ABSTRACT
In popular music, the term “heavy” can be used to describe a variety of sound and performance characteristics in a wide range of styles. But for many, this adjective is solely reserved for the metal genre, and used to describe the music’s perceived weight, size, and density. Although textures, dynamics, and performance styles vary, distorted guitar tones embody the fundamental identity of heavy music, consequently providing coherence to its numerous subgenres. Regardless of the listening levels involved, the connotations form the primary nature of heaviness, and when similarly reflected in the performance approach, are central to the appeal that metal music has provided for almost half a decade. The energy created by low frequencies is powerful enough to go straight through solid objects, and can therefore reach us from great distances. Having highlighted the numerous links between distorted guitars and the concept of heaviness, it is obvious that sufficient distortion is required for a heavy enough guitar sound.
