Abstract
This article examines aspects related to the dystopic consumption and production of the musical and performance art form known as black metal. Steeped in anti-Christian motifs, surrounded by a history of violence and brutal imagery, black metal is an extreme metal art form that has been growing steadily in popularity throughout Europe, South America, and the United States. We first examine black metal culture through the eyes of both artists and consumers, using mixed qualitative methodologies. Thereafter, we derive specific theoretical interpretations from the black metal subculture that are predicated on the emerging themes of signification, identity transformation, xenophobia, and a reconstructed mythology that all point to what we present as a dystopian consumption model. The model demonstrates how dystopia, in context, is at the heart of the symbiotic relationship between consumers and producers and is encapsulated by a specific set of processes and overarching conditions. Implications and relationships to utopian models are discussed.
Introduction
Black metal, which often features violent and anti-Christian lyrics, was created in the 1980s, popularized and sensationalized in the 1990s, and has since been continuously morphing and growing (Podoshen, 2013). Black metal has consistently been associated with anti-Christianity, church burnings, national socialism, xenophobia, Satanism, and murder (Moynihan and Soderlind, 2003). Violence related to this performance art is what shocked Scandinavia, most notably, Norway, in the 1990s, when a series of events gripped a nation not ordinarily accustomed to internally originated terror (at that time). The local media attributed the violence to this musical, theatric and blasphemous art form known as black metal. Black metal, which originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s, but grew rapidly in Scandinavia in the early 1990s, generally focuses on satanic and/or largely anti-Christian thematic elements, with much of it exalting the virtues of a neopagan revolution or drawing on the augustness of Viking and Norse mythology. Compositions are often intentionally disharmonic and arrangements are normally constructed utilizing tremolo picking that seeks to create an intensely cold atmosphere in line with Scandinavian winters.
This article examines black metal in rich context and likens it to a dystopian model of consumption. Drawing upon insights from utopian consumer spaces (Kozinets 2001, 2002a, 2002b; Maclaran and Brown, 2005), we juxtapose and borrow some of these related variables and insights to deeply examine the emergent themes of signification, performance, and their adjacent processes and conditions. We then take these thematic elements and our examination of related discourse and present them in a model of consumption that, we believe, can act as the starting point for novel insights into greater related study. Our model demonstrates how dystopia is at the nexus of the symbiotic relationship between producers and consumers and is engulfed by specific overarching conditions and integral processes. Implications of our model are discussed and related to both utopian and like-minded consumption literature.
Black metal
Black metal music often utilizes raw recording practices, shrieked screams, and unconventional song structures and arrangements. The music itself is generally imprecise and purposefully repetitive (Kahn-Harris, 2007). It differs significantly from Ozzy Osbourne style “shock rock” or other forms of heavy metal in the sense that black metal artists are not necessarily interested in garnering widespread media attention and selling more records to the masses. Many black metal artists specifically do not wish to be commercially successful and/or globally popular for fear of diluting their message and/or authenticity (although we should mention this is true of many artists in a variety of different genres). Further, while many artists in the death metal genre look to glorify violence or parody death for the sake of the spectacle and media attention, those in the realm of black metal are quite serious about the message, lyrical content, and imagery that they use. There is a distinct and deliberate (and often political) message behind the violent images found in black metal.
Lyrical content usually deals with Scandinavian nature, Nietzschian philosophy, religion, and Nordic ancestry. Black metal artists and members of the subculture engaged in 50+ church burnings throughout Scandinavia (mostly in Norway) in the mid-1990s to express severe antipathy and anguish over conditions in modern Scandinavian society (Monk, 2011) which they consider to be under the influence of Judeo-Christian imperialism mixed with exploitative American and related capitalist interests.
The black metal subculture is infamous not just for singing about violence, but for engaging in actual murders, such as those committed by Varg Vikernes of Burzum, and Bard “Faust” Eithun of the Norwegian black metal band, Emperor (Kahn-Harris, 2007). Vikernes was convicted, in Norway, of killing bandmate Oystein Aarseth in the mid-1990s. Faust was convicted of murdering a man in Lillehammer, stabbing him for being homosexual. Both were released from prison after serving their sentences and both reside in Europe today, creating new music.
The greater black metal subculture is predicated on a prodigiously strong abhorrence for Christianity, with many embracing various forms of Satanism. In addition, some European-based black metal artists are apprehensive of immigration from predominantly Islamic countries. Even with its history of violence, however, as it stands today, black metal is Norway’s number one musical export (Visit Norway, 2012) and home to a variety of festivals and tours that draw black metal consumers worldwide. Black metal festivals and concerts are even featured in Norway’s official travel guide (Visit Norway, 2012), and in 2011, Norway’s foreign ministry began training diplomats in black metal culture as a response to inquiries about the music they constantly receive at foreign embassies (Boyd, 2011). Black metal festivals and performances have sprung up in a variety of locations over the past 20 years with large-scale events held in Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Norway, and the United States. In recent years, black metal has witnessed both a surge in fandom and black metal public performance. Its associated violence has subsided somewhat and its popularity has led to a wealth of both consumption and production activity.
Our research explores perspectives on black metal, an art form generally unabashedly associated with anti-Christianity, anti-Semitism, paganism, Satanism, blasphemy, and violence, as there has been a paucity of research on how artists and consumers of black metal perceive the production of this art form and relate to its consumption. The intent of our research is not to pass judgment on black metal fandom and its culture, or on the specific content of the music and art itself, but rather to explore the art form and its perceived reality among artists and consumers. In order to understand the black metal subculture, a mixed-method approach was utilized. Through our exploration, we present the idea that black metal is emblematic of dystopia—a sharp contrast to utopian-oriented consumption communities (Kozinets 2001, 2002a, 2002b; Maclaran and Brown, 2005). We detail how this dystopian exercise is comprised by examining a variety of emergent elements that we uncovered through our course of study. We found dystopian themes exhibited in many consumption and production contexts and posit that signification and hyperreality (or “reality by proxy”) plays a paramount role in the subculture and that both producers of black metal art and consumers cooperatively participate in a process of mythification that drives reconstructed versions of perceived reality. Additionally, we found an undercurrent of racism and xenophobia in specific politically oriented pockets of the subculture. For many, the production and consumption of black metal is linked inextricably to an ultimate goal of liberation from existing political and social purview. Consumer culture movements such as these, whereby consumers actively participate and engage with the service provider(s) (and thus, take on a type of symbiotic relationship with them) (Cova et al., 2007) force us to rethink consumer tribes and utopian communities and force an examination of consumption situations that lie somewhere beyond existing characterizations. In the following sections, we detail our literature review and methods and then discuss the specific elements that arose from our immersion in the black metal subculture. We conclude with a model of dystopian consumption and discussion of the implications.
