compositional components, including
their relationships. The findings suggest that while structural and
performative components provide the necessary foundation for
heaviness, metal has been increasingly driven by its production.
Since musicians reach limits, technology has become one of the
primary means to produce ever heavier metal music in the genre-
defining quest for greater heaviness.

Introduction
Metal music has emerged in the last decade as a thriving research area within the inter­
disciplinary field of popular music studies. Building on earlier musicological (Berger;
Walser) and sociological (Kahn-Harris; Weinstein) research, metal has increasingly been
studied from various perspectives, from leisure (Spracklen) and Scandinavian (Helden)
studies to history (Barratt-Peacock and Hagen) and gender studies (Hill). Much like its
parent discipline of popular music studies, the field has undergone a “cultural turn,”
shifting the focus from the musical artifact to its broader functions for culture and society
(Bennett). This trend toward multidisciplinary scholarship has added a more comprehen­
sive perspective to our understanding of metal and its diverse cultures (Brown et al.;
Wallach et al.). However, if research gives preference to a cultural lens over a “musical”
one, the music is prone to be neglected (Arvidson; Tagg).1
One musical area overlooked in metal studies is “heaviness,” which for many research­
ers, notably from musicology and music technology, is the defining quality of the genre
(Berger; Berger and Fales; Herbst, “Heaviness”; Mynett, Metal; Smialek; Thomas;
Walther-Hansen; Williams). Despite a common appreciation of “heaviness” in metal
music since its inception in the early 1970s, latterly accompanied by three decades of
metal scholarship, no comprehensive definition or systematic understanding of musical
heaviness exists. The term is taken for granted, based on the assumption that any metal

CONTACT Jan-Peter Herbst [email protected] School of Arts & Humanities, Department of History, English,
Linguistics and Music, Richard Steinitz Building, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, UK
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
2 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

researcher or fan knows what heaviness is. That the matter is far more complex quickly
becomes evident when comparing the available academic sources, which vary in detail
and often suggest that heaviness is a multifaceted metaphor (Walther-Hansen)
encompassing more than just tonal qualities. Harris M. Berger notes that “any
element of the musical sound can be heavy if it evokes power or any of the grimmer
emotions” (59), and Mark Mynett sees heaviness as a “discursive category that implies
a collection of sonic characteristics and performance/compositional approaches”
(“Heaviness” 66). Simon Zagorski-Thomas similarly points out that while many
musical qualities make metal “heavy,” the perception of heaviness is intricate because
it is affected by memories of live performances, band interviews, and album reviews
(Musicology 215). Other influencing factors are visual qualities, such as corpse-paint
make-up or gory album covers in extreme metal. From this perspective, the perceived
heaviness of death or black metal bands is informed not only by the sound of their
music (Halnon; Podoshen et al.), but also by extramusical extremity and transgression
(Hannan; Kahn-Harris; Smialek).
“Heavy” semantically refers to something of great weight or power, indicating a high
degree of physical mass or activity. This semantic understanding is consistent with
musical “heaviness,” described as an ontological metaphor existing at the base level of
perception, with conceptual mapping employed to cognitively process an auditory
experience for which no linguistic concepts exist (Walther-Hansen). Musical heaviness
is commonly characterized by sonic weight, achieved through a distinctive low-frequency
spectrum (Adlington; Hannan; Mynett, Metal; Thomas; Wallmark; Walther-Hansen;
Williams), but it appears to be further affected by motion metaphors (Adlington) and
force attributes (Walther-Hansen) that link heaviness with energy, power, and punch
(Mynett, Metal). How the complex impression of heaviness is created by the interplay of
structural features, performance attributes, and engineering approaches in record pro­
duction is still unclear. Studies have looked at individual components in isolation, but
a systematic understanding explaining what elements contribute to heaviness and how
they relate to each other has not yet been established.
This article, therefore, aims to elaborate a framework of musical heaviness in the
metal genre by identifying its constituent components and their relationships.
Sociological, emotional, and associative components (e.g., Berger; Wallach et al.;
Wallmark; Weinstein) are secondary. Extramusical factors (Halnon; Podoshen et al.)
are disregarded, as is the low-fidelity aesthetic characteristic of some styles of black
metal, which according to Ian Reyes (Sound, “Blacker”) and Hagen is characterized by
a very different form of heaviness. In the present research, such lo-fi aesthetics are not
considered, as a specific and more detailed discussion is required, which is beyond the
scope of this study.
The article is part of a larger research project that empirically investigates how
heaviness is created and controlled in metal music production, building on Mynett’s
work (“Distortion,” Metal, “Defining,” “Heaviness,” “Maximum”) and other relevant
studies in the formative research on the production of this genre (Herbst, “Historical”;
Reyes, Sound; Thomas; Turner; Williams). The discursive metaphorical use of heaviness
in metal is investigated elsewhere (Herbst and Mynett, “What”). Here, the focus is on
musical production, performance, and compositional features that constitute and influ­
ence heaviness in recorded form.
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 3

To arrive at a preliminary but systematic framework of musical heaviness that reflects

current discourse and establishes a common ground for future research, this study
amalgamates varied considerations of “heaviness” in metal music literature and analyzes
song examples. In this respect, any attempts to determine which musical parameters are
deemed heaviest would appear somewhat futile, as a wide variety of heaviness “types”
exist, and metal subgenres place certain qualities above others to distinguish themselves
aesthetically, ideologically, and emotionally.
The findings suggest that while structural and performative components provide the
necessary foundation for heaviness, this defining quality continues to be driven and
informed by its production and the associated technology. This is especially the case, as it
appears that metal musicians have reached the physical performance boundaries of
tempi/speed of subdivisions while likewise reaching the realistic limits of down-tuning.
Consequently, this study examines how the various structural and performative aspects
relate to each other, enabling a range of rationalizations of how a desired effect of
heaviness can be produced.

Sonic and Production Parameters of Heaviness

Given that most of the research on heaviness stems from music technology (Herbst,
“Historical”; Mynett, Metal; Thomas; Wallmark; Williams), it is clear that a significant
extent of perceived heaviness is directly informed by the music’s associated production
process. It may, therefore, come as a surprise that approaches to producing “heavy”
sounds are seldom covered in mixing manuals (Man and Reiss). For Niall Thomas, the
four key production elements of heaviness are impact, energy, precision, and extremity
(187), while Mynett sees its core parameters in sonic weight, size, density, loudness,
power, aggression, energy, emotion, and intensity (Metal 21). Based on academic and
journalistic texts, this first section proposes and explains four interrelated conceptual
parameters that play a role in shaping heaviness from a music production perspective.
Structural and performative elements are subsequently considered based on the devel­
oped understanding of how they are influenced by production in the recorded format.

