A New Academic Journal Sets Its Sights on Metal

Maybe it’s a Hollywood stereotype of the Hesher in the classroom, doodling Slayer logos on his notebook, learning nothing and feeling outcast, but I don’t typically think of us metalheads as being the academic types. Certainly not stupid or anti-intellectual, just not the kind to go through the school system without getting thrown out for bad behavior.

There are plenty of exceptions, of course, like with anything else, and Invisible Oranges has unearthed an academic journal that brings all of these bright minds under one title – Metal Music Studies. It contains articles about the cult of Black Metal, the evolution of metal production from 1990-2013, metal communities in Africa and Puerto Rico, and something called reflexive anti-reflexivity, which is where you can listen to horrifying lyrics about being fucked with a knife and not think the writer is a serial killer.

Notable quote: “Iron Maiden’s creative conservatism has become synonymous with notions of ‘authenticity’ in heavy metal music, whereas Metallica’s creative adventurism has been equated to ‘selling out.” Can of worms, anyone?

Read the full rundown on this fascinating journal here.