Tobias wrote:
It is an outdated theory, maybe, but according to Hegel art captures the idea in the form of the intuition. It reflects the spirit, but not in comprehension, but in an immediate form, not yet reflected. Lets take this as a starting point to reflect on heavy metal. It is an odd musical genre. It is associated with glorifying violence and even satanism. But what is it that heavy metal reflects? What spirit in our age does it capture? If we take the humble beginnings of heavy metal it seems that it was an outlet for disenfranchised youth, a counter culture.

That doesn't explain everything though. Why would this youth have a thing for biblical inspired texts and sometimes quite complex music? It seems that somewhere along the way heavy metal took a turn. If we see the genre nowadays it has taken up quite a lord of the rings kind of spirit. Much of heavy metal now ahs a romatic spirit and took elements considered sacrilegious, like keyboards, female voices, romantic themes. It is a far cry from the roughness of Motorhead, Slayer and ACDC. What is it in heavy metal that caused it to change? It must have something to do with the interplay between our times and the music, but I don't get it. The music that once tried to be as masculine that it became a cliche, now became romantic in spirit. Even black metal has allowed tapistry of keyboards.

How come working class music could become the music for romantically inclined outcasts with a philosophical bend? Can it be that heavy metal stood for everything these kids were not, but by becoming their music, it became more like them? Or is it that being a social outcast has become the norm and the music reflects its popularity with larger audiences? Can it be that the introduction of women in the heavy metal scene played a part? Nowadays even the outcast has its niche and can even became a hero. Women became interested in the music and it acomodated, creating a more romantic spirit.