Distortion
Many scholars see the distorted electric guitar’s sound as the defining element of metal
music, not least because of its role for heaviness (Berger and Fales; Herbst, “Historical”;
Kahn-Harris; Mynett, “Distortion”; Wallmark; Walser). Berger notes that “[f]irst and
foremost, ‘heavy’ describes distorted guitar timbres” (58), further claiming that “all of the
other uses of the term are metaphoric extensions of this primary use” (Berger and Fales
182). Guitar sounds have changed significantly over time (Herbst, “Historical”), facil­
itating the genre’s quest for greater heaviness (Berger 58).
Distortion transforms the guitar from an impulsive to a sustained instrument, which is
considered the main factor contributing to the perceptual experience of heaviness
(Berger and Fales; Herbst, “Heaviness”). Harmonic distortion extends the guitar’s high-
frequency energy, expands the lower- and upper-frequency spectrum, shifts formants,
flattens the dynamic envelope making it appear louder, and adds noise. The extended
frequency spectrum provides a “weighty” low-end and ensures perceived “in-your-face”
4 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

proximity and aggression due to the heightened high-end. But distortion is far from
limited to the guitar. The bass guitar, snare drum, and drum rooms are also commonly
distorted (Mynett, Metal), as are the vocals; either at source via the raspy, rough-timbred
“singing” styles typical of metal (Wallach et al. 11; Wallmark 68–69) and/or through
sound processing.
Harmonic distortion is essential for metal music (production). Many core parameters
of heaviness, such as perceived weight, size, density, loudness, power, and aggression, are
supported by it (Mynett, Metal 9–21). Engineering reasons aside, the human hearing
system distorts when exposed to extreme sound levels. Furthermore, audible vocal
distortion is produced when the capabilities of vocal cords are exceeded by shouting or
screaming, usually caused by states of high-intensity emotion (Mynett, “Defining” 309–
10; Wallmark 75; Walser 42). Hence right from an early age, distortion is associated with
perceived loudness, power, aggression, energy, emotion, and intensity (Herbst,
“Distortion”; Wallmark et al.).

Sonic Weight, Size, and Density

Weight is a fundamental component of heaviness, semantically and acoustically
(Walther-Hansen 105–07). Sonic weight and heaviness are related but are distinguishable
(Mynett, Metal 14–16). The perceived heaviness of a single component and the whole
production is strongly impacted by energy in the middle and upper parts of the spectrum.
In contrast, sonic weight refers primarily to the low-frequency component and perceived
“mass” of this frequency area, with little consideration of higher ranges of the spectrum
(Gibson 119; Mynett Metal 14; Wallmark 67; Walther-Hansen 105–07). Deena Weinstein
highlights the importance of the amplified bass guitar having a considerable impact on
the sense of heaviness through weight, density, and depth (24). This spectral region is
perceived as big, dense, and forceful when the bass plays together with the guitars and/or
drums (Mynett, “Defining” 309). Similarly, double bass drums (aka double kick) add
weight to a mix (Wallach et al. 11). Besides the mere presence of these instruments, their
tonal characteristics are relevant. Since low frequencies contribute to the sense of weight,
adjusting pitch is an effective way of controlling it (Wallmark 70–71; Williams 52). The
section from 0:02 to 0:34 in Meshuggah’s “I Am Colossus” illustrates this effect with the
palm-muted riffs played on a down-tuned eight-string guitar, accentuated by low-tuned
kick drums and toms, further supported by the down-tuned bass. As Calder Hannan
argues, the synchronized performance with sounds of low fundamental frequencies
creates heaviness through reference to the physical world (443). Perceptually, these low
frequencies are not just heard but physically felt (Wallmark 67), exaggerating the
perception of “weight” (Mynett, “Heaviness” 74).
Most instruments in metal are typically performed, rather than programmed, so
weight depends on specific performance qualities. If instrumental performances involve
soft playing, sonic weight is not to be expected. Effective weight requires powerful,
dynamic performance gestures that excite the lowest (and highest) frequencies possible
on the given instrument. “Sonic weight” concerns both the quantity and quality of the
lower spectral range and the associated level of energy required to generate these
frequencies (Mynett, “Heaviness” 75), which low and high frequency equalizer boosts
on a “soft” performance cannot fully provide (Mynett, “Heaviness” 68). With this in
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 5

mind, we can note that every three takes during the recordings for Slipknot’s .5: The Gray
Chapter and every single take for Tool’s Undertow drumheads were reportedly changed
because they were hit hard (Massy 112).
The second particularity of metal music in terms of weight concerns the song tempo
and resulting rhythmic subdivisions. Modern metal productions are the most effective
when the low frequencies are controlled (Mynett, “Heaviness” 75–76). There is no “one
approach fits all” tactic because a production’s low-frequency weight must be guided by
the band’s sounds and performance qualities. That is mainly due to variations in drum,
bass, and guitar performance subdivision speeds, which give the low-frequency content
of each instrument different amounts of space to expire within (Mynett, Metal 15–16). If
the slow wavelengths of lower frequencies have not had the opportunity to decay
sufficiently before the subsequent transient, a resonant build-up of droning energy may
occur. In addition to creating a boomy or muddy low-end, the resonant build-up can
easily obscure the transients’ mid-to-high frequency content. Consequently, faster per­
formance subdivisions require more radical taming of the lower frequency content.
A balance must be found between conveying the performance’s energy through clarity
provided by the high-frequency content and the extent to which low-frequency sonic
weight contributes to the sound’s perceived size (Mynett, Metal 14–21). An example is
the combined sonic weight of the kick, bass, and guitars on the Godthrymm track “We
are the Dead (and Dreaming).” The long inter-onset intervals of the performances and
the resulting available sonic space allow the production to emphasize sonic weight. There
is restricted “clickiness” to the kick drum, while the sustain-based content of the bass is
given considerable emphasis below 100 Hz, in line with the similar low-end weight
emphasis of the kick, preventing the low-end of the production from being intermittent.
This example can be contrasted with the production of Thy Art Is Murder’s “Welcome to
Oblivion,” which features fast and tightly synchronized performance subdivisions that
leave longer low-frequency wavelengths less space to decay within. Compared to the
Godthrymm example, the production concentrates less on the sub-bass and low-end but
emphasizes the upper bass region of 125–250 Hz (Mynett, “Heaviness” 75–76).
As related to sonic weight, perceived size is only one component of heaviness. The
descriptor “heavy” indicates weight, and weighty objects generally have greater volume or
size (Walther-Hansen). Berger notes that “[b]ass guitar timbres are heavy when they give
the aural impression of great size” (58) and argues that boosting low- and high-end
frequencies with an equalizer makes the recordings heavier by giving them power and
tactile punch. By emphasizing the spectrum’s upper and lower ends, the sound source’s
size or height is perceptually increased. Lateral positions in the virtual soundbox are
determined by pitch and timbre so that the extremes of a sound’s spectrum grow,
metaphorically speaking, “larger than life” (Moore 29–44).
In the acoustic world, physical laws apply that allow us to obtain information about
a sound source’s perceived size. When hearing low frequencies, we usually associate these
sounds as coming from larger, “heavier” objects. From an ecological perspective
(Zagorski-Thomas, Musicology), a voluminous sound is automatically associated with
larger sizes because lower frequencies generally require bigger entities able to generate
this energy content. To give an example of linking such larger sizes to perceived slowness
and resulting heaviness: Joel McIver considers “The Thing That Should Not Be” the
heaviest song on Metallica’s Master of Puppets album because of its sluggishness: “Very,
6 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

