Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music
- Cambridge Companions to Music
- The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Get Your Double Kicks on Route 666
- Part I Metal, Technology and Practice
- Part II Metal and History
- 7 Mesopotamian Metal
- 8 Sparta and Metal Music’s Reception of Ancient History
- 9 Viking Metal
- Part III Metal and Identity
- Part IV Metal Activities
- Part V Modern Metal Genres
- Part VI Global Metal
- Select Academic Bibliography
- Select Journalistic Bibliography
- Index
7 - Mesopotamian Metal
Learning from the Past through Metal Music?
from Part II - Metal and History
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 August 2023
- The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music
- Cambridge Companions to Music
- The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Get Your Double Kicks on Route 666
- Part I Metal, Technology and Practice
- Part II Metal and History
- 7 Mesopotamian Metal
- 8 Sparta and Metal Music’s Reception of Ancient History
- 9 Viking Metal
- Part III Metal and Identity
- Part IV Metal Activities
- Part V Modern Metal Genres
- Part VI Global Metal
- Select Academic Bibliography
- Select Journalistic Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Mesopotamian metal’, which includes bands like Absu, Agga, Arallu, Bohema, Decimation, Melechesh, Svartsyn or Tiamat, is a sub-discourse and substyle of metal music that deals with the history of ancient Mesopotamia mainly thematically. Crucial here is the reference to ancient times in this region of the Middle East. The first section of this chapter gives an introduction to the concept of Mesopotamian metal. The most relevant bands are introduced, with Melechesh serving as the paradigmatic example. The next part focuses on the role of history, analysing how the construction of history is undertaken in Mesopotamian metal. It is shown that this discourse promotes a certain brand of historical politics to help solve problems in the present, most of all in the conflict-ridden region of the Middle East. The third part deals with the regional and global contextual linkages of Mesopotamian metal. Summarising this argumentation, the conclusion argues that possibly we can from the past through metal music.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music , pp. 87 - 98Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023