MMS 101

Multilingual Metal   Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi  Heavy metal is often sung in English. This is a global language, the use of which can increase sales and reach wider audiences. Yet, many bands choose to write lyrics and sing in other languages. We explored this choice in an edited volume titled Multilingual Metal Music: Sociocultural, Linguistic and Literary Perspectives on Heavy Metal Lyrics (edited by myself, Charlotte Doesburg and Amanda DiGoia).  Bands may choose to write their … Read more

BLACK METAL IN TURKEY  Douglas Mattsson  “Black metal? We don’t have that in Turkey.” – The middle aged Turkish academic sitting across from me in a restaurant in Istanbul is not the first to have expressed surprise, even disbelief, when I told him about my topic of research. Although literature on metal music in Muslim majority societies has multiplied during the last decade, black metal, one of metal … Read more

METAL AND SYNTHESIZERS  Fulya Çelikel    As a metalhead and a metal musician, it has always amazed me that metal research that touches on organology (the musicological term for the study of musical instruments) is mostly on the electric guitar in some way. There is very little in terms of timbres or techniques that are considered “metal” for non-guitar instruments, such as … Read more

Ethno-journalism in metal research  My research has come about because I could not answer a simple question when I was in graduate school: What did I know about metal in Africa?  Though I was never educated to become a journalist, I have utilized a more journalistic approach in order to properly profile scenes, and their respective … Read more

Black Metal Ontology: Performing the Witch Dr Jasmine Hazel Shadrack   Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and as terrible as an army with banners? (qtd. in Grey, 2013, p. 14)   Through my performance as Denigrata Herself in the black metal band Denigrata, … Read more

SNARE DRUM AT MY WOMB: THE ROLE OF ROCK AND HEAVY METAL MOTHERING  Joan Jocson and Julie Turley   “After giving birth, I told the doctor I needed to leave the hospital for five hours. Our band was opening for Johnny Thunders. I think I was on an adrenaline rush.”   Cynthia, 67, B-Girls, Renegades, New York Junk     Musicking, a term first coined by professor-musician Christopher Small (1998), is the active way in which we take part in the creation of music and in establishing relationships with society–a form of engagement and meaning-making. While scholarly literature regarding popular culture … Read more

METAL AND WHITENESS Julian Schaap ‘Music brings people together,’ as the common saying goes. In reality however, it often seems to do so by sticking to the different groups we find in society. For example, when one ventures into a metal music concert, chances are that the audience members are overwhelmingly white (and very often … Read more

THOUGHTS ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF METAL RULES THE GLOBE  Jeremy Wallach    According to major streaming companies’ market research, heavy metal is the most popular genre in the world.  Not only that, when the US market is subtracted from the total global market, metal’s popularity goes up.  It turns out a music genre that has been all but written … Read more

DECOLONIAL METAL MUSIC IN LATIN AMERICA Nelson Varas-Díaz   “You want to make it sound like it came from a Latin American being,” said Luis, the lead singer of the Mexican band Acrania, as he explained why he integrated the trumpet and salsa arrangements into his death/thrash metal band. That encounter echoed many other experiences … Read more