By Derin Richardson
Published: December 02, 2009

Fitted jeans, ozone-destroying hair spray and Tolex leather. The amplifier volume and gain are turned up to the maximum, making a nice, warm-sounding electric guitar, turn into a raging, distorted onslaught to the ears.

These were the sights, smells and sounds of the early 1980s, when heavy metal music, a sub-genre of rock music, became the dominant force in the music industry, with such bands as Dokken, Kiss and Twisted Sister beginning the “glam” metal era – when excessive makeup and leather attire characterized by high-pitched singing was the norm.

Brewing in the mix, however, was another chapter of the sub-genre that changed the course of the music forever: thrash metal.

Thrash focused on the heaviness and aggressiveness of the sound, and how articulated the audio-assault can be with musical composition. This was a flagship led by the legendary band Metallica, with their 1983 debut album, “Kill ‘Em All.”

You were considered a “metal head,” or “head banger” if you followed this jagged-toothed path to musical satisfaction.

Times became dark for metal during the turn of the decade, as other genres such as pop and hip-hop came in to soak up some of the spotlight.

Even with well-established and hugely popular thrash bands like Anthrax, Slayer, Testament, and of course, Metallica, metal met its formidable match during this period, and the advent of the obscure, demonic “death” metal, with bands like Cannibal Corpse and Satyricon, didn’t help much either.

A fresh outlook was in order, which is precisely what Pantera, one of the former underground glam metal bands of the 1980s, did when it exploded onto the radar in 1990 with “Cowboys From Hell.”

A different feel to the music, something that retained the rigidity of metal but added a Southern touch in the mix, is what spawned the Dallas-based band’s brand of “power groove” metal that many metal heads consider to be the savior of metal in the 1990s.

The ’90s and early 21st century with their “bowie knife-edged” brand of metal, along with the efforts from Testament, Slayer, Megadeth and Sepultura, was able to keep its head above murky waters, and most metalcore and thrash metal bands today claim Pantera as either a direct or auxiliary influence amidst a myriad of other bands.

Aside from the “power groove” boom, other types of metal began to emerge as well, including the infamous “rap-metal” fusion.

Rap metal’s origins date back to mid to late ’80s when rap-rock was just coming onto the scene. Hip-hop artists, like the Beastie Boys and Run D.M.C., would take samples of rock music and integrate them into their compositions.

In 1991, Chuck D. of the rap group Public Enemy decided to re-record his 1987 song, “Bring The Noise,” with thrash metal band Anthrax, as a way of recognizing the band’s homage to Public Enemy during their shows by wearing Public Enemy T-shirts during their gigs. It is this composition style that would influence “nu-metal” bands like Limp Bizkit, P.O.D. and Linkin Park.

Still, even with the advanced efforts of Pantera, metal still seems to stay below the popularity radar, and its radio play is minimal if at all.

Chris LaRocca, a resident from the South Bay region of California, said he doesn’t listen to anything that is commercially recognized, or mainstream, and is devout to the underground aspect of metal.
“It’s tough for me because I can’t find myself listening to those bands like Shadows Fall and Opeth, and it’s not by virtue of how big or popular they are or how much mainstream acclaim they have; they just don’t embody the type of characteristics I enjoy in metal,” LaRocca said.

LaRocca said that he still does respect those bands and would not denounce them on “purely musical terms,” as they do possess a level of technique that shows their skill.

LaRocca, who hosts a metal radio show on KXLU 88.9 FM, also feels that some people listen to more “commercially-known” metal, which he feels is not as heavy as undergound metal, as a buffer to listen to the more extreme, death and grindcore metal that he listens to.

“I do think that’s the way metal is trending,” LaRocca said. “Some people (want metal to) go on further, and some people don’t want it any more extreme than that.”

When asked whether or not metal would ever regain the luster it once had in the 1980s, LaRocca responded by saying that it would be more of a matter of classifying what would be metal back then and what would be considered metal now. That quality of music back then was drastically different now, so it would be tough to say.

“I don’t think any genre of music has any potential to do a sweeping trend now as it did back then. Most of the big record labels are barely able to keep themselves afloat let alone trying to sign really heavy, avant-garde metal acts,” LaRocca said. “More bands today will have the chance of making minor success than major success.”

Cameron Beemas of Torrance disagrees with the idea of metal being hard- pressed for a shining return on the popularity market.

“I think a lot of new good stuff is coming out lately,” Beemas said.

Beemas said he has noticed bands like Whitechapel and Oceano becoming a lot more technical with their music and feels that there might be a future in that.

“Metal still has a place in the industry. It’s just that its era of fame has expired, that’s all,” said Ben Shostak, 21, a Cal State Fullerton senior.

While music industry analysts speculate that heavy metal will die out completely on a specific date and time frame, much like the calculated doom of newspapers by mass media experts, metal may be under the radar for now, but it still has a cult fan base that will continue as its life-line and will more than likely survive the test of time.