heavy metal forces of unification and fragmentation within a musical subculture

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Florian Noetzel GmbH Verlag

Heavy Metal: Forces of Unification and Fragmentation within a Musical Subculture

Author(s): Bettina RoccorSource: The World of Music, Vol. 42, No. 1, Gothic, Metal, Rap, and Rave - Youth Culture andIts Educational Dimensions (2000), pp. 83-94Published by: VWB - Verlag fr Wissenschaft und BildungStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41699315Accessed: 21-12-2015 13:57 UTC

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2/13

theworld

f

music

2(1)-

2000:

3-94

Heavy

Metal: Forces

of

Unification

and

Fragmentation

within a Musical Subculture

BettinaRoccor

Abstract

The

istory

fheavy

metal

eaches ack o he 960s.An

ndependent

ultural

rac-

tice

eveloped

n

he 970s

nd

xperienced

ts

heighturing

he

980s,

eclining

n

popularity

n he

ourse

f

he

ollowing

ecade.

oday

he

eavy

etalcene nGer-

many

sa

multifaceted

ultural

andscape

n

which

diversity

f

tyles

hat

eveloped

over hreeecadesoexistside y ide,more r ess eacefully.n pite f heir any

differences,

ost

ans

eel

hemselves

obe members

f

ne

amily

ecause ll

heavy

metal

tyles

re

based n he ame

asic

musical

atterns,

he alues

upporting

heir

culture

ave emained

redominantly

he

ame

nd hemusics

negativemage

as

unified

he

ans

n heir

ndignation.

1. Introduction

Those

whowant

o

approach

he

heavy

metal cenewith view owards

musical d-

ucation, ithoutmmediatelyisqualifyinghemselvesythe probablyew)metal

music

aficionados

resent

n

the

classroom,

hould

be

aware of a few

essential

things.

irst

f

all,

the

heavy

metal cene nvolves

musically

entered

ub-culture

without

deological

ommitmentsn the enseof a

political

uperstructure

o which

scenemembers

eel

hemselvesommitted

Stratmann

000,

Roccor

1996a,

Roccor

1996b,

Mhlmann

999).

So

you

hould

orget

he umors

ou

haveheard rread

up

to now hat

laim hat

eavy

metal nvolves

decidedly ight-wing

ultural

ractice:

heavy

metal

^and

Rechtsrock

right-wing

ock)

retwo

ompletely

ifferentusical

phenomena.

he kernel

f

heavy

metal s not

special

kind f

deology

ut ather

themusic f

heavy

metal.

verything

lse is

subject

o the

momentaryolitical,

o-

cal,

social and ndividualonditions ithinwhich hiskind f music s made and

consumed.

hus

here re few

heavy

metal ands

hat how

decided

olitical

tti-

tude n their

yricsmostly

ather

eft-wing,

utwithin he

blackmetal

cene,

ome

fascistic).

utthe

uestion

rises,

o

what xtent o

such

groups ctually

nfluence

theworld

iews ftheir

onsumers?

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3/13

84

theworld

f

music

2(1)-

2000

This s indeed

ne of

the

most

mportant

esearch

uestions

egardingouth

nd

media:

do consumers

ccept

withoutriticism hatevers

presented

o

them,

r

are

they

n

a

position

o distance hemselvesnd to

develop

differentiatedalue

sys-

tem?

kin,

he

emale

inger

f

he and kunk

nasie,

oubts he

ersuadingoten-

tial

f

ong yrics:

I don't

elievehatmusic

an ransform

olitics,

ot ven

he

oliticalpinions

f he

people

who isten

o t.

Music s more

ommentary

n ife.Music anbe effective

when

t s bound

o n

already

xisting

ovement/mental

ttitude

r n milieu

s a

cultural

lement,

ommenting,

eflecting

nd

trengthening

hat

movement,

tc.But

then,hemovementsalreadyhere. usic idn'treatet.Music escribeshat as

happened

ith

generation,

hat as

happened

n he

world

n

whicht

ives,moves,

andwhich

thas

oface

Stratmann

000:30).

The

question

f

whether

usic

r

yrics

ontribute

t all to

formingpinions

ep-

resents

worthwhile

eneral

opic

or

music

nstruction.n

music

history

here

re

certainly

nough

xamples

f

political

monopolization

f music nd the

resulting

difficulties

n

dealing

with

works

f rt

nd heir

reators;

neneeds

nly

hink

fRi-

chard

Wagner

ndhis

role

during

he

period

f theNational

ocialists.

We willre-

turn

ater

othe

roblem

f

politically

otivated

se ofmusic.

2.

The Metal

Fans:

Deviant

Satanists?

The

message

f

heavy

metal

s-

to

emphasize

his

gain-

not

more ndnot

essthan

themusic

alled

heavy

metal.

