30 Pieces of Heavy Metal: Cultural Capital and Metal Music

In the world of culture there is a hierarchy of value applied to everything we consume. Taylor Swift may be more popular than Opera but Opera is touted to be a more cultured and refined musical experience. A swiftie is not considered to be refined but still has their own cultural sway. And neither the swiftie nor the Opera fan likely wants to go to Hellfest. This example underscores that an economy of cultural goods exists in which certain things are equated with the having of a higher or lower class. We are all at least vaguely aware of the various socioeconomic, cultural and social pressures that come together to invest dinner at a “5 star” Michelin restaurant a different level of cultural capital versus hamburgers and beer at Hooters. Quantifying these valuations can be difficult and flatten the rich complexity of human experience, but some factors generally agreed to be important to the calculation. Herbert J. Gans, who in his book Popular Culture and High Culture, notes the multiple factors in deciding someone’s “taste culture” and argues that the major factor seems to be class. When attempting to define class, sociologists often state income, occupation and education as the most important factors, with education agreed to have the most impact.

This is what Bourdieu calls cultural capital. Cultural capital as seen by Bourdieu and Gans “[…] refers to the distinctive forms of knowledge and ability that students acquire— whether at home, at school, or in the relations between the two — from their training in the cultural disciplines.

“This capital, which might be manifested in particular musical, artistic, or literary tastes and competencies, […] is to be regarded as just as much an asset as economic forms of capital—a house or money, for example. This means that, like economic capital, there are distinctive mechanisms of inheritance through which cultural capital is transmitted from one generation to the next. And, just as there are mechanisms for converting one form of economic capital (property) into another (money), so there are mechanisms for converting cultural capital into economic capital, and back again.” (Distinction, xviii)

To put this into more tangible terms, let’s consider art collectors and Jimmy Buffet. Both are examples of forms of cultural capital and demonstrate ways of converting that cultural capital into economic capital. A CEO who uses collecting historic art pieces as an of investment and cultivates an erudite reputation has leaves their child with assets of high monetary value, which can be sold off if necessary. On the other end Jimmy Buffet was able to build a highly successful music career and then leverage that cultural capital into a kitschy beach themed empire. Contrast this to Metal music genre where artists can reach the Billboard 100 list and influence other genres yet still be considered “angry teenager music”. Clearly something is going on.

While the popular image of a metalhead is not without basis, that stereotype almost willfully ignores the depth and complexity of the Metal genre and why Metal survives and prospers regardless that so many Americans say they dislike it.

While Bourdieu talks in the slightly broader concept of the “Habitus”which looks at all aspects of a person’s life and surroundings to comprehend societal organization, Gans uses terms like “taste cultures” to look more specifically these kinds of hierarchical aspects of cultural capital and media consumption. In his own words:

“[…] I […] see a number of popular cultures. I call them […] taste cultures, because each contains shared or common aesthetic values and standards of tastes. Aesthetic is used broadly, referring not only to standards of beauty and taste but also to a variety of other emotional and intellectual values that people express or satisfy when they choose content from a taste culture. I assume, of course, that people apply standards in all taste cultures, not just in high culture.” (Gans, p.6-7)

I find this concept of culture to inherently be a multitude divided by social status, access, income, education and the like, to be useful and relevant in understanding an increasingly monetized and digitized age. We are in an era where one can have millions of online followers and be a complete nonentity offline. Classical markers of wealth are shifting as well as the definitions of poverty and society seems in flux once again. With the increasing consolidation of media oligarchies, the rapid rise of new media, new kinds of fame and evolving economic powers thanks to the internet, elements of taste culture are shifting. Gans segments the taste cultures of America into High Culture, Upper-Middle Culture, Lower-Middle Culture, and Low Culture. However his book was first printed in 1999. Two decades later, with a vanishing middle class and a increasingly volatile political environment, things are increasingly different. Some things still remain same. Art galleries and curated collections are still the playground of the wealthy. Margaritaville remains tacky haven for for kitsch and camp. But many historical markers of wealth and stability, e.c., homeownership, are slipping into crisis.

