What is it about?
Viking and Pagan Metal are styles of music that blend heavy metal with traditional folk melodies, ancient myths, and historical costumes. These bands use music, lyrics, and performance to interpret and share cultural heritage. By interviewing members of the bands Týr and Heidevolk, we found that these bands use their music to tell stories about their local landscapes and history. Ultimately, the study shows that for these artists, performing on stage is a way of keeping ancient traditions alive and connecting modern audiences to their ancestral roots.
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Photo by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This research is important because it shows that metal can be a serious tool for education and cultural engagement. The study highlights how music can act as something of a living museum: a powerful way for people to engage with real and imagined pasts. It also connects people to places, using storytelling to link music to specific landscapes and local histories, building connection with geography and cultural roots. Finally, it challenges stereotypes, and positions Metal as a form of heritage interpretation, performing identities that keep traditions from being forgotten.
Perspectives
This was a bit of a departure for me, but it was great fun working with Tyr and Heidevolk, and learning a new set of research skills. Understanding the way early-medieval heritage is used in the comtemporary world is rapidly becoming more important.
Dr Steven P Ashby
University of York
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: ‘Hold the Heathen Hammer High’: representation, re-enactment and the construction of ‘Pagan’ heritage, International Journal of Heritage Studies, October 2014, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/13527258.2014.960441.
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