It is common to hear heavy metal music fans and musicians talk about the “metal community”. This concept, which is widely used when referencing this musical genre, encompasses multiple complex aspects that are seldom addressed in traditional academic endeavors including shared aesthetics, musical practices, geographies, and narratives. The idea of a “metal community” recognizes that fans and musicians frequently identify as part of a collective group, larger than any particular individual. Still, when examined in detail, the idea raises more questions than answers. What criteria are used to define groups of people as part of the community? How are metal communities formed and maintained through time? How do metal communities interact with local cultures throughout the world? How will metal communities change over the lifespan of their members? Are metal communities even possible in light of the importance placed on individualism in this musical genre? These are just some of the questions that arise when the concept of “community” is used in relation to heavy metal music. And yet in the face of all these complexities, heavy metal fans continue to think of themselves as a unified collective entity.
This book addresses this notion of “metal community” via the experiences of authors and fans through theoretical reflections and empirical research. Their contributions focus on how metal communities are conceptualized, created, shaped, maintained, interact with their context, and address internal tensions. The book provides scholars, and other interested in the field of metal music studies, with a state of the art reflection on how metal communities are constituted, while also addressing their limits and future challenges.
Esther Clinton taught in the Department of Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) for sixteen 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. Daniel Nevárez Araújo is assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras.
Dr. Keith Kahn-Harris is an independent scholar, an associate lecturer at the Open University, an associate at the Centre for Urban and Community Research, Goldsmiths College and a founder of the Centre for New Jewish Thought. His website is www.kahn-harris.org.
Keith Kahn-Harris is Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK, and the convenor of New Jewish Thought (www.newjewishthought.org). His website is www.kahn-harris.org
Karl Spracklen is a Professor of Leisure Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.
Vivek Venkatesh is dean of the Faculty of Education and a James McGill professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University.
Jeremy Wallach is professor of popular culture in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies at Bowling Green State University.
