Purple in Heavy Metal Culture.

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The prevalence of the color purple in many heavy metal albums can be attributed to its rich symbolism and psychological impact. Purple, often associated with mysticism, royalty, and power, aligns with the genre's themes of otherworldly experiences and the grandiosity of heavy metal music. Additionally, the intense and bold nature of the color resonates with the aggressive and energetic sound of heavy metal, creating a visual representation of the genre's sonic intensity. The use of purple in album artwork and aesthetics serves as a means to evoke a sense of mystery, power, and rebellion, complementing the rebellious spirit inherent in heavy metal culture.

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Transcript

Welcome, all you rockers out there. In today's episode, I'll specifically be talking to all you metalheads out there. Yes, all you metal headbangers. I received this amazing gift over the holidays. It's called Codex Metallum, the secret art of metal. The hidden meanings behind metal's greatest album covers. Look at that.

Illustrations by, uh, fortifam and Mathias Leonard. So excited to bring you a couple of these tidbits over the next couple of videos. You ready? Let's do this.

Okay. As a first tidbit, I thought I'd bring you something around my favorite color, purple. And maybe subconsciously this is the reason why, believe it or not, purple is associated with a lot of heavy metal albums out there. I didn't realize it until I read this, so let's check this out.

Okay, so the albums master of reality by Black Sabbath, of course, a classic, and burn by Deep Purple, another classic, were released in 1971 and 1974, respectively, reflecting their nebulous content. Their sleeves have two features in common. The typefaces are undulating, aiming to emulate the curves of a thick cloud of smoke or the outline of a ghost floating through the night.

There is also importantly, a desire to bring to the fore an electrifying deep violet color. Absolutely. Dew metal, with its slow tempos, deep chords, and profound themes, is a type of music that could accompany a trance or ritual connecting us with a form of arcane musical mysticism.

That the same violet color is found in numerous doom metal artworks. To the point that some have made it a recurring theme, such as italian Paul chain, a living legend of the underground who brought prestige to slow bewitching metal during the 1980s. And prestige it was for. Historically, the color purple has been associated with the idea of rank and wealth.

And I think royalty, a lot of royalty for sure. It was an imperial color. There you go. Like I was just saying, and difficult to make. It was created using pigments found in certain mollusks. In ancient Rome, wearing purple was the prerogative of the nobility, and there was a time when only Julius Caesar was allowed to wear. Wow. Huh? Huh? Okay. Very cool. So very elitist. Violet also appears on eclectical robes and altar clothes. Yeah, for sure. The catholic priest. It's all about purple, baby. A significance of death, maybe,

Francis Bacon's famous painting, innocent x depicts the pope wearing a robe of this color. It was said that purple had the virtue of pacifying the dead and soothing the devils in hell. In a different context, purple is connected with organic matter, for certain organs have a color that comes close to it, as does coagulating blood. Coagulating blood. Hm. should say that in a heavy metal style, coagulating blood.

The spectrum of colors, violet is obtained by mixing red and blue, two quite distinct hues. On one hand, there is the red of roses, blood and passion. On the other, the blue of reason. And that sense of infinite we experience at the sight of sea and the sky,

Expanses of which we cannot see. The end. Wow, they're getting pretty specific here. Purple is therefore a color that, in a way, forms a link between our bodies and the divine, between the flesh and the heavens. Uh, is also the final color of the rainbow. The last hue before the unknown. What? That's kind of cool. I didn't even realize that either.

Now that's deep.

Which sortilege conveyed very well in "La huitieme couleur de l'arc en ciel"  The 8th color of the rainbow. Violet too is the color associated with Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.

All of this symbolism fits perfectly with the teleric heaviness of this music and with the mystical, almost magical charge it sometimes claims to carry. Very cool.

Check out these albums here. Paul Chain, Violet, theater in the darkness. Gonna have to check that out. Electric wizard, we live, Black Sabbath. A classic, I think. Probably my favorite of their albums. Master of reality.

Right, well, that's it. Short and sweet. If you did learn a thing or two, you're fascinated by this stuff. Smash that, like, button, will you? And also, I love this heavy metal culture. What I love and admire about the fans of heavy metal is that they're so loyal to their bands and they're so loyal to this subculture.

And I'm a big heavy metal fan, don't get me wrong, but I'd love to learn more and get really deep into the culture. Now, this book is probably a good window into it. I plan to bring you more really interesting stuff from this book. So if you don't want to miss that, click on subscribe. And thank you so much for listening, and I'll see you in the next episode. Rock on.