very powerful, based on a slow, lurching, almost slimy riff that resembles some huge,
wounded beast dragging itself along the sea bed, and boasts lyrics to match” (Justice 144).
Comparing the heaviness of Master of Puppets and Slayer’s Reign in Blood, McIver calls
Metallica the winner because of the “crushing, intimidating or downright frightening
atmosphere of the music” (Justice 149), created by sonic weight and great size.
As to size, the perceived performance environment’s width and height dimen­
sions play a key role (Moylan 176–80). Guitars and drum cymbals are usually
panned wide in a metal mix, and sometimes psycho-acoustic measures are applied
to make the sound appear even wider than the stereo field naturally allows. Such
widening not only creates the impression of greater size but also heightens proxi­
mity to the listener. If a drum kit is heard from a distance, its width is relatively
small, but going closer to the instrument increases the vertical and horizontal size
(Herbst Netzwerk 86–87). Such enhanced width and proximity add to aggression
and contribute to heaviness because of the threatening nature of a close sound
(Reyes Sound 68–69). Combined with intense high-frequency content, a widened
sound source can even “seem closer than the loudspeaker it emanates from”
(Zagorski-Thomas, “Musical” 141) and intrude into the listener’s personal space
(Moore 184–88) for a close “in-your-face” sound.
Density is another essential factor contributing to heaviness. It is partly related to
sonic weight and size because bigger instruments with greater volumes are more likely to
produce a denser sound than smaller instruments. In a metal production, density is
mainly created from the thickening impact of harmonic distortion and realized by filling
out the frequency spectrum (Walther-Hansen 100–07). The instruments in the virtual
space must be positioned at different locations on the vertical and horizontal axes, with
important components (mainly the kick, bass, guitar, and vocals) generally remaining in
the foreground (Mynett, “Heaviness”). This strategy involves layering sounds, especially
of the rhythm guitar (Herbst, “Historical”).

Clarity and Punch

Metal music production is characterized by compromises. Maximizing all parameters
rarely leads to a heavy sound because sonic weight and clarity must be balanced. Ron
Vento emphasizes that “heaviness comes from smart tracking, low tuned instruments
and clarity – not tons of low-end frequencies everywhere” (26). Sonic clarity enhances
each sound’s intensity and impact, reinforcing the energy of the rhythmical structures.
Clarity is a valuable parameter for effective heaviness because it accentuates the energy of
the performative gestures. It can be broken down into its two components “definition”
and “intelligibility” (Mynett, Metal 19–20). Definition refers to one particular instrument
in isolation; intelligibility describes how easy it is to clearly hear the performance of an
instrument in the context of an audio mix.
Definition is required for a single instrument’s performance to be clearly understood.
An example is the solo drum fill from 3:43 to 3:45 in Lamb of God’s “Blacken the Cursed
Sun,” in which the individual drum instruments are decipherable despite the fast sub­
divisions. If the drums lacked definition because of a dull attack and resonant sustain, it
would be harder for the listener to understand this fill. Without definition, its impact
would be largely lost, as would the drummer’s musical intentions.
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 7

Intelligibility, on the other hand, refers to how difficult it is to clearly identify an

instrument’s performance in the context of a mix. For instance, the tremolo-picked guitar
riff between 0:09 and 0:24 in Insomnium’s “Valediction” is supported by a fast double
kick drum and tom fills, which are rhythmically synchronized with the bass. Despite the
sonic density and structural complexity, the pitch and rhythmic qualities of the guitar riff
stay intelligible. The performance approach of an artist hence informs the necessary level
of intelligibility. Slower, groove-based performances can be comprehended with less
intelligibility, whereas fast or rhythmically complex performances benefit from
a greater focus on intelligibility. Artists placing less emphasis on performance complexity
in favor of greater sonic weight need to place less emphasis on clarity, while the opposite
would be the case for artists who perform fast and complex structures (Mynett,
“Maximum” 299).
Clarity depends on sufficiently captured transient detail. One might expect power
primarily to result from sonic weight, but for present and hard sounds that generate
much of a metal production’s energy and excitement, upper-mid and high-frequency
-transient information is required (Thomas 193) to provide the necessary “force”
qualities (Walther-Hansen 105–107). Transients are crucial for “punch,” a semantic
descriptor as vague as “heaviness.” Research on punch is still in its infancy, but
transient energy seems to be the decisive factor (Fenton and Lee). “Punchy” sounds
are characterized by a burst of energy and spectral density that cause a spike in
volume. This burst changes the dynamic power in the spectrum and emphasizes the
waveform’s attack/transient components in relation to the sustain and decay phases
(Mynett, Metal 16). Although all instruments are potentially punchy in a metal
production, the term most often refers to the drums, whose “punchiness” is ampli­
fied through drum sample augmentation and audio processing to cut through the
dense wall of guitars (Herbst and Mynett, “Nail” 11–14).
The shaping of punch must be informed by the subdivisions’ speed (Mynett,
“Heaviness” 75–76). Sound sources of considerable size and weight take up a greater
amount of sonic space. If this space is unavailable due to fast subdivisions, the source’s
size and weight are perceived as excessive because the performance’s energy and intensity
are obscured, and the clarity of other elements is diminished. In drum performances that
feature fast subdivisions, “punch” is therefore placed above size and weight. An example
is Dimmu Borgir’s “The Unveiling,” where the drums have a sharp attack, fast decay, and
are relatively “thin” with minimal sonic weight, especially the kick drums. This aesthetic
contrasts with the bigger drum sound in My Dying Bride’s “Your Broken Shore,” which
emphasizes sonic weight and size, enabled by the greater available space for these
attributes (Mynett, “Distortion” 79).
The relationship between heaviness and punch is complex. While heaviness may be
more of a timbral and punch a temporal feature, timbral quality cannot be separated
from the temporal envelope, just as temporal characteristics cannot be detached from
timbre. The Dimmu Borgir and My Dying Bride examples show how punch is related to
timbre and the spectral space available in the mix. Similarly, heaviness usually depends
on punch (Walther-Hansen 105–07). Only in slow subgenres like doom or drone can
heaviness function through sonic weight alone with little punch. One such example is
Sunn O)))’s album Pyroclasts, which only consists of very distorted guitars, bass, and
8 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

synthesizers without any percussive instruments. All guitar and bass attacks are
obscured, preventing the production from having any significant punch. The dense
wall of distortion, a purely timbral quality, may nevertheless be perceived as heavy.