In academic fields such as sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, the term subculture is used to identify smaller groups that have developed their own tastes and norms that differentiates them from the primary culture to which they also belong. Larger cultures tend to house multiple subcultures, each of which incorporates elements of the larger culture but also possesses elements that are radically different. Subcultures bring together people who feel neglected or ignored by societal standards and arbiters and provide a space in which their members form communities and identity. Understanding these subcultures involves studying the things in which they place value and symbolism such as fashion, the media they consume, and language. Subculture is an important concept when discussing cultural capital and works well in tandem with the idea of taste cultures. For example, People who consume prank tiktoks or baking videos I would not consider a subculture, however I would argue they are perhaps a taste culture as there are things like aesthetic values and consumption preferences which do group these viewers together while things like Gaming and Anime remain subcultures because while there can be plenty of casual fans these things do have dedicated communities and their own internal culture.

These societal changes make for an interesting time to investigate the Metal music genre’s place in the cultural ecosystem. Metal is globally massive and has been cited as inspiration by non-Metal artists working in other genres, this includes Pop artist Rina Sawayama and her music single about racism against asian women called “STFU!”. Sawayama has stated that Nu Metal bands of the 00s like Limp Bizkit directly inspired her song’s sound. In 2022, the band Ghost’s latest studio album “Impera” climbed to the 58th slot on Billboard’s year end performance board and Metallica’s 1991 album “Metallica” took the 102nd slot. The same Metallica album charted again at the 125th place the following year. While the success of Metallica’s album might be connected to their long and profitable career and the use of “Master of Puppets” in Stranger Things in 2022, that Ghost reached the 58th Billboard slot and peaking at number two in the weekly Billboard 200 (which includes all music genres) speaks to the popularity of the Metal genre.

But while Metal is considered the most commercially successful subgenre of rock, even to the point it can be considered a genre on its own, Metal still lacks much of the cultural capital of other genres and taste cultures.

The Mandatory Explanation of Metal Section

Like Punk and Goth, Heavy Metal was born out of the frustrations of a youth culture that felt isolated and hopeless as the 60s came to a close and the social tides around them shifted. As Weinstein (2000) puts it, “The final nail in the youth culture's coffin was the end of the draft. This backhanded payoff to the antiwar movement satisfied its more selfish demands, but in the process undercut its sense of idealism. Heavy metal was born amidst the ashes of the failed youth revolution.”

The sounds that would become Heavy Metal first emerged in the 1960s and coalesced in the 1970s with bands like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper. Some credit Black Sabbath as a specific influence on the genre’s sound, the iconic heavy distorted guitar. The sound of Black Sabbath’s strings resulted from guitarist Tony Iommi’s lost of two finger tips in a factory accident, leaving him unable to feel the strings through his self-made prothesis. The music of these bands spoke to people like Tony, predominantly young, white, blue collar men, facing increasing difficulties as the 60s Youth Culture died and the economic winds shifted. With the genre now distinct and gaining increasing traction the 1980s came and a second evolution emerged.

In the 1980s more bands began to form and innovation, depth and subgenres began to form — like Metallica, Glam Metal, its underground arch nemesis Thrash Metal, and the magazine Kerrang! — and the iconic looks of the subculture becoming what we recognize to this day.

