Transformation of the devil image in heavy music: comparative analysis in the context of metal subgenres

This paper discusses the modification of the Devil image in heavy music. Genre classification involves the study of subgenres of extreme metal music without taking into the types of rock music. Extreme metal differs from the more media genres of metal with a small audience, which makes this genre unpopular in the world music charts. This is the main reason for the disinterest of the academic community in the study of this topic. The main research method is audio-visual analysis. As a historical point, after which the use of the image of the Devil in heavy music became even more popular, is the satanic hysteria in the 1980s. The author made an in-depth analysis of six music tracks belonging to the European and American extreme music industry. As a result of a deep audio-visual analysis, the author came to the following conclusion, that the transformation of the Devil image has acquired a socially significant character due to the threat of a repetition of conflicts between the Church and anti-religious groups of people.