Tonight It’s a World We Bury: Black Metal, Red Politics

by Bill Peel

Tonight It’s a World We Bury explores a range of tendencies central to black metal and uncovers their potential as critiques of capitalism.

Tonight It's a World We Bury is a radical re-writing of the history and politics of black metal music.

Challenging the commonly-held perception that black metal is a genre of the right — full of wannabe Vikings, Nazis, skinheads and other unsavoury characters — Tonight It's a World We Bury looks at an array of black metal artists to re-affirm the genre as radically anticapitalist, revolutionary and left-wing.

Utilizing an eclectic range of black metal bands, including Darkthrone, Burzum, Liturgy and Deathspell Omega, and taking in the works of Marx, Nietzsche, Deleuze and more, Tonight It's a World We Bury is a book on black metal like no other.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Politics

208 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2023

About the author

Music journalist Bill Peel has published in Kill Your Stereo and Overland on the topics of black metal, socialism, literature, and philosophy. He currently works at a local high school in regional New South Wales, Australia.

Reviews

[inciminci · Rating 5 out of 5]

edit - there had been an author mix-up when I wrote this review but it was corrected by a good librarian, so you may ignore the first part of the review!

First off – There is a chapter named “Secrecy” in this book, in which Black Metal musicians' tendency to obscure their identities through harrowing nick names and false personas is explained. Having finished the book, I'm pretty proud and congratulate myself for discovering that Australian author, metal-head and communist Bill Peel pretends to be US American christian theologian Bill Peel, leader of the faith-at-work movement. I might just have outed him, though.

That, or Goodreads just simply displays the wrong author for this book. But that would never happen, right? That kind of mix up would surely be hilarious and embarrassing?

Seriously though, is there some librarian reading this who can correct the blatant mistake?

Here's the review:

Being a second generation immigrant living in Germany, where neo-fascism is imminently life-threatening (just google Solingen 93 or the National Socialist Underground and you'll see) I admit to be super reactive to anything surrounding this subculture, including Black Metal music, which I highly associate with its followers. It does have that kind of reputation around here and I deemed it a music genre I don't want to spend too much thought and time on. In that sense, Tonight It's A World We Bury was utterly informative for me, among other reasons because I found out about a very small group within this small group, the Red and Anarchist Black Metal bands like Iskra, Trespasser or Skagos. But let's not fool ourselves, Peel doesn't either; BM has been mostly claimed by the former, even though it isn't necessarily an explicitly political music genre. Peel also underlines this is not an encyclopedia on the few leftist BM bands, that in that case it would be a small book.

What the author sets out to do is to uncover the uses of Black Metal when “put in relation with socialist thought” and for that purpose to focus on five concepts which are elementary to BM, and which resonate with leftist thinking – Distortion, Decay, Secrecy, Coldness, and Heresy.

The little chapters on these concepts were partly eye-opening to me, as they showed me aspects or connections I never thought of before; like “distortion” in music as well as in literature as a means to “break with the easily consumable”, decay posing an opposition to the obsession with life and vitality and parallel to that coldness as opposed to heat, sunshine and even energy and coal industry and finally heresy, which is self-explanatory. I'm still intrigued by the passages explaining how coldness can be conveyed purely through music (I have had a basic, acceptable music education but it still made sense to me) and how music in Christianity set the canon of harmony for the entirety of western music and Black Metal actively destroying that harmony. He does mention the waves of church arson which took place some thirty years ago in Norway and the idea behind them, and does not leave out Muslim Black Metal bands in Saudi Arabia and Iran, which operate with a different mindset than their western counterparts. The inclusion of the latter was very appreciated.

There is even a recommended listening list for beginners like me to gain a sense of the broadness of the Black Metal sound. I really appreciated this list, as it helped me the other day while I was sitting in the waiting room of the Turkish Consulate, waiting for my appointment for about two and a half hours, and was able to fight boredom by listening to three of the ten featured albums.

I still would disagree on one point concerning the political aspect, as I can't claim any expertise on the music side. It is true that these five concepts are central in particular in anti-capitalist thinking, but that thinking is not a purely leftist notion (anymore). Around here, authors like Benedikt Kaiser or Götz Kubitschek from the “Neue Rechte” very much set the theoretical basis for a right wing anti-capitalism; it isn't unusual to hear anticap slogans on far-right demonstrations and I'm sure there's a worldwide tendency if it is that noticeable here already. Peel fails to mention that connection in his book and uses anti-cap and socialist thought interchangeably. I understand this might be intentional to claim anticap for the left, but even if self-contradictory, those developments exist and not to mention them at all kind of weakens his argument.