In England, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) (Venom, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden) exploded at the start of the 1980s. As Metal exploded, it fragmented with Glam Metal (Van Halen, Cinderella, Motley Cruë) skyrocketing into the mainstream, playing to gigantic arenas as they threaded the needle between marketable and Metal. In the underground scene, subgenres like Thrash Metal (Metallica, Anthrax, Exodus) were born, partially in direct response to the “sellout” Glam Metal crowd. Where Glam Metal focused more on spectacle and less on intensity, Thrash focused on playing faster, harder, retaining a darker tone and taking notes from the NWOBHM as evidenced in Metallica covering Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil?”. Underground Metal cross-pollinated with its subterranean neighbors, mixing with Punk (Black Flag, Agent Orange, Circle Jerks) to make Thrashcore/Crossover (The Misfits, Suicidal Tendencies, Dirty Rotten Idiots) and Goth (Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees) to create Doom Metal (Candlemass, Cirith Ungol, Type O Negative), further adding to the vital complexity of the Metal scene. This grassroots Metal thrived and propagated thanks to a passionate and dedicated subculture, fueled by frustrations and anger stemming from living under the Christian conservative Reagan and Thatcher regimes.

This era when we also begin to see the Metal genre come under full scale attack by the cultural majority and not only music critics during the Satanic Panic. Metal in all its forms tended to explore dark and taboo topics ranging from Satanism to sex, and it became a natural target for the collective projected fears of a society that did not understand Metal’s internal language or nor did it’s detractors have any interest in doing so. Both the political Left and Right took issue with Metal, joining the music snobs and the everyman. Metal is loud, aggressive, bombastic, vital, concerned with the visceral and the hedonistic, reveled in horror aesthetics, expressed the uncomfortable, and constantly pushed the boundaries. From this past we get culturally significant events such as Dee Snider, leader singer and songwriter of Twisted Sister, appearing before Congress in full headbanger regalia to eloquently condemn its members for their willful slander of his character and censorship that later lead to the creation of the “Parental Advisory” sticker.

The 1990s Metal culture’s progression moved to outside of the United States in places such as Brazil and Scandinavia. Other than the creation of Death Metal (Cannibal Corpse, Death, Morbid Angel), Metal seemed to hibernate in the States. Subgenres that would later emerge as Metal powerhouses like Black Metal (Mayhem, Darkthorne, Satyricon) and Symphonic Metal (Nightwish, Rhapsody of Fire, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) were born in Scandinavia. Metal in America resurrected with a vengeance in the 2000s in another explosion of bands, this time merging their sound with almost every genre. Notoriously Nu Metal included groove and rap into their music, giving rise to Linking Park, Limp Bizkit and Korn. A new generation was exposed to Metal and festivals such as Ozzfest exploded globally, helping to cement Metal’s place on the cultural stage. However, even as Metal thrived, infighting and growing majority distaste were quickly turning on Nu Metal to tear it apart, and leave it, like Glam, an object of derision.

Alternative Capitals: Alternative Dynamics

We can see from this of the genre that Metal has always occupied an odd space between being popular and subterranean, reviled but influential. Even within its boarders, wars have been fought over what was and is allowed to be called Metal. Is Van Halen Metal? Or are they poseurs? Are we still pretending that Nu Metal was bad? Which Metal is “the most Metal”? Metal both exists in the larger ecosystem of culture and taste and thus propagates its own concepts of what makes something good, or a person cool. It has its own currency and while at times the exchange rates are good, it deals in a noticeably different cultural capital.

In the world of media consumption, there is exclusiveness. Some forms of culture — fine art, literature, and etiquette — are still valued as associated with the social and economic upper class. Academic knowledge is a currency that can potentially lift someone into culturally advantaged circles. However, the appreciation of skill in the arts does not translate outside of that elite circle. Both upper and middle classes tend not to acknowledge the technical skill of guitarists like Dimebag Darrell or the deft lyricism of rappers like MF DOOM. While cultural elites and the subcultures are often relatively small communities, there is no solidarity amongst them. Just because a cultural event or artifact is lucrative does not mean it will be respected or understood by an elite or the majority. The amount of knowledge needed to excel in the subculture is not valued as highly as the knowledge needed to enter the upper class.