Loudness and Extremity

High volume is a common descriptor for the sound of metal (Wallmark; Walser;
Weinstein; Williams). Volume can support other parameters such as sonic density,
particularly when compression condenses the arrangement’s dynamic range (Mynett,
“Distortion”; Williams; Zagorski-Thomas, Musicology 214). Great perceived volume
can also create impressions of power and excitement (Wallach et al.; Williams). For
translating the same impression of power and intensity to lower listening levels, the
low and high frequencies are boosted so that the sound is psycho-acoustically
perceived as louder and more powerful (Wallmark 70) because the auditory system
is significantly more sensitive to high and low frequencies the louder the signal
becomes (Senior 62). An increased degree of excitation exerted on a snare drum or
guitar also correlates with increased production of high-frequency energy at the
gestural level. Increased low-frequency energy is similarly associated with sounds
produced through high-energy impact (Mynett, “Heaviness” 75). That is why boost­
ing high and low frequencies can support the impression of aggressively played
instruments.
Extremity is another component noted in connection with metal productions
(Turner). It does not describe musical qualities but characterizes an approach to
writing, performing, and producing music. Keith Kahn-Harris (29) points out that
extremity is ubiquitous and vague, yet it implies the transgression of boundaries.
Extremity is accepted in metal production as an ideal achieved through “extreme”
sound processing (Thomas and King; Turner). Accepted audio engineering stan­
dards, characterized by moderate processing and corrective equalization cuts instead
of creative boosts, are largely ignored. As Roey Izhaki notes, “[I]n genres such as
death metal, equalizers are often used on what is considered a radical way, with very
generous boosts. The equalizer’s artifacts are used to produce harshness, which
works well in the context of the specific music” (231). Moreover, guitars and basses
are down-tuned in many modern metal genres, and guitars with additional lower
strings are played, as heard in Ring of Saturn’s “The Husk,” performed on a nine-
string guitar. Extremity can be a production ideal in its own right (Turner), even if
serving to achieve other essential parameters of heaviness like sonic weight
(Williams).

Structural and Performative Features of Heaviness

Metal has diversified into multiple subgenres in its over fifty-year history. It would be
tempting to regard extreme metal (Kahn-Harris) as heavier than mainstream metal. Yet,
such music can also be heavy when it emphasizes the right features structurally and
sonically. An example of mainstream metal performed as fast as extreme metal is “The
Game” by power metal band DragonForce that, by sonically featuring clarity over weight,
can be directly contrasted with a weight-focused production, such as heard in “Molten
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 9

Black Earth” of the death-doom metal band Asphyx. Rather than providing a stylistically
comprehensive analysis of metal, the following considerations will highlight structural
and performative features influencing the perception of heaviness.

Speed
In the quest for heaviness, various metal subgenres have explored the two extremes of
slowness and fastness and the combination of different feels. Many metal songs contain
slow sections as a contrast to the generally high tempo. These slow sections are some­
times brief transitions; others are dedicated breakdowns. Breakdowns have become
common through the spread of death metal and are designed as “mosh parts”
(Pillsbury 10). Lewis Kennedy discusses three kinds of “slow and heavy riffs” – the
slowdown, slam, and breakdown – with the “breakdown” being the umbrella term (88–
89). The “slowdown” is typical of early American death metal and characterized by
a sudden drop in tempo, along with a shift from palm-muted to open guitar picking
patterns. An example is Cannibal Corpse’s “Hammer Smashed Face,” which transitions
from fast riffing into a slowdown section between 0:46 and 1:17.
“Breakdowns” are similar to slowdowns and cannot always be distinguished.
A defining characteristic is a half-time drumbeat. The cymbals underline the new
pulse, and the kick drum accentuates the bass and guitar rhythm. The guitar
patterns are played with either open or palm-muted picking and tend to be more
complex than in a slowdown. A breakdown can be heard in Oceano’s “The Taken”
from 0:50 to 1:20. The “slam” does not require a tempo drop and is characterized by
chromatic, palm-muted chord progressions, as in Katalepsy’s “Lurking in the Depth”
(0:52–1:08). Eric Smialek argues that breakdown sections “add to the overall impres­
sion of weight and heaviness” by emphasizing low frequencies, accentuated by the
drums and palm-muted guitars, and by creating a more sluggish feel (230). The
slower gestures combined with low pitches may be interpreted as metaphorically
increased weight (Walther-Hansen 105–07). It cannot be objectively determined
whether the breakdown is heavier than the rest of the song, but the contrast from
fast to slow and back probably contributes to the perception of heaviness as much as
the breakdown itself. This contrast involves a shift from performance and note
complexity to sound and timbre (Pieslak 46), or sonically speaking, from clarity to
sonic weight.
The psychological experience of the breakdown in the metal genre may be interpreted
as the equivalent of the drop in electronic dance music. As Ragnhild Torvanger Solberg
explains, the EDM listener’s emotional experience is typically manipulated and intensi­
fied by creating contrasts between the build-up and drop. During the build-up, the
frequency spectrum is thinned out by removing the bass and kick drum. Uplifters,
a frequency-filtered wall of noise, create an upward motion. This state of tension and
anticipation dissolves with the drop, where kick and bass return, the frequency spectrum
widens, and the production emphasizes rhythmic groove and sonic weight, resulting in
a downward motion. In metal music, there is typically no build-up to the breakdown, as
the breakdown is merely the contrast to the faster form parts. The effect is nevertheless
like the EDM drop. The sudden emphasis on rhythm, accentuated by all instruments and
played in a low register, releases tension from the fast subdivisions and allows larger
10 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

