Occurring at the juncture of art and commerce, heavy metal music is a purposeful
construction engaging multiple performative realms. Metal musicians
make performative choices for serving particular aims, be it fame,
wealth, or art. Metal artists are the contracted employees of record labels
whose own corporate aims needed to be recognized. For publicity and promotion,
bands must acquiesce to the wishes of assorted media entities like
radio or television. Functioning within a subcultural genre, artists balance
the normative practices of metal musicians while being mindful of the
preferences...