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Volume 10, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 2052-3998
  • E-ISSN: 2052-4005

Abstract

William Blake’s (1793) exemplifies his Romantic view of religion as a personal spiritual expression while sarcastically critiquing extreme religious stances like those of his contemporary Emanuel Swedenborg. This article examines three metal music transformations of Blake’s work: A Plea for Purging’s (2010), Virgin Steele’s and (1994, 1995) and Ulver’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1998). The analysis finds parallelisms between Blake’s take on religion and rebellion in the Romantic era and metal music’s treatment of the same topics, particularly in terms of opposites: heaven and hell, good and evil, authority and freedom. Since both Blake and the albums under scrutiny challenge institutionalized religion and embrace creative liberty as a means of resistance, metal music preserves Blake’s vision of art as a vehicle for raising awareness and driving societal change. Moreover, this study not only highlights the enduring relevance of Blake’s work to contemporary audiences and its profound resonance within the metal genre, but it also illustrates how metal music, often seen as radical, can produce nuanced reflections on individualism and social dynamics, much like Blake’s own balancing of opposites.

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2025-01-22
2025-03-15
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/content/journals/10.1386/mms_00141_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): adaptation; appropriation; Christian metal; Emanuel Swedenborg; romanticism; William Blake

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