Heavy Metal Islam

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Heavy Metal Islam is a 2008 non-fiction book by Mark LeVine, a professor of Middle East history. [1] LeVine details the growth of heavy metal music in the Middle Eastern countries Morocco, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan as he travels within those countries for five years. [2] The book not only is just about his travels and heavy metal music, but was also meant as a promotional tool for his companion album. [3]

Mark LeVine is an American professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, United States. He is also a musician. He received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University's Department of Middle Eastern Studies. He speaks Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Persian, as well as Italian, French, German and English.

Middle East region that encompasses Western Asia and Egypt

The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia, Turkey, and Egypt. Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest Middle Eastern nation while Bahrain is the smallest. The corresponding adjective is Middle Eastern and the derived noun is Middle Easterner. The term has come into wider usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century.

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. The genre's lyrics and performance styles are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.

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References

  1. Hampton, Howard (July 20, 2008). "Rock the Casbah". The New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  2. Appleford, Steve (July 17, 2008). "Heavy metal uprising". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  3. McEvers, Kelly (July 28, 2008). "Nonfiction review: 'Heavy Metal Islam'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 14, 2013.