(Part 2) Top products from r/Metal

Hey mate, doing a PhD on Aussie extreme metal. I'll do a write up for you when I get home :)

Edit: the promised write up.

So, there's actually quite a lot on metal in the academic sphere, but it can be hard to find. It's growing at an exponential rate too, which is exciting! My own area is musicology (with a slight ethnomusicology element) and I've done work on symphonic metal, the original Gothenburg scene and Australian extreme metal. I've published two papers, and done a few posters/conferences so far (I can give some links via PM if you'd like).

Metal studies is very multidisciplinary, with a huge range of content under different subject areas. To start with, I'd encourage you to check out the journal Metal Music Studies which is a completely legit peer-reviewed journal that covers most disciplines. You can also check out conferences like Modern Heavy Metal and there are a few others around. I'd also strongly recommend the book Global Metal Music And Culture as a recent overview of where the field has come from and where it's gotten to.

Other than that there's a variety of books worth looking into. Robert Walser's Running with the Devil and Deena Weinstein's Heavy Metal are the two main starting points. Both are really worth reading, but they're very dated. I'd also strongly recommend both Extreme Metal by Keith Kahn-Harris and Metal, Rock and Jazz by Harris Berger.

My other big recommendations are in musicology areas mostly, which might not be the most helpful to you. I recommend everything Eric Smialek has done; both his theses are great and he combines musicology with a really good perspective on metal culture in general. If you want more, I'm happy to share parts of my literature reviews for my two theses with you.

For your paper, I'd encourage you to do it. My three primers on Aussie metal I did stemmed directly from my PhD and they're be plenty of interest in an article like the one you describe. Check out the first issue of MMS published this year, they had a whole half of the journal about metal from Latin America that might give you some ideas. Don't worry about ethnomusicology methods, there are barely any ethnomusicologists in metal studies, it's nowhere near the norm for the field. There's no one disciplinary style that's expected because there's such a wide range of disciplines in the field. There's also always the option of publishing metal-focused work in subject-specific journals (I can link you a few music ones if you'd like). More than happy to talk more in detail about this.

Finally, I'd like to offer a little word of advice: be careful of assuming that there's not much that's reputable or 'gets' metal. There is a lot of mediocre stuff out there on metal that unfortunately often gets publicised (e.g. Sam Dunn, Until the Light Takes Us etc.) but don't let that colour your view of an entire field. Equally, don't assume that because a writer's cultural experience of metal differs from yours and that of your main communities (e.g. reddit, your local scene etc.) that it's wrong. I had to really get over this, as I found a lot of writing on metal didn't match my experience but I've decided to respond by a) acknowledging that my experience might not match theirs and b) writing a lot about my experience! I'm particularly interested in genre, especially in terms of making some clear, musical( or even musicological) definitons for genres and working out exactly how and why genres like metalcore and hard rock 'don't belong' according to many fans. A bit of a tanget, but something talking about imo.

I really hope that's helpful. Please do ask if you have any questions, I love talking about metal academia (and miss AveLucifer and chatting with him about some of this!) and I'm really keen to help others get into it.

>In some way however my worry remains. Are these modern incarnations more 19th century spiritualism or new age woo woo? I can respect that these beliefs tap into an anti-ascetic desire in people and a genuine practice could result. But even new age religions like Wicca and paganism are often shallow at least compared to the complexities and depth that exists in well established age old religions. I speak as an atheist with no compassion for established beliefs, but when you give a traditional system thousands of years to parse out it's theology and practice it gains a depth unknown to recent reincarnations of religious belief. This isn't anyone's fault but it doesn't help that these beliefs are represented by some the more er floaty types in the west.