And

thismusic

eflects

hediverse

worlds

f ts

fans,

of

people

whofeel

hemselves

ttracted,

or

he

most

aried

easons,

othis oud

kind

of

rockmusic

nd

ts

ymbolism.

f

you

sk

a

fan

why

he

istens

o

heavy

metal,

he

first

nswer

s almost

lways,

Because

like he

music."One

can

only

make tate-

ments

n

the easons

or

his

nstinctive

ympathy

or

heavy

metal

fone has nten-

sively ealtwithhe ife toriesf he ans. rite ssumptionsuch s thatt s factors

like

"coming

rom

roken

amilies"

r

"unemployment"

hich ead

consumerso

grab

or

eavy

metal

CDs

only

cratch

he urface

fthe ituation.

he

fans retoo

diverse

n

general,

nd

too different

re

thekinds

f

affinityhey

eel

owards he

metal

cene.

But

nthe

lassroom,

he

entral ole

fmusic

hould

lways

e

empha-

sized

n

order

o

give

tudents

n

adequate

dea

of

heavy

metal ulture.

The

heavy

metal an

efers

o

a

musical

radition

hat as

grown

ver

he ourse

of

decades,

tradition

rom

whichmost

f the

ontemporary

cene

has created

ts

self-understanding.

his

fact

sually

emains

oncealed

o critics

f he

heavy

metal

scene:

hey

nterpret

he

phenomena

f

heavy

metal

xclusively

n

thebasis

of the

symbolismccompanyinghemusic,whetherntheformf mages, igns, exts r

behavior.2

result

f

his s

the

negative

ublic

mage

f

he

heavy

metal

cene,

n-

changed

o the

present.

o

put

t

simply,

his

mage

declares

he

average

head-

banger"

o be

a latent

ight-wing

adical,

exist,

iolent,

lcoholic,

ebilitated

nd,

even

more,

atanically

social;

ll must

e

wary

f

him

cf.

Seifert

991,

Der

Spiegel



4/13

Roccor.

eavy

Metal

85

2/1989:152f,

ravo

35/1990:52f).

his

image

could

only

develop

because

heavy

metal as

been

nterpreted

ithout etailed

nowledge

f ts

historical

evelopment

andcurrent

tylisticiversity.

urther,

uch

nterpretations

ave

onlypaid

attention

to

the

xpressions

f ove for

heavy

metal hown

y

fans: n

exteriorhat eems e-

bellious,

rovocative,

ften

liched,

nd

beyond

ll other ashionablerends

Roc-

cor

1992).

3. The

Kernel

ofMetal: Music

The

roots

f

heavy

metal ie n the

1960s,

when ands ikeBlack

Sabbath,

ed

Zep-

pelin

nd

Deep Purple

made

popular

loud

and

guitar-heavy

ind f rock alled

"hard"

r

"heavy"

ock,

orming

counterweight

o the

ften

olitically

otivated

"hippie

music"

Herr

1998,

Khnemund

997,

Roccor

1996a,

1996b,

Walser1993

and

Weinstein

991).

From

hese

commerciallyuite

uccessful)

eginnings,

n n-

dependent

ultural

ractice

eveloped

uring

he1970s

with ands uch s Thin iz-

zy,

Nazareth,

ush

and

Rainbow,

which

eached heir

eight

f

popularity

n the

1980s.

Acts

uch

s Iron

Maiden,

Judas

riest,Metallica,

layer,

axon and

Ozzy

Osbourne

ormed,

oth n the

musical s

well as behavioral

evel,

he

tylistic

oun-

dation or his evelopmentalhase. nretrospect,his sregardeds thegolden ge

of

heavy

metal

nd s referred

o

as

such

by

thosewho

dentify

hemselves ith his

scene.

This

nchoring

fthe ntire

eavy

metal

cene

n

a common radition

as

is often

accentuated

o the

present)

houldnot

obscure hefact hat he

heavy

metal

and-

scape,

which

resents

tself

s

a

uniform

ubcultureo

outsiders,

as

fallen

nto

ew,

smaller

erritories

ince hemid-1980s.

ifferencesetween hese erritoriesie on

both

hemusical

s well as the

tylistic

nd

deological

evels. n additionothe

yp-

ical

heavy

metal

fthe ate 1970s and

early

980s,

tyles eveloped

rom hemid-

1980s

uch

s thrash etal

fast,

aw

inging,.g.,Slayer); peed

metal

fast,

echni-

cally

difficult,

.g.,

Metallica,

xciter);

eathmetal

without

heclassical

refrain,

"not eautiful"

inging,.g.,

Death,

Obituary)

ndblackmetal

stylistically

ariable,

satanist

ymbolism,

.g.,

King

Diamond,

Morbid

Angel).

ome

styles

ave

gained

numerically

maller

ut

ery

oyalbody

f

fans,

uch

s

progressive

etal

musical-

ly

complex,

riented

oward lassic

music,

.g.,

Blind

Guardian,

ream

Theater),

whitemetal

Christian

yrics,

musically

aried,

.g., Stryper,

ount

Raven)

and

doommetal

slow,

dragging,.g.,

St.

