Martes, Disyembre 4, 2012

Survey Cover Letter


November 26, 2012

Dear Respondent/s:
I am an undergraduate student under the direction of Mr. Dustin Celestino in the English Resource Center at Asia Pacific College. I am conducting a research study entitled The Lifestyle of a Heavy Metal Band.  The purpose of this study is to make the students understands the concepts and liabilities about Heavy Metal Band.
Your participation will involve through judging the overall concept of the said topic and should only take about 5 to 10 minutes.  Your involvement in the study is voluntary, and you may choose not to participate or to stop at any time.  The results of the research study may be published, but your name will not be used. Your identity will not be associated with your responses in any published format.
The findings from this project will provide information on Heavy Metal Lifestyle with no cost to you other than the time it takes for the survey. 
If you have any questions about this research project, please feel free to call me at 09174169656 or send an e-mail epgranada@apc.edu.ph
Answering the questions sincerely would be highly appreciated for it would provide information regarding my research paper.
Thanks for your consideration!

Sincerely,


Esther Marie Granada
BSCS Computer Networking, Asia Pacific College

Background of the Survey


Throughout studying and defining heavy metal music as music but it is much more than music, there is much more that I’m curious about. Critics thought it was unsophisticated music for unsophisticated people. One news article writer went as far as calling it sick, repulsive, horrible, and dangerous. They feared it was a vessel for the devil and had created a satanic epidemic among teenagers. To top all of that, the fans of heavy metal were considered lowlifes, dead-end kids, and the bane of society.



All of these misconceptions are wrong. I’ll prove that there is significance about heavy metal music. It is also a “comfort for the bright child.” I must assess the opinion of other people on how they see and understand this kind of music and culture.


The content of my survey is random, starting from: Do you like heavy metal? Is long hair cool? Does heavy metal corrupt the youth? What are the most common misconceptions people -- especially parents -- seem to have about heavy metal music? Does Heavy Metal Music Promote Negative Attitudes Toward Women?Does Listening to Heavy Metal Music Impact Academic Achievement?
Is there anything this survey has not addressed that you feel is important to mention about your experience with heavy metal, or about heavy metal in general?


It should be clear to me how others, especially people who are against and not aware of this music.
Majority of the answers, I think, most of them are negative. So, let it be. It depends.

Survey Template



HEAVY METAL MUSIC SURVEY
Name:
Age:

1. So, do you like heavy metal?

• Yeah that's why I'm taking the quiz.
• Yeah, sort of.
• No, I’ll be possessed.
• Yeah the older stuff!!!
• No. I hate it. I like rap.


2. Is long hair cool?

• YEAH!! I've got long hair!
• Yeah, but I like mine short.
• Long hair = Mullets! Ew…
• Sort of.
• NO!


3. What musically attracts you to heavy metal?


4. What is your favorite heavy metal band?


5. Does heavy metal corrupt youth?





6. What are the most common misconceptions people -- especially parents -- seem to have about heavy metal music?



7. Did your interest in metal music change you or change your social situation?



8. Heavy metal is the best music in the world, do you agree?





9. Does Heavy Metal Music Promote Negative Attitudes Toward Women?<


10. Does Listening to Heavy Metal Music Impact Academic Achievement?


11. Is there anything this survey has not addressed that you feel is important to mention about your experience with heavy metal, or about heavy metal in general?



Thank you very much! Cheers! \m/

Martes, Nobyembre 27, 2012

Chapter 1


Chapter 1
Introduction
A. Background of the Study

Heavy metal (often referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and in the United States.[2] With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are generally associated with masculinity and machismo. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music)

Filipinos undue criticisms on the fans of heavy metal, but the true victims are the musicians. Like fans, many criticisms are placed upon the musicians; they are discriminated for their looks, their beliefs, and the music they create. Many venues will not even book bands if the members have long hair, tattoos, and piercing let alone play heavy metal. If a band wishes to lease a property for band practice, they are automatically turned away because it is thought that all metal musicians damage property, do drugs, drink excessively and smash their instruments. Potential employers commonly want to know their employees: their hobbies, what interests them, what they like to do outside of work? Employers frown upon potential or current employees who play in metal bands or are fans of the genre. Although it is getting easier to gain employment if you have tattoos and piercing, the best employers still frown upon this practice. Men with long hair are asked to cut it off or find a polite way to hide it; piercing must be taken out or hidden; all tattoos must be covered up.