Well the New Age and 19th century Spiritualism are actually modern incarnations of far more ancient phenomena. I am referring to the field of study called "Western Esotericism" which covers ancient Hermeticism, Gnostic thought, Theosophy, Alchemy, Theosophy, Kabbalah, etc all the way down to the New Age, Spiritualism, and others. The New Age and Spiritualism are in fact rooted in this phenomenon, and cannot be properly understood without it. If you're interested the book New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought is the best book on the subject, and in it the author, a highly respected and influential scholar in the field, shows how New Age ideas are actually deeply rooted in Western Esoteric ideas, and are in fact just modern incarnations of the same. As for Wicca and Paganisn you're a little closer to the mark because there isn't much evidence for it before Gerald Gardner's creation of it (that he framed as merely a public revival of a long underground Pagan system, which historical evidence has a hard time backing up). While I understand your point that "established religions" have more time to parse out and elaborate a more consistent and rooted theology and practice, it's also true that no religion started in a vacuum, and in fact most of the time new religions just work with material already existing. We can see this with Christianity, in that it's more or less an offshoot of Judaism that adopted many Pagan beliefs involving the resurrection of god, and furthermore ancient Israelite thought owes much to the religion of the Ancient Near East as well. Buddhist thought cannot be understood outside of the shramana milieu surrounding its genesis on the fifth century BCE. My point in this is that none of these religions, even in their infancy, sprang out of thin air. Thousands of years later they're accepted as fully formed religions, but in their infancy they looked a bit more like modern day Wicca in the ways that they creatively worked with already existing material in the creation of a semi-novel worldview, in the absence of thousands of years of credibility-building. And modern Wicca and Neopaganism has the entire wealth of Europe's pagan past to work with as raw material for their own worldviews, and this chain of lineage is real for them, so as a scholar I have a commitment to study how these issues of legitimacy are dealt with in the creation of a worldview that is whole-heartedly believed in.

>My question to you since you study this is where does the occult even come from? I get that it's a combination of Kabbala, Gnosticism, and western mystical beliefs, but when did it arise and who lumped this disconnected series of beliefs together in the west? The evangelical Christian revival and romantic metaphysics movement seemed to occur at the same time in America, a time when people were furiously searching for meaning but surely someone had to "put it all together" into a practice no?

This is something I'm still trying to learn the complete history of, but reading some other books on Western Esotericism could help lay the foundation. This history is a great overview of Western Esotericism as a whole, and towards the end it discusses Kabbalah and the other components of modern day Occultism. We should keep in mind that the word "Occultism" is a word used to describe a various number of interrelated traditions, so take it with a grain of salt. Its development wasn't the work of any one person or innovator, but over the decades and centuries it subtly morphed, elaborated, and acquired new directions just like the history of Western Esotericism, and all religions for that matter. As for precise details that's something I'm working on understanding myself, but the books I mentioned should help for your general inquiries.

I started back in with vinyl earlier this year - it can be a little expensive, but if you have some spare cash and need a hobby, it's definitely something to get into. I love the larger album art, but what I really respect is the technology - with everything being digital nowadays, it's pretty fucking cool that something as analog as a needle (scratching a groove and making music) is still around and relevant.

When I was younger, I had an old record player from a garage sale and used records (pop/rock like Led Zeppelin, Boston, AC/DC, etc...) were anywhere from $.25 to maybe $5 tops. With the resurgence of vinyl recently, used records are still fairly cheap (maybe $5-10, higher depending on rarity), but new records can set you back $18-40 (depending on number of pressings, colors, etc...).

I've since bought an Audio Technica LP-120, cleaned up and pruned (ditched anything too far gone) my old collection, and started my new vinyl metal collection - I love it. To be honest, I wish I stayed with it when I was younger, as I probably could have built quite a collection (especially with metal) in the time I was away from it.

Records make you appreciate full albums instead of playlists or single songs. It might get a little annoying to have to flip/change a triple LP (metal bands especially have longer songs that don't fit on a single LP anymore), but that's what makes you appreciate the whole album.

