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9 - Viking Metal

Obsessed with the Past?

from Part II - Metal and History

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2023

Jan-Peter Herbst
Affiliation:
University of Huddersfield
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Summary

Viking metal is one of the few varieties of metal music defined by the songs’ contents and visual elements rather than its sonic aspects. While a band’s music can be affiliated with folk metal, death metal or black metal, the lyrics and visual elements are clearly centred around the Viking Age, Old Norse mythology and the portrayal of Nordic nature. Time is an important feature in Viking metal lyrics and imagery and appears in the shape of a ‘past’ that can be identified as the Viking Age or as a past that lacks a time stamp. Often without a specific description of the underlying idea, the past is frequently attributed with wisdom and continuity. It appears in song lyrics and is depicted in various scenes from a seeming past or with direct reference to the Viking Age in the cover artwork of Viking metal bands. Why is the past such an important feature of Viking metal? What other aspects are deemed important? What ideological aspects do the references to the past entail? To answer these questions, I will identify defining features of Viking metal to then analyse the connotations of ‘the past’ in Viking metal.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Viking Metal
  • Edited by Jan-Peter Herbst, University of Huddersfield
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music
  • Online publication: 31 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108991162.009
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  • Viking Metal
  • Edited by Jan-Peter Herbst, University of Huddersfield
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music
  • Online publication: 31 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108991162.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Viking Metal
  • Edited by Jan-Peter Herbst, University of Huddersfield
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music
  • Online publication: 31 August 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108991162.009
Available formats
×