Utopia, dystopia, and consumption
Maclaran and Brown (2005) conceptualize utopia as a liberating force that transcends the limits of humanity and promises a brighter future. Brown et al. (1996) posit that humanity’s innate need to imagine the future is a construct of its utopian propensity. These scholars describe how utopia is not just an ideal place, but an activity and a process that is socially and historically constructed. The idea of utopia in consumer spaces is nothing new and it’s an impulse that’s found in the realm of consumption (Maclaran and Brown, 2005). Kozinets (2001, 2002a, 2002b) has written about articulating utopian meaning in shared consumption realms extensively. Much of his work is theoretically anchored in the extensive writings on utopia and mass culture that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s including that of Dyer (1977), who posited that entertainment products drew in consumers by adhering to images and ideas that were utopian in their very nature. Going further, Jameson (1979) believed that all entertainment products, in an effort to be pleasurable and likeable to their consumers, had to have an iron in the utopian fire.
Kozinets (2002a), in his analysis of the Star Trek phenomena, explains that consumers, seeking self-improvement and fulfillment, can find themselves in consumption situations where they can flourish a sense of community and social betterment. This meshes strongly with Cova and Pace (2006) who posit that consumers routinely seek communal experiences. As Kozinets mentions about consumers, “They are not looking for inflexible totalitarian schemes that provide firm roadmaps to a better future, but for texts and narratives in which to insert themselves, to engage in play, and to fill in the gaps.” (Kozinets, 2002a: 64). Through this shared activity, consumers can use the common affinity for a product, place, brand (in Kozinets’ case, constructed fantasy universe), or to engage in the construction of a better society that they reside in. In the realm of Star Trek, consumers can escape the harsh realities of Western life and escape to a sanctuary. Star Trek is about empowerment for its consumers. It’s about freedom to explore the unexplained and the unexplored without fear of reprisals, both in its content and consumer community. Those who may be outcast from the steroid and adrenaline world of professional sports consumption can find solace in 3-day “Trekker’s” conventions. Those who feel ostracized because of race, sexuality, or religion can seek repose in a fantasy universe that wholeheartedly embraces diversity.
Our immersion in black metal culture paints a vastly different picture about collective visions of the future—one that is potentially the polar opposite of utopia, and while Maclaran and Brown (2001) posited that the concept of utopia could yield significant consumer insights, we offer an alternative, dystopian perspective. We believe that the consumption community surrounding black metal is one that actively embraces dystopia as opposed to utopia. Here, we define dystopia as a collective vision for a different society (like utopia) where not all ideals are for the common good; where bad (as perceived by those not part of the new vision) things will happen in a futuristic realm. Dystopia can be viewed as the antipode of utopia (Hjerpe and Linner, 2009) and can serve as a warning to current societies as it shows where the future may be headed if things turn “bad” (Kacen, 2000). Some may also define dystopia as utopia gone wrong (Gordin et al., 2010).
No matter what the discipline, the underlying dystopian narrative usually contains an undesirable society that ordinary citizens fear and would find abhorrent. While there are a variety of definitions of dystopia, there are some key variables that are found in most conceptions and narratives of the condition. These generally include totalitarianism, triumphalism, and dehumanization (Montevecchio, 2012). These visions may also include a breakdown in the social order or society and widespread paranoia.
There has been a great deal of writing and thought regarding dystopia—from fields such as literature and creative writing to the hard sciences. Dystopias in literature, film, and philosophy are generally seen as something that happens in a future world where elements of strife and violence win the day and usher in a new era based on extreme solutions to the crisis that was experienced by the masses. Claeys (2013:155) concludes that “Dystopia is usually supposed to be an inverted mirrored or negative version of utopia, the imaginary bad place as opposed to the imaginary good place.” Utopias are often depicted as perfect worlds and considered as “pure escapism” by Booker (1994) because they are sometimes too far away from the reality. Dystopia may also be unrealistic; however, as opposed to a utopia, which creates an ideal future world, dystopia presents “an image of future societies, pointing fearfully at the way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in direction” (Clute & Nicholls, 1993: 360). As Morson (1981: 128) emphasizes that “whereas utopias describe an escape from history, these [dystopias] describe an escape, or attempted escape, to history, which is to say, to the world of contingency, conflict, and uncertainty.” Some may wonder why authors and directors create a world that is “a [place] worse than [one] we live in” (Moylan & Baccolini, 2003: 1). In fact, the purpose of dystopia in literature, science fiction, and films may be to “map, warn and hope” (Moylan, 2000: 196). Many dystopian texts warn people of imminent dangers.
Many of the dystopian literature texts and creative works serve to describe a dystopian world based on real-world social problems at that time, and/or perceived to be on the horizon, such as Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and George Orwell’s 1984 (Booker, 1994). Zamyatin set a glass-enclosed city in which all people were referred to as numbers. He delineated this dystopian world and foresaw the coming dehumanization under Stalin’s totalitarianism and dictatorship (Booker, 1994). In Huxley’s Brave New World, the author projected an abnormal world 632 years after Henry Ford and that world anticipated coming developments in Western capitalist society (Booker, 1994). In addition, influenced by Zamyatin, Orwell wrote his dystopian work of fiction, 1984. There humans lived in a world called Oceania dominated by Big Brother who was always watching his people (Booker, 1994). This dystopian totalitarianism described by Orwell was considered as a “look back after the fact at many of the same abuses warned against by Zamyatin more than a quarter of a century earlier” (Booker, 1994: 20). As modern technology develops rapidly, more and more movies tend to present dystopian worlds to audiences, such as George Lucas’s THX 1138 and, more recently, Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend. As Brayton (2011: 67) stated, “some of these [movies] flirted with global disaster … to provide a caustic commentary on the perceived perils of nuclear holocaust, despotic governments, suburban conformity.” Thus, the overall purpose of dystopia in the arts and literature is not necessarily there to entertain, but warn of what “could happen” or even “what will happen.”
