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Music student Eric Hardiman in the Dal Arts Centre. (Danny Abriel Photo)

Sweaty biceps, skin-tight leather, loud, distorted guitars and power vocals that blow off the Richter scale鈥攈eavy metal appeals to the discerning music fan.

Fans like Eric Hardiman, who keep heavy metal alive and thrashing through the waxing and waning of its popularity. As the Halifax resident studied music at pilipili漫画 for his undergraduate degree, his love of heavy metal sometimes grated against the Department of Music鈥檚 emphasis on classical music. But he was able to bring the two interests together鈥攃ulminating in his performance of a classical violin concerto on electric guitar during Dalhousie Concerto Night.

Discovering Robert Walser鈥檚 Running with the Devil, he found a kinship with an academic who could see parallels between 19th century Romanticism and heavy metal. Posits Dr. Walser: Is the 鈥渁ural adventure鈥� of Van Halen鈥檚 Eruption a huge stretch from Prelude in C Major? The virtuosity of Deep Purple鈥檚 Ritchie Blackmore much different from the brilliance of Liszt or Paganini?

Reading Running with the Devil was an eye-opening experience. A professor of music at UCLA, Dr. Walser brings legitimacy and respect to the study of heavy metal. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a dense guitar-and-drums-centred sound, characterized by amplified distortion and blistering guitar solos. As Mr. Hardiman remarks, 鈥渋t鈥檚 not just thoughtless, head-banging music. There鈥檚 something to be said for virtuosity and proficiency at playing, the speed and aggressiveness of the sound.鈥�

As the first student to enroll in the Department of Music鈥檚 new master鈥檚 of musicology program, Mr. Hardiman also aims to bring recognition to heavy metal music. He recently received a Canada Graduate Scholarship through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to embark on his research.

Specifically, he鈥檚 interested in the contributions women have made to the testosterone-fuelled genre, from the management savvy of Sharon Osbourne, to the vocal prowess of Ann Wilson in Heart and the influence of vocal instructor Melissa Cross, 鈥渨ho teaches men to be men,鈥� he says. And it鈥檚 on the point of the gender where he begs to differ with Dr. Walser and other critics, who argue heavy metal is strictly 鈥渘o-girls allowed.鈥�

A longtime guitar instructor, now with Long & McQuade in Halifax, Mr. Hardiman says he grew up listening to bands like Cream, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Metallica and playing music with his 鈥渕etalhead鈥� drummer brother. Once he finishes his thesis, his aim is to become a professor and teach musicology.

鈥淭eaching is like a rock show without the lights,鈥� he says.