That being said, that one point does not diminish the fact that this is a baller read, informative, whether you agree or disagree and it will broaden your horizons.

[Alan (The Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s Black and Red All Over?*
Review of the Repeater Books paperback edition (May 23, 2023) released soon after the eBook edition (April 11, 2023).

I read Tonight It's A World We Bury: Black Metal, Red Politics due to Inciminci's excellent review. Especially due to the line: "this is a baller read, informative, whether you agree or disagree and it will broaden your horizons."

I'll disclose upfront that I've never listened to black metal, as the genre in my mind is associated with either satanism or extreme right-wing politics. I do listen to some metal though, although it would be pretty esoteric to most people, namely the Estonian folk metal band Metsatöll (Estonian for: Forest four-legged animal, but also a colloquialism for "wolf" or "werewolf") and the Swedish sludge/doom metal band Walk Through Fire, especially their interpretations of the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

Poster for author Bill Peel’s show on Repeater Radio which previewed the book. See link below.

Tonight It's a World We Bury (the book title is taken from a black metal song lyric) gives quite a thorough overview of the black metal music scene and dozens of its bands, even having information about obscure Saudi Arabian black metal (a rebel music with its own very unique local aspects) with the author seeming to have an infinite knowledge of it. The author's other interest is left-wing politics and the thesis of the book is about how various themes or characteristics of black metal can be incorporated into the anti-fascist/left wing movement. These themes form the main chapter titles: Distortion, Decay, Secrecy, Coldness and Heresy.

There are not actually very many black metal bands with left wing politics but the author does mention a few of them. The book is an attempt to reconcile the apparent right-wing association of black metal with a potential future in the left-wing. I will still confess to having little interest in black metal, but Inciminci was absolutely correct in their review that this book "broadened my horizons."

Other Reviews
You can read a review of Tonight It’s A World We Bury at the Hate Meditations blog here, from May 29, 2023.

Footnote, Trivia and Links
* This is taken from the old riddle: "What's black and white and read all over?" Answer: A newspaper. I edited that for my lede, and the related answers are: The cover of this book or the Anarchist flag.

Author Bill Peel previewed the book on Repeater Radio in 2022 by reading excerpts from its Chapters and also playing excerpts of black metal music. You can listen to the first 2 episodes about the “Distortion” chapter here. Other episodes are presumably available if you subscribe to Repeater Radio. I think the only other shows are with excerpts from the “Decay” chapter, based on a tweet which said it was the final episode here.

Repeater Books did a podcast interview with author Bill Peel and members of black metal band Dawn Ray’d on their YouTube channel which you can listen to here (audio only, no video).

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like the best infodump on black metal and how its tropes can be thought of through anti-capitalist lense you didn't really know you wanted, in other words I loved it and I didn't want it to end. With a mix of passion and carefully thought-out analyses, Peel lays out ideas that sometimes come across as a little bit of a stretch but it's never boring.

I particularly enjoyed the segment where the author talked about the aesthetics of heresy, I think a lot of people are familiar with the idea of representants of the status quo, especially its most aggressive champions, positioning themselves as part of the counterculture while violently reinforcing the dominant culture and ideas when it pertains to "news" media and it was interesting, if somewhat to be expected, to visit the notion in regard to such a niche musical genre.

You don't need to know much if anything at all about the black metal genre to read and understand this book (Peel does a phenomenal job explaining the key elements of the genre and introducing some of the "important" players), but I'd say you need at least a passing familiarity with perspectives that are critical of capitalism to be comfortable with it. That being said, it's a pretty approachable books and generally free of needless jargon.