It's the perfect time to get into it - Led Zeppelin is re-releasing all their albums on remastered vinyl (and they sound incredible), modern bands do vinyl releases (usually with download cards to get digital copies), and I'm sure it will be continue to be relevant for a long time to come.

Some tips:

1. Check out record labels (Earache, Inside Out, Century Media, etc...), as they regularly do "free shipping" promotions, and you can get much better prices buying directly from the label instead of some douche bag reselling records through ebay at higher prices. Also, check out local record shops - http://www.recordshops.org/ can be helpful.
   
   
2. Don't bother with colored vinyl if you have the choice - it looks cool and all, but sometimes you wind up paying more for it, and it doesn't sound as good as black vinyl (or so they say). Picture discs are cool for display, but tend to have horrible sound quality.
   
   
3. Don't cheap out on a record player, especially with the tonearm - you want to be able to adjust how much weight you're putting on the record, so as to not ruin them.
   
   
4. Buy sleeves for your records - they stop the covers from warping, and (obviously) protect them from dirt and whatnot. Inner sleeves are also a good idea, as some records ship with paper inner sleeves that can actually scratch them.
   
   
5. Make an account on discogs.com, and use it to organize your collection/wantlist - it's probably one of the best places to get used vinyl online.

This past year is the first year I listened to more "non-metal" than metal since I got into metal when I was a sophomore in HS and regardless of what I was playing they sound great. I went on a weird kick where I listened to Yo-Yo Ma pretty heavily and loved how Sakura Sakura (and the entire Japanese Melodies album) sounded. I'm also a really big Ryan Adams fan and think the subtleties of such a stripped down performance were really accented well. But honestly my favorite album of the year was an alt. country record by Sturgill Simpson and it sounds unbelievable. And then of course, my favorite album of all time, Grace, featuring this song is always very very pleasant to experience through those headphones.

I don't know if that answered your question, but you got quite an overview of most of my listening. I left out some pop stuff though. No matter what you listen to through those headphones, they'll sound fantastic. There are some cheaper options though:

• ATH-M20x, $35-$45 USD
  
  
• ATH-M30x , $50-$60 USD
  
  
• ATH-M40x, $70-$80 USD
  
  Pretty much anything from AT is going to be good. They kind of specialize (imo) at making great sounding headphones without being expensive as all get out. There's another cheaper headphone that is roughly $20 if I'm remembering right. I'm not sure what your budget is, but I think the M40x are the best for the money. They have a detachable headphone cable which is incredibly convenient.

I bought these about a month ago but never posted about them but I got Blackwater Park by opeth on vinyl and Leprosy by Death on vinyl. They are both so amazing especially blackwater Park. Mikael akerfeldt's growls sound so clear and amazing on vinyl and it is definitely a record I think anyone who listens to vinyl should have. Leprosy was also amazing but I don't listen to it nearly as much as blackwater Park.

Also I'm pretty mad at myself for not going to a cannibal corpse and behemoth concert on Monday when it was only an hour away. It would have been a great concert and I love both bands, but the roads were icy and it was a school night. Hopefully I will get to go to my first concert soon. If you have any recommendations for bands that are amazing live that would be cool

Not sure about metal specifically, but in general I can't recommend the [Audio Technica ATH-M40x's] (https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M40x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR54/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1502021666&sr=8-3&keywords=audio+technica+ath-m40x) enough. Some of the most commonly praised headphones are the M50x's, and the M40's are very similar. The specs are listed on that Amazon link, but basically the range sounds practically identical to a casual listener so there's no need to worry about a loss of frequency response unless you're looking to do some professional mixing. They're also lighter than the M50's so they're more comfortable to wear.

I listen to a fairly wide variety of music, metal included, and I'll tell you that the M40's are a very good value for only being $100. Do your own research and get plenty of opinions, but the M40's are a very good option for the price.