For example, In Bryson (1996), Heavy Metal and Rap were called out as the two most disliked musical genres with Heavy Metal at number one and Rap at number two. Bryson (1996) notes “while broad taste is associated with high levels of education, […] it also excludes low-status genres more than other types of music”. Interesting associations to find given what had played out before this study was published. 5 years after Dee Snider and other Metal Artists went up against Congress over censorship in 1985, the first album to have the “Parental Advisory” Sticker on it was “Banned in the U.S.A.” by the rap group 2 Live Crew in 1990, showing that Bryson’s findings exist in a larger picture. Both Heavy Metal and Rap have roots in subculture and in disenfranchised and disillusioned communities, and formed organically from their respective mixes of cultural influences and emotional reactions to mainstream culture. Both have their own language, gauges of skill, vocabulary and traditions of aggression — playing as loudly and harshly as possible for Metal and the Rap battle for Rap. Both carry histories of violence as part of their legacies. Burzum mastermind Varg Vikernes is an admitted fascist and church burner. The tragic murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls involved possible gang elements. Even as times change, the genres grow, the violence associated with these genre lessens, Metal and Rap are continuously associated with violence, crime and poverty and are cited as the instigator for the violence of their listeners.

Both inside its own culture and in the mainstream conception of it, Metal maintains an association with the lower economic and cultural class that has led to its continued exclusion from the majority of society in the cultural capital sense. As Sinclair and Dolan (2015) put it,

“the fans wear T-shirts and jackets with words printed on them such as ‘no fucking slaves’ and ‘fuck you’. They wear morbid black colours and sport piercings and tattoos that symbolize the anti-establishment ethic of the scene. It is this portrayal of heavy metal at such a surface level that leads to it attracting controversy because of the potential dangers of it (see King, 1988; Lacourse et al., 2001) and at times ridicule because of how serious it seems to take itself (This is Spinal Tap, 1984).”

In the quest to build cultural capital, many still see Metal as awful headache inducing noise with gruesome lyrics (assuming one can even discern them) parading as “music” but absolutely without merit. Cultural arbiters see the leather and spikes and hear the threats of murder over grinding guitar and perceive something inherently dangerous, something potentially criminal.

However, in the same study, Sinclair and Dolan note that many who like Metal find catharsis and release in its signature aggression. Just like Rina Sawayama drew on the sounds of Metal while expressing her anger, grief and disgust over how she and women like her are fetishized. Many Metal fans find that it provides them a therapeutic outlet. Few mainstream genres delve with any consistency into darker, more painful emotions and very few outside of Metal do so in a way that matches the way those emotions feel. Inside the Metal music community, many are able to find grace, understanding and solace for the darkest and most pain-filled parts of themselves. Metal allows them space to vent negativity safely, express aggression and release anger either via the mosh pit or while listening their favorite band after a bad day.

Guibert and Guibert (2016) found that over time the demographics of Metal fans had shifted while in the 1970s, Metal was seen as urban and working class, and in the 1980s and 90s it was associated with young people, males and the working class, by the 2000s things had shifted, Metal was now more middle class. Guibert and Guibert (2016) point out issues with the previous conception of the subculture as well. While many see Metal as the domain of hormone-addled youth to be discarded when they finally grow up, they point out that Bennett (2005) found that many fans retained their love for the genre well into middle age, actively engaging in the community.

As Guibert and Guibert show in their work, Metal has become generational. In some cases, quite literally family are one of the largest vectors for childhood exposure to Metal. Weinstein’s (1991,2000) theory of “proud pariahs” rings true, Metal continues to be heavily disliked. Lizardo and Skiles (2015) found that the standing of Heavy Metal and Rap had improved since Bryson (1996). Hatred of Heavy Metal has gone down by half between the two studies. While this dislike can cause exclusion from the majority, it also fosters solidarity and connection in those who find themselves lacking cultural capital outside of the subculture. This appears to be happening in the Metal context.