Vitus,

Candlemass).

articularly

n the

U.S.,

moderate

etal

cts

uch s

Ozzy

Osbourne,

otley

riie nd

Van Halen

conquered

the ecord

harts

uring

he1980s.

Inthe1990sheavymetal penedtself ptoneighboringtylesnd llowed le-

ments

rom

runge,

echno,

olk,

othic

nd hardcoreo

flow

nto tsmusic.At the

same

ime,

ew

isteners

merged

hono

onger orresponded

o the

ypical eavy

fan;

twas no

onger

contradictiono isten

o

first etallica

a

typical

metal

and)

and henMarusha

a

popular

echno-Djane).

he market

hanged,

hich

ed for x-



5/13

86

theworld

f

music

2(1)-

2000

ample

o he ormer

epresentative

f he

cene,

he

ournal

MetalHammer

changing

itsname

o

simply

ammern

order o draw

young

eaderswhowanted o

isten o

more

han

ust

metal. n this

ontext,

heworldwideuccessof theband

Metallica

was

highlymportant

or he cene.Whethern

positive

r

negative

ense,

his

and

still

timulates

iscussions

ithin he

ceneas it broke

way

from

many

ld tradi-

tions

nd hus

ncited kind

f

dentity

risis

mongmany

ans.

Today

he

gothic

metal

cene s

particularly

opular, style

hat ontainsntense

guitars

nd

s tied

o dramatics

nd

gloominess

ypical

f the

gothic

tyle. ypical

gothic

metal

ands

nclude

Atrocity, y Dying

Bride ndParadise

ost.

This cene

formedntandem ith he econd enerationftheblackmetalmovementfast,n-

clusion

f sacred

music

lements,

inging

hat

anges

rom

wheezing

o

screeching

(e.g.,

Dimmu

orgir,

mperor).

so-called

truemetal"

evival lso

took

lace

dur-

ing

he1990s

when

many

ands

harked

ack

o classical

heavy

metal nd

used

ypi-

cal

stylistic

eans

as

the

very

uccessful

roup

Hammerfall)

uch

s

high

ocaliz-

ing,

guitar

olos,

straight

hythms,

sword&

sorcery"

isual effects

nd

fantasy

lyrics.

Whilenumerous

ult ands

f he 980s

uch

s

Destruction,

gent

teel

nd

Metal

Church

eunited

o tie nto

heir

arlier

uccess,

new

bands lso

tried o

gain

fresh

uyers

or

heir

music

nder

he

heading

newmetal."

Today

he

metal

cene s

highly

iverse

n musical

erms,

ncluding

othmelo-

dramaticallads s wellas two-minute-longrind oreattacks.n addition othe

purely

musical

ifferences

hat

mostly

emain

idden

othe

utsider,

e also find

i-

verse

egional

eculiarities.

urther,

istinctions

mong

henumerous

an

roups

e-

velop

out

of

different

ife

ituations

nd even

between

riends.

ere

do not

only

mean

he

ategories

hat

igeonhole

ertain

ands

otheir

espective

ountriesf

or-

igin

for

U.S.

metal

elongs

s

little

o the

U.S. alone

s the uccess

fthe o-called

"

Neue

Deutsche

Hrte

(lit.,

new

German

ard)

group

ammstein

as been imited

to

Germany

Jeske

996/1997/1999,

ader

& Jeske

995,

1997

&

1998

andMhl-

mann

999).

Also

tobe

considered

re ssues

f nstrumentalization

f

hemusic

nd

the

ymbolism

hat

ccompanies

his

rocess.

4.

The

Fragmentation

f

Metal

F ans

According

o the

ocio-cultural

ontext,

eclaring

neself

fan

f

heavy

metal

rof

a

particular

and

rom

his

pectrum

antake

n different

eanings.

he

best

xam-

ple

of

this

s

theband

Slayer,

which

s

controversial

ithin he

cene

because f

ts

lyrics

nd

the

tatements

hey

ave

made

n

nterviews

ut lso

highly opular

e-

cause

of

ts

music.