Been using a few over the last few years:

Etymotics: good for shorter shows but after a while they start to bug me, YMMV

Eargasm: a little more comfortable than the Etymotics over longer stretches of time

EarPeace: the three different filter options are nice and easy to swap out, plus they include a third plug which definitely would've prevented that time I accidentally dropped an Etymotic onto the piss-covered floor of an Oakland bathroom and then spent most of the next band's set walking to the nearest Rite-Aid to get a pair of the shitty ones that make everything sound like you wrapped a blanket of mud around your head

You should definitely look into those two:

Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO

Audio-Technica ATH-M50

I have the ones from Audio-Technica and am fully satisfied. Back when I wanted to buy some good headphones I originally planned on buying the DT 770 PRO from Beyerdynamics but before I could order them a friend told me that the Audio-Technica ATH-M50 were currently discounted - so I went with them.

You'll most likley need a portable headphone amplifier like this one if you want to use the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO with your smartphone.

I bought a pair of V-MODA Faders, largely because

• They come with different size tips
  
• They come with a handy carrying case
  
  As a bonus, they have a detachable cord which is nice for not losing them.
  
  They reduce sound evenly by about 12db. Some of the alternatives people have posted will do 20 or even 30db (with foam tips), but so far I've found 12db to be plenty. My ears feel great coming out of a show.
  
  (Also watch for Amazon warehouse deals, I got my set for half price because the packaging had some minor cosmetic damage...)

These are the ones I bought. They're fantastic, incredibly comfortable, and such amazing sound quality

Are you interested in learning more about bands in general? Because if you want that, there's always The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal

Or, if you'd like a bit of a change and want to look at some fucking awesome pictures, there's True Norwegian Black Metal

I started with some ER20s but I didn't like how they had the little bit sticking out. It always felt like I would burst my ear drums if I accidentally get an elbow to the ear.

I switched to these for concerts where I'm concerned I might get catch a stray elbow. They only have 12dB reduction but it's better for my peace of mind.

I'd recommend checking out this book: Louder Than Hell

History of Metal told from the musicians stand point. Fun read and good way to learn about Metal roots and what was going on in the timeline of metal

Can anybody comment on these? Specifically the sizes and how well they work. They aren't too expensive but I'd like to not have to buy a second pair if the first is too small/large. I've noticed some ringing recently (not terrible, thankfully) and I'd like to try some good earplugs.

We Wish You A Metal Xmas. Alice Cooper and Tim Ripper Owens sing Christmas carols, Stephen Pearcy does a fantastic rendition of Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, and Testament's Chuck Billy covers Silent Night.

I've been a big fan of these Sony headphones. They're reasonably priced and offer really solid sound quality. If you're on a lower budget for headphones, these are great.

My wife got me True Norwegian Black Metal for Christmas, which of course has prompted a black metal bender. I've been listening to a lot of Windir, but I don't have much black metal (I'm more into folk/Viking) so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to let me know:)

It looks interesting but why did you link to the wiki article instead of to the album?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon_%28album%29

http://www.amazon.com/Panopticon-Isis/dp/B0002Z83KC

It sounds nifty, though, and I dig that they read Foucault. I was introduced to Surveiller et Punir last semester and it blew my mind.

Not a bad CD, Dio's take on "God rest ye merry gentlemen" is fucking epic, but as for the rest I personally wouldnt go out of my way to acquire this.
For those of you that would, I will not link you to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Metal-Xmas-Headbanging-Year/dp/B001DZN5XA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1261686212&sr=8-3

I'm about halfway into Choosing Death and I've enjoyed it.

My favorite that I've read is definitely "Louder Than Hell".

http://www.amazon.com/Louder-Than-Hell-Definitive-History/dp/0061958298

I use Planet Waves ear plugs because I'm a student with little money so they're cheap and get the job done. Also because Planet Waves is the shit.

The answer to that question is kind of technical so I'll do my best. First off your phone and your laptop both have an internal DAC (Digital Analog Converter) and a basic amp so why do you need another one?..

