Ethnic identity, pagan metal, popular music studies

As the song ‘Havfruens Kvad’ by Svartsot (2010) confirms, medieval metal gave a new voice to mermaid mythology. The song has thematically little in common with the fairy tale Den lille havfrue, but does resonate with the Norse mythology about sea goddess Rán, and Ancient Greek stories about the sirens. Their songs are powerfully altered lullabies, which unmistakably include elements of black metal aesthetics and ancient tribalism. By combining aspects of history with mythology and fantasy, the bands create an imagined past upon which they wish to model their ideal future, thus forming ethnic myths, ethnics and nations, mostly online. Within the participatory convergence culture, digital storytelling becomes transmedial.

In the Christian and Victorian traditions, the little mermaid by Andersen
is pacified, she does not pose any danger. But the revived ancient mermaid mythology by Svartsot contains subversive feminist potential. The stories are then transposed into new media, disseminating the artists’ concept of an idealized Viking past, with powerful mermaids. Build on many ancient stories from a variety of traditional sources, within her transmedial narrative, the Danish mermaid became very powerful, through the remediation within the musical genre of medieval metal.

La música de cada época es producto de un proceso de influencias entre músicos y de cambios de técnicas musicales. Además el entorno social geográfico y político determina los sentimientos e ideas que la música de la época va a transmitir. De esta misma manera el Heavy Metal va a tomar su forma a partir de una evolución de técnicas e influencias que serán complementadas por los nuevos sentimientos derivados de la situación vital de la época.
El Heavy Metal así como ningún género de calidad se detiene en un solo punto. Cada grupo aportará nuevo material de análisis. Sin embargo se puede definir un punto clímax en donde hay ciertas características en común que engloba el significado de Heavy Metal.  A continuación se analizará el proceso de construcción del Heavy metal como género. Para ello se explicarán las principales características que identifican el género. Además se mencionan los datos más importantes sobre los diferentes grupos influyentes en la consolidación del género y de los grupos pioneros. A modo de ejemplo se analizarán una pieza de cada grupo mencionado aplicando los conceptos característicos del género y su proceso evolutivo. Eventualmente se mencionará el significado de las letras según su contexto pero este aspecto quedará en segundo plano.
El metal llegó a ser un fenómeno mundial que se introduce en todo tipo de culturas. Incluso en costa rica el metal llegó a ser un movimiento liderado por varios grupos demostrativos y con una infinidad de bandas de Garage que no se dan a conocer por falta de promoción, medios económicos y tecnológicos, pero no por falta de talento. Este trabajo también abarcará una descripción un análisis de los principales grupos de Heavy Metal.

Disertația prezentă reprezintă o schemă comprehensivă a ceea ce înseamnă folclorul în contemporaneitate, modalitățile de percepție din perspectiva etnologilor și fenomenul democratizării definiției în ultimele decenii. Acesta oferă o perspectivă asupra cîtorva dintre caracteristicile și modurile de formare ale fenomenelor care țin de underground și mainstream (pînă în anul 2018) și demonstrarea apartenenței genurilor rock și metal la una dintre acestea, cu posibilitatea transferului acestei caracteristici în funcție de evoluția media.
Studiul urmărește în special evoluția în cazul folk rock, folk metal și variațiuni ale metalului care înglobează în sine elemente de folclor prin tematică, instrumentație și lexic, remarcînd un interes puternic în ceea ce privește recuperarea elementelor de mitologie și istorie, conținînd un număr de analize pe texte și o anexă cu interviuri acordate de muzicieni din domeniu.

Globalization is a phenomenon that is hard to capture, and many scholars have written about how subject. Of importance for this thesis is Arjun Appadurai’s theory of the imaginary and how he attempts to frame globalization through the imagined, creating a world where various aspects of culture are interconnected in both simple and complex ways through the various scapes. This thesis will approach globalization in a similar manner, and focus on some specific subgenres of heavy metal called Viking metal, folk metal, pagan metal and national socialist (black) metal (collectively henceforth referred to VPFNS metal) as a form of case study, by examining how global structures of common difference take upon different local forms.

By interviewing fans of the music, attending concerts as a form of participant observation and by analyzing lyrics using critical discourse analysis, it became obvious that a sense of belonging was created thanks to the imaginary, where rituals help to maintain the neighborhood. These rituals include but are not limited to clapping hands, cheering, bands touring over the world, holding stage banters, people participating in the mosh pit, doing the devil sign, singing along the lyrics, wearing similar clothing by adhering to a typical heavy metal aesthetic, reading lyrics, talking about music with friends, seeking out new music and so on and so forth. All these actions or lack thereof exemplify a person’s ability to possess cultural capital, which in turn marks whether one is “in” or “out”, thus helping to build specific social discourses that define the scene and sets it apart from other subcultures.

These discourses are in turn situated in larger social contexts and fans of VPFNS metal also position themselves in relation to these discourses in various ways. Examples include the prevalent homophobia, racism and sexism found within the scene, and how there appears to be a reproduction of an archaic and romantic form of masculinity that rejects the feminine as abject. This rejection of femininity can be understood as VPFNS metal being situated in a highly phallocentric global context, seeing how patriarchy is often the dominating discourse.
The focus on a cultural historical past can also be understood as the rejection of modernity itself, and all my respondents cite the importance of cultural history being one of the defining features of VPFNS metal. This play with the past and the creation of a hypermasculine discourse within the scene allows people to imagine something beyond themselves and create a sense of stability in a world that is considered to be ever-changing. To conclude, even though religion is slowly being forced into the private sphere and mass media may be considered to be the new opium for the masses, imagination is not dead. If anything, thanks to new technology people are capable of imagine in ways not previously possible by being united through the various scapes and VPFNS metal stands as a good example of the beauty of human imagination.

