Defiant Sounds: Heavy Metal Music in the Global South

Defiant Sounds: Heavy Metal Music in the Global South brings together authors working from and/or with the Global South to reflect on the roles of metal music throughout their respective regions. The essays position metal music at the epicenter of region-specific experiences of oppression marked by colonialism, ethnic extermination, political persecution, and war. More importantly, the authors stress how metal music is used throughout the Global South to face these oppressive experiences, foster hope, and promote an agenda that seeks to build a better world.

Edward Banchs is a freelance writer and an independent scholar who holds a BA in political science from Florida Atlantic University and an MA in African studies from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. He is the author of Heavy Metal Africa: Life, Passion and Heavy Metal in the Forgotten Continent (2016) and Scream for Me Africa! Heavy Metal Identities in Post-Colonial Africa (2021).

Esther Clinton taught in the department of popular culture at Bowling Green State University for 16 years on topics ranging from traditional narrative to popular novels to advanced cultural theory. Esther's tragic, untimely death at age 50 cut short her exploration of these topics, but her many students carry on her legacy.

Pasqualina Eckerström is a postdoctoral researcher in the Study of Religions at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and in Human Geography at the University of Turku, Finland.

Susana González-Martínez is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Cultures, University of Helsinki, Finland, where she investigates the interrelation between women's spirituality and creativity. She holds an International PhD in Arts and Education from the University of Granada, Complutense University of Madrid, University of Barcelona, and University of Girona. In addition to various academic qualifications, Dr. González-Martínez is a graduate in Social Work and holds a Master's degree in Aesthetic Research and Education in Arts, Music, and Design, as well as a second Master's in Feminist, Gender, and Citizenship Studies. She serves as the President of the Metal Music Studies Spain Association, as well as associate editor of the Metal Music Studies Journal. She is the host of the VII International Society for Metal Music Studies Biennial Research Conference and has organized four editions of the Rock & Metal Encounter Conference, among other cultural events. She has led the community-based research project Breakthrough Ritual on gender barriers in the international metal music scene and has published several articles and international book chapters. Her primary research lines focus on sociology, pedagogy, and feminist/gender studies applied to popular music, the arts, and cultural studies, with particular emphasis on analyzing inequalities, social transformation through the arts, and participatory research methodologies. She has undertaken research stays at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and has been invited to speak at conferences, seminars, and courses at universities across Europe and Latin America. Additionally, she has served on the Scientific Committee for the UNAM International Gender Conference and as a juror for the Laureana Wright Prize for best feminist research.

Daniel Nevárez Araújo is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras.