What's in a name?

Band names can have very different meanings, they can give a good representation of what the band are about and can tell people what to expect from them before they even listen, or some names can not really mean anything at all. This is most true in the Rock and Metal genre of music, with band names providing a clear indication of their sound. Bands such as 'Deep Purple' and 'Pink Floyd' have the use of colours in their names, but more lighter and this comes through in the musical styling of these bands who both fit into the category of 'Psychedelic Prog Rock', and the colours in the name came make this clear. Another example of how a colour in the name can help identify a bands style would be Black Sabbath, as the Black adds a sense of darkness and evil which are common themes in Black Sabbaths sound and their lyrics. A words lexical field can give a good indication of a bands style with the themes and motifs that we would normally associate with these words, Bands such as 'Dream Theater' and 'Muse' both employ names that gives of a euphoric and synth influenced style of music, words like Dream and Muse one can associate them with light tonality. Another example of how a words lexical field can help associate a genre with a band would be 'Placebo' and band name would be associated normally with drugs although placebo pills aren't technically drugs, but feeling that would normally be associated with a placebo pill as it adds a sense of deception and mystery to the bands style which is shown in their music. This is also clear in the band 'Blur', with a name associated with side effects of drug taking which links into the background of the band Blur who were part of the 90's 'Madchester' music scene where drug taking was extremely popular within that circle of people. So as well as musical styling, names can give us a history of the bands origins as well. With the more heavy metal bands their names can be clear indications of their styles, bands like 'Megadeth' and 'Metallica' are clear examples of this, Metallica being a sort of play in words of Metal can give a clear sign of heavy elements in their music and their association with metal, The same with Megadeth, the name which is actaully an alteration of the word 'Megadeath' which means the killing of more than a million people by the means of nuclear warfare, which adds themes of war, death which are common themes in Megadeth songs.