As I write this, I have finally submitted my Master’s thesis in Religious studies. With a base in Middle-Eastern studies, I decided to break the mold I built for myself a bit and write my master’s thesis about something entirely unrelated, and do a literature analysis of black metal lyrics and secondary sources, mapping how three different black metal (adjacent) artists engage with far-right co-options of environmentalism and nature-based spirituality. This led me down some wonderful paths, but also some very dark and infuriating alleyways of ideological stupidity, about which I will gladly rant about here.
Part of my motivation for picking this thesis topic is my continues ire at having to fucking vet every folk-infused black metal band (a style I am musically extremely fond of) for (a)political sketchiness. As a white, Western-European person I’d like to be able to on some level engage with traditional, pre-Christian culture and heritage without dealing with a bunch of racist assholes who co-opt this heritage and culture for their nefarious, exclusivist politics. In the context of European politics taking an unfortunate turn to the authoritarian right, it is exactly in the music I love that I seek escape from the existential dread driven by political trends, the advent of far-right populism in my own country and the looming sword of Damocles that is climate system's breakdown. Few things offer solace like losing myself in a good piece of music, and the emotional whiplash of then discovering said album is in fact written by or tied to people who are diametrically opposed to my values can be a bitter pill to swallow.
While I believe that it is also important to afford artists the benefit of the doubt sometimes, and everyone makes bad decisions sometimes, or doesn’t do their due diligence when engaging with other artists in the scene who might subtly espouse some less-than-savoury ideologies, I wish metal, and especially black metal, would be less of a breeding ground for icky politics. Luckily, there are also many artists of the blackened ilk who wear their morals on their sleeve, and I’ll offer an incomplete shout-out to (blackened) metal artists like Morrow, Exulansis, Wolves in the Throne Room, Zeal & Ardor, Ashenspire, Panopticon, Dawn Ray’d, Árstíðir Lífsins, Mare Cognitum and many other bands who are either explicitly left-wing, whose members are clear about their own politics not being sketchy as hell, or who have taken a vocal stance against the far-right in (black) metal.
Ideally, being apolitical in metal shouldn’t be an issue, especially when providing escapism to those run haggard from engaging with our current hyper-politicised society. However when silence is tantamount to endorsing oppression and inequality, and when all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing, taking a stance is important. It is important for the artists, and those of us who give them a platform by writing about their music, spending our money on their music, merch and concerts, and recommending them to our own circles. Let’s all do our part in keeping the music we love the way we love it, and not allowing the space for intolerance in metal more room to grow. I’d love to live in a world where finding a folky black metal band using pre-Christian scandinavian imagery is no longer a warning sign.
Aside from specific musical experience, I’d also like to briefly appreciate the wonderful corner of the blogosphere that is Heavy Blog is Heavy. I’ve spent the last ten years steadily immersing myself in a variety of underground metal blogs, and finally decided to take the plunge and see if my own writing stacks up against the greats of this black candle-lit and cobwebbed corner of the internet. So far, I’ve been shooting my blundering blunderbuss of impulsive enthusiasm at the promo gallery, sniping an unexpected number of excellent releases, which I’ve hopefully done some justice in my first reviews. This is a wonderful, inclusive community and I really appreciate being part of a staff that takes a stance on what we cover and don’t cover for not just musical reasons, but also taking into account the moral implications of deciding which artists we should afford a platform. This is especially important considering the insidious ideologies that unfortunately infect significant strata of the metal sphere.
In summation, I’m happy to be here, and will slowly assuage my imposter syndrome by continuing to put my manic energy and possibly questionable opinions and name-drops into words. Big thanks to the editors, my fellow staff, the great Discord community, and of course our stalwart readership for bringing me into the fold and indulging my musical musings.