"Reawakening Pride Once Lost": Indigeneity and European Folk Metal

Mulvany, Aaron

doi:10.14418/wes01.2.11

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Indeed, whereas Cushman (1991) discusses the diffusion of musical "revolutionary codes"expressions of radical or subversive political ideas-in reggae in the United States and rock in the former USSR, metal music has what might be termed a radically "oppositional code." 3 This code ranges in substantive content from ethno-nationalism and even extreme racism on the right (Avelar 2003;Kurtagic 2010;Mulvany 2000;Weston 2011) to extreme environmentalism on the left (Metal Archives [MA] 2011e, 2011d) but is perhaps most clearly and frequently manifested in its fascination with marginal religions like neo-paganism and Satanism, and confrontational stances against more established religions (Farley 2009;Granholm 2011). 4 The actual nature of the alternative spiritual vision found in metal music varies widely and is not internally consistent.…”

Section: The Case Of Metal Musicmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“The Fist in the Face of God”

Mayer

Timberlake

2014

Sociological Perspectives

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The purpose of this paper is to explain the timing and location of the diffusion of heavy metal music. We use data from an Internet archive to measure the population-adjusted rate of metal band foundings in 150 countries for the 1991-2008 period. We hypothesize that growth in "digital capacity" (Internet and personal computer use) catalyzed the diffusion of metal music. We include time-varying controls for gross national income, political regime, global economic integration, and degree of metal penetration of countries sharing a land or maritime border with each country. We find that digital capacity is positively associated with heavy metal band foundings, but, net of all controls, the effect is much stronger for countries with no history of metal music prior to 1990. Hence, our results indicate that increasing global digital capacity may be a stronger catalyst for between-country than for within-country diffusion of cultural products. Downloaded from Sociological Perspectives 57 (1) processes of global diffusion that are not driven by large institutions or powerful actors, and less still about the diffusion of products that are primarily cultural and not economic in nature. We argue that these lacunae are both understandable and consequential for a full understanding of global diffusion processes. They are understandable in light of the paucity of data on the global spread of (typically hard to measure) cultural phenomena, particularly when large corporate actors advocating for their diffusion are few or relatively impotent. Yet, we argue, rigorous empirical investigations of the mechanisms by which culture spreads within and between countries promise to contribute to a thorough sociological understanding of globalization processes.Our goal in the present study is to provide one such investigation. The central theoretical concern of this article is not the why of decentralized cultural diffusion but the how. Our case is heavy metal music, which we argue below is an appealing example of the decentralized diffusion of culture. In the remainder of this introductory section, we justify the selection of our case. In subsequent sections, we develop a fourfold typology of diffusion systems by cross-classifying the actors sponsoring the diffusion of an innovation 1 with whether that innovation is meant primarily to provide economic returns or simply influence a political or cultural field. In addition to organizing the diverse diffusion literature, we believe this exercise brings into sharp relief the importance of a diffusion mechanism such as the Internet, at least for a relatively marginalized cultural product like metal music. Finally, we describe our data and methods, present findings, and discuss their implications for future research on decentralized cultural diffusion systems.

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Section: The Case Of Metal Musicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rudra's music mixes influences from Scandinavian death metal with Hindu spirituality and traditional regional music. Similarly, Mulvany (2000) and Weston (2011) describe European metal artists who rely, to varying degrees, on folklore, mythology, and nationalism for lyrical inspiration and occasionally incorporate folk musical arrangements and…”

Section: Appendixmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The Fist in the Face of God”

Mayer

Timberlake

2014

Sociological Perspectives

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“…An analysis of the Folk Metal genre can reveal problematic ideological connotations. Several authors have characterized a celebration of heritage, be that regional, national, ethnic or racial, as fundamental to the genre (Mulvany, 2000;Neilson, 2015; Spracklen, 2015). In his article 'To Helmgard and Beyond' (2015), Karl Spracklen describes how Folk Metal, while considered to be something of a joke to the tastemakers of metal, recreates and is central to the construction of heavy metal stereotypes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coinciding with the boom in the use of social media, the genre grew in popularity in the first years of the new millenium, especially in Finland with bands such as Finntroll, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Turisas and Moonsorrow (Neilson, 2015; Spracklen, 2015).An analysis of the Folk Metal genre can reveal problematic ideological connotations. Several authors have characterized a celebration of heritage, be that regional, national, ethnic or racial, as fundamental to the genre (Mulvany, 2000;Neilson, 2015; Spracklen, 2015). In his article 'To Helmgard and Beyond' (2015), Karl Spracklen describes how Folk Metal, while considered to be something of a joke to the tastemakers of metal, recreates and is central to the construction of heavy metal stereotypes.…”

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confidence: 99%

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‘Not Folk Metal, but...’

Fredriksson

2021

STM-SJM

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In the Facebook group The Folk Metal Grove, its members manifest, explore and celebrate the musical genre called Folk Metal. The ‘Grovers’ come together in a playful performance and celebration of an idealized past, emically labelled folkyness. In this article, a ‘netnographic’ approach is used to explore how Folk Metal is constructed, negotiated and made meaningful through musicking in this community with the aim to discuss aspects of Folk Metal, ideology, genre and online culture. The group can be understood as a living space involving not only the circulation of music but also the development of meaning, collective memory and norms as well as real-life, often intercultural, connections. Earlier research has shown how Folk Metal in some ways can be seen as accentuating central aspects of heavy metal, but some ways in which Folk Metal is made meaningful within the Grove seem rather to connect to a will to transgress the sonic and cultural boundaries of metal. For the group members the music seems to serve as a space to go beyond metal when it comes to which instruments to play, which languages to sing in, which stories to tell and which emotions to feel.

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"Reawakening Pride Once Lost": Indigeneity and European Folk Metal

Cited by 2 publications

References 29 publications

“The Fist in the Face of God”

“The Fist in the Face of God”

‘Not Folk Metal, but...’

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