The

band's

songs

hold

completely

ifferent

ignificance

or

group fright-wingaleteenage adicals romhe ormerastGermanyhan or

clique

of ntellectual

orth

orean

tudents

r

a Brazilian

metal

an

rom he

white

middle

lass.

t

is the

ontext

hich

s

decisive,

ot

necessarily

he

original

nten-

tions

f

theband

tself.

hus

hefan

lub

ogo

of

the

group

layer, grinning

kull

wearing

fireman's

elmet,

ecorates

-shirts,

atches

nd

pins

with

he words



6/13

Roccor.

eavy

Metal

87

above

t,

Slatanic

Wehrmacht

("Slatanic"

German rmed

orces).

ight-wing

ans

interpret

his

s a

declaration

f

sympathy

or

he

Nazi

period,

while

hose rom he

left-wing,

ntellectual

pectrum

ake hismotive o be

a

skillful

rovocation

f the

bourgeois

ociety

hat

uppresses

tsmemoriesf heNazis. Nazi skinheadsisten

o

Slayer

o stimulate

hem

o attack

oreigners,

hile

North orean tudents iscuss

philosophical

nd

political

opics

othe ounds f he and.Brazilian

ans

egard

he

group,

ith

ts

wo

South

American

members,

s a

spiritual

elative

o the alterna-

tive"national

eroes

f

Sepultura,

extremely

uccessful

hrashmetal

band

from

Rio.

Slayertself asmade uperficial,fnot osay ompletelyaive, tatementsn n-

terviews

n

political

opics,

nd

they

now

bout s much

boutNational

ocialism

as could

be written

n

a

single

heet f

paper.

ut his

idnot

prevent

hebandfrom

writing

song

bout he

oncentration

amp

doctor osef

Mengele.

Angel

fDeath"

goes

down

he

ist fhis

unimaginable

ctsof

cruelty

n a

choppy

ascade

of

words,

without

udging

r

commenting

n them.As

a

prank,

he

youth

adio

tation

f the

Bavarian

roadcastingompany

ncehad

this ext

ead n the ir

s

though

t

were

a

poem

by

the

well-known

oet

Gottfried

enn.Presented

n

this

way,

t created

goose

pimples

mong

non-metal

ans

s

well,

ust

as when

layer lays

he

ong

n

live

concerts.

The example fSlayer howsthatheavymetal lso representsform fart,

which

s

thus

nterpretable;

ach fan

nterprets

he

tatements,

mages

nd

yrics

f

the

band

differently.

ut

the

arge

majority

s

not t

all interested

n whatkind

f

statement

s

being

made,

for

xample,

n the

ong

Angel

f Death."

They

ikethe

song,

he

music,

he

vocal

style;

hey

ould

are ess

about he ontents

fthe

yrics.

This s

one

reason

why

many

ans

re

rritated

henmetal

ournalists

sk

uncomfort-

able

questions

bout

ontroversial

usicians

ikePeter

teele

or

Slayer

nd

the n-

tentions

ftheir

ong yrics.

hey

ind

hemusic

ood,

nd

they

on't

want oknow

any

more.

his

s

what s also

meant

y

he tatement

hat

hemetal cene an be

de-

scribed

s

nonpolitical:

he

meanings

f

yrics

nd

mages

s of

esser

mportance

compared

o a

song's

musical

ualities.

n

right-wing

ock,

he ituations

the

ppo-

site: he

yrics

re n

the

oreground

nd

he

ery

imple, unk-like

usic orms

nly

an

acoustic

ackground

othe

houted azi

slogans.

In

view

f he

many

arieties

f

heavy

metal

ypes,

s well s the ocial

differenc-

es

among

ts

fans,

whether

elated

o

class,

gender, ge

or

ethnicity,

he

question

emerges

s

to

why

he

heavy

metal

ulture

till

perceives

tself s a

single

ulture.

The

scene

ontinuouslyresents

tself o the

utsideworldwith

nbroken

ride

s a

unified

ntity,

lthough

hose

iewing

t

from he

utside an

see

little

ommonality

between,

ay,

the

gothic

metal

cene and

progressive

ans,

r

between raditional

"metals"ndblackmetal ans.Both n theirlothings wellas in their ehavior nd

musical

ractices,

ans

display

lear

differences

mong

hemselves

nd make lear

attempts

o set

up

borders

ith

eighboring

ubstyles

ndtheir lienteles.

Each

type

f

heavy

metal

as

developed

tsown

ystem

f

signs

made

of

music,

symbolism,

lothing

nd behavior.

n

theblackmetal

cene,

or

nstance,

he

black,



7/13

88

the

world

f

music

2(1)-

2000

studded

eather

lothing

ntroduced

n the

arly

1980s

by groups

ikeJudas

riest,

Mercyful

ate

or Motrhead

as revived

uring

heradicalization

f black

metal;

outfits

ere

modified

y

adding

ccessories rom

hematically

elated

ubcultures.

The

black

metal

utfit

ncludes

hreateningly

ong, piked

racelets,

lack

ederhose,

vampire-like

apes,

heavy

lack

ied-up

oots

ndbizarre

lack-and-white

akeup.