physical gestures in the mosh pit. Maintaining heaviness throughout the song’s length
can be achieved by changing the tempo and feel in conjunction with shifting production
from clarity to sonic weight and vice versa with various alternating forms of heaviness.
Subgenres like doom metal rarely drastically change feels and tend to stay within
a limited range of slow tempi. The primary means for creating heaviness are slow
subdivisions, low-tuned instruments, and excessive distortion, collectively maximizing
sonic weight. The rhythmic complexity of other metal genres is simplified with guitars
playing sustained power chords for a wall of distortion rather than fast palm-muted
single-note lines. Electric Wizard’s “Funeralopolis” is an example of this slow, grinding
form of heaviness.
The quest for greater speed is more common than exploring slowness for heaviness.
Early hard rock and heavy metal bands experimented with fast songs: Deep Purple’s
(1970) “Speed King,” Motörhead’s “Overkill,” Venom’s “Witching Hour,” Accept’s “Fast
as a Shark.” According to McIver, Abaddon (Tony Bray) popularized what became the
essence of thrash metal and the foundation of extreme metal: the double-speed snare
drum pattern, first recorded on Venom’s “Witching Hour” (Justice 51–52). Songs like
these led to the notion that faster equals better. Early thrash metal bands in the USA and
Europe explored the effect of ever-faster speeds, resulting in new forms of heaviness.
Slayer vocalist Tom Araya once stated, “[T]he heaviness wasn’t there until we came
around – the same with Metallica, Anthrax, Exodus, and us. I think we’ve had a big
impact on the sound. We took music and made it really heavy” (Brown 68). Araya refers
to the pursuit of speed as the primary mechanism for achieving heaviness, carried out
competitively, as the biographies of Metallica (McIver, Justice) and Slayer (McIver,
Bloody) suggest. A highlight in speed was Slayer’s “Necrophobic,” with 248 beats
per minute (bpm). Tempi have generally gone up since then. According to Kahn-
Harris (32), tempi in modern metal often sit between 150 and 250 bpm. The fact that
metal productions have become faster on average over time might suggest that high
tempi – in terms of beats per minute – are crucial to the identity of many extreme metal
bands. However, this view does not consider that the underlying tempo is less important
for the perception of speed than the way it is divided into its rhythmic subdivisions, with
faster subdivisions being more effective than a mere increase in bpm. For example,
Accept’s “Fast as a Shark” features eighth-note double kick patterns at a tempo of
280 bpm, yet its perceived speed is slower than the 200 bpm of Kreator’s “Pleasure to
Kill,” which consists of sixteenth-note subdivisions.

Rhythm
The drumbeat is one of the determining elements affecting the perception of speed. The
snare and cymbals set the overall feel; the kick is relatively independent of the snare and
the drum kit’s overall feel. Even if the tempo is slow, the kick can have fast bursts played.
Such phrasing makes the kick an essential part of the overall groove and an expressive
instrument supporting and augmenting the rest of the ensemble.
The double bass has been used in rock since the 1960s by the drummers of Cream, the
Who, and Rush (Nyman). Metal drummer Phil Taylor of Motörhead was influential in
using the double kick technique in the late 1970s (Cope 99), inspiring the wave of speed
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 11

and thrash metal in the 1980s, the decade it became one of metal’s central stylistic
features. It is sometimes played in bursts for accentuation, other times as a constant
bed of low-end on which the other instrumentalists can perform.
There are three standard double bass patterns differing only in the snare placement
(Figure 1). According to Necrophagist drummer Hannes Grossmann, the backbeat
pattern feels the slowest and “has a somewhat ‘heavier’ vibe to it” (156).
More standard rhythms contributing to a sense of acceleration and speed, aggressive­
ness, and heaviness exist in extreme metal (Grossmann 81; Phillipov 86). The “blast beat”
is a drumming technique that plays a key role in creating intensity through fast snare hits.
Ross Hagen describes it as one of the “most idiomatic rhythmic devices in black metal”
that sonically resembles a “prolonged burst of machine-gun fire” and a “sort of sonic
blast” (186). Blast beats are used differently within the various metal subgenres. For
example, all instruments in death metal have similar subdivisions and perception of
speed compared to black metal, where the drums normally play faster subdivisions than
the other instruments, creating an atmospheric rather than a rhythmic impression
(Hagen 186).
The blast beat is essentially a double-time “skank beat” (Figure 2), from which it
initially developed. It was performed by early thrash metal bands like Slayer, Metallica,
and Kreator, and extreme metal bands like At the Gates, as in “Slaughter of the Soul.”
In early extreme metal, the blast beat was primarily used as an effect for noise and
frantic energy rather than a groove concept (Grossmann 200). Three main blast beat
concepts exist that differ less in their drumming than how drums relate to the overall
arrangement (Levi). The first is the “groove approach,” as heard in Thy Art Is Murder’s
“Make America Hate Again.” Between 0:28 and 0:46, the blast beat provides an alter­
native beat to the guitar riff that builds up tension, which is released by changing to
a standard double bass pattern while the guitar riff remains unchanged. The second is
“technical riff outlining,” typical of Black Dahlia Murder and Necrophagist. It can be
heard in Black Dahlia Murder’s “Everything Went Black,” where the blast beat accent­
uates the single-note guitar lines between 0:22 and 0:30. The third is the “wall of sound
approach,” typical of symphonic black metal bands. Between 1:02 and 1:18 in Dimmu
Borgir’s “Kings of the Carnival Creation,” the high speed of the blast beat produces
a sonic density that complements the otherwise relatively thin guitar playing open
tremolo-picked notes on the higher strings. Regardless of the concept, blast beats create
heaviness through rhythmic and sonic density and by augmenting or complementing the
guitar riff. Like in breakdowns, the contrast between blast and regular double bass beats
creates tension and release to maintain a heavy feel throughout a song.
Aside from these groove concepts relative to the arrangement, there are several
established blast beat styles. The “hammer blast” (Figure 3) creates a raw and “brutal
death metal sound” (Grossmann 221), as in Suffocation’s “Liege of Inveracity.”
If the hammer blast is played with a double-time kick (Figure 4), the beat is commonly
referred to as a “bomb blast” (Grossmann 228). The binary version of this drumbeat can
be heard in Cryptopsy’s “Graves of the Fathers,” the triplet variation in Cannibal Corpse’s
“The Strangulation Chair.”
The bomb blast played with the snare accentuating all sixteenth note kick drum
hits is called “gravity blast” and is characteristic of Origin, Beneath the Massacre,
and Defeated Sanity (Grossmann 236).
12 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

Figure 1. Standard double bass drum patterns.

Figure 2. From skank to blast beat.

Figure 3. Hammer blast beat.

Figure 4. Bomb blast beat.