Using hifi headphones require more "juice" (learn about impedance) than the phone and laptop can provide. There's also a considerable interference that comes from the internal workings of the phone/laptop that's not shielded. The interference effects the sound noticeably. If you're running a lot of processes on your device while listening to music you'll hear a hiss.

A DAC/Amp like the one I listed above gives the juice your hifi headphones want + shields the craziness happening inside the device from effecting your tunes. That one is designed for desktop use and I use it primarily at my desk at work with my laptop. You can also consider a portable DAC/Amp like the Fiio E11 if you plan on using your headphones with your phone and want portability. In hindsight, I would've bought one of these Fiio E12 models which offers the same sound quality as the desktop model but as a portable.

I am SHOCKED this hasn't been said yet. Musicians literally use these to record in the studio, from Slipknot to Taylor Swift.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E

I have a pair and I have almost nothing bad to say about them. Great price and quality.

Not OP but I got this specific pair of Audio-Technica cans a few months ago. They're not the greatest headphones ever by any stretch but they're really good if you're on somewhat of a budget.

Get these: http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ETYPlug-Protection-Earplugs/dp/B0044DEETC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334947959&sr=8-1

After drumming with foam plugs, these are like being reborn.

I mostly only buy used CDs anymore. I actually stopped at FYE today and found a few gems. They have a "Buy One, Get One 50% Off" special on used CDs, so I ended up getting 4 of them:

Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage

Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh

Isis - Panoptican

Satyricon - Now Diabolical

If you're into a bit of NWOBHM then The NWOBHM Encyclopedia is worth a read.
You might want to look out for a cheaper copy though...

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-Turntable/dp/B002S1CJ2Q/ref=lp_3003611_1_3?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1479702477&sr=1-3

http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=essential2&cat=turntables&lang=en

Either of those would be fine. I have the former.

I personally recommend getting your ass to the library or bookstore and getting two very interesting books:

Running With the Devil: Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal Music by Robert Walser

Heavy Metal: The Music and its Culture by Deena Weinstein

Both are interesting reads and Walser's in particular has a section which memorably compares a particular guitar solo to a Vivaldi violin cadenza... very interesting.

I'm not really much of a death metal person so I can't recommend you anything in the way of bands but the other people who commented sound like they know their shit. :)

I've always hated the idea of using obnoxiously large headphones, and I can't seem to use ear buds for too long before they keep falling out.

I've used the ear bud variety of Motorheadphones and like how they sound...but I just can't continue to use them long term. I just ordered some new headphones and they surprisingly have better specs than the ear buds I got. I haven't actually heard them yet, though.

http://www.amazon.com/Koss-KSC75-Portable-Stereophone-Headphones/dp/B0006B486K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409188678&sr=8-1&keywords=Koss+KSC75

if anybody is interested ^

http://www.amazon.com/V-MODA-Faders-Tuned-Earplugs-Gunmetal/dp/B007TEQNBK

If it's not enough, throw some Comply foam tips on there.

I just use these.

They're cheaper on the US site for whatever reason. Probably doesn't help you.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/

Secret Teaching of All Ages (1928)

Fair warning, this is from an esoteric philosopher so there is no academic distance. As for a more of a balanced introduction with less content.

The Western Esoteric Tradition

Non-mobile:

• Blackwater Park by opeth on vinyl
  
• Leprosy by Death on vinyl
  
  ^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

Everyone has already mentioned shelves, but besides that, I put outer sleeves on all my records and replace all inner sleeves with Mobile Fidelity sleeves. PVC inner sleeves are the biggest offenders at damaging records, so I always replace those ASAP whenever I get one with my record.

>My laptop speakers

I don't know your laptop specs but in general laptops have horrendous speakers. No slight against you, mine are terrible as well.

>$15 headphones

What do you use? I got Koss KSC75 for less than $20 and they are very solid, especially for their price. My last pair cost me $25 and they broke within six months. Not all headphones are created equal.