by Chloe Hansen
I think it is important to start this off by stating, for the record, that I am not a metalhead. I never have been and probably never will be. This, along with being female, makes me an extreme rarity in the world of metal. The genre is dominated by white males, the vast majority of which are highly involved in their musical identities. Metal is one of those polarizing genres of music: it either rules your life, or you cannot stand it. There are very few of us ‘in-betweeners’. Generally speaking, I like metal and I do listen to it often, but I’m just not that dedicated. My primary interest in metal is from an academic standpoint.
I tend to believe that it is important to know and understand as much about the world we live in, and the people we share that world with, as possible. Metal has largely been ignored in the news media, as well as the world of academia. Looking at the history of black metal, one of the more obscure subgenres of metal, which I find particularly fascinating, one finds suicide, numerous church burnings, and several murders, as well as extreme hatred of Christianity. In my mind, it seems foolish to ignore any phenomenon that can drive people to such extremes, that polarizes individuals so radically and has lasted for years, as opposed to fading out as most fads do. My interest in metal has therefore been spurred by a desire to explain the world I live in and to look into an aspect of culture that most seem to shy away from. In addition, while not being a metalhead myself, I know and associate with a lot of metalheads and they are generally not the apathetic, troubled young men they are made out to be. So how is it that these relatively ‘normal’ people can support bands that lyrically describe the rape and torture of women or Christians, for example, while not necessarily agreeing or believing it’s right? And by the same token, how can I?
I recently finished my bachelor’s degree in Communication and for my thesis I chose to analyze the lyrics of the Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. Specifically, I examined the lyrics from ten Darkthrone albums, looking at the religious content. Black metal is a fairly small subgenre of metal, closely related to death metal. Lyrically, it tends to make use of many anti-Christian and pro-Satanic themes, also showing an extreme reverence for nature, particularly the Scandinavian landscape. In the early nineties, as the black metal scene was just beginning in Norway – the birthplace of modern black metal – there was a string of church burnings in Scandinavia, and across Europe. Black metal has always been staunchly anti-Christian, primarily because of the impact that early Christianity had on ancient Norse culture. Many members have expressed that because of the bloody nature of the Christianization of Norway, the burnings were perhaps justified.
British sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris has spent most of his career looking into extreme metal, the broader subgenre that black metal participates in. His research has shown that while many of the transgressive acts that took place in the early nineties were politically motivated, extreme metal as a whole, and therefore black metal, does not operate politically. That is to say, as a subculture black metal does not actually try to affect any sort of broader social change. His findings are mainly based on his analysis of racist statements and tendencies within the scene. Kahn-Harris has determined that in order to survive, the scene has developed a split between the public and the private, between music and politics. By this he means that anything is publicly say-able and do-able, but in private the radical viewpoints don’t necessarily have to be maintained or supported.
This theory seems to reduce the public actions of black metal bands to simply a show, an image. It appears that many of the artists themselves see it differently. Take the following quote, for example, by Darkthrone’s lead singer, Nocturno Culto:
“Black Metal here in Norway is a very serious business. I think [the church burnings] are a statement that this is not a game. […] Often I get this thought of taking the fight here in Norway to another level. I think that’s what Black Metal is about. One day we will have the opportunity to do the things we are thinking of. That day will come. I know for sure. Then everybody has to take their fight to another level.”
Clearly, this has the feel of a political statement.
So we have two conflicting stories here. The musician who seems, at the very least, to be saying that his music is intended to have these particular effects and the scholar who argues that, no the music does not actually operate that way. In my thesis, I set out to analyze the lyrics of Darkthrone songs to determine the extent to which they do or don’t operate on a political level, to determine if what they say matches up with what they do, at least as far as the lyrics are concerned.
Even a brief glance at the lyrics shows that the band primarily deals with religious issues, and is without a doubt anti-Christian. Below are excerpts from the songs ‘Blackwinged’ and ‘Gather for Attack on the Pearly Gates’ off the 1996 album, Total Death:
“The urge so strong
To do the Devil’s work.
To the flock of Jesus Christ
I will rape your souls
Till you see the devil clear.”
“Brother’s of the North, Brothers of Doom
Endless nights of total war
Gather, Hell is calling.
Gather, gather for attack on the Pearly Gates.”
Not all of the songs are this overt; a lot of the anti-Christian and Satanic themes in the lyrics are dealt with metaphorically, but the point is still easily understood.
When one considers the fact that around 88 percent of the population of Norway is Christian, it is clear that there is an element of resistance at work in the lyrics, but the question is what is the effect such resistance? Organizational communication scholar Dennis Mumby has theorized that resistance exists on a continuum ranging from emancipatory to hegemonic. Emancipatory resistance tends to examine and describe the oppression in a society and attempts to draw attention to that oppression. It is this kind of resistance that does the most toward creating an alternate ideology in a society, as it exposes the systems of control to the general public and allows it to respond. Hegemonic resistance, on the other hand, is resistance that actually reinforces the dominant system in a society by showing that the control is necessary. For example, the anarchist protestors who attack the police at a rally are certainly resisting the established control, but they are doing nothing to further their movement in larger society because, by showing themselves to be violent and out of control, the general population is reminded of the need for the police.
According to Mumby, all resistance exhibits emancipatory and hegemonic characteristics but will generally tend toward one or another. In my analysis of Darkthrone’s lyrics it became clear that their form of resistance exists more toward the hegemonic end of the spectrum. One of the main reasons for this conclusion is that singing about the spiritual rape and murder of Christians does not do much to convince a largely Christian audience of anything, except that you’re violent, possibly crazy and should be kept under close watch. Another reason that I have labeled this resistance more hegemonic than emancipatory is that the band uses Christian terms to define itself and black metal, which automatically grants power to the Christian institution. The band portrays itself as unholy, evil, demonic and sinful, and while meaning it in a positive sense, they are still working off of the definitions of the church – thus actually reinforcing the church’s dominance.
In general, I found a narrative told in the lyrics consisting of two main themes – that Christian society oppresses the individual and that in order for the individual to flourish, that society must be destroyed. There is an aspect of emancipatory resistance in these themes, but it is the way they are articulated in the lyrics that makes them more hegemonic. This narrative is told in such a way that doesn’t invite discussion, doesn’t spark debate – which is key to emancipatory resistance, key to creating alternative ideologies and social progress. Instead, the lyrics are violent and ‘in your face’, not necessarily designed to change anyone’s mind or society as a whole. In fact, the lyrics could be read as having the exact opposite effect, that is of reinforcing the established ideology.
In short, I found that Kahn-Harris, and not the band itself, seems to be right about the political nature of black metal – that it is distinctly apolitical. That being said, I don’t doubt the sincerity of the musicians’ dissatisfaction with modern Norwegian society; I don’t doubt their seriousness. It just seems that it doesn’t translate into the music. I would hesitate to say that there is nothing to this black metal resistance, but it certainly is true that there are inconsistencies between what members of the black metal subculture claim to believe in, claim to stand for, and the actual actions they take toward their goal of a Christian-free society.
Perhaps looking at black metal’s past can offer insight into this phenomenon, as when these views were carried out into action in the early nineties, the scene nearly destroyed itself. They lost influential members of two key bands, and several others were jailed for various crimes. While they were seeing the fruits of their labor in the destruction of Christian churches and the general fear of Satanists in the Christian public, maybe the results simply weren’t worth the price. It seems possible that the subculture, as a whole, has taken a step back in order to focus on the music, which is what brought them all together in the first place. Which is just like any metalhead I’ve ever met – the music trumps all.