What does 'heavy metal' actually mean

�A.� In its truest form, the rock music style known as 'heavy metal' is captured by the albums of Led Zeppelin, who were the first band to take the blues influences of rock music and weld them to a bombastic backbeat and overlay them with shrieking guitars and vocals, all pushed at the audience with volume levels that should have carried health warnings.

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Q.� It doesn't sound especially hip does it

A.� The words 'hip' and 'heavy metal' do not belong together�- they proudly defend their territory at either end of the taste spectrum, and view each other with mutual suspicion. Heavy metal is an inherently British phenomenon, in common with a large number of enduring musical styles.�It is the stamping ground of teenagers with long hair, denim jackets, tattoos, and wide grins.

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Q.� Where does the popularity come from

A.� Analysis of the heavy metal phenomenon usually makes fans of the style hoot with derision, but any musical genre that has endured and evolved with the success that metal has enjoyed deserves a degree of thought.

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If you examine the roots of the music, and the people who enjoy it, a pattern rapidly emerges. Heavy metal has its origins in the industrial heartland of the Midlands�- step forward Black Sabbath, crowned kings of the archetypal heavy metal sound. Sabbath grew up in the world of factories and foundries, which forged a tribal attitude amongst its young men who looked to bond together under a common musical banner�- it was never going to be 'light classical'.

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The music reflected its audience, and vice versa�- loud, tough, heavy, with songs based on swords and sorcery, or beer and pills, and in some cases all of them! As long as you have kids who like to go out, batter their eardrums into tinitus-induced submission, and their brains into alcohol-based ab-dabs, you have a solid fan base for heavy metal. Since you can find that audience in just about any major city in the world, you have the basis for an enduring and expanding youth culture.

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Q.� It all sounds a bit over-the-top and frankly past its best!

A.� That's because heavy metal has never been fashionable,�a facet of its appeal its fans not only appreciate, but also positively encourage. There is an element of anti-social attitude about heavy metal�- the chances are your mum and dad won't like it, so that increases its appeal straight away. Because heavy metal has always enjoyed its own idiosyncratic styles of sound and appearance, it become the music of choice for the disaffected, looking for a common bond of like-minded individuals with which to stand against the boredom of modern life. That bonding element has been a powerful force in increasing the numbers of heavy metal fans, to the extent that today, it is perfectly possible for the most out-there metal acts to enjoy a hit single, and appear on Top Of The Pops with it as well!

Q.� But you can't take grown men with long hair and denim and studs seriously!

A.� No you can't, and they wouldn't want you to either. Metal has always maintained a healthy sense of scepticism about its own excesses�- humour is an important element of the genre.�Rent a copy of This Is Spinal Tap from your local video shop and see just how funny it can be. The Americans are equally adept at seeing the funny side of this particular segment of youth culture,�have a look at Wayne's World to see their slant on the whole idea.

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Q.� So if it is successful and enduring, there must be money to be made

A.� Now you're talking! Quite apart from the multi-billion dollar industry generated by the recording side of heavy metal�- Zeppelin and AC/DC stand up there in the top five album acts of all time�- there is an even bigger spin-off industry in merchandising, clothing, videos, computer games, jewellery, tattoos.�the list goes on, and so does the profit margin.

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Q.� What would I look for if I wanted to investigate the metal phenomenon

A.� Start with the most mainstream, and biggest bands�- Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Deep Purple - and then side-track into what ever particular sub-genre you want to look at.

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Q.� What sub-genres are those

A.� Metal is not just about bolting a thudding beat and ayowling voice onto a blues riff, it has fragmented into dozens of sub-cultures over the years, each with its own bands, styles, fan-base and so on, although plenty of fans move across the surface of these sub-species with ease.

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There's 'thrash metal' which is encapsulated by bands such as Metallica�- rooted in the speed and energy of punk bands such as Discharge and GBH, thrash employs speed, volume and physical danger in equal measure. Then there is 'black metal', check out Tyneside veterans Venom for a crash course in the style. Good old-fashioned 'Goth' bands such as Cradle Of Filth and the shock-rocker Marilyn Manson will show you the way here. Check out the unfeasibly large metal section in your local CD emporium to find how how large, and diverse, the metal coda actually is these days.

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Q.� So heavy metal isn't the musical joke people think it is

A.� It can be�- it depends which way you want to view it. The point is, people who enjoy it don't really care if anyone else likes it or not, or if they think the styles of dress and behaviour are odd, or amusing, or threatening. Heavy Metal has always been a genuinely subversive youth movement, and by definition, the fact that the majority of the population view it with fear and / or amusement, imply underlines the belief that they are dong it right!

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