While some have written about utopia in the realm of consumer culture, very few have written about dystopia; regardless, there has been a bit of thought in this realm. Kacen (2000) describes postmodern consumer culture as something that is fragmented, incoherent, and in a state of disequilibrium with consumer identities in constant flux, a description not unlike one that might describe a dystopia. Pantzar (2000) likens dystopia to a place where humans have become media zombies, dependent on media consumption for life. Belk (2000) uses the term “dystopia” to describe the early days of Las Vegas and its attractiveness. In general, while there has been significant thought on marketing, consumption, and utopia in the past 20 years, there has been a paucity of literature related to consumption and dystopia or anti-utopian visions. Given that much of the black metal culture is infused with a desire to break down the existing social order with significant elements of triumphalism and dehumanization, mixed with a variety of other related elements, we liken it to a type of dystopia.
Methodology
In order to provide a significant effort at triangulation (Kozinets, 2009) and comprehensive integration of the wealth of material regarding the underlying mechanisms of the phenomena related to production, consumption and discourse of black metal, four qualitative methods were used. First, the method of participant observation was employed during black metal concerts and festivals in the United States, Switzerland, and Norway. This method also helps facilitate an underlying understanding of the structure of the behavior (Barbieri et al., 2011). Passive observation began in 2007. This allowed observations in a naturalistic setting. Active participant observation began in 2010 and continued through 2013. In this phase, interactions with black metal producers and consumers occurred in the field. In many instances, brief conversations with consumers and artists occurred before, during or shortly after performances. All notes were then iteratively coded for themes.
On top of participant observation, we employed semi-structured interviews in 2012. Solicitations for respondents occurred through two mediums. The first solicitation occurred at black metal concerts in the United States. Consumers who appeared over the age of 18 were asked if they wanted to participate in research on black metal. The second group of interviewees was solicited via social media, specifically a posting on a Facebook page devoted to our research project, whereby respondents would later participate in 30–50 min interviews via Skype. Overall, for this research, we completed 12 semi-structured interviews with self-described black metal consumers.
In addition to participant observation and interviews, we also utilized passive netnography (Kozinets, 2009), whereby we entered online communities as observers. Specifically, we examined several large online international black metal communities, one worldwide metal community based in the United States, and a variety of black metal groups on Facebook. Netnography allowed insight into the politics and history of the subculture as we found many online community members frequently provided links to specific content to illustrate points made in discussion. Often times these links were to concerts, news reports or clips of documentary films related to black metal. It should be noted that in an effort to protect privacy we do not provide the names of Web posters as well as the Web community Internet addresses.
The final method we utilized was qualitative content analysis where we searched for themes in fan- and artist-created materials. We viewed a large number of black metal performances via digital video disk and online repositories. We reviewed fan-created documents produced by members of the black metal community dating back to 1985 and continuing through 2012. This included “underground” or “independent” magazines and newsletters, based in both Norway and Sweden for a global audience that were routinely produced by consumers and writers that contained interviews with, and photographs of, black metal artists. It should also be noted that there was an examination of a small number of documentary films produced in the United States, Norway, and the United Kingdom that dated as far back as 1992 on black metal. Finally, all coded data from all four methods utilized were compared, and themes emerged from comparison.
Two of the researchers themselves are black metal fans, and having been members of their respective subcultures for well over a decade, recognize their role in influencing the collection and interpretation of the multiple data sources used in the study. The sustained and continued immersion of the researchers in black metal helped in negotiating and gaining entry to the population of metal fans, both at festivals and in online spaces. The researchers were therefore able to solicit participation for their study fairly easily due to an implicit, mutual sense of trust as members of the heavy metal subculture. A transparent and open line of communication was established with participants regarding the purpose of the research project; informed consent was obtained from all interviewees with a guarantee of preserving confidentiality. Presented below are some key thoughts and interpretations of black metal based on our qualitative analysis.
Emergent dystopian themes
Racism and Xenophobia
Black metal is largely against change, unless that change, for some, is a return to the premodern condition. For many in black metal, this means a return to times before Christianity. Engaging this position means erasing the postindustrial infrastructure, the spread of Christianity, and more recent immigration patterns that have come to signify present day Europe. The consumption and existence of “Non-European” or American brands in the Norwegian landscape, such as McDonalds, are viewed by many in the subculture as symbolic of imperialism. McDonalds and Starbucks, with their highly mechanized production processes, and American roots, are seen as iconic modern representations. These brands are objectified as symbols and vilified in black metal culture as are consumption and production processes that are seen by many as stable, progressive, and/or productive. Along these lines, black metal members are reactionary, with an eye toward the past—the days of the Vikings, where both consumption and production processes were localized and nonunified.
Interestingly, Kahn-Harris (2007) cites a number of examples where European black metal producers draw on surface level liberal discourses that seem to embrace diversity and immigration in Scandinavia, then do a quick about face and speak comments that many would view as xenophobic. In extreme cases, artists such as Darkthrone have used the word “Jewish” as a dehumanizing term to denote behavior they disagree with yet don’t reflect on or discuss any possibility of anti-Semitism in the subculture (Kahn-Harris, 2007) either to avoid bad press or to “keep the media guessing.” Some artists specifically label their art “Aryan” or “true Aryan metal,” though these bands usually reside at the periphery of the larger black metal subculture. Ridicule of the Jewish “other” and affinity toward Aryan labels closely identifies these selected parts of the black metal subculture with the Nazi brand of modernity, even if they don’t fully embrace Nazi ideology (though it should be noted that, especially in recent years, many black metal acts expressly do not, as they view National Socialism as simply another “replacement” for perceived Judeo-Christian “banality”). In some respects, more popular black metal producers, such as Hoest, of the Norwegian act Taake (Figure 1), write lyrics such as: To hell with Muhammad and the Mohammedans … and their unforgivable customs … Norway will soon awaken (from the song “Orkan” published 2011)
Hoest of Taake (used with permission).
then state that they’re not at all interested in politics when pressed for answers about the lyrics (Michaels, 2012) leaving the consumers and media in a somewhat disoriented state as they attempt to make judgments about the lyrical content and struggle to decide whether the artists are being provocative or if they are indeed xenophobes.
