Session 1: Dissonance, Dissidents and Max Volume Technology

2nd Global Conference

Wednesday 11th November – Thursday 12th November 2009
Salzburg, Austria

Dissonance and Dissidents
Sarha Moore
Ethnomusicology Department, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

The semitone note just above the key-note (flat second) is used deliberately and extensively within Heavy Metal music, its tense dissonance helping to produce music that evokes doom and omen. Robert Walser described this ‘other leading note’ as hanging claustrophobically above the tonic and the semitone pull downwards can be used to express depression or a drawing down to hell. Within the Heavy Metal culture this discord is embraced and is a powerful tool for the setting of challenging lyrics with a myriad of negative and subversive emotions.

The flat second appears in the Medieval Phrygian and Locrian modes as well as in a form of the harmonic minor scale known as Phrygian Dominant. These scales are similar in structure to the Arabic Hijaz maqam and the Indian Bhairav raga, and can create the sound of a generalised and tense shadowy ‘other’. The ‘other leading note’ is ideal for expressing the ‘other within’, which is the defining status of the Heavy Metal subculture, with intensity of feelings and desires for ‘something more’, different and complex aspirations of a subculture that a major scale or bluesy pentatonic cannot easily convey.

In this paper I will draw on examples of the flat second in Heavy Metal music. The movement from key-note to flat second is regularly in bass lines, locked together with the rhythm guitar, the semitone movement easy to play for jumping and ‘moshing’. Virtuosic guitar solos use these scales, they are fast and harsh, the Phrygian and Locrian scales being easy to play rapidly. The danger, intensity and excitement of the solos is liberating and empowering over the oppressive power of the rhythm section. I will discuss the dissonant and powerful potential of the flat second, and its importance within and without the Heavy Metal genre and subculture.

Download Draft Conference Paper (pdf)

Louder than Hell: Power Volume and the Brain
Colin McKinnon
Independent Scholar, Switzerland

The sheer loudness of metal is one of its defining characteristics and, unlike some other aspects, is also one of the most recognisable both to metalheads and to those outside the metal scene. In addition to the quest for bands to have ‘everything louder than everything else’, the call extends to the listener, with songs that act as paeans to loudness, exhortations on albums to ‘play it loud’ and incitement at concerts to exceed recommended sound levels, all of which celebrates rebellion and camaraderie and feeds into a sense of self-identity and belonging. Loudness is inextricably associated with power, particularly with masculine power, expressed both implicitly and explicitly (e.g. Manowar’s anthem ‘All Men Play on 10′); in this context, lack of volume equates to a lack of power and treatment with disrespect and disdain, while revelling in loudness is akin to a badge of honour. Changes in the way we listen to music have also resulted in competition and controversy in the music industry in the form of ‘loudness wars’. However, the pursuit of loudness can also be viewed as ultimately self-destructive – prolonged exposure to high volumes can cause tinnitus, permanent hearing damage and even total hearing loss.

The power of metal may also be strongly linked to the listener’s emotions, particularly when the music is very loud – besides the powerful psychological effects of metal on the emotions, high volume can have remarkable effects on the neural transmitters in the brain, causing over-stimulation and possibly even permanent alterations to the brain’s neural network over prolonged periods; loudness may change the listener’s state of consciousness and perception in both the short- and long-term. Notable effects can be found on an area of the brain closely associated with pleasure and addiction. These themes will therefore be discussed and the connections and associations explored.

Download Draft Conference Paper (pdf)

Intelligent Equalisation principles and Techniques for Minimising Masking when Mixing the Extreme Modern Metal Genre
Mark Mynett
University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom

The intensity, complexity and energy of performance, combined with the power and density of the tones involved are characteristics of the extreme metal genre. These characteristics present numerous problems when striving to achieve the clarity, definition and hyper-realism of performance required for this genres production.

Avoiding masking in a mix is a fundamental aspect of clarity, definition, intelligibility and perceived loudness and due to the fact that masking especially occurs in a dense mix, and is more pronounced in low frequencies, is particularly applicable to mixing the down-tuned extreme metal genre. Masking in simple terms is the ability of frequencies of one sound to obscure or inhibit (i.e. mask) the frequencies of another sound.

This paper will draw upon the first author’s eight years of experience producing within the metal genre, including releases through Sony and Universal and working with the likes of Colin Richardson and Andy Sneap. As a case study, this paper looks at intelligent equalisation principles used to avoid masking for the mix of the E.P. ‘Oubliette’, by extreme metal act ‘For Untold Reasons’, which was produced, engineered and mixed by the first author of this paper.