Myth and Magic in Heavy Metal Music

Myth and Magic in Heavy Metal Music
Author: Robert McParland
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2018-06-12
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1476673357

Myth pervades heavy metal. With visual elements drawn from medieval and horror cinema, the genre's themes of chaos, dissidence and alienation transmit an image of Promethean rebellion against the conventional. In dialogue with the modern world, heavy metal draws imaginatively on myth and folklore to construct an aesthetic and worldview embraced by a vast global audience. The author explores the music of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and many others from a mythological and literary perspective.

Myth and Magic in Heavy Metal Music

Myth and Magic in Heavy Metal Music
Author: Robert McParland
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2018-06-05
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1476632987

Myth pervades heavy metal. With visual elements drawn from medieval and horror cinema, the genre's themes of chaos, dissidence and alienation transmit an image of Promethean rebellion against the conventional. In dialogue with the modern world, heavy metal draws imaginatively on myth and folklore to construct an aesthetic and worldview embraced by a vast global audience. The author explores the music of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and many others from a mythological and literary perspective.

Language Myths, Mysteries and Magic

Language Myths, Mysteries and Magic
Author: K. Stollznow
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2014-09-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1137404868

Can a bump on the head cause someone to speak with a different accent? Can animals, aliens, and objects talk? Can we communicate with gods, demons, and the dead? Language Myths, Mysteries and Magic is a curio shop full of colourful superstitions, folklore, and legends about language.

Classical Antiquity in Heavy Metal Music

Classical Antiquity in Heavy Metal Music
Author: K. F. B. Fletcher
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2019-10-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 1350075361

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.

TechGnosis

TechGnosis
Author: Erik Davis
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2015-03-17
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1583949305

TechGnosis is a cult classic of media studies that straddles the line between academic discourse and popular culture; it appeals to both those secular and spiritual, to fans of cyberpunk and hacker literature and culture as much as new-thought adherents and spiritual seekers How does our fascination with technology intersect with the religious imagination? In TechGnosis—a cult classic now updated and reissued with a new afterword—Erik Davis argues that while the realms of the digital and the spiritual may seem worlds apart, esoteric and religious impulses have in fact always permeated (and sometimes inspired) technological communication. Davis uncovers startling connections between such seemingly disparate topics as electricity and alchemy; online roleplaying games and religious and occult practices; virtual reality and gnostic mythology; programming languages and Kabbalah. The final chapters address the apocalyptic dreams that haunt technology, providing vital historical context as well as new ways to think about a future defined by the mutant intermingling of mind and machine, nightmare and fantasy.

Sounds of the Future

Sounds of the Future
Author: Mathew J. Bartkowiak
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2010-03-10
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0786456507

Covering titles ranging from Rocketship X-M (1950) to Wall-E (2008), these insightful essays measure the relationship between music and science fiction film from a variety of academic perspectives. Thematic sections survey specific compositions utilized in science fiction movies; Broadway's relationship with the genre; science fiction elements in popular songs; the conveyance of subjectivity and identity through music; and such individual composers as Richard Strauss (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Bernard Herrmann (The Day the Earth Stood Still).

Rammstein on Fire

Rammstein on Fire
Author: John T. Littlejohn
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2013-10-11
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0786474637

This volume contains 13 original essays exploring Rammstein's stage performance and recorded works from multiple academic perspectives. Topics range from Rammstein's connection with 19th century German literature and their East German heritage to cannibalism and the supernatural. The panoramic view of approaches to Rammstein's music and performance goes beneath the surface and provides fan and scholar alike with a deeper appreciation for the band.

Music at the Extremes

Music at the Extremes
Author: Scott A. Wilson
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2015-06-08
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1476620067

Away from the spotlight of the pop charts and the demands of mainstream audiences, original music is still being played and audiences continue to engage with innovative artists. This collection of fresh essays gathers together critical writing on such genres as Power Electronics, Black Metal, Neo-Folk, Martial Industrial, Hard-Core Punk and Horrorcore. The contributors report from the periphery of the music world, seeking to understand these new genres, how fans connect with artists and how artists engage with their audiences. Diverse music scenes are covered, from small-town New Zealand to Washington, D.C., and Ljubljana, Slovenia. Artists discussed include Coil, Laibach, Whitehouse, Insane Clown Posse, Wolves in the Throne Room, Turisas, Tyr, GG Allin and many others.

Excavate!

Excavate!
Author: Tessa Norton
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2021-03-30
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0571358357

THE LOUDER THAN WAR #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR A ROUGH TRADE, THE TIMES, MOJO, UNCUT, THE HERALD BOOK OF THE YEAR This is not a book about a rock band. This is not even a book about Mark E Smith. This is a book about The Fall group - or more precisely, their world. 'To 50,000 Fall Fans: please buy this inspired & inspiring, profound & provocative, beautiful & bonkers Book of Revelations.' DAVID PEACE 'Mind blowing . . . there is so much to enjoy in this brilliant book.' TIM BURGESS 'A container sized treasure trove . . . I strongly advise you to buy it.' MAXINE PEAKE 'The most wonderful, unashamedly intellectual, pretentious, ridiculous, exciting hymn to this incredible group.' ANDY MILLER, BACKLISTED Over a prolific forty-year career, the Fall created a world that was influential, idiosyncratic and fiercely original - and defied simple categorisation. Their frontman and lyricist Mark E. Smith spun opaque tales that resisted conventional understanding; the Fall's worldview was an education in its own right. Who wouldn't want to be armed with a working knowledge of M. R. James, shipping-dock procedures, contemporary dance, Manchester City and Can? The group inspired and shaped the lives of those who listened to and tried to make sense of their work. Bringing together previously unseen artwork, rare ephemera and handwritten material, alongside essays by a slate of fans, EXCAVATE! is a vivid, definitive record - an illumination of the dark corners of the Fall's wonderful and frightening world.

Adventures of a Metalhead Librarian

Adventures of a Metalhead Librarian
Author: Anna-Marie O'Brien
Publisher:
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2019-09-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781733247009

In 1990, Anna-Marie left her disappointing Midwestern childhood behind and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to pursue her heavy metal dreams on the Sunset Strip. Bands like Mötley Crüe, Megadeth, and Guns N' Roses were at the height of their popularity, and she landed right in the middle of the heavy-metal music scene. Welcomed by sunshine and possibilities, her California adventure began the very first day she arrived in magical Laurel Canyon. Soon, she was working in the music industry, and then for Metal Blade Records. Working with her favorite bands and witnessing music history was a dream come true. But - things were not all as they seemed. Grunge music had arrived from Seattle, and it was taking over the metal scene. Los Angeles turned into a dark force, forcing her to make tough choices in order to survive. This is a story of big magic, following your heart, and starting over. Anna-Marie is a real-life librarian, and a lifelong fan of heavy metal and rock music. This is Adventures of a Metalhead Librarian.