While many might claim that artists such as Hoest are simply backtracking to avoid controversy, there seems to be a consistent pattern in the subculture whereby the production of the art itself looks to break down or reformulate present-day Scandinavian culture; it does so without plurality or fluidity. Conversely, much of the production of the art itself comprises a modernist tone of its own; one that looks to usurp cultural production and consumption and then provide its own monochromatic replacement without discourse. At the extreme end of this particular production spectrum is National Socialist Black Metal (NSBM), which is a subgenre that promotes Nazi-influenced beliefs through lyrics and/or imagery. While many producers and consumers of black metal publicly distance themselves from NSBM, there is little doubt of its influence. Artists such as Varg Vikernes have gone as far as accusing Jews and Freemasons of conspiracy behind recent Norwegian violence allegedly committed by Anders Behring Breivik (Vikernes, 2011). NSBM, similar to many like-minded fascist movements, is well steeped in the concrete objectivism of modernity.
Vikernes, is one of the artists in the subculture who routinely lets his mind be known about people from non-European lands. In a recent blog post, Vikernes (Vikernes, 2013) writes: At one point Europe as we know it or at least knew it will be lost forever, and when this happens it will be too late for the common man to change anything. He will be stuck in a multicultural pit of crime, a bog of misery where Europeans will be the minority—and he will suffer a life as a beaten, raped, abused, robbed, spat upon and scorned slave for the rest of his life. His children will suffer the same fate.
Vikernes, unlike, other black metal artists, has more openly embraced racism and has increased his level of hostility to those living in Europe who are immigrants.
The very nature of NSBM and xenophobic lyrics shows a 180° turnabout from the utopian consumption communities that embrace diversity. Kozinets’ (2001) description of utopian consumer spaces comprises consumers who look beyond race, color, and creed and cherish a wondrous mosaic of consumers and followers who seek a postracial harmonious, universal existence. Black metal, for many artists and consumers, eschews diversity, embraces racial segmentation, and places blame for social and political problems on specific groups of people. In this respect, black metal takes a page out of the playbook from other dystopian visions including those of Nazi Germany.
Many in black metal present cultural knowledge with an essentialist slant, critical of multivocality. Through our examination of artist writings and participant observation, many seem intent on promoting the idea of a Jewish and American-backed financial conspiracy that seeks to wipe out the wealth of Norway. Others, such as this message board poster, make assertions that Jewish people are the enemy of the pagan-inspired movement to bring Norway and Europe back to its “natural” state: I keep saying it again and again, Nature is going to fix this shit. Nature is going to put people in their place, where they belong. Remember that She will only spare those in communion with the Natural Laws. The Jew is a race biologically incapable of Communion With Nature, that is why they are the eternal enemy and will soon be crushed. Hail to all of these deities we know by blood and soil.
In the netnographic data, challenges by some in the subculture to these extreme viewpoints are, in general, summarily discarded. In many instances, those who challenge these points of views are dehumanized in public forums, such as online message boards, and/or through the black metal media. Many challengers were simply banned from posting in one community we examined. We noticed, through participant observation at the Inferno festival in Norway and Switzerland (one of many annual extreme metal festivals in Europe which features a healthy number of black metal artists), that many of those who opposed or challenged the extreme right or NSBM influence did so by expressing their views to like-minded black metal consumers of similar ilk and chose not to confront the national socialists on-site directly in public forums or other available arenas.
We should mention that national socialism is not necessarily the dominant ideology of the larger sphere of black metal. In fact, many reject NSBM in the black metal community, and this has spurred separate venues for production and consumption. Anti-Christianity, however, and a rejection of the Judeo-Christian world, is undoubtedly paramount to the black metal art form. Lyrics, such as those from Dimmu Borgir in their song “Tormentor of Christian Souls,” are direct and to the point in relation to feelings about Christianity:
As demonstrated in the lyric, there is a desire to see churches burned.
This destruction of the church is a central tenet of black metal, whereby Christianity is viewed as an imperial, negative force against a constructed, folkish nationalism. Thus, for much of the black metal community, there is an assumption of a single truth. An embrace of the anti-Christ or entities that are anti-Christian are this central tenet. Counter narratives or alternative viewpoints related to Christianity and any of its virtues are generally unwelcomed and/or ridiculed. Disagreements in the community usually lead to breakup or separation, as so happened in the band Gorgoroth, where the band split into two camps, allegedly (according to rumor among black metal members) in part, over a theistic versus humanistic view of Satanism. This univocal, “with us or against us” is a clear representation of dystopian vision.
Hyperreality or “dystopian reality by proxy”
Hyperreality is a system condition that views reality as a part of the symbolic world, which is constructed rather than given (Firat and Dholakia, 2006; Firat and Venkatesh, 1995). Vattimo (1992) views media consumption as a mechanism that facilitates a continuous construction of our present world. This means that what we experience in a particular moment becomes reality and the construction of this condition in tandem with its intensification becomes hyperreal (Firat and Venkatesh, 1995). In this sense, hyperreality is a construction of something we think exists, as through semiotics, our consciousness believes that the simulation is reality. Hyperreality can exist in theme parks, shopping malls, and tourism destinations (Belk, 1996) as well as in general consumer spaces.
In terms of consumer culture, members may seek to live in the simulated reality (Baudrillard, 1983). This simulation can include buildings, and even people or characters (Belk, 1996). Eco (1986) writes of consuming experiences such as Disneyland, where Main Street USA and full-sized houses have been constructed in great detail, to look “real.” The construction, however, is to provide a simulation apparatus. Main Street USA is really a false reality—and illusion, but a desirable illusion. Thus, it makes visitors buy into what they think is real. The technology behind Disneyland facilitates the satisfaction of imagination and fantasies in real-life (Eco, 1986).