 Metal music isn't just noise. It maybe noise to the untrained ear, but it's more than that. It is grace, beauty, power, speed, brutality, it's about writing lyrics that you want to write about, instead of conforming to the mainstream societies views, metal is therapy, when I am down, I put one of my favorite bands on and it cheers me up, when I am angry, I put something fast and thrashy on and it works 100% of the time, Metal is a genre of music which when 'done' right, resonates with the listeners at a subconscious level, it can cause the person to experience emotions in an all new amplified way and best of all, it is about thumbing your nose to the mainstream society and not giving a fuck about what they think about our music.

That is the beauty of Metal music. Musicians shouldn't be forced to write about love because that appeals to the mainstream dominion. They should be able to write about what they want to write about or how they feel at the time or anything they goddamn want to write about. 

B. Statement of the Problem
This study aims to answer this question:
1.What are the misconceptions about heavy metal bands?

C. Significance of the Study
Filipino Culture. This research paper would be able to help the Filipino to understand more about the heavy metal music especially the people born in the late 70’s, who know for listening in pop songs, ballads, choral music, and other genres.

Fans. The fans would benefit from this study because they would be able to express themselves to other Filipino who doesn’t understand the heavy metal music.

Future Filipino Metals. This study is for the people who are interested to know about the Metal world. To the Filipino who is starting to explore this type of music this is a good start for them to know a little about the heavy metal people.

D. Scope and Delimitation

This study focuses about the misconception of the Filipino people about the Heavy Metal Music. The beauty about metal music is the fact that whenever you go to metal gigs, you feel like you’re apart of a brotherhood. A brotherhood where everyone is equal and you can easily have a chat to someone who you don't know and have a chat about metal music. You have done that a few times going to gigs and that’s why you will love going to them and socializing. It actually helps you feel better about yourself as a person, meeting new people, making new friends and of course, listening to great music. 



E. Materials and Method
The first step of the research study is to conduct a survey. This is to know the different aspects of the Lifestyle of the Heavy Metal People.  A survey and feedbacks are necessary in order for the researchers and common people to be well-informed about the general points of view of others. Through the help of surveys the researcher could formulate an incorporate conclusion.

After the survey, the results will be studied thoroughly and then it will proceed on making the different lifestyle of the Filipino Heavy Metals. In this part, the researcher will search on the net of some interview about their lifestyle.
Making the research about the effects of the Lifestyle of the Metalheads. Nevertheless, the researcher uses the reliable source in the internet. Furthermore, the researcher uses social networking sites. To interview people especially that there were many people giving their reactions and ideas. Surely, it will be helpful to the Metalheads community to be more understandable.

F. Definition of Terms

Blues rock - is a musical genre combining bluesy improvisations
over the twelve - bar blues and extended boogie roll styles.



Psychedelic rock
- is that is inspired or influenced by culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of .

Metalheads - Group of musical listeners that are often described as drunkards, partiers  and fighters, but this is a bit of a stereotype.

Brotherhood - Persons, and, poetically, things, of a like kind.

Lifestyle - the way a person lives to one's own ability. 

Dominion - is a term used to describe conservative Christians who are believed to seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action


Mainstream - is the common current thought of majority.


Martes, Oktubre 30, 2012

Fans (HW3)

Whenever you go outside and saw a person with a long hair, wearing a black shirt, scary and weird looking, you must be wondering, what kind of people is that? They don't belong here in our society.


Heavy metal fans go by a number of different names, including metalhead, headbanger, and thrasher. This vary with time, subculture and regional divisions. 