Martial

rts

weapons

ike

battle-axes,

aces

nd

outsized words

omplete

he m-

age

of

the

dangerous

night

f

darkness.

he

masquerade

f "merciless"

epresents

an

optical

ounterpart

o the

music.

he atter

hould

e more

adical

nd

relentless

than

nything

hat

ad

previously

elighted

eavy

metal

ans.All

elements,

hether

in heyrics,he elf-presentationf hemusiciansr he tage hows, it nto he ign

system

f

"black

metal."

his

system

s

also

supported

y

the

music,

with

ts

high-

speed

double

ass,

torms

friffs

nd

ts

ometimes

verboard

ysterics,

ometimes

choppy

inging,

hich

s

accompanied

y

dramatic

horuses

nd chords

n the

or-

gan.

The

fans

who

ove

this

music

rient

hemselves

ptically

o the

musicians,

ut

usually

hoose

or

hemselves

more

moderate

treet

ersion

f

he ebellious

orror

outfits.

In

case

of

doubt,

earing

ong

hair

nd

fan

hirt,

he

niform

f

hemetal

an,

s

enough

or

ll

outsiders

o

recognize

person

s

belonging

o themetal

cene.

De-

tails

ell

nsiders

he

person's

references

or

particular

eavy

tyle,

uch

s

the

shirtmotivendtheparticularccessorieshat reworn. orexample crossworn

upside-down

ith

strongly

lienating

and

ogo

is

an

indication

or

he

person's

passion

or

lack

metal.

Otherwise

he ndividual

eed

for

xpression

ecides

how

many

dditional

lothing

lements

re

taken

ver

from

he

musicians.

fan

ould

decide

o

wear

martial

rts-related

ilver

ewelry

the

upside-down

ross

or

penta-

gram,

tuds

r

chains)

r

makeup-

orelse

can make

do without

ny

utside

igns

f

belonging

o

the

cene

and

simply

uy

black

metal

CDs

and

go

to concerts

f the

bands.

In

contrast

o

the adical

lack

metal

cene

which

s

at

themoment

articularly

popularmong ounger

ans

n

Germany),

he

raditionalists'

cene

has

taken

p

the

fight

or

he

good

old"truemetal." his

scene,

whichs also

quite

ctivenow,

pro-

claims

ts

onvictions

articularly

n

fanzines.

or

he

raditionalists,

eath

ndblack

metal

o not

ven

belong

o

heavy

metal.

heir

rguments

gainst

eath

nd

black

metal

xtend

rom

he

uality

f

themusic

too

dilettantish)

o

the ust

or

ommer-

cial

success

t

any

ost,

othe

yrics,

hich

re aid

tocross

ll

boundaries

f aste

n

order

o ncrease

ales.

This

traditionalist

roup

wears

lothing

xactly

ike

that

f

the

ans

fthe

1980s:

ight-fitting

eans,

neakers,

and

hirts

nd

a kind

f

monk's

habit,

n

which

atches

with he

names

f

particular

ands

have

been

ewn.

his

out-

fit

roclaims,

I

am

a metal

Urgestein

lit.,

riginal

ock,

r

an

original,

oyal

fan)

and 'mnot shamedf t."This truemetal" actioneesto t hathe ands

rom

he

1970s

and

80s

are

not

forgotten;

hey

lay

he

role

of

Heimatpfleger

caretakers

f

traditional

ustoms,

word

sually

sed

n

connection

ith

olk

ulture),

ho

dig

up

and

revive

he

old

song

epertoire."



8/13

Roccor.

eavy

Metal

89

Trench

warfare

ithinhe

heavy

metal cene s one

factorhat asmarkedtsde-

velopment,

hether

etween black"

nd

"white"

ommunities,

etween oft ock

and

deathmetal

ans,

r between

olitically

ctive

nd

disinterestedans. urther-

more,

ince

he ate

1980s

metal-typical

an ulture as

experienced diluting ro-

cess

due

to

the

teadily

rowing roup

f isteners ho isten

o

not

nly eavy

metal

but lso

formerly

enemy

musics"

uch s

hiphop,

echno,

ndependent

ndrelated

substyles.

husmass

heavy

metalmusical vents

eld t the ndofthe 0th

entury

such

s the

pen

irconcert Rock

am

Ring"presented

colorfulmixture

f musi-

cians

of

completely

ifferent usical

ypes.

en

years go,

t wouldhave beenun-

thinkableor uchgroupsoappear ogethern onestage.n reactionothis,ndivid-

ual

scenes

re

establishing

vents

hat

resent

xclusively

heir

wnbands

e.g.,

he

Wacken

Open

Air

or the

Dynamo

Open

Air

n Eindhoven

ormetal

ans;

heZillo-

Festival

rGothicAVave-Treffen

n

Leipzig

for heblack

cene).

What s

put

n

dis-

play

t

uch vents

s the

pure

octrine,"

hether

n a

musical,

ptical

rbehavioral

level.