Baudrillard (1983) and Luke (1991) mention that hyperreality reflects the practice of substituting signs of the real for the real itself. This means that the hyperreal is actually “sheltered” from the real and the imaginary. Subsequently, a system of simulation is created that replaces or destroys “realist” or “modern” representation (Luke, 1991). The simulation, in an environment where what is real is no longer what it indeed once was, allows for nostalgia to assume full meaning. Myths of origin and semiotics proliferate in the resulting environment (Baudrillard, 1983).
The realm of black metal and its hyperreal condition contrasts sharply with what has been written about this particular condition in connection with consumer culture in the recent past. For example, Belk (1996) writes about hyperreality as a “sanitized version of reality, cleansed of strife, world problems, dirt, prejudice, exploitation, or other problems of everyday life” (Belk, 1996: 29). Belk (1996) cites examples of thematic shopping malls and romanticized experiences that resemble welcome integration and fantasy in pure, clean, settings. Disney, for example, disallows employees and guests who don’t fit the clean image. Visitors to theme parks like Disneyland and even fast-food restaurants like McDonalds are protected as much as they can from the strife in the external and “real” world.
Black metal, in many instances, provides an example of a condition where instead of a “sanitized” version of reality, there exists an alternative form of reality that embraces what many consider to be darkness, blasphemy, and an evil existence. While on the surface, these attributes would be viewed by many consumers as things to be avoided, for many black metal consumers and artists, they are specifically attributes of a setting that are sought after. One fan notes that he seeks out consumption experiences that are “creepy, evil and foreboding” and that he becomes “transfixed by the atmosphere.” Another American fan, Ralph, notes that, “The atmosphere (of black metal) draws you in. (Black metal) feels like a blizzard, forest … feels cold. I like black metal that feels cold … up North … cold.” Percy, another respondent mentions, “You can’t listen to black metal at 3:00 in the afternoon. You need darkness, the later the better.”
Many consumers in both the netnographic data and those spoken with at concerts frequently mentioned the fact that they were extremely attracted to shows and performances in which the artists created specific types of thematic constructions on the stage. For example, Swedish act Watain was routinely cited as a group that looks to create a “temple” onstage during performances. The band regularly goes on tour with decaying animal parts, which are also present onstage in order to create a “stench of death” and visual examples of rot. When asked about the reasons behind the blood and its related audience participation, Erik, lead singer of Watain states: The blood is yet another way to lead the audience away from their regular lives and states of mentality into the thick, radiant darkness of Watain. This is the purpose of the concert in general, to present another reality. Every aspect of a Watain show has this function in one way or another. What we are presenting is not of this world, and the place where it comes from demands a certain mindset to connect to. A mindset that can be brought forth by rotten blood, fire, incense, death, sweat, violence and loud, heavy black metal. (Smith, 2012)
As can be seen, Watain purposefully and methodically looks to create a version of reality by proxy. In contrast to Belk’s (1996) assessment of Disneyland, it is an “unsanitized” (or horrific) version of reality instead of a sanitized exemplar. While the methods and contrasts are sharp, the intended results across the two contexts are similar. Instead of a romanticized Main Street U.S.A. in Disneyland, Watain looks to bring consumers into a stylized reality of death and ultraviolence.
Gorgoroth, utilizing similar stage shows to Watain, is also known for creating an environment that utilizes animal blood and corpse paint (black metal makeup that visually assists in transforming identity); however, they bring in additional elements that more specifically display their disdain for the modern world and for Christianity. Former vocalist Gaahl, who condoned church burnings, believes that Christianity supports oppression and conformity, and has no place in Norway (Tonder, 2010). Gorgoroth takes serious issue with conformity as demonstrated in their 2004 concert in Krakow, Poland. The performance, legendary in black metal circles, featured a large number of sheep heads on stakes, traversing the entire stage. The sheep, which are a recurring reference in black metal art, are there to symbolize humanity following the flock—mindlessly believing in Judeo-Christian religion without critical thought. According to our netnographic data, as well as observation and content analysis of black metal literature, sheep symbolizes conformity, more specifically, conformity in the modern era. Behind the sheep on the Gorgoroth stage stood four fully naked, living humans playing crucifixion victims for the duration of the performance. The crucified models are there to clearly represent the single philosophic truth of Gorgoroth’s brand of black metal—that is a blasphemous rejection of Christianity. The modernist idea of difference and first-order dichotomy of truth/nontruth (Derrida, 1976) is clearly present in the band’s presentation, however, at the same time the band seeks to construct an alternative, non-Christian, distinctly Norwegian identity consisting of symbolic processes related to a structuration. Here, the modern, Christian Norway is rejected, and to replace it is what many might perceive as a dystopian vision. In the case of black metal, elements of the hyperreal are a construction based on an idealized Norse mythology combined with theistic or humanistic Satanism or anti-Christianity.
The use of Nordic runes, crucified bodies and inverted crosses in black metal production is of paramount semiotic importance. Bourdieu (1984) provides a framework for semiotic-oriented consumption. As Firat and Venkatesh’s (1995) analysis of Bourdieu mentions, consumer tastes are developed socially, not privately. Bourdieu’s framework is based on the premise that social reality is, in part, constructed by consuming experiences in conjunction with economic conditions and that this is reflected by symbolic power. The symbolic power stems from different types of capital people possess. These capital factors determine taste within specific social spheres. Through our examination of the black metal community, when meshed with an examination of modern Norwegian cultural history, education, and symbolism, we believe we can trace how some dispositions and taste among members of bands such as Gorgoroth may have come to be in terms of the habitus (Bourdieu, 1984) present.
