Is heavy metal hip

By Andy Hughes

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Is there any truth to the rumour that Heavy Metal is back in fashion < xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The term 'fashionable' might be stretching the definition somewhat,�but if you said 'popular' you'd be right on the button.

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Surely not, hasn't heavy metal has been the laughing stock of the music industry since it started

What can't speak can't lie, check out those figures. According to the Record Industry Association Of America, the second and fifth best selling albums bands in history are most assuredly definitively heavy metal. Obviously The Beatles have the top spot, but coming up second is Led Zeppelin, one of the architects of the style of heavy rock, a blueprint by which the rest can be measured. Pink Floyd and The Eagles are next, and in fifth place with 63 million albums in the US alone are AC/DC.

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Not the ones with the guitarist who dresses like a schoolboy

The same, and you can't get much less hip than wearing shorts and a blazer on stage when you're in your mid-forties.

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How do they do it

It's a matter of giving the fans what they want. AC/DC have been providing a star to aim at for millions of youngsters who want to travel the world's stages giving tinitus-threatening vocal performances over the top of cavity-worrying guitar solos for over 28 years, so they must be doing something right.

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Limp Bizkit

It could well be�- when seriously uncompromising heavy rock bands such as Limp Bizkit can have number one hit singles, it does suggest a seismic change in the attitudes of young pop fans. The album charts similarly reflect an upsurge in the rock side of things with bands�such as Pappa Roach and Linkin Park�selling well.

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So why has heavy rock suddenly become so cool

The person who can answer that will be advising from his or her own private island somewhere in the Caribbean. Musical trends are as baffling as any other, but the diversity and quality of heavy rock has rarely been better than at the turn of this century.

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But hasn't it always been the butt of so many jokes

Of course it has. One of the greatest strengths of rock in general, and heavy metal in particular, is its refusal to take itself seriously. Look at films like Wayne's World and Spinal Tap and cartoons like Beavis And Butthead�- rock fans don't care if anyone is laughing at them, they laugh at themselves.

Isn't it undignified for grown men to have hair past their shoulders

Probably, but rock has an infinitely variable style of dress and hairstyles. Don't get bogged down with the Iron Maiden leather and studs approach�- widen the field of vision to take in Billy Corgan (bald), Jon Bon Jovi (poodle perm to short crop to medium length), the list goes on. A dignity by-pass may be required to correct the follicle challenges of age by wearing a wig, but plenty of rock musicians do just that.

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Where should the newcomer begin

At the beginning. The 'heavy-rock' style certainly kicked off with the power-blues / Neanderthal percussion / wailing vocals combination that was conceived by Led Zeppelin, and 'heavy metal' is encapsulated by the visual, musical and behavioural blueprint that is Black Sabbath. If those appeal, there's a universe of diverse styles and sounds to be explored. Album tracks by people as diverse as The Sweet (!) to James Bond theme providers Garbage will give something to frighten the neighbours with.