The use of Norse myth in Pagan metal is indicative of how an art-religion is formed based on transfigurations of cultural heritage. At the same time we need to always take into account the more ample semiotic codes of (extreme) metal and its transgressive features so as to grasp the meanings of storytelling and recontextualizations of Norse myth in creative processes.

The Shoah is an historical event that leaves its marks on Jewish memory and thought to this day. Broadly speaking, there are two lessons of the Shoah: a particularistic one-relevant to Jews only-and a universalistic lesson, for all peoples. This article examines how the memory of the Shoah and these lessons contribute to the formation of Jewish identity. Works considering the Shoah of three metal bands with prominent Jewish members will be used: one Israeli-Jewish band-Salem; and two multireligious American bands-Anthrax and Disturbed. I will start by analysing songs about the Shoah and continue with a broader look at their entire catalogues and interviews. The ideas expressed will be understood on the background of theories considering Jewish identity and metal music and culture. This qualitative research is therefore grounded in the methodology of the history of ideas. My main findings are: (1) Most metal songs about the Shoah were written by a band with prominent Jewish members. (2) It indeed functions as a living memory affecting Jewish identity-that is, values and sociopolitical beliefs. (3) All the songs analysed create engagement by arousing an emotional response in listeners. (4) While Jewish identity is clearly manifested in Salem and Disturbed's

The end of the 20th century was marked by numerous political and cultural changes. That
includes the secular music marks upswing, and so does its variety of subcultures and ideologies.
During this period the necessity of portraying the reality of music that represents the public
outrage is felt as well – and that's why heavy metal music is so related to the socium.
With the following essays my attention is drawn to a different yet very interesting course in
metal music – the one that corresponds with the roots of the people. Folk music is characterized by
multiple and diverging paths of interpretations of the nationwide way of thinking.

Husličky, píšťalky, texty o predkresťanských bohoch či ospevovanie krás prírody. Tak sa by heslovite dal zhrnúť jeden z čoraz populárnejších prúdov modernej hudby-novopohanský metal a folk. Aké sú najpopulárnejšie české a slovenské novopohanské kapely? Čo nám vraví úspech týchto kapiel o súčasnej spoločnosti?

Popular music, here extreme metal, can construct mythologies based on heritage narratives. Heritage has lately become a very fluid concept and " can be seen as an aggregation of myths, values and inheritances determined and defined by the needs of societies in the present "

Ethnic music is a social entity whose appearance is still relatively new. It is part of the response to the saturation of modernity that acts globally. As something new, ethnic music still needs social space as a place to be approved and accepted by the wider community. Therefore, this study reveals the forms of social adaptation of ethnic music held in Labuan Bajo City, Komodo District, East Nusa Tenggara. The unit of analysis of this research is the ethnic music community 'Rumah Kreasi' as one of the groups in the last six years that often performs at various events in the City of Labuan Bajo. During this time the community began to develop to become famous. Based on the community 'House of Creation' was selected as a research subject. Thus, this research is a case study. Data collection techniques using in-depth interview techniques, observation techniques, and literature review. The data analysis technique uses the Miles and Huberman model, namely the Three Flow Technique which consists of data reduction, data categorization, and involving conclusions. Research results obtained from the social adaptation of the ethnic music group 'Rumah Kreasi' were carried out by (a) participating in various events, (b) collaboration and adaptation of ethnic music, (c) singing traditional Manggarai songs, (d) learning ethnic music from other communities, and (e) featuring ethnic music around Labuan Bajo. This research concludes that ethnic music groups make adaptations not only focus on approved ethnic music but also on aspects of group development in the development of social networks to be known in the surrounding community.

In this presentation I consider folk and pagan metal's current transcultural/lingual appeal. Drawing from my research on the Russian pagan-metal band, Arkona, I argue that macro-cultural discourses highlighting the indigenous and national have contributed to this subgenre's appeal, both in bands' domestic and international scenes. Folk-/pagan-metal bands producing in their native languages and emerging from locally distinct scenes adapt to international contexts in which they inevitably become perceived by fans (and other observers) according to diverse cultural milieus. I examine discourses about Arkona by non-Russians against some of the band's comments and reactions in various contexts, especially concerning their ideology.

This article explores the genre of Pagan Metal, specifically located in the Basque country, in an aim to define what kind of identity it represents. It is argued that Basque Pagan Metal expresses a specific musical identity, with links to the ideology of the 1980s Basque punk movement Rock Radikal. Further, Basque Pagan Metal has diverged from this musical heritage, in that the identity it expresses is apolitical: while Rock Radikal expressed an openly political identity, that expressed in Basque Pagan Metal is explicitly culturalist, resonating more with primordial nationalism espoused by the ‘father of Basque nationalism’, Sabino Arana. A discussion of the genre within the social and cultural context of the rise of Basque nationalism in the late 19th century, the emergence of radical nationalism, and the Rock Radikal movement, is problematized through a discussion of interpretation versus intent. The group Numen is put forward as a representative case study.