This course explores the genre of heavy metal music through aesthetic, historical, sociopolitical, and cross-cultural perspectives. From its origins in the blues, rock, and punk, from underground oddity to an American and British export with global significance, heavy metal’s combination of fast drums and electric guitars has been variously associated with the 1960s antiwar movement, apocalyptic lyrics, macabre imagery, and youth rage. Topics of study include the role of the music industry, counterculture vs. commercial appropriation, virtuosity, masculinity, censorship, “satanic panic,” and metal’s related artforms such as comic books, horror/sci-fi movies, and video game culture. Through weekly readings, seminar discussions, writing assignments, and creative projects, students will gain a critical understanding of the emergence and expansion of heavy metal as a significant cultural phenomenon within the broader history of global popular music.