What is it about?
Battle jackets are customised garments made and worn by heavy metal fans to signify their allegiance to metal music and subculture. This article discusses the importance of the jackets to metal fans, and investigates some of the making practices involved. Using a mixture of subcultural theory and ethnography, the article argues for the importance of battle jackets for individuals and wider metal subculture.
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Why is it important?
This article is based on the first academic research project to focus primarily on battle jackets. Drawing from original interviews and interdisciplinary methodology, the article offers an original approach to this under-researched subject. The author's perspective as a visual artist is used to inform the discussion, and the article is illustrated with original paintings and photographs.
Perspectives
I have always been fascinated by battle jackets, as unique creations that tell stories about their makers and the broader culture of heavy metal. As an artist and metal scholar, this article has allowed me to put across some of the reasons that I believe battle jackets are worthy of study and attention, not just by metal fans but by anyone interested in visual culture and music.
Tom Cardwell
University of the Arts London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Battle jackets, authenticity and ‘material individuality’, Metal Music Studies, September 2017, Intellect,
DOI: 10.1386/mms.3.3.437_1.
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