Gorgoroth and other early purveyors of the Norwegian black metal movement originate from Bergen, which is located in the western region of Norway. As Mikaelsson (2009) mentions, the western region of Norway is seen as a more religious section compared to other parts of Norway. It contained a great number of religiously (Christian) active people during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mikael Hertzberg, a well-known clergyman in Norway during the turn of the 20th century published his extensive thoughts on the religious and social structure of western Norway in 1914. Hertzberg (1914) writes that those in the West Country surpass all others in terms of Christian interest and that given the rough topography of the region, Christians in the West make their Christianity rigid, stern, and narrow minded. Elster (1969) also writes of the rough landscape in the West and claims that it inspires a “tough and wild” brand of religiousness. Elster contrasts the people of the West with those of the East Country, the latter of whom he believes are more open to outside cultures. Going further, Bjorgo (2006) opines that in the West Country, religion is the most important source of identity in the region. In the early 1990s, around the time black metal began to gain momentum and growth in Norway, the Norwegian education ministry instituted a new obligatory program in all schools known as “Christianity, Religions and Life Stance” whereby all students would learn about the majority Christian tradition in modern Norway and also learn about the variety of religions and life stance movements (Lundby, 2006). This all came in the wake of new, non-Christian immigrants to Norway, such as those from the Muslim world.
Obligatory religion in the public schools coupled with polemic views, varying religious amplifications, and specific cultural trenches within a nation may pave the way for Bourdieuian distinction (Bourdieu, 1984). This distinction, through symbolic differentiation, can result in a variety of outcomes. For some, Christianity, and its related politics in modern Norway, can become the flashpoint for the realization that the premodern condition may be a more desirable alternative for those unhappy with their present lived reality. New, foreign culture, with their foreign religions, and a renewed political interest in Christianity, which formally mixed with the state constitution in 1814 (Furseth, 1994), can for some, spur a desire to seek an alternative cultural system. Extreme heavy metal music, with rapid tempos, high-pitched screaming, and simple production values, connected with metal’s history of providing an outlet for rebellion (Kahn-Harris, 2007), created a cultural space for very specific and distinct symbolic modes and practices.
Signification and mythology
As previously mentioned, signification and symbolism is a prime facet of black metal production and consumption that warrants examination. Illouz (2009) and Levy (1959) mention that the semiotic approach to consumption supposes that material objects are infused with semantic codes that carry emotional meanings. Using objects then is more about the symbolism and less of the utilitarian value. Through this point of view, consuming becomes an emotional experience and objects are therefore filled with emotional meanings. The very act of consuming these objects becomes an emotional experience (Illouz, 2009).
As Belk and Costa (1998) mention, the act of costuming is more than something that’s visual. There are behavioral aspects to donning the costume and we can transform our identity through clothing. Many consumers and black metal artists specifically mention the feeling of being “transformed” into another individual when wearing the black metal inspired makeup known as corpse paint and complementary costumes. There even exists a Facebook group with over 3000 members completely dedicated to discussing and sharing images of corpse paint. Members share photos of their faces donning corpse paint and often mention or discuss how their corpse paint is representative of their favorite black metal artist or black metal influence(s). The corpse paint can contain images of inverted crosses, which symbolize an allegiance with Satanism or rejection of Christian beliefs. The corpse paint can also contain images of blood and/or representations from Norse mythology, often symbolizing battle. In many instances, consumers and artists display inverted crosses not only on their corpse paint but on their person. Illouz (2009) provides a mechanism to begin to build an interpretation of the motivation behind the emotional activation related to these symbols and the act of consuming them. First there has to be a cognitive belief about the world, and second, there is established a positive or negative attitude about the object. As Illouz (2009) mentions, emotion is not action, though it does orient the self in the social world, facilitating a semblance toward an act. Carried emotions from personal affects can orientate black metal consumers to their relationships with other black metal consumers and, at the same time, with the distinctive groups outside of the black metal community. This can result in a cultural system that runs with a significant disdain of those who are Christian or representative of outside belief systems. When recognizing that emotion involves a readiness to act, a possible end result is a tension that for some has lead to violence, such as church burnings or other violent acts. Many in the black metal community identify corpse paint and runic symbols with a romanticized Norse mythology. Much of the netnographic data, song lyrics, and related art focus on a battle between the modern Judeo-Christian world and a proud Viking history and heritage.
The signification-oriented irony here is that, similar to Belk and Costa’s (1998: 227) findings, black metal consumers cooperatively participate in the “mythification of a fantasy reality mirroring nothing that ever existed in this exact form.” Ancient Vikings, pagans, and others living in times of the ancient Norse did not engage in the style of dress depicted by many in the black metal community—in fact, far from it. The corpse paint and related costumes are then part of a constructed mythical fantasy—but one that is firmly entrenched in both the cohesiveness of the subculture and the philosophy that one can be a member of regular Western society during the day, then transform to be an anti-Christian agent in the evening.
Possibly even more significant to the cultural capital in the community, corpse paint, as well as shared symbols such as inverted crosses, runes, and similar personal adornments that contain blasphemous statements or images act as boundaries for the unique community (Belk and Costa, 1998). Consumers know they are enclaved with like-minded individuals when they see these symbols adorned. Personal affects and related corpse paint thus becomes an invented tradition where the symbols and behaviors provide a link to the past but are not necessarily of the past. Through these symbolic objects, black metal members find their social significance and become integrated into the dynamics of social distinction (Illouz, 2009).
As Hagen (2011) analyzes, there are many parallels between black metal and ancient Scandinavia religions but that the mythologizing going on “must be taken with several grains of salt” (Hagen, 2011: 191). Hagen describes how many black metal members liken themselves to a Dionysian cult society called the Oskorei and that this mythical group of young males rode through the countryside in winter and punished those who violated traditions. This was seen as a reenactment of Odin’s Valkyries in Norse mythology (Hagen, 2011). According to Moynihan and Soderlind (2003), the church burnings that occurred in Norway in the 1990s were a similar form of retribution against modern Norwegian Christians who embrace the Christianizing of their nation. Those who are (or were) sympathetic to the cause of the church burners may have generally viewed those responsible as heroic protagonists (Luedicke et al., 2010) or mythic heroes (Dobscha and Foxman, 2012) who were defending the true and authentic Vikinglands. At least this is what many claim in public spaces. Varg Vikernes, who is accused of committing many of the church burnings, considers the burnings as a way to show Odin to the people of Norway (Moynihan and Soderlind, 2003). The Oskorei myth, while sharing some basic parallels relating to an embrace of Norse mythology and a sense of nationalism, still deviates widely from today’s constructed reality in the black metal subculture. Merely a cursory comparison between the mythical defenders of Odin and today’s black metal members demonstrates a wide chasm. For example, the display of inverted crosses, and Satanism itself, widely embraced by many in black metal were certainly not a part of Norse mythology nor was the routine dehumanizing of Jews and Muslims. The display of anti-Christian symbols and a burgeoning xenophobia are found throughout the subculture today. Vikernes, who today considers himself an Odinist (or pagan nationalist), distances himself from Satanism and any involvement with a Satanic past, claiming that Satanism and devil worship is a product of the Jews and the Christians (Vikernes, 2005), though it is difficult for him to erase his early association. Vikernes today writes about his embrace he claims stems from early Norse mythology, while at the same time integrating anti-Semitic propaganda (see Vikernes, 2011), largely borrowed from the Nazis, into his stream of rhetoric. The embrace of national socialist ideologies is something not at all easily found in Norse mythology. Ultimately, the disharmonic music Vikernes creates, with tremolo picking and aggressive arrangements on electric instruments, is a far reach from the flutes, bone whistles, and wooden pipes uncovered in Viking archeological sites.
