Classical Antiquity in Heavy Metal Music

Description

This book demonstrates the rich and varied ways in which heavy metal music draws on the ancient Greek and Roman world. Contributors examine bands from across the globe, including: Blind Guardian (Germany), Therion (Sweden), Celtic Frost, Eluveitie (Switzerland), Ex Deo (Canada/Italy), Heimdall, Stormlord, Ade (Italy), Kawir (Greece), Theatre of Tragedy (Norway), Iron Maiden, Bal-Sagoth (UK), and Nile (US). These and other bands are shown to draw inspiration from Classical literature and mythology such as the Homeric Hymns, Vergil's Aeneid, and Caesar's Gallic Wars, historical figures from Rome and ancient Egypt, and even pagan and occult aspects of antiquity. These bands' engagements with Classical antiquity also speak to contemporary issues of nationalism, identity, sexuality, gender, and globalization. The contributors show how the genre of heavy metal brings its own perspectives to Classical reception, and demonstrate that this music-often dismissed as lowbrow-engages in sophisticated dialogue with ancient texts, myths, and historical figures. The authors reveal aspects of Classics' continued appeal while also arguing that the engagement with myth and history is a defining characteristic of heavy metal music, especially in countries that were once part of the Roman Empire. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS FIGURES CONTRIBUTORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION: WHERE METAL AND CLASSICS MEET Classics and Classical Studies Reception Studies Reception in music Heavy metal and its history The rise of Mediterranean metal Metal Studies as emerging field Key themes and organization Conclusion Notes CHAPTER 1 VERGIL’S AENEID AND NATIONALISM IN ITALIAN METAL Why Vergil? The Aeneid and its reception The “nationalistic turn” in heavy metal Introducing the bands Comparison of the albums The connection between Italy and the Roman Empire in Heimdall and Stormlord Nationalism in other Italian metal Conclusion: Nationalisms in Mediterranean metal Notes CHAPTER 2 ETERNAL DEFIANCE: CELTIC IDENTITY AND THE CLASSICAL PAST IN HEAVY METAL We are Helvetios Meet the enemy An enemy stereotype Our barren sacrifice On torrid sand The head of a Roman emperor The eagle and the dragon Conclusion Notes CHAPTER 3 SCREAMING ANCIENT GREEK HYMNS: THE CASE OF KAWIR AND THE GREEK BLACK METAL SCENE A brief introduction to ancient Greek hymnography Black metal for beginners Black metal worship: Ancient Greek hymns in the discography of Kawir Hymnic conventions in the black metal mold: Kawir’s contemporary hymns The influence of Kawir and the extreme politics within the Greek black metal scene Conclusion Appendix Notes CHAPTER 4 CASSANDRA’S PLIGHT: GENDER, GENRE, AND HISTORICAL CONCEPTS OF FEMININITY IN GOTHIC AND POWER METAL Introduction: Genres, gender, and the Classics Theatre of Tragedy: Under the Aegis of Classical antiquity Watch your step, Cassandra: A Classical model of tragic femininity Troubled heterosexuality: Beauty and the beast Homosocial bonding: Blind Guardian and power metal Conclusion Notes CHAPTER 5 HEAVY METAL DIDO: HEIMDALL’S “BALLAD OF THE QUEEN” Notes CHAPTER 6 A METAL MONSTRUM : EX DEO’S CALIGULA Metal and evil The transmission and reception of Caligula Caligula in metal Caligula in Ex Deo “I, Caligvla” “The Tiberius Cliff (Exile to Capri)” Conclusion Notes CHAPTER 7 OCCULT AND PULP VISIONS OF GREECE AND ROME IN HEAVY METAL Introduction The great beast and a perennial philosophy: The ancient world in esoteric metal via the occult Exotic pasts and forgotten books: The ancient world in esoteric metal via Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft Conclusion Notes CHAPTER 8 “WHEN THE LAND WAS MILK AND HONEY AND THE MAGIC WAS STRONG AND TRUE”: EDWARD SAID, ANCIENT EGYPT, AND HEAVY METAL Introduction: Egyptomania and heavy metal Conventionalism and transgression: Nile as a case study Discursive transgressions: Metal narratives of Egypt Sonic transgressions: Evoking the other Bodily transgressions: Performing ancient Egypt Sources and inspiration: Egypt and the occult Orientalism and heavy metal: “Otherizing” Egypt Conclusion: The reception of Egypt in heavy metal Notes CHAPTER 9 CODA: SOME TRENDS IN METAL’S USE OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY Metal’s place in Classical reception Metal’s mediation of Greece and Rome Metal and the future of Classical antiquity: More means of engagement Conclusion Notes BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX