HELP need to write an essay on metal

[metalover]

I need to write a research paper and decided to pick it on metal, but I have no idea how to struture the essay. What are good genres/subjects to explore? So far i was thinking about:

Genres such as death, black, doom,etc
Sex and religion (male vs female vocals, Satanism, Christanity,)
Exploration of influenational bands. (which ones are the most influencial, i'm not sure, help me out)
any other topics of interest please suggest
as this paper needs to be 9 to 15 pages long

Thanks!

[Agni]

Considering your post (which reveals your knowledge of 'metal'), you should change the topic.

If you wanna learn properly then read this http://anus.com/metal/about/history along with other stuff in the site:

[AttheGates1996]

i think you should stick to genres as the main paragraphs and topics... discuss in the main paragraphs its origin, and in supporting paragraphs use influential bands as examples of its progression.

-intro to metal in general
-thesis of different genres (heavy, thrash, speed, death, black, contemporary nu metal sellout shit)
-heavy metal
-black sabbath
-iron maiden
-judas priest
-i cant think of any others right now
-thrash
-im not educated in this genre, research. probably mostly hardcore old-school punk
-speed
-metallica
-slayer
-death
-death
-i dont know, theres a large selection to choose from
-black
-i have no clue

... well i hope that helped you some... you could also trying putting in collaborations and other musical genres that branches from these such as "speed-death" "hardcore thrash" "punk-black" and my favorite "ambient death/black"

[Skjold]

Considering you don't know which bands are influential I think I will agree with Agni and suggest you change your topic. Of course, you could see this as an exercise in learning, and investigate it thoroughly. Just don't go on forums asking for people to do your assignments for you, do some proper research.

[GreatBlackJoy]

There is a great wealth of information about metal on the ANUS website, as others have mentioned.

My suggestion to you would be to download the peer to peer filesharing program Soulseek, and use that as an aid to understanding the things you find in the metal archives.

If I were you, I'd set aside 3 or 4 days to seriously digest everything.

[Horrific Prophecies]

Pretty sure I know who 'metalover' is.
http://www.anus.com/metal/hall/YaBB.cgi?board=deathmetal;action=display;num=1191145050;start=30

[NEVR4GETLOL]

Does your name mean "metal lover" or "metal over"?

[▓]

meta lover?

[.........]

Suggested reading before you start:

Heavy Metal FAQ: Introduction to Metal Music and Culture

The Philosophy of Heavy Metal

[Prospero]

I would not start seperating all those bands in genres and talking about those specific genres, you'll get lost in descriptions and all that stuff. You'll end up talking about fuck all while you should talk about the whole metal philosophy. There's only two metal genres. What's good and what is not.

I agree with the other posts, read about metal on ANUS, there are some good articles. You can also go to your library and rent some books on the subject. If you live in a big city you may find the "Sound of the Beast" by Ian Christie or "Into the Pandemonium" by Tom G. Fischer. Otherwise buy them. They worth it!

[born for banning]

Genres such as death, black, doom,etc
Sex and religion (male vs female vocals, Satanism, Christanity,)
Exploration of influenational bands. (which ones are the most influencial, i'm not sure, help me out)

These are topic areas, not topics. Pick a topic.

Is metal romanticist? Is metal Satanic, or is its Satanism a metaphor? Is metal hateful, or selectively hateful? Is doom metal an attempt to make us feel doom, to warn us of doom, or to encourage us to have values to cope with the doom?

That would be more interesting. You could always do a PC paper about women in metal, minorities in metal (I'd focus on Hispanics, they're the most interesting) and gays in metal, or gender imagery in metal, but then you'd be less of a real person and more of a plastic cutout.

[metalover]

well i wanted to put the influeniation bands but wasnt really sure i have some knowledge of that though, not totally clueless

death metal: (growled) dark tranquillity, arch enemy, in flames. (grunt) cannibal corpse, decide

black: mayhem, emperor, darkthrone, dimmu,

thrash: slayer, metallica, megadeath

kind of a lot of info if i go into the other types

just maybe need some organization help and guidance is all

thanks for all the replies btw

[AttheGates1996]

After all being said, I’m still stickin to what I originally said. Everyone elses ideas seem to involve metal but not necessarily focus on it. In my opinion it is much more interesting to explain the different genres of metal and their origins and influence. Afterall, its what makes the metal what it is.

[esoteric]

What kind of essay are you requested to write? Descriptive essays are often boring, so if it's open ended, write an argumentative one. People don't want to read long descriptions of the facets of all the different genres if they're not already interested in it - would you want to read someone's essay talking about the differences between trance techno and drum & bass?

Pick a popular conceptualization of metal and refute it or clarify it - for example, that it is talentless or violent. Is this true? Is it a good or bad thing? If it's false, what is the true position and why? Why should/shouldn't a disinterested person be interested in metal? These are the questions people are interested in - use a broad field of research to answer them and convince them you are right. Good luck!

[.........]

No matter what you do, don't rule out Burzum if you're going to write about black metal. I remember I was horrified when I saw Sam Dunn had put down Cradle of Filth as Norwegian Black Metal, and not Burzum