Images
This is the finished version of the Metal Subgenre Popularity Index. It shows how each subgenre within heavy metal occupied the spectrum of heavy metal as a whole from 1970 to present day. The drawing is a timeline, with each half-ring representing a year. Each year is broken into 100 parts, representing 100 percent of the heavy metal scene. Each subgenre is color coded and placed on the timeline based on when it appeared, how much of the scene in dominated, and where on the "extremity spectrum" it fell. The most extreme subgenres appear on the right (Black Metal, Death Metal, Grindcore, etc.). Detail shots of the drawing are below.
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Metal Subgenre Popularity Index

This is the first (unfinished) draft of the Metal Subgenre Popularity Index. This drawing is basically a test run.
subgenre interactive   subgenre interactive

Click above image to launch program in new window.

The Subgenre Interactive is basically a "Metal for Dummies" guide to metal's many subgenres. Click the images above to launch the program and try it out yourself

Here's the finished timeline study. I added some explanatory text to the top right. I used a t-shirt transfer so I get could the clean look of printed text.
I'm doing a study of the timeline piece for an upcoming show. I'm testing out my concepts to see how they look, and attempting to get a better idea of how to organize the bands. Each concentric half-circle is a year, starting with 1970. Each successive year emanates out from the center like a soundwave (I know, how clever). Honestly, this scheme makes the most sense in terms of keeping the size of the timeline down. Each band will have a line that extends the length of their career, starting with their debut album or EP (demos will not be noted). The colors of the lines represent each metal subgenre (power, death, thrash, etc.).
Here is a detail of the timeline structure. Each album is plotted on a year (represented by the concentric half-circles), and the name of the album is noted.
The metal map, finished.
The metal map, color coded and in the process of being filled with a most metallic graphite ocean.
My studio space downtown, courtesy of the Urban Culture Project. This is an in-process shot of the bands-by-country map I'm creating. Each country will be color coded based on the amount of metal bands that originated there.
Researching bands. I like to keep a hard copy of my band list so I can jot down notes occasionally.