Metal Music Studies - Volume 1, Issue 2, 2015

While acknowledging the significant part played by ‘The Home of Metal’ conference, exhibition and archive in the development of Metal Music Studies, this article is intent on interrogating the notion that metal can be so easily accommodated. It argues that at the very heart of metal there is an impetus/attitude/energy that cannot be in this way contained, let alone domesticated. It does so by exploring the identity of a genre conceived in opposition to mainstream musical genres and the aesthetic merits of being ugly as a means of resistance not only to authority in general but also of the aesthetic per se.

Among the globalized metal scenes of South East Asia, Malaysian Borneo’s black metal (BM) demonstrates a great deal of referencing to the satanic themes and sonic rawness of the first wave of western BM bands such as Venom and Bathory. However, the ways in which Malaysian Borneo black metallers perform what they perceive to be ‘authentic’ BM identity clash with the reality of their everyday lives. In fact, their social backgrounds seem incompatible with the features of BM authenticity they strive to perform. What remains unclear is how and why Malaysian Borneo BM fans and musicians manifested their authentic belonging to this subculture by adopting the genre’s dominant anti-Christian imagery, when in most instances Christianity is not their religion of choice. Qualitative data were collected by ten weeks of ethnographic fieldwork and semi-structured interviews with eight members of Malaysian Borneo’s BM scene in the states of Sarawak and Sabah. Findings were supported by content analysis of local BM recordings, lyrics and interviews published in independently produced metal fanzines. BM ‘authenticity’ in Malaysian Borneo emerged as a theatrical pursuit of the most shocking global examples of primeval BM, which allows for a troubled, precarious coexistence between perceived ‘authentic’ BM aspirations and everyday social life in the respondents’ lives.

This article debates (with Deena Weinstein’s work, in particular) the origins of the adjectival phrase heavy metal, as it is seen to emerge from rock criticism in the early 1970s. Drawing on an extensive database of rock writing, sourced from the archives of Rock’s Backpages and Rolling Stone magazine, 1967–2007, I offer i) a quantitative analysis of the patterning of the deployment of the phrase over time, noting in particular negative, positive and comparative uses, and ii) a qualitative analysis of how such patterns indicate the process of discursive construction of the genre name, as it emerges from the reviews and think-pieces of key rock writers. On the basis of this evidence I suggest that the emergence of the genre name, superseding that of white blues and hard rock, reflects a profound lack of critical consensus (a dissensus) in North American rock criticism, to the extent that the popularity of ‘third-generation’ heavy metal bands negatively reflects upon the mature development of the counter-cultural youth movement and progressive or authentic rock styles.

The continuing expansion of the field of metal music studies has evoked an increased interest from scholars to critically explore women’s participation within heavy metal, along with other axes of identity, from a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Since Weinstein’s ([1991] 2000) canonical sociological study of heavy metal the notion that heavy metal is masculinist remains theoretically pervasive in gendered analyzes of heavy metal and its practices. The upcoming special issue ‘Metal and Marginalization’ signals the ‘disruptive return of the excluded’ (Butler 2004) whereby concepts of marginalization, inclusivity and agency are called into question. Drawing upon my own doctoral research, this article deconstructs the synonymous and obstructive relationship heavy metal has with masculinity by focusing on women’s embodied practices. Influenced by Butler’s (1990) theory of performativity and poststructural notions of ‘equality’ and ‘inclusivity’ (Butler et al. 1997; Scott 1988), I discuss how heavy metal scenes should be considered spaces of equality and potentiality as they permit different performativities and understandings; thus, creating real pathways for doing metal fandom differently.

This article analyses the metal community’s responses to Mastodon’s controversial video for ‘The Motherload’. Fans and music journalists responded critically to its premiere in September of 2014, largely condemning the highly sexualized images of women of colour onscreen, which sparked debate about objectification, racism, and sexism in metal as a whole. Using a sex positive feminist framework, I unpack the various arguments put forth by dancers in the video, the band itself, and the aforementioned critics and fans. I conclude that there is no easy answer to the question of how women should be represented in metal, and that while women and, specifically, women of colour deserve more diverse, humanizing representations, summarily condemning depictions of female sexuality is no antidote to prejudice.

Hardcore Punk and Other Junk: Aggressive Sounds in Contemporary Music, Eric James Abbey and Colin Helb (eds) (2014) New York: Lexington Books, 228 pp., ISBN: 0739176054, h/bk, £49.95

The Metal Dictionary: A Compiled Lexicon of Exclusive and Musically-Related Terminology Unique to the Genre of Heavy Metal (Edition 1), Kinzic (2012) Philadelphia: Independent Publication,153 pp., p/bk, £7

Sounds and the City. Popular Music, Place and Globalization, Brett Lashua, Karl Spracklen and Stephen Wagg (eds) (2014) Basingstoke: Palgrave, ISBN: 9781137283108, h/bk, £65.00

Methoden der Heavy Metal-Forschung: Interdisziplinäre Zugänge/Methods of Heavy Metal Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches, Florian Heesch, Anna-Katharina Höpflinger (Eds) (2014) Münster/New York: Waxmann, 200 pp., ISBN: 9783830930648, p/bk, 34.90 €

Le Guide Rock: Londra, Le Guide Rock: New York, Le Guide Rock: Berlino, Francesca Fabi (2012) Rome: Arcana, 160 pp., ISBN: 9788862311960 (London), ISBN: 9788862312684 (New York), ISBN: 9788862311977 (Berlin), p/bk, €12.00