Cannibal Culture: The Exclusion Is Coming From Inside The House

While Metal is a haven of acceptance for those rejected by the larger culture, it is not with out its faults and issues. There are plenty hostile elements within the Metal community that run against the grain of what Metal fans want their community to be. In the minds of many outsiders and those just starting to navigate Metal’s norms is the image of the Metal Elitist looms. An ominous figure lurking around every corner, watching and waiting to tell you why you’re not a real fan, discounting the bands you like as not Metal, the reality of this boogieman is open to question. Talk of Metal Elitists is symptomatic of the uncertain path Metal has always taken.

In the 1980s, there was a fragmentation and increased commodification of Metal. Those who disliked the direction that subgenres like Glam were taking the genre remained in the underground, formulating their own subgenres and jealously guarding the Metal scene as they knew it from the same kind of commodification invoked by Glam. This lead to its own kind of exclusion and gatekeeping. Those aiming to mimic the aesthetic stylings of Vince Neil would not be treated well in a Heavy Metal dive bar in 1987 by the metalheads in their white sneakers, bullet belts and battle jackets. The idea of the “real” Metal being underground, lesser known, gritty and grossest remains part of its legacy to this day and a hallmark that defines its cultural appeal and internal capital.

This gatekeeping, much like the gatekeeping inside of Rap in the same era, was there to protect the integrity of the genre. Both Rap and Metal of the pre-internet age had defenses against the vultures of Big Music to block their coming in and tearing the music they loved apart for their own gain. Rap was saved by hierarchy of “Oldheads” who would decide who would be supported for commercial success, for Metal it was making the music purposefully off putting. Bands like Cannibal Corpse found long term success despite their name, making songs named things like “Meat Hook Sodomy”. The Metal community is passionate and dedicated. No else likes them so naturally they will vehemently support their own. This dynamic is why researchers like Dolan, Sinclair and Bennet contest claims that Metal fans abandon the subculture once they “grow out” of it. If maturity is the demarkation point of where Metal dies, then the Metal community is populated by demonic Peter Pans.

To this day, there is a practice of confirming the status of members in the Metal community. When someone wears a shirt that signals a Metal connection, there is an expectation that you, well, actually listen to Metal groups. Evidencing a lack of understanding of the genre to true genre aficionados will incite hostility. You have failed to show you have acquired the appropriate cultural capital. This practice stems from the community’s desire to protect the music from an industry bent on exploitation. When one considers how Metal is still so disliked but so many people to bought Metallica merch after hearing a singular song in Stranger Things season 4 but didn’t seem to have any real interest in the band, the genre’s defensive posture suddenly feels very understandable.

There are other ways that exclusion and cultural capital via exclusion have evolved in Metal, mainly as its subgenres have developed. A common Metal joke is that the only “True Metal” is an unheard demo made on an 8-track by one man, alone in the Finnish wilderness. Dark imagery has been part of the Metal’s DNA, going all the way back to the 1970s with Black Sabbath. Not only does their name invoke blasphemy but many of their songs included occult and dark language and symbology. A natural way to both grow and defend the genre was to not just make the music sound like bricks in a high speed blender but also to drench lyrics in taboo and sorcery. Doing so became part of the lineage of Death and Black Metal. Death Metal is primarily known for it’s intensely gore-filled and violent lyrics, its aggressive and grinding sound. Black Metal also sounds intentionally ugly but has leaned more towards the constant drone of Doom Metal and Goth music, its lyrics, even though violent, lean more towards the religious and fantastical. If the two genres were movies, Doom Metal would be the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Black Metal would be The Exorcist.

