What can experiences of sexism and violence in music teach us about the imminent dangers perpetuated by hypermasculinity?

Drawing from her own experience as a cis-woman in the realm of heavy metal music, author Deborah Kay Phillips critiques the genre’s role in amplifying hypermasculinity to the point of violence. Exploring the intersections of gender, gun culture, and mental health, Metal Music, Masculinity, and Mass Shootings follows Deborah’s first-hand experience of a metal concert mass shooting, and the resulting reflection on the issues surrounding metal music in the throes of PTSD. Deborah argues by comparing her own experiences to the academic research that the toxic, violent, and misogynistic foundations of the genre produce real world consequences that must be examined for transformation.

Providing an important critique of a male-dominated genre and the repercussions of its toxic masculinity, this book is ideal reading for students of Feminism, Gender Studies, Music Studies, and Mental Health.

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Learning objectives
• I Concert chaos
  • 1 Just another Wednesday
  • 2 Ethnographic research background
  • 3 Returning to the long drive home on December 8
  • 4 Before and during the show
  • 5 Move your truck!
  • 6 Breathing new life
  • 7 Organizing chaos
  • 8 Reflections and guilt
  • 9 Sunday and Sevendust
• II The aftermath of a tragedy
  • 10 History of Alrosa Villa
  • 11 A family affair
  • 12 The reopening of Alrosa Villa: Renovations
  • 13 The reopening of Alrosa Villa: Backlash and demolition
  • 14 What really happened: Background of a mass shooter
  • 15 What really happened: Eyewitness accounts
  • 16 Who shot Nathan Gale
  • 17 Motive for murder: Gale’s early years
  • 18 Motive for murder: The Cincinnati altercation
  • 19 Did Alrosa Villa recover? Legal issues
  • 20 Did Alrosa Villa recover? Legacy and demolition
• III Toxic masculinity, violence, and metal music
  • 21 What is toxic masculinity?
  • 22 Was Dimebag’s murder due to toxic masculinity?
  • 23 Is metal music culture toxic? School shooters and music preference
  • 24 Is metal music culture toxic? European death metal
  • 25 Is metal culture toxic? Dimebag’s murder
  • 26 Was Nathan Gale’s behavior due to metal music?
• IV My journey into metal culture
  • 27 The road to metal goes through country
  • 28 Rush
  • 29 And then there was Van Halen
  • 30 Heavy metal divided: Lite versus thrash
  • 31 Heavy metal divided: The lite years
  • 32 Heavy metal divided: Nu metal
  • 33 What is nu metal?
• V A feminist metalhead?
  • 34 What is a feminist?
  • 35 Rock on the Range and the Sonic Temple + Art Music Festival
  • 36 How does Sonic Temple compare to other festivals
  • 37 Female metalheads
  • 38 Flashing and moshing
  • 39 Heavy metal feminism
• VI The reunion and the aftermath of COVID-19
  • 40 Concerts before COVID-19
  • 41 Concert chaos again
  • 42 Concerts after COVID-19
  • 43 The reunion tour
  • 44 Resonance and usefulness of this autoethnography
• Discussion questions
• References
• Index

Deborah Kay Phillips is a Professor of Communication Studies at Muskingum University.