Discussion
Consumption and dystopia
After closely examining the themes and spending considerable time within the subculture through our mixed methods, we have created a model that describes the elements of consumption in a dystopian marketplace (Figure 2).
A model of dystopian consumption.
Our model contains three spheres, with smaller spheres encapsulated by the larger ones so that each respective sphere can be seen as having overarching influence of the other(s). At the center of the model is the consumer/artist dyad. Similar to Maclaran and Brown’s (2005) consumer/retailer centered utopian model, we present a situation here whereby dystopia is at the heart of the symbiotic relationship between the consumers and the producers (or artists). As Maclaran and Brown (2005) mention, the dyadic relationships between the two center entities are reflective of a social nexus and as an exchange center. A dystopian vision in the realm of black metal is dependent on message and art creators as well as message receivers and consumers of the medium(s). Artists in black metal create a realm of existence and a reality by proxy, as well as less abstract products such as the music itself, the festivals, concerts, and the accompanying symbolic merchandise.
Encapsulating the consumer/artist dyad is the second sphere, which we call dystopian process and conditions. All interrelated, these processes and conditions encircle the dyad. We have five specific items in this sphere: performance (or hyperreality in this instance), xenophobia, identity transformation, blasphemy, and signification.
We label the first item performance and it directly relates to the overarching tactic of producers to engage the consumer in the feeling of a “dystopian Disneyland.” The carefully orchestrated black metal performances perform an important process in consumption—they take the consumer to another place or realm of existence. The consumer at a Watain show is not just watching a bar band perform at a local pub—the consumer is experiencing something that transcends basic Saturday nightclub style entertainment—it is, for some, a religious experience with all the religious accoutrements and evoked feelings. It may also indeed be a process whereby the uninitiated become initiates into the subculture as the consumer will likely experience something much more than just a record of music can provide.
Our second item is xenophobia—and here we are utilizing the concept as a practice or process. The music may be the hook for some people, but the hook, for some artists is the gateway to the ability to proselytize—especially in NSBM. It is not unusual for consumers of pop music acts to start to respect political leanings, activism, or public convictions (Yazicioglu and Firat, 2008), and the black metal subculture is no different. Madonna has used her admiration from her consumers for her own political platform, and black metal bands certainly deviate little from this particular practice.
Found in many venues where there resides dystopian discourse is the idea of identity transformation. We discuss in our example, how black metal consumers and artists utilize costumes and corpse paint to transform identity. This is often in tandem with the use of signifiers. As seen in Figure 1, Hoest utilizes corpse paint to transform himself into his stage persona and, concurrently, wraps himself in the Norwegian flag as a nationalistic symbol. The stage and the excitement of the performance draw attention to the symbol and the message. Dystopian visions and movements (whether fictional or not) often rely on symbols and personal adornments to aid in performance of dystopian process and to signify system conditions. In tandem with the aforementioned is blasphemy. In our particular context it is blasphemy against Judeo-Christian religion; however, we have seen this before in various avatars with a wealth of intended targets whether it be George Lucas’s fictional THX 1188 or Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The dystopian vision is conceived with the intended destruction of the status quo or “the other” and this often entails the deconstruction of the existing belief system and/or system of order.
The third sphere surrounding all else is what we label as overarching conditions. These, we posit, are the sociocultural and political variables that, connectedly, come into play that facilitate or underwrite the dystopian processes and conditions. As we’ve discussed, Norway’s mythological past plays a prominent role in the black metal subculture and without it, there is very little for signification, performance, and blasphemy and aspects of identity transformation to anchor in. The mythology, which has been reconstructed by the artists, provides a solid anchor in the assertion of a superior, mystical, and revered past. When meshed with the modern-day tensions of immigration patterns and religious indoctrination via the state-sponsored education system, mythical heroes can be presented as the establishment-smashing embodiment of consumer disdain for the status quo. When taken into account with the emotional backdrop of a European Union in economic disarray, a rapidly changing face of Norwegian cities with the accelerated influx of Middle Eastern and African immigrants, as well as the political tensions faced by a nation that experienced a wealth of church burnings in the 1990s and a major, civilization-changing politically oriented terrorist act by Anders Breivik a decade later; these carried emotions, along with their related discourse, from the wealth of system-oriented conditions, lend themselves to both the consumption and production of dystopian art, public performance, literature, and related products. Indeed, the marketization of “dark” or “anti-Judeo-Christian” acts and its associated fear is one that carries a significant emotional weight with it and adds to a great amount to the public discourse surrounding modern-day politics.