The regular blast beat (Figure 2) is referred to as the “Euro blast beat” (Levi; Phillipov
86) because it has historically been more common in Europe. The hammer and bomb
blast beats are typical of US-American death metal, also known as “brutal” death metal
(Smialek 120). Just like heaviness, “brutal” is no clearly defined musical descriptor but
tends to be used for bands considered “heavy.” Based on the rhythmic differences
between the European and American blast beats, it seems that the rawness of all drum
instruments emphasizing the same subdivisions evokes associations of brutality in the
death metal genre.
Drum patterns are relative to the guitar riff and often follow it (Mynett,
“Defining” 299). The kick frequently plays the same subdivision as the guitar and
bass to achieve maximum rhythmic and sonic impact, as the kick adds clear attack
transients and low-frequency energy to the harmonic instruments. Precise ensemble
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 13

synchronization is essential for heaviness because if drum patterns coordinate the

metric structures of guitar and bass, this collective performance lends the music
a dense texture and punch (Fenton and Lee). The effect of ultimate ensemble
rhythmic synchronization can be heard in Machine Head’s “Imperium.” The part
from 1:12 to 1:25 features synchronization of all instruments for maximum impact,
characterized by high spectral density and precise rhythmic accentuation (see
Figure 5).
When synchronized instrument parts do not achieve the required level of
precision, the ensemble performance is typically perceived as subjectively less
heavy than a production featuring tight synchronization (Mynett, “Defining,”
“Maximum”).
Ensemble synchronization with clear rhythmic subdivisions can create heaviness, but
conversely, rhythmic difficulty may also contribute to heaviness. Analyzing Meshuggah’s
“I Am Colossus” and the Dillinger Escape Plan’s “Prancer,” Hannan argues,
While rhythmic difficulty is neither necessary nor sufficient for heaviness, it can effectively
contribute to it in a variety of ways: by allowing an opportunity for a band to showcase their
precise playing and inspire awe; and by being perceptually unwieldy, awkward and uncom­
fortable, rhythmically difficulty structures mimic common attributes of heavy physical
objects. By innovating in their use of rhythm, bands claim transgressive subcultural capital
and their music becomes serious and therefore heavy. (455)

Hannan’s considerations suggest that the perception of heaviness is partly associative and
that associations can be influenced by musical structures, performance qualities, and the
listener’s ability to appreciate these.
Ensemble rhythmic synchronization is more important in extreme metal than in
traditional heavy metal (Mynett, “Defining” 300–01), prioritizing rhythm over harmony.
Even bands not striving for performance speed typically concentrate on rhythm.
Historically, faster tempi and subdivisions led to a shift on the guitar from power chords
toward fast single-note lines that exploited the “rhythmic potential of repeated pitches”
(Pillsbury 129). When the same pitch is played repeatedly, faster subdivisions can be
achieved. With palm-muting, the guitarist muffles the sound by carefully placing the
palm of their hand on the strings near the guitar’s bridge. This dampening shortens

Figure 5. Section of Machine Head’s “Imperium”.

14 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

sustain, enhances the performance’s rhythmic characteristics (Herbst, “Shredding”), and

generates a “heavier sound” (Smialek 94). Similarly, shifting from open to palm-muted
picking creates variation and sustains interest, and changes the sonic texture and
rhythmicity of a form part, which may be perceived as heavy through contrast. This
shift is effective both in riffs that only change accentuation and in separate riffs, one of
which is played open and one with palm-muting. An example of the latter is the part from
6:20 to 7:06 in Gojira’s “Flying Whales.”

Harmony
Dissonance is nothing new in the history of metal music. The tritone interval has been
used since the genre’s inception, as in Black Sabbath’s self-titled song on their debut
album Black Sabbath. The use of modality, especially darker and dissonant modes like
Phrygian and Locrian (Kahn-Harris 31; Walser 46), is common in many metal sub­
genres. These modes have a bearing on the music’s atmosphere, but it is unclear
whether they also affect the perception of heaviness. There are yet indications that
harmony may influence heaviness. Berger suggests that atonality can evoke the impres­
sion of heaviness because it defies the listener’s tonal expectations (63). Hence breaking
up with the minor tonality favoring a more obscured tonal center may be understood as
a step toward greater heaviness (58). If clear and repeating parts are missing, the song is
less memorable because it is hard to grasp its structure. Like rhythmic difficulty
potentially contributing to heaviness (Hannan), structural and harmonic complexity
and the resulting lack of catchiness may also be linked to it. An example of structural
complexity with many form parts and few repetitions is Carcass’s “Symposium of
Sickness,” which claims a heavy aesthetic.
One of the few metal subgenres that commonly adds full chords to the standard
repertoire of single-note lines and power chords is black metal. While the major chord
with high guitar distortion levels is still relatively consonant (Herbst, “Heaviness”), the
minor chord is essential for black metal’s dissonant and abrasive aesthetic (Hagen). The
chord’s performance with tremolo picking, typically played without palm-muting, cre­
ates a droning quality, reduces rhythmic clarity, and increases the dissonant impression
due to the detuning caused by the constant state of wide vibration (Hagen 187). Even
though abrasive sounds add to dissonance created by the distorted minor chord (Herbst,
“Heaviness”), how dissonance relates to heaviness is still unclear. Considering that metal
strives for greater heaviness but not necessarily increased dissonance (Herbst,
“Heaviness”), the two concepts seem related but different.

Vocals
Traditional heavy metal has featured melodic vocals and popular tenor singers like Rob
Halford, Bruce Dickinson, or Michael Kiske. Contemporary extreme metal styles have
shifted musically from melody to ensemble rhythmic complexity (Mynett, “Defining”).
This altered focus changed the role of the vocals in that broad equivalence to the reduced
melody of the instruments can be noted. However, vocal styles often determine metal
subgenres (Hagen; Kennedy; Phillipov; Purcell), although not as clearly as in the 1990s
and 2000s when subgenres did not mix as much as they do today (Hillier).
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 15

The high and clear voice of traditional metal embodies “power” but contributes less to
perceived heaviness. In contrast, the screams, shouts, snarls, barks, roars, grunts, and
growls of extreme metal enable transgression (Kahn-Harris). Vocals with these charac­
teristic attributes are more likely to be perceived as heavy, especially with the general
tendency toward lowering the pitch range in growl-like styles to maximize metaphorical
weight. Regardless of the technique, extreme metal’s vocal sounds tend to be noisy with
non-harmonic components, which sonically resemble distorted guitar timbres (Kennedy
75). Berger claims that such vocal styles “can be referred to as heavy” (58) and that the
less discernible the pitch is, the heavier the impression will be. The acoustic analogy
between guitar distortion and extreme metal vocals has been challenged. It has been
argued that such vocals either lack a fundamental pitch (Mesiä and Ribaldini) or have
a fundamental pitch but otherwise an inharmonic overtone spectrum (Wallmark 73).
Smialek suggests that extreme metal vocal styles can be characterized as “complex-
pitched” (260), meaning that brighter and darker timbres can be distinguished without
relating them to a single pitch, as is possible with drum cymbals.
Despite the differences in pitch between the distorted guitar and extreme vocals,
several authors explain the vocals’ perceptual effects compared to guitar distortion.
Such an association may be more metaphorical than a direct acoustic correlate.
Michelle Phillipov (74) sees the death metal growl as an imitation of the down-tuned
guitar, whereas Mynett (“Distortion” 77) considers the vocal’s distorted impression
resulting from physical exertion beyond the limits of normal articulation, not unlike
guitar distortion caused by overloading the amplification system (Berger and Fales). The
evidence is inconclusive overall, but there appears to be a high acoustic resemblance
between vocal timbres and guitar distortion, at least for growl-like vocal styles. Chen-Gia
Tsai et al. find that growled vocals contain more inharmonic components distributed
among adjacent harmonics occupying larger frequency areas in the spectrum than would
be the case with clean singing (Thomas 132). Accordingly, extreme vocal techniques
expand the vocals, just as distortion extends the guitar’s frequency spectrum. Such
extensions make the guitar and vocals appear larger, which may metaphorically be
perceived as heavier.
For achieving an aggressive and heavy sound, the main approach in extreme metal is
distorting the vocals in the low or high register through articulation and audio proces­
sing. The pronunciation may additionally influence the perception of heaviness. Smialek
proposes that lowering the first two formants when articulating vowels can make the
expression appear heavier:

