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Nasim T asked in Arts & HumanitiesHistory · 1 decade ago

please can someone help me with the music history question below?

Discuss the role of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper in regard to the formulation of heavy metal’s fundamental musical ingredients and basic philosophy.Include the following points: Genealogy, including the role of the blues and psychedelic music; The appropriation of classical music; Metal’s main sonic features, including instrumentation, the function of timbre, and the treatment of dissonance; Lyrical content and the role of gothic imagery and fantasy.

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
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    You need to do some research in the music section of your local library. There are hundreds of books about these bands, particularly Led Zeppelin, who were masters of the use of gothic imagery in their music, stage-clothes, and on the covers of their albums. Robert Plant was interested in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkein, and some of the song-titles such as 'Over the Hills and Far Away' and 'The Rain Song', make mention of Tolkein-like landscapes and imagery. In the 'Battle of Evermore', and 'Ramble-On', there are references to characters and settings familiar to readers of Tolkein's books.

    Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, both being English bands, were also conciously aware of the religious iconography of gods, demons, and witchcraft. Much of this was woven into English folklore, and gave more scope for lyrics and songtitles. Other bands such as Iron Maiden, entitled albums with biblical names and included interesting excerpts from the Bible in songs such as 'The Number of the Beast'. AC/DC have done much the same thing, appealing to an audience interested in such imagery, with albums such as 'Highway to Hell', and songtitles referencing demons, in order to convey a dangerous aspect to their music. Angus Young frequently appears with devil's horns, and there is a very cartoon-like quality to their music and stage-shows which illustrates their mastery of this visual and sonic language. Examining this as a part of the growth of Heavy Metal between the late 1960s and today would be very interesting.

    Source(s): Chris Welch, 'Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song.' Carlton, 1998. Stephen Davis, 'Hammer of the Gods: Led Zeppelin Unauthorised'. Sidgwick and Jackson, 1985. Chris Ingham, 'The Book of Metal.' 2002. Ian Christe, 'Sound of the Beast'. Harper-Collins, 2004.
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