Abstract
Heavy metal in the United Kingdom, as in many countries around the world, is thriving and has become a respectable form of popular culture, and its fans and musicians are seen everywhere. The same position of respectability has been gained by academics and the once-mocked subject field of metal music studies. In this article, I try to map metal in the United Kingdom today through a case study of Wytch Hazel and Arð, two bands located in the north of England. I will argue that metal in the United Kingdom is still a space for resistance to the commodification of the mainstream and the construction of imaginary, imagined communities. I will then argue that the future of metal music studies depends on whether metal itself continues to thrive as a place of polyvalent identities, as well as whether academics can negotiate their own epistemological and ontological uncertainties in the marketplace of higher education.
More Information
Divisions: | School of Humanities and Social Sciences |
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Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1386/mms_00165_1 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
SWORD Depositor: | Symplectic |
Depositing User (symplectic) | Deposited by Spracklen, Karl |
Date Deposited: | 26 Feb 2025 14:10 |
Last Modified: | 05 Jun 2025 19:35 |
Item Type: | Article |
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Note: this is the author's final manuscript and may differ from the published version which should be used for citation purposes.
License: Creative Commons Attribution
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