If a vowel such as /u/ (as in “who”) has the lowest recognizable first and second formant
frequencies of vowels in American English, a death metal vocalist could sacrifice the
intelligibility of a vowel such as the /ʌ/ in “blood” so that it can instead sound lower and
thus heavier: /blʌd/ becomes /blud/. (Smialek 269, see 269-81)

Based on spectrographic analysis of Morbid Angel’s “He Who Sleeps,” Smialek argues
that some death metal vocalists alter the vocal by lowering the formants when articulating
short words and modulating brighter vowels to darker ones for longer words because this
produces a heavier sound (276). The principle behind this line of reasoning resembles
that of down-tuned guitars and low-tuned drums; lower-pitched notes produce meta­
phorical weight, one of the main components of heaviness.
16 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

Discussion and Conclusion

More than two decades ago, heaviness was declared the central feature defining the metal
genre. Berger noted that “[m]etal history is most often summed up by metalheads as
a progressive quest for ever-heavier music. A rich and complex concept differentially
interpreted across scenes, ‘heavy’ refers to a variety of textural, structural, and affective
aspects of musical sound and is crucial for any understanding of metal” (58). Heaviness is
still a relatively unexplored phenomenon, despite its role within the genre. By amalga­
mating ideas about heaviness discussed in varied sources and extending them through
musical analyses, this study set out to work toward a systematic framework of musical
heaviness that identifies its constituent components and their relationships. Due to the
complexity of acoustic, perceptual, musical, and performative parameters and their
interplay, besides the wide variety of subgenres existing in metal (Hillier), the preliminary
framework must inevitably be introduced in a reductionistic form. The analysis did not
expand on how heaviness is typically constituted in each subgenre but instead outlined
the main musical features that contribute to heaviness. It explained how interaction
occurs between the various production, composition, and performance components,
each dependent on and reinforcing the other. Future research may refine and apply
this framework to study and compare the heaviness of specific subgenres.
The preliminary framework might be misunderstood as placing production above
structure and performance. This is not the case because production can only enhance the
musical composition realized through performance. Mynett suggests that “metal is the
least acceptable when delivered with poor production, as the music’s defining quality
‘heaviness’ will inevitably be vastly compromised” (“Distortion” 68). This crucial role of
production is supported by the fact that most research on heaviness emanates from music
technology (Herbst, “Historical”; Thomas; Wallmark; Williams) or at least considers it
necessary (Kennedy; Smialek; Walser).
Modern metal productions rarely attempt to simulate a believable acoustic perfor­
mance environment; they create their own highly effective reality (Mynett, “Heaviness”
73). Unlike productions of the 1970s to 1990s that sought to achieve performance
authenticity, contemporary productions exaggerate detail and size to create a “larger
than life” impression (Mynett, “Heaviness” 71). Production has moved “away from
traditional, performance-focused, recording, toward a more fragmented, technologically
architectural approach” that relies on “innovative processing and architectural
approaches to recording, and mixing, the instrumental elements of the genre” (Thomas
and King 499). Compositions have become more diverse, speed has increased, perfor­
mance quality improved, and – partly enabled by more powerful digital music produc­
tion tools – the resulting sound has become bigger, weightier, and clearer. This points to
the genre’s considerably enhanced heaviness being largely informed by the ever-more
extreme, radical, and – dependent on one’s point of view – unrealistic production of the
music (Thomas and King 501). This trend has brought a rise in the programming of
drums, bass, and lead guitar (Herbst and Mynett, “Nail”), making composition and
performance a “product” of the production.
Zachary Wallmark’s analysis of death metal sees extremity at the center of its aes­
thetics and appeal. He highlights all areas of performance, composition, and production,
motivated by the pursuit of ever-greater heights of extremity (Kahn-Harris), much like
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 17

metal’s general quest for greater heaviness (Berger and Fales). Concerning the role of
technology, Wallmark interestingly concludes that this need for transgression “has led us
to the proverbial brink: human bodies are becoming inadequate to the task, and
machines are used as a substitute,” citing “inhumanly fast” (81) drumming as an example
of extremity afforded by advances in music technology. Wallmark goes on to explain:

It could be argued that bodily, material limits have been reached in the death metal scene,
but this in itself does not augur the end to this teleological pattern, at least not yet. In the
arms race of extreme in death metal, human bodies have been aided and abetted by various
technologies to expand the limits of possibility: formerly unsurpassable boundaries are, with
computer manipulation, suddenly available to us. . . . with the help of technology, what we
hear in death metal is vastly different from the reality of its physical production. (76-77)

