Comments on: IRON MAIDEN- Live at the Beat Club / Bremen, Germany, April 1981

By: Diego

Diego — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:45:26 +0000

All those comments on the spiritual/political aspects of metal basically verbalized all the reflections and ruminations that have been circling my head for weeks now. I was taking a long walk listening to “Killers” the other day and I thought, “this is really all I need in life.” I can’t remember if that thought came for that album or “Iron Fist” but it was one of those, same basic ethos for me.

What I really came to post though, was that I couldn’t help be reminded of Michael Jackson in some shots of DiAnno in this video, haha.

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:53:53 +0000

Very very interesting reading, thanks to all!

By: sleepless bob

sleepless bob — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:15:55 +0000

GBM has the highest rate of brainpower I’ve seen on any MetalPunkHc blog!

By: Admin

Admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:58:11 +0000

Just a quick note, WTT and Ryan: Whenever I’m having doubts about continuing this blog, inputs like yours especially make me believe we’re really having something going on this blog. You guys commenting make it work!

By: What's the Truth?

What's the Truth? — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:46:21 +0000

Interesting points, Ryan.

I think even early stuff like Sabbath and Priest had a working-class ethic they drew from their predecessors and their own backgrounds, and this came with a certain pseudo-political ethic, at least as far as authority figures were concerned. I also think the earliest metal bands appropriated some, though not all, of the politics of the hippie-associated bands from which they derived part of their aesthetic (I’m thinking of songs like Sabbath’s Children of the Grave and it’s hippie-ish lyrics (“show the world that love is still alive”). Some of this stuff seems to mesh well with the political side of punk, which I imagine is partially responsible for thrash metal’s political side.

On the other hand, I think some some metal was ripe for association with the right wing from earlier days. A lot of metal that privileges themes related to fascism or nationalism, with metaphors or imagery of blood, “brotherhood,” royalty, tradition, nobility, romanticism and glorified war are all things that lend themselves pretty easily to right wing appropriation in my opinion.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:41:31 +0000

Thanks for the explanation, both of you.

I suppose that kind of unspoken politics only really applies to heavy metal (the style itself, not the catch-all). Overt politics seemed to become more prevalent post-NWOBHM (though a band like Sledgehammer certainly had what I would call overtly political lyrics). Thrash metal bands often had at least a few songs with populist or left-leaning lyrics (with any sort of right-wing in metal being a complete outlier at the time). Then in the ’90s black metal bands started embracing right-wing politics as part of their “total hate” imagery and then organized rightist movements seized the opportunity to step in and use metal as a recruiting tool. Right-wing apologism and outright fascism or racism is rampant in the metal scene, much to my dismay.

By: Admin

Admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:59:41 +0000

I think WTT has put it much better into words than I could. As for the “political movement” part: It just struck me that the obvious non-presence of political slogans and concepts in Heavy Metal clashes so strongly with a repressive police state in the example of a Iron Maiden concert in Colombia (to be seen in “Flight 666″). In the end, the masses are gahtered in front of the stage and some of them crying in joy. It seemed like the culmination point into a battle against politics of power, a way of trying to achieve a small spot that is “open” and free from a certain type of power (pouvoir). The non-verbalization of political ideologies (like in some Punk and HC) is what impressed me. Instead, it seemed like a “spiritual” form of a political technique that pushes politics of the state back.

By: What's the Truth?

What's the Truth? — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:07 +0000

Ryan: If I remember, Erich doesn’t read Foucault in English. In English, as I understand it, Foucault himself doesn’t really distinguish between the terms “technique” and “technology” until the lectures titled “Security, Territory, Population,” where he defines the former as smaller-scale components of the latter, which is generally a set of practices/techniques organized towards a specific goal. So a technology of the self might be a religion, or something like “heavy metal,” a set of practices that has the effect of transforming or producing a new self-understanding/identity for you by acting on your body and mind. Another example might be meditation, which might be a technique, as part of say, monastic Buddhism, which is a technology of the self, because it’s a total lifestyle filled with different practices/techniques, including a dietary regimen, reading specific texts, following a particular ethical code, etc. that transforms your self (mind and body) to conform to whatever the spiritual ideal might be.

I’m sure Erich can explain the concept better than I can, though, so please take my input with a grain of salt.

Also, I think there is a touch of humor to Erich calling metal a “deeply political movement,” unlike punk, and it’s one that I appreciate…plus I think it’s true! Punk does not seem to coalesce into massive, organic structures in the same way that metal does, for whatever reason.

By: Garcia X

Garcia X — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:48:42 +0000

@bob dude the 80s sucked if you were a teenager and so did maiden btw

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:55:07 +0000

Now I have a convenient, relevant post in which to ask two questions:
1. What do you mean by “technique of the self”? I looked it up and found it seems to be more commonly referred to as “technology of the self” (though maybe that’s a different concept and I was misled) and many of the explanations I found didn’t make much sense.
2. Do you mind elaborating of how heavy metal is a “deeply political movement” if the answer is not included in any possible response to my first question?