Another aesthetic of primarily Death and Black Metal is band logos and their varying levels of illegibility. The more extreme and underground the Death or Black Metal band, the more incomprehensible the name. This is intentional and it ties into the Metal response to commodification. These subgenre bands will sacrifice easy recognition for the sake of their cultural beliefs, of course this makes, it harder for people to discover them or their music. Being able to decipher the more intense variations on this design style and read them is a sign of cultural capital, you’ve gained an insider skill and proven yourself to be a true member. Being able to look at a band’s logo and immediately parse out its subgenre is a sign of inner subculture knowledge that impresses and wins points from other subgenre dwellers. Even Death and Black Metal logos, which can both end up looking like a very antisocial pile of twigs, have discernible aesthetic elements that make them immediately distinguishable to the keen eye. Death Metal logos are historically more sharp and ragged with a viscera aspect to them, like spelling with broken bones. While Black Metal’s organic inspiration calls more upon fungi and rot. There’s also usually more lyricality to the composition and if there’s iconography or symbolism, it is more likely to be religious than Death Metal’s viscera and weapons.

These tactics for creating internal capital while fending off the unwanted outsider or profiteer are remarkable for their contributions to Metal’s continuing poor reception. This boundary setting in many ways is critical to the future of the subculture. Comparing Metal to Rap, we can see immediate tonal differences. While Rap was (and in some ways still is) very guarded, it had less antagonism towards marketability. In fact Rap was highly interested so long as marketing was on their own terms. This approach brought on to an internal system to earn cultural capital within the Rap community and thus build support for more cultural and economic capital and acceptance. A hopeful rapper would run a gamut of demo tapes, performances, shows of skill like freestyle battles, and audience building, acquiring enough cultural capital to attract the interest of a manager, who could bring them before the gate keepers of Rap. The community’s goal was always to balance between enriching Rap as art and making money. This was in opposition to Metal’s apparent goal of scaring money away. Both these tactics have been shaken up with the advent of the internet. Now any new rapper could post their work to Soundcloud and possibly get popular. Obscure Metal bands are suddenly no longer difficult to find.

This insular behavior brings with it costs that can hurt the community. The Nu Metal subgenre is derided to this day, even inside of Metal, because because of how different and in many ways experimental it remain. Nu Metal created excitement for the Metal genre in America and brought a new generation of fans to the community, bringing diverse and creative new sounds to the fore. But those who had a very defined and rigid conception of what Metal should sound like did not appreciate Nu Metal’s Heresies and swiftly turned on them. When a community leans so intensely upon exclusion to validate their self-identification and base its cultural capital, that community can create unnecessary conflict inside the group, push away new fans and harm the genre’s potential for artistic growth.

Metal is an interesting subculture. As it becomes more accepted and the taste culture around it expands, it is forced to change and adapt. Older metalheads are enthusiastic about Metal’s continued vitality and welcome new fans. More and more Metal bands and community groups are interested in promoting inclusivity and fostering community. Metalheads Against Bullying would be an example of this trend. Psychologists are recognizing the cathartic power of Metal music. Kerrang — a well known rock and alt music magazine from the 80s — has survived the physical print apocalypse caused by the internet that has killed so many other popular magazines. Complex and interesting conversation about what Metal is, what is the core of its ethos, how it should change are ongoing. For all the abrasiveness of the genre and some of its fans, Metal’s popularity is only growing. Knowledge remains a critical factor in gaining cultural capital. Respect will be given to those who know about Dream Theater. Someone who owns an Iron Maiden t-shirt solely for the aesthetic will not be invited into the conversation. Being able to engage in a vibrant, intellectual and creatively controlled chaos is critical to make a home inside of the Metal community.

Metal is more than just a music genre; it’s a lifestyle. Some come to Metal because the music is a revelation to them. Some learn to appreciate the music after having entered a Metal heavy taste culture. It is more diverse — on all conceivable fronts — than it is generally given credit for, and more rich than many can imagine. It is no surprise then that we are seeing increasing academic interest in Metal, Beyond studies on juvenile delinquency and music preferences. The International Society for Metal Music Studies is dedicated to the research of Metal and related genres such as Punk and Goth. Papers are being written about Metal and increasing appreciation is being given to this unique community. Well deserved too as Metal is directly responsible the creation of Satanic Do Wop and half the names in the internationally popular manga Jo Jo’s Bizarre Adventure. Metal is bombastic, raw and unashamed to be itself and Metal’s tumultuous fight to create and maintain its own cultural capital against decades of majority hatred has imparted millions with that same kind of wild abandon for life and the living of it.