This

s for

hemetal

an

chaoticmud

fight,

or hewaver

he killful

resen-

tation

f he

perfectly

tyled

elf.

till,

hemetal cene

fightsgainst

nconsistencies

resulting

rom

he imitlessness

f the

marketnd

theno

longer

xistent

eparation

between

mainstream

nd

underground

at

east n the

art

f hemusic

ndustry).

5.

Forces

of

Unification

As

mentioned

arlier,

eavy

metal

ontinues

o

represent

tself

o the utside

world

as a closed

cultural

ystem,

system

n which

he ame aws

apply

s

twenty ears

ago.

The

foundation

f this

proudly

roclaimed

elf-understanding

eemsto be

a

continuing

onsensus

n whatmakes

heavy

metal

ndependent

rom

ther

tyles.

y

means

fdiverse

trategies,

he

eadership

f

magazines

nd

fanzines,

or

xample,

swear

o a

common

enominator

hat s

supposed

omaintainhe

pirit

f

heavy

met-

al over ndaboveall stylisticoundaries.nmy pinion

here re

n

particular

hree

such

factorshat

llegedly

nsure

hat

eavy

metal

emains a beast hat

efuses o

die:"4

Firm

ies

o a common

musical

radition.

Recognition

ffundamental

eavy

metal

alues.

Negative

valuation

y

outsiders.

As

soon

s

a new

tyle

or

the eaction

o

t)

coincides

t east

partially

ith hese

three

actors,

t

an

be

integrated

nto

he

heavy

metal

ultures a whole.

Before his

happens,

certain

hase

f

uncertaintyay

lso

emerge,

uring

hich

much iscus-

sion

nd

polemicizing

ake

lace.

Generational

onflicts

lay

n essential ole

nthis

integrationrocess. heolder ans sually eact irstna way hat ejectshatwhich

is

produced

ndfavored

y

he

younger

eneration

ecause ften

henew

tyle ues-

tions

he

xisting

radition

nd

produces

ew

ways

f

measuring

usical,

yrical

nd

behavioral

rovocation.

good example

fthis

s the

group

eathmetal,

hich n-

stigated

oth

ndignation

s well

as

enthusiasm.

heirmusic ontained

heezing



9/13

90

theworld

f

music

2(1)

-2000

voices nstead

f

high,

lear

vocalization,

storm friffsnstead f

guitar

olos,

nd

morbid

yrics

nstead f

hymns

othe

peacefulness

f

he

ock n roll

ifestyle.

n

the

end,

hough,

he

many

ritics romhe

heavy

metal cenehad o

grudgingly

cknowl-

edge

that

his

generation

f metal ans nd musicians

re

doing

nothing

ore han

what

hey

hemselves

ad donefive r

ten

years

arlier. he

younger eneration

s

shocking

he "old

guys"

nd

showing

hem hat he extremes

ave not

yet

been

reached

y

ny

tretch

fthe

magination.

ven

funder

rotest,

eathmetal

as fi-

nally

ccepted,

nd

here

was

peace

until he

next ew

tyle merged.

he new

tyle

that aused

stir-

meaning

hat t

delighted

ome

ndlessly

nd madeothers hake

their eadswith orror-was the adical tyle fblackmetal.n thisway, he ultural

spectrum

f

heavy

metal

has been

continually

roadened

new

without

aving

o

give

up

that

which

lready

xisted.

After

ll,

the

younger,

ebellious ands

lso em-

phasize

epeatedly

he nfluence

nd

nspiration

hey

avereceived

rom heir

rede-

cessors.)

he

ndependence

f

he ubscenes

hus

orms

nly superficial

ontrast

o

the

propagated

nity

f

the ulture

s a

whole.The

musical

oundation,

hat

s,

the

collective

eroes

nd

themusical

heritage,

njoys

uninterrupted

espect

oth rom

the

younger

s well

as the lder

an

generations,

ndthis

reates

iesbetween

hem.

Today

he

cene

hasthe

major

roblem

hat

othing

ew r

provocative

as

appeared

on

thehorizon

or

uite

while.Musicians

re

quoting

hemselves

nd

stewing

n

theirwnuices,which ausesmany ans opredicthe ndofheavymetal.

In

spite

fall

their

ifferences,

hat

ontributes

onsiderably

o the we

feeling"

of

the cene

s the

negative erception

mong

utsiders

fthe

heavy

metal

ulture.