Since musicians have reached the limits of tempo and low-tuning instruments, technol­
ogy seems most promising to continue metal’s quest for “greater X” (Berger and Fales
193), which may be heaviness, extremity, aggression, brutality, evilness, or any other
desired attribute in the diverse subgenres of metal. When or if even technology reaches its
limits is difficult to determine. However, this question is seldom asked when considering
heaviness in metal music and goes beyond the scope of this article.
Establishing a comprehensive definition of musical heaviness with fixed weightings for
the contributions of individual productional, performative, and compositional features is
similarly challenging. Firstly, contrary to the often-assumed universal understanding in
the metal genre, heaviness is shaped by subgenre conventions and subjective factors, not
least those outside the music, be they emotional, associative, or ideological (Herbst and
Mynett, “What”). Secondly, heaviness is relative to time and other releases. Much of the
music once considered heavy can no longer be called so a few years later (Berger and
Fales 182–83). Thirdly, the few existing empirical studies agree that the perception of
heaviness differs between fans and non-fans and probably also between listeners of
metal’s various subgenres (Berger; Czedik-Eysenberg et al.; Herbst, “Heaviness,”
“Distortion”). For those not fans of the genre, hearing distorted guitar tones, extreme
vocals, or aggressive high-speed drumming may be enough to let them perceive the music
as heavy (Herbst, “Heaviness”). On the other hand, metalheads might argue that metal­
core’s aggressiveness through screamed vocals and rhythmically complex ensemble
performances is heavier than that of the historically older death metal style with its
grunts and deep timbres. Relevant qualities such as aggression, punch, power, rawness,
evilness, and brutality play a role in the perception of heaviness. These features may even
be components of metal’s heaviness, according to recent research (Herbst and Mynett,
“What”), where specific musical attributes are emphasized, including: “thickness” with
rich layers of sound; “fatness” with heightened low-end spectrum; “fullness” with pro­
nounced overtones; associative attributes like “darkness,” achieved by attenuated high
frequencies, with genre-specific connotations such as sadness, evilness, or mysteriousness
(Wallmark; Walther-Hansen 98–100).
Several types of heaviness exist, and metal subgenres prioritize certain qualities over
others to distinguish themselves aesthetically, ideologically, and emotionally. Hence any
attempt to definitively determine which musical parameters are the heaviest or most
extreme, brutal, or evil, appears futile. Examining how the various structural, performa­
tive, and technological components relate to each other to achieve the desired effect of
18 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

“heaviness,” as this research has laid out, seems a more productive methodology.
Hopefully, this approach grants a better understanding of metal’s fundamental quality,
which can be applied when analyzing and comparing subgenres.

Note
1. This is not to say that there has been no research in musicology and music theory on metal
music in recent years. A discussion of this rich body of work is beyond the scope of this
article, but a comprehensive bibliography can be found in the database on the website of the
International Society for Metal Music Studies (ISMMS): https://metalstudies.org/biblio. The
research most relevant for a musicological discussion of heaviness is drawn on and discussed
in this article.

Data Access Statement

This study reviews theoretical and empirical research findings that are openly available at locations
listed in the ‘Works Cited’ section of this article. No other data was used, or created, for this article.

Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council [AH/T010991/1].

Notes on contributors
Jan-Peter Herbst is Reader in Music Production at the University of Huddersfield (UK), where he
is Director of the Research Centre for Music, Culture and Identity (CMCI). His primary research
area is popular music culture, particularly rock music and the electric guitar, on which he has
published widely. He is currently conducting a funded three-year project exploring how heaviness
is created and controlled in metal music production.
Mark Mynett As well as Senior Lecturer in Music Technology and Production at the University of
Huddersfield (UK), Mark Mynett is a live music engineer, and record producer, engineer, mix and
mastering engineer with his own studio – Mynetaur Productions. He has had an extensive career
as professional musician with six worldwide commercial album releases with his band Kill II This,
along the way working with renowned producers Colin Richardson and Andy Sneap and several
years of high-profile touring in Europe.

ORCID
Jan-Peter Herbst http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7453-0141
Mark Mynett http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5145-4668

Discography
Accept. “Fast as a Shark.” Restless and Wild, Brain, 1982.
 ROCK MUSIC STUDIES 19

Asphyx. “Molten Black Earth.” Necroceros, Century Media, 2020.

At the Gates. “Slaughter of the Soul.” Slaughter of the Soul, Earache, 1995.
Black Dahlia Murder. “Everything Went Black.” Nocturnal, Metal Blade, 2007.
Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath, Vertigo, 1970.
Cannibal Corpse. “Hammer Smashed Face.” Hammer Smashed Face, Metal Blade, 1993.
—. “The Strangulation Chair.” Torture, Metal Blade, 2012.
Carcass. “Symposium of Sickness.” Necroticism, Earache, 1991.
Cryptopsy. “Graves of the Fathers.” None So Vile, Wrong Again, 1996.
Deep Purple. “Speed King.” Deep Purple in Rock, Harvest, 1970.
Dimmu Borgir. “Kings of the Carnival Creation.” Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, Nuclear
Blast, 2001.
—. “The Unveiling.” Eonian, Nuclear Blast, 2018.
DragonForce. “The Game.” Maximum Overload, Ear Music, 2014.
Electric Wizard. “Funeralopolis.” Dopethrone, Rise Above, 2000.
Godthrymm. “We are the Dead (and Dreaming).” Reflections, Profound Lore, 2020.
Gojira. “Flying Whales.” From Mars to Sirius, Mon Slip, 2005.
Insomnium. “Valediction.” Heart Like A Grave, Century Media, 2019.
Katalepsy. Autopsychosis, Unique Leader, 2013.
Kreator. Pleasure to Kill, Noise, 1986.
Lamb of God. “Blacken the Cursed Sun.” Sacrament, Epic, 2006.
Machine Head. “Imperium.” Through the Ashes of Empires, Roadrunner, 2003.
Meshuggah. “I Am Colossus.” Koloss, Nuclear Blast, 2012.
Metallica. “The Thing That Should Not Be.” Master of Puppets, Elektra, 1986.
—. Master of Puppets, Elektra, 1986.
Morbid Angel. “He Who Sleeps.” Gateways to Annihilation, Earache, 2000.
Motörhead. “Overkill.” Overkill, Bronze, 1979.
My Dying Bride. “Your Broken Shore.” Ghost of Orion, Nuclear Blast, 2020.
Oceano. “The Taken.” Ascendants, Earache, 2015.
Rings of Saturn. “The Husk.” Gidim, Nuclear Blast, 2019.
Slayer. “Necrophobic.” Reign in Blood, Def Jam, 1986a.
—. Reign in Blood, Def Jam, 1986b.
Slipknot. .5: The Gray Chapter, Roadrunner, 2014.
Suffocation. “Liege of Inveracity.” Effigy of the Forgotten, R/C, 1991.
Sunn O))). Pyroclasts, Southern Lord, 2019.
The Dillinger Escape Plan. “Prancer.” One of Us Is the Killer. Sumerian, 2013.
Thy Art Is Murder. “Make America Hate Again.” Human Target, Nuclear Blast, 2019.
—. “Welcome Oblivion.” Human Target, Nuclear Blast, 2019.
Tool. Undertow, Zoo Entertainment, 1993.
Venom. “Witching Hour.” Welcome to Hell, Neat, 1981.

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Music and Culture, Routledge, 2016.
Arvidson, Mats. “The Impact of Cultural Studies on Musicology within the Context of Word and
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Beate Schirmacher, Heidi Hart, Katy Heady, and Hannah Hinz, University of Stockholm, 2014,
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Barratt-Peacock, Ruth, and Ross Hagen, editors. Medievalism and Metal Music Studies. Emerald,
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20 J.-P. HERBST AND M. MYNETT

Bennett, Andy. “Towards a Cultural Sociology of Popular Music.” Journal of Sociology, vol. 44, no.
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