All of these conditions work in tandem and play off one another in a manner that creates a vision of a “different type of reality.” Just as utopias can be seen as collective visions of improved societies, based on powerful forces (Kozinets, 2002b), dystopias can be created from forces of similar strength, though juxtaposed for different ends. Dystopian consumption, in this regard, can be seen as a response of sorts that may have even come out of the aspirations of those who tried to improve society by allowing for the creation of shared spaces without boundaries and collective concern for well-being; essentially by those who created (or attempted to create) utopia(s). In the context of black metal, in conjunction with modern-day Norway, this responsive, dystopian vision is something that attempts to spur the deconstruction of the utopian project. Rather than celebrating a world without borders, borders and boundaries are (hoped to be) resurrected. Rather than promoting equality, socialism, and aggregate concern (foundations of Norway’s socialist policies), we find a desire for separation. There are those who don’t believe or don’t want to accept that utopia has been achieved (or been implemented in a manner that is acceptable to all) and in this sense, this dystopian vision is here to repudiate, to warn, and to deconstruct. It is there to signify a need for a change in direction. The dystopian vision, with its high degree of xenophobia and nationalism can also be there to drum up support and to find new members to help facilitate the directional change. Given the current state of the European Union (a utopian vision) and the long-standing recession that has affected much of the continent, there has been a push toward nationalism and scapegoating, similar to what we’ve witnessed in the past. The black metal subculture could be gaining new entrants who are looking for a solution to the problem of a “failed utopia” or a collectivist society that appears to no longer be working.
All in all, our example of dystopian consumption lies in contrast to prevailing notions that consumers seek utopian images and ideals in what they consume (Kozinets, 2002b). While this may hold true for some consumers in some situations who are looking to be entertained or looking for a better world, it may not hold true for those who believe that current political and social problems are a result of a utopian failure. For these consumers, the dystopian is a reaction to the utopian.
Further theoretical implications
The art form of black metal provides evidence of dystopia, as many black metal consumers and artists search for bonds, united in part by sensory level excitement and ritual, created out of perceived societal alienation. It is strongly believed that further study of black metal will yield a significant amount of insight that challenges currently accepted consumption reflection and ontology. There likely exist a variety of similar consumption experiences and cultures that reflect analogous elements and characteristics of black metal. In this sense, the work presented here lies in contrast to much of the existing work related to subcultural consumption of meanings that examine utopian (Kozinets, 2001, 2002a) or harmonic (Arnould and Price, 1993) experiences, or even experiences where music-oriented consumption relates as a positive resource for identity (Hesmondhalgh, 2008) and/or celebrates diverse cultures (Yazicioglu, 2010).
While Maclaran and Brown (2005) present a model of utopian consumption that illustrates and unwraps the layers of meanings during the consumption process, we present a model that can be considered its antipode. We have theorized dystopian consumption as a process that occurs in a realm (sometimes out of a quest for utopia) which transcends politics (e.g. Norway) dependent on a number of factors and conditions. The end result is not a Shangri-La or Arcadia but rather a warning and/or a signpost of what may come and what some hope to achieve. It may even be response to an “unachieved” Shangri-La.
In sharper contrast to the existing work on utopian consumption (and its positives and celebrations), we view dystopian consumption as a warning. Just as dystopian texts can warn people of imminent dangers, it could be that dystopian consumer culture, its integration of conditions, and its rapid rise in popularity serves as a warning to society. For example, Norwegian society has witnessed a great deal of change, not just since the early days of the Vikings but in more recent years, post–World War II, whereby Norway adopted a great deal of social welfare policies and borders that have been more open than any time in recent decades. Norway is now globalized. The realm of black metal and its dystopian consumption may reflect real-world social and political problems that some see in Norway. Black metal, with its distaste of Marxism and policies of the Norwegian left, may indeed be a warning or a signpost of impending violence, social upheaval, and doom. In this respect, black metal, its signification, and its integration of a wealth of dystopic conditions is not just something that exists in the present but rather is something that is part of a future that is idealized for some, horrific for others.
Further, we must take these reflections on the black metal subculture and further theorize the identity value related to the art form among consumers. As Penaloza (2000) and Thompson and Tian (2008) note, mythmaking for consumption can be part of an ideological process that combines entertainment, education, and indoctrination toward an interpretative construction of the past and its related sociocultural meaning. When combined with the assertion that consumers embrace, engage, and cocreate signification by selective use of commercialized representations of the past (Maclaran and Brown, 2005), the sociocultural implications for black metal, with factions having significant national socialist tendencies, and a past history of violence, becomes all the more important to examine. For some in the black metal community, church burnings, legitimized by black metal artists can become de facto sites of struggle (Thompson and Tian, 2008) as consumers and followers embrace the constructed ideologies of artists based on myths that are accepted by many, yet also irrespective of traditional interpretations of Norse and Viking mythology. This can potentially lead to a situation where black metal mythology is not necessarily a collective memory, but a reconstructed memory, potentially spurred and embraced by those with distinctive political agendas. The world has seen reconstructed memory and mythology before with similar intended ends, expressly in early Nazi propaganda, which embraced racist ideas contrived from a “science” combing facets of historical German paganism with theosophy to create guiding and implementable political philosophies such as theozoology (von Liebenfels, 1904) and other perversions representative of unchecked Nazi-style modernity. What follows in the Norwegian subculture is potentially a resultant entwinement of reconstructed mythology, in a movement that embraces the hyperreal yet rejects the discourse surrounding it. In the vein of Kristensen et al.’s (2011) work on myths where one consumption myth reverses a long-standing national myth, for some in Norway, the reconstructed mythology associated with black metal leaves a shared vision of a myth that counters the national and international myth that claims Norway is a progressive, tolerant, and open society—with few social problems it has to deal with. The reality is that given Norway’s tumultuous recent past decades, a rise in immigration with resulting xenophobia and an explosion of black metal as an art form, there will be competition among narratives stemming from constructed and reconstructed versions of reality. Ultimately many have and will continue to embrace black metal mythology.
Concluding remarks
Askegaard and Linnet (2011) have recently called for the strengthening of macrosocial explanatory frameworks related to the phenomenology of actual experiences, and we believe that our consumer culture theory–inspired work helps move us closer to understanding consumer culture experiences in the facet of a larger sociocultural context. With that in mind, we present here a piece that is content heavy and closely illustrative. We hope that our discussion of dystopia in the realm of consumption can act as a starting point for future endeavors into this realm of study. With the wealth of literature related to utopian consumption experiences over the past two decades, the marketing and consumer culture literature is flush with discussion of context heavy and progressive theoretical work that has opened a variety of new avenues to discovery. While we believe that our model presented here is rigorously supported by our deep immersion in a particular subculture, other subcultures and/or contexts are likely to provide new insights in the study of dystopian landscapes.