The

heavy

metal

cene

s a

conglomerate

f

numerous

lichs,

ot

nly

or

he

gno-

rant mateur

ut lso

for

many rofessionals

ho

give

scholarly, hilosophical

r

journalistic

ommentary

n

heavy

metal.

he

long-haired

igure

earing

monk's

habit

as become

symbol

or he

dull,

thically

isoriented

attle-like

asses

who

can

only

be shaken

ut

of their

ethargy

y

means

of

brainless,

mercilessly

oud,

stamping

usic

without

ny

kind

f

meaningful

ontents.

imply

he act

hat ome-

one"belongs"

o a certain

musical

genre

ecomes

vidence

or

whole

tring

f

characteristics

hat re

ttached

othat

eclared an. he reactionothis

negative

a-

beling

s on

the ne hand

collective,

more-or-less

ustified

ndignation,

s

well as

the

mergence

f

"we

feeling"-

hat

s,

he

erception

f we

who re

unjustifiably

attacked."

his

martyr

onsciousness"

as

been

driven o new

heights y

he

group

Die

Bhsen

Onkelz.

his

group

trained

ts

mage

s an

unjustifiably

ttacked

ictim

of

themedia

o

the imit.

ue

to the

group's

never

ontested

ast

s

skinheads,

he

media

ccused

hem

f

having

ome

responsibility

or

he eries

f

anti-foreigner

t-

tacks

made

n

Germany

uring

he

arly

990s.

ome of

the rsonists

ho

etfire

o

houses

where

sylum-seekers

ived

had

wornOnkelz

hirts,

nd

n the

arly

980s

thebandhada song n tsrepertoireith he itle Trken aus" TurksGo Home)

which

was

however

ever

ublished.

n the

asis

of hese

acts,

he

ress

oncluded

that

ie Bhsen

Onkelz

was an

deological

redecessor

f

growing

ight-wing

adi-

calism.

ven

hough

heband

epeatedly

istanced

tself rom

he

ight-wing

adical

scene,

nd

even

organized

Rock

Against

he

Right-wing"

estivals,

any

media



10/13

Roccor.

eavy

Metal

91

representatives

nsisted

n this view.

Indignation

ver

the

unjustified

reatment

brought

ogether

he

and nd

ts

ans,

which s

why

Onkelz ans ancount n

at

east

one

song

on each

new

recording

ith he heme We are the

capegoats

f the

na-

tion."

As this

xample

hows,

indingogether

ans

eyond tylistic

orderss the om-

mon

knowledge

hat

many

f

the

heavy

metal

lichs re

basedon a too

iteral

er-

ception

f he

cene

nd hat hismusic

ctually ays

much

more

hat s

socially

ele-

vant han

s

commonly

ssumed.

isagreements

ver ndividual

trategies

n

how o

deal with

ttacks

rom

he utside

o however

ave

separating

ffect.

While ome

make ffortsoward larificationnddialogue, thers rawback nto till tronger

forms

f

provocation.

he

atter

ick

up

the

gauntlet

hrownown

by

ritics

ith e-

ligious

r

youth-protection

otivations

nd

answer

hesewith till

rasser lichs

that

elp

hemselves

o all

the

ignals

hat erve

rt. ome

even

resort

o

violence,

s

in he adical

lack

metal

cene

n

Norway,

here

anatics

ent o far

s to setfire

o

churches

nd o

carry

utbrutal

ttacks

n

Christian

ands

Roccor

1992,

Billerbeck

& Nordhausen

994

andKrull

1993).

Heavy

metal

s

not,

s

so often

sserted,

imply

oud,

primitive

ockbut ather

form

fmusic

hat

tands

or

particular

ttitude

owards

ife,

or alues

hat he

ans

miss

n their

ormal

veryday

orld nd

which

hey

not

rarely

ind n

themetal

scene. repeat ere nly hemostmportantatchwordshat rerepeatedlysedby

fans

nd

musicians:

uthenticity,

onesty,

olidarity,

ohesion,

ommunity

eeling,

the

lain

ruth

ithout

dornment,

irectness,

oyalty,

ithout

ompromise,

onesty,

provocation,

eing

different.

bsolute

ounter-values

or

he scene

are:

salability,

playing

p

to

norms,

ommercialization,

gomania,

osing,

ensorship.

ne of

the

central

oncepts

f themetal

cene

s

that f

freedom: reedom

o

say

what

one

wants,

o

think

hat ne

wants,

o ook

s one

wants,

ithout

egard

f

reigning

or-

als.

For

this

eason,

hemusicians

who

enjoy

he

highest

egree

f admirationre

those

who

practice

heavy

metal

tyle

f

ifewith

he east

degree

f

compromise.

These

are musicians

who

have

themselves

attooed

ver their ntire

odies,

who

grow

heir

air own

otheir

ips,

who

prefer

o

wear he ame lothes

ay

n nd

day

out

and

who remain

nconditionally

rue

o the

deepermeaning

f

heavy

metal n

their

music

nd

yrics,

egardless

f newer

rends r sales

figures.

o

do

your

wn

thing

nd

o et

ll kinds f

riticism

lide ff

ou:

his

epresents

he dealof hemet-

al scene-

an

deal,

t hould

e

noted,

hat

tands

iametrically

pposed

othe ctual

lives

ofmost

ans.

6.

