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In the age of headphone culture, where privatized listening while wandering around the city is the norm, the use of headphones raises questions about the experience of the listener and their perception of their urban environment. Of particular interest is the disjunct relationship between
black metal music and urban space. Black metal lyrics often portray images of nature and paganism, a concept completely removed from a modern urban landscape. This article draws from Michael Bull’s work on iPod culture as well as ethnographic research to explore the black metal fan’s
experience of private listening in a public cityscape. The main focus of this study is the relationship between the ambiguously intertwined visual urban reality and sonic imaginary. The research suggests that the black metal listener can have one of four experiences of time and space resulting
in what is referred to as either a split or a blend of the aural imagined experience and the visual reality of the city.
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