For the social aspects, in place of typical dancing, metal fans are more likely to mosh or headbang, a movement in which the head is shaken up and down in time with the music.

Fans from the culture often make the "Corna" hand-signal formed by a fist with the "pinkie" and index fingers extended, known variously as the "devil's horns", the "metal fist" and other similar descriptors.





Metal fans not only embrace the music for the talent or the technical ability of musicians, and not only for the excitement of the sound; but also because of the sentiment that one can escape the dull and the mundane, or the stress of life and into the music itself. The music reflects this common attitude as well, especially lyrically as well. Metalheads internationally embrace the music style because of the way it can boost an individual personality over and beyond problematic issues of life. It is a style of music that makes the listener feel empowered.

To be a metal fan is to be part of a lifestyle, to feel a part of something bigger: a culture of individuals on the same wave length that are in the millions across the world. You either get it, or you do not get it. You don’t go through a “metal phase” – once you become a metalhead, it becomes part of who you are, part of how you identify yourself, and part of how you see the world. It is a movement beyond the music, but a movement that is fed by the music, and a music style that is fed by the movement.


Metal has long been criticized as blasphemous or anti-religion, but this stance has proven to be a catalyst for metalheads being well-versed and competent in understanding a variety of aspects of religion, faith, and belief. Whether a metal fan identifies themselves as an atheist, a Christian, a Satanist, or any other number of faiths, you will frequently find that metalheads are very well educated on many aspects of their chosen belief system or philosophy; as well as more often than not other religious beliefs as well.


However, fans become part of the subculture of heavy metal music only to the extent that their high sensation seeking is combined with alienation. Although all three people profiled enjoyed the high sensation qualities of the music, their involvement in the subculture varied according to the depth of their alienation. Jack, deeply alienated, was deeply committed to the subculture.

Pinoy Metal (HW2)



Filipino metal, pinoy metal, OPM (Original Pinoy Metal), whatever you call it, still a groundbreaking and teethgrinding terms for the filipino underground metal scene here in the Philippines. Many youth today supports and attend gigs to promote the metal scene and it varies from different genres starting from: Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Gothic Metal, and Doom Metal.



One of the Filipino metal band that I know is Bloodshedd this is a death thrash metal band who has an extravagant album that I'll probably still listen to after many years when the apocalypse comes. The first time that I listened to them was way back 2007, that was PULP 7 and my initial impression of the band, is the same as with a lot of other Filipino Metal bands playing the streets of Manila, their sound deserves to be on a bigger stage with better equipment. 


As long as I can remember, one of my classmate told me about the Skychurch band who plays groove/crossover genre. The first ever song that I heard from Skychurch was "Kamao".“Kamao” played and it was intense. The song could have done with a better production, but it grew on me. Today, I can say that “Kamao” is a classic that stands to this day. I love how it sounds so raw, so gritty and booming, and I will always remember how it helped me move forward in Metal as a whole. 
Another thing that appealed to me was that these guys were brothers.Three of them, starting a band and playing some metal. People would interchangeably talk about the " Dela Cruz Brothers" as SkyChurch.

There is this group of fans/musicians who create an organization called Filipino Metal. To portray metal through the eyes and ears of Filipino metalheads. Which is aim to publish articles about metal, various opinions and topics affecting Filipinos, and the Filipino Metal scene. It is a gift to the hardworking bands and people that continue to support the metal scene.

For me, as a metalhead and an avid supporter of filipino metal bands, I used to attend gigs to support the band, buy merchandise, cooperate and contribute for the scene. 



Girl Power! :) \m/ (HW1)


If you make create a band, you should not just listen to the music alone but also experience it as a whole - from the sound of every instrument up to the lyrics being sang. Every girl wants to make music because they couldn't go on simply just as listeners only. We always have that brutal force inside us and it compels us to do something about it.


Heavy metal music is not just for macho men, long haired rascals, and deep growling brutes, girls also has the power to conquer the stage. I have found out that many metal bands of different genres is fronted by female vocalists like Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy, Vivian Slaughter of Gallhammer, Heike Langhans of Draconian and for the local acts, Sensi OƱate of Oremuz and Len of Dreaded Mortuary.

I’am fascinated to these gals because of their talents and taste in music.












There is a band named Gallhammer. It is and all-female metal band. This is very rare in their genre which is mainly dominated by male bands like Mettalica. Gallhammer is a Japanese extreme metal group that draws  on black metal, doom metal, and crust punk. They formed in Tokyo in 2003. Their first recording, a free demo tape limited to 30 copies, was distributed at their first gig at Koiwa Death Fest Vol.2, around March 2003, in Japan. In July of the same year, the self-titled demo album was released. Gallhammer released their second full-length album, Ill Innocence, through Peaceville Records in September 2007, followed by a European tour. In March 2008, they did a second European tour. For their third LP The End released in 2011 their guitarist, Mika Penetrator, is not present anymore but nevertheless the band chose to continue as a bass-drums duo

"I can say that raw feelings make a good sound. Because we are not a machine. We could shed blood, could vomit and have feeling of hate. I wanted to express the mental instability and mental cruelty which a girl has. Now, we are holding up pride, hate and life in the front. We are not wearing that dress." -Vivian Slaughter


In the world of heavy metal music, there are no boundaries. No one is limited. Male or female, it will not matter. The music is always more than meets the eye, or rather, what enters the ear. 

Martes, Oktubre 16, 2012

Assignment for October 10,2012


1. Narrowing down the Topic
Topic: Metal Music:

  • About Metal Bands
  • What are the popular Heavy Metal Bands
  • How does the Heavy Metal Bands affects the Society


What are the differences between the Local and Foreign Metal Bands
2. Tentative Outline:

I. History Of Heavy Metal Bands
A. Characteristics of Metal Bands
B.  Middle Ages

II. Difference of Local And Foreign Metal Bands
A. Local Metal Bands and Foreign Metal bands
1. Popular Artists
2. Popular bands
3. Characteristics

III. Effects to the Society
A. good
B. Bad
3. Informal Writing and Informal Writing

        Informal:
Metal Bands have a lots of subgenres one of them is Black metal. The musical approach of that genre are  demonic sound and symphonic sound like Dimmu Borgir or Nightwish. Black metal songs usually deal with subjects like demonic possession, Satanism, paganism and violence.



Formal:
Heavy metal genre compose of many different styles. Black metal, is one of the extreme sounds, grew out of thrash metal. The first prominent is Norway, it combines blistering metal guitar with a lyrical focus on demons and evil. Bands like Marduk, Mayhem, Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir typify black metal music.

4. Statement of the Problem

  • What are the difference between Local Heavy Metal Bands and Foreign Heavy Metal Bands

Martes, Oktubre 2, 2012

INTRODUCTION

Greetings Everyone!

Before I start my first ever blog, I want you to introduce myself  I am Esther Marie Granada, an Computer Networking student at Asia Pacific College. I am 19 years old, I am not really a fond of Heavy Metal Music but I like their way when their expressing their thoughts and feelings about family, love, government and even religions. I know many of you don't understand what they are really singing when they performed but if you read the lyrics alone that is the time you understand what's the song really means. One of the example of that is Agent Orange by Sodom, what is Agent Orange by the way? is it a person with an orange skin color? or an agent with an orange hair? Agent Orange is a certain type of herbicide that the US military used to make clearings in Vietnam. This kind of Chemical can cause cancer and worst death. Thousands of Vietnamese and US Military died because of that chemical. 


The picture above is the first part, chorus and the first verse of the song Agent Orange by Sodom. Read and you will understand what I am talking about. Heavy Metal Music is not bad, yes it is loud and not good to hear but when you understand what is the real meaning of each song you will be amaze that behind the dirty and awkward look of the performers/bands their have the bright minds and wide imagination to translate what is really happening to each and every country. Reality became music that everybody can relate.

Thanks for reading hope you like it! :)
Rock and Roll \m/