References

Bryson, B. (1996). “Anything But Heavy Metal”: Symbolic Exclusion and Musical Dislikes. American Sociological Review, 61(5), 884–899. https://doi.org/10.2307/2096459
 Durham, M. G., Kellner, D. M., & Bourdieu, P. (2001). (i) Introduction; (ii) The Aristocracy of Culture. In Media and Cultural Studies Keyworks (pp. 249–253). http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA73410200
 Gans, J. (2000). Popular Culture & High Culture: An Analysis and Evaluation of Taste. In Prismas (Revised Edition). Basic Books.

Guibert, C., & Guibert, G. (2016). The Social Characteristics of the Contemporary Metalhead: The Hellfest Survey. In A. Brown, K. Spracklen, K. Kahn-Harris, & N. Scott (Eds.), Global Metal Music and Culture: Current Directions in Metal Studies. Routledge.

Jedicke, P. (2020, July 30). How heavy metal became mainstream. dw.com. https://www.dw.com/en/how-heavy-metal-became-mainstream/a-54368992

Kennedy, L. F., & Yavuz, M. S. (2019). Metal and musicology. Metal Music Studies, 5(3), 293–296. https://doi.org/10.1386/mms.5.3.293_2

Kochhar, R., & Sechopoulos, S. (2022, April 22). How the American middle class has changed in the past five decades. Pew Research Center; Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/04/20/how-the-american-middle-class-has-changed-in-the-past-five-decades/

Lasoye, S. (2019, November 23). “STFU!”: Rina Sawayama talks raging against microaggressions – gal-dem. Gal-Dem.com. https://gal-dem.com/rina-sawayama-interview-stfu-2019/

Lizardo, O., & Skiles, S. (2015). Musical taste and patterns of symbolic exclusion in the United States 1993–2012: Generational dynamics of differentiation and continuity. Poetics, 53, 9–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2015.08.003

Sinclair, G., & Dolan, P. (2015). Heavy metal figurations: Music consumption, subcultural control and civilizing processes. Marketing Theory, 15(3), 423-441. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593115569015

Schonfeld, Z. (2016, April 20). Does the parental advisory label still matter? Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/does-parental-advisory-label-still-matter-tipper-gore-375607
 Stolworthy, J. (2022, July 10). Metallica issue stern reminder to fans following song’s inclusion in Stranger Things. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/stranger-things-eddie-metallica-b2119751.html

Weinstein, D. (2000). Heavy metal : the music and its culture (Revised Edition). Da Capo Press.

Walser, R. (2024, May 28). Heavy metal | History, Music, Bands, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/heavy-metal-music

Uploaded by Stewart, D. (2012). Dee Snider’s PMRC Senate Hearing Speech (Full) [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Vyr1TylTE

3.4A: Subcultures. (2018, July 27). Social Sci LibreTexts. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/03%3A_Culture/3.04%3A_Culture_Worlds/3.4A%3A_Subcultures

Wyatt’s Metal. (2023, August 18). The History of Heavy Metal (1968 - 2023) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz1dNXXqWwI

Quit Your Bitching: Metal Elitists are the Reason Your Precious Genre Has Any Integrity. (2018, May 30). Metal Stuff. https://metalstuff.net/2016/06/21/quit-your-bitching-metal-elitists-are-the-reason-your-precious-genre-has-any-integrity/

From Mayhem to Metallica: Inside the world of extreme metal logos. (2023, January 6). Kerrang! https://www.kerrang.com/inside-the-world-of-extreme-metal-logos

Wikipedia contributors. (2024, May 29). Varg Vikernes. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varg_Vikernes

Wikipedia contributors. (2024a, May 27). Impera. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impera

Wikipedia contributors. (2001, February 12). Metallica (album). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallica_(album)