Conclusion

For

those

who

want o

approach

he

heavy

metal

cene,

wouldrecommend

irst

bearing

he

ollowing

nmind

speaking

rom

many

ears

f

experience):

he

argest

barrier

s the

xisting

lich n

one's own

head.One must

earn o

perceive

he

erson

behind

he

bloodthirstyooking

-shirt

nd

to

comprehend

is or her

ppearance



11/13

92

theworld

f

music

2(1)-

2000

simply

s an

expression

f

being

fan,

withoutash

nterpretations

bout

he

possi-

ble

conceptual

ontent.

mportant

s that hefan s

always

he

xpert. econdly,

he

researchers

hould t east

ttempt

o

get

sed

o

the

music,

or f

hey

ave

noknowl-

edge

ofthe

music,

hey

willbe able to find ut ittle bout ts

fans.

hird,

nvestiga-

tors

hould bstain

rom ash

ategorizations,

or

he

fine ifferencesre

precisely

what

s

mportant

othe

metal an.

A finalword f

dvice:

nevermake hemistake f

describingeavy

metal s "noise"-

orBon Jovi

s a

heavy

metal

roup.

hat

would

mean

he ertain

ndof

ny

kind fconversation.

Notes

1

The

ssertion

as

eenmade

hat

eavy

etal as

he

endency

owards

ight-wing

adicalism,

for

xample

nLenz 989

nd

er

piegel

4/1998:304;

riticism

f his iew

an efound

n

Helsper

992,

tock

Mhlberg

990

ndMatthesius

995.

his oes ot

meanhat

herere

no

heavy

etal ans

ith radical

ight-wing

rientation.

hese

o

exist,

ust

s the

sually

overlooked

onpolitical

nd eft-

ing-oriented

kinhead

cenes.

ee Farin

Seidel-Pielen

1994

nd

unk-Hennigs

995.

2

This

olds

rue

articularly

n

he

se f

atanicr

ccult

ymbols

n

heavy

etal.

ee heit-

eraturen pponentsfChristianock,uchs Banol 987, umer984ndGlogauer

992.

3

On

he

tyles

f

heavy

etal,

eeRoccor

996a

nd 996b.

4

A formulation

fDeena

Weinstein

9

1

5

On he

etailed

istory

fDie

Bhsen

nkelz,

eeHartsch

997.

References

Banol,

ernando

alazar

1987

Die

okkulte

eite

esRock.

nchen:

irthammer.

Bumer,

lrich

1984

Wir ollen

ur eine

eele.

ardrock:

aten,

akten

Hintergrnde.

ielefeld:

hris-

tliche

iteraturverbreitung.

Billerbeck,

iane

Frank

ordhausen

1994

Der

Mordfall

andro

.Berlin:

H.

Links.

Farin,

laus

Eberhard

eidel-Pielen

1994

Skinheads.

nchen:

.

H. Beck.

Funk-Hennings,

rika

1995

"Skinheadmusik,

i-Musik,

azi-Rock."

ahrbuch

r

Volksliedforschung

0: 84-

101.

Glogauer,

erner

1 92

"Videoclips

om

eufel,

ergewaltigen

ndMorden

Sic .

Verharmlosende

tudie

er

Landesmedienanstalten."

(ugend)-M(edien)-S(chutz)-Report

:

44-48.



12/13

Roccor.

eavy

Metal

93

Hartsch,

dmund

1997

Danke

r

ichtsBhse

nkelz.

rankfurtmMain: O

Management.

Helsper,

erner

1992

Okkultismus-

ieneue

ugendreligion?

ie

Symbolik

esTodes

nd

esBsenn er

Jugendkultur.pladen:

eske nd udrich.

Herr,

atthias

1989-98

atthias

err'

Heavy

Metal exikon

vols. -6.Berlin:

elbstverlag

1989/1990/

1991/1994/1996/1998].

Jeske,

tger

t l.

1996-99.S.Metal,ols. -3. erlin:.P.Verlageske/MaderbR1996/1997/1999].

Khnemund,

tz

t l.

1997

Rock

ard

nzyklopdie.

00 er

nteressantestenockbands

usden

etzten

reiig

Jahren.

ortmund:

ock

ard.

Krull,

lex

1

93

"Von atanisten

nd ierschtzern."

ock ard

0:6-8.

Lenz,

eter

1989

"It sn't ock'n

oll,

hat's

hy

e ike

t. aschistischend

atanistischeendenzen

des

Heavy

Metal

mKontext

erGeschichte

erRockmusik."

nRock

yrik.

xem-

plarische

nalysen

nglischsprachiger

ong-Texte

Erhardahl/Karsten

hrkorb,

eds. ssen: ieBlaue ule, 88-212.

Mader,

atthias,

tger

eske,

t l.

1995

NWoBHM.

he

loryays.

erlin:.P.

Verlag

eske/MaderbR.

1997

New

Wave

f

ritish

eavy

etal

vol. .

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