I received an eARC of this book from Repeater Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The task of this book isn't of reclaiming black metal from the right and calling it ours. Rather, it's about uncovering the uses black metal has when put in relation with socialist thought. What can class struggle and emancipation give to black metal, and vice versa?" - p.14

It's an interesting objective and one that substantially diminished my enthusiasm for reading it, straight out of the gate. A delightful friend and fellow black metal acolyte found this book and brought it to my attention. The title calls out two seemingly opposing institutions - that brutal and unrelentingly bitter subgenre of metal known as "black metal" and red politics/socialism. Over the years, critics have often painted black metal with the broad brush of fascism and national socialism due to the indefensible actions of a parade of bad actors throughout that genre's murky history. And what a parade it's been; anyone who's read "The Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground," knows only too well that in the genre's infamous second wave, the scene's most influential musicians formed ground zero in a movement defined by cold-blooded murders, suicides and a wave of church burnings across Norway and eventually other countries.

In the same way that moralists were quick to condemn all hip hop and rap as celebrations of drugs, gangs, murder and misogyny, the condemnation of all black metal (many other subgenres were lumped in as well by people with zero understanding of metal taxonomy). Of course, like any genre of music that has endured throughout time and space, both noble and ignoble gravitate towards its pulsating center and carry it back into their worlds, bending and interpreting it to their beliefs and experiences. And like today's political landscape, headlines tend to focus on the extremities; nobody's talking about life in the political middle - that shit doesn't sell shampoo or cars; it's not scary enough to keep people glued to the TV. They might go outside and live their own lives!

I digress. Today's innovative and forward-thinking black metal bands - men and women who bear zero philosophical or cultural allegiance to the national socialists - are often relegated to the cardboard box of fascism and their music is ignored and occasionally even criticized by the people who ignore it. By the way, if any of this interests you, check out bands like Gaerea, Asagraum, Wolves In The Throne Room, Arkona and Stormruler for some wonderful examples of modern black metal wholly devoid of the stereotypical intolerance of which the genre is often associated.

Wow. I've hopped on this tangent and rode it into a whole new time zone. Sorry. Anyway, "Tonight It's A World..," as noted above, seeks to bend black metal to the aim of supporting or promoting socialism. I almost stopped there, not because of any deep philosophical opposition to the author's viewpoint but because I don't listen to music to inflame, much less inform my political or economic outlook. I have books and magazines for that. I listen to music as a retreat and black metal has been a powerful source of restorative energy and even meditative fodder over the years. Not to mention a great soundtrack for a Sunday morning long run. I've no desire to use black metal to soundtrack a social revolution.

But I'm glad I stuck with the book because when the author writes about black metal - its history, evolution, players and myriad subgenres - he comes from a deep well of knowledge. Not only did he offer thoughtful analyses on many bands that I love but he reminded me of a raucous pack of fringe groups that I'd long forgotten. And if you're new to black metal, this book can serve as a wonderful primer on how and why the movement formed. He provides playlists, too!

The book's discussions of politics, history and economics are instructive and not nearly as dry as one might fear. I felt like some attempts to comingle these areas with black metal however, were forced and not particularly convincing. As I noted above, we all filter music through our experiences, views, hopes and dreams and this is the author's attempt to do this. Overall, the book was considerably more interesting than I'd feared after reading the introduction but ultimately it felt like two novellas stitched together, loosely connected by the author's passion for both.

[Kate Priest · Rating 1 out of 5]

Leftists will literally write a book that tries to redeem their favourite shitty genre of rock music instead of just listening to Xenakis. Unsurprisingly, the long and ongoing history of hate crimes perpetrated and supported by black metal artists was completely ignored in this book. Peel is clearly torn between his own enjoyment and having actually read some theory, but when the subject matter is this irredeemable perhaps it's time to shrug off your adolescent tendencies?

[Cleo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tries to say too much and ends up saying nothing. There exists a good book to be written about the relationship between political theory and black metal. But it’s not this one. Still gave me a list of bands to check so that’s cool

[Stefan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*, really.
An interesting thought-experiment. Good profiles and examinations of Black Metal and some of the bands who help form and evolve (or not) the genre. Interesting look at how some of the major themes that make up the BM ethos and aesthetic could be transposed onto socialist/communist critiques of capitalism. (Although, this component was a little shaky at times, and not as convincing as it could be.)

Nevertheless, worth checking out if you're interested in the subject.

(Review copy received from publisher, via NetGalley.)

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

In attempting to trace parallels between black metal orthodoxy and left-wing intellectual traditions, this book sets itself apart from the vast majority of left leaning treatments of black metal. No heavy handed call for fan responsibility or demands that black metal be “safer”. Pitched into a more theoretical space, it instead asks us to use black metal as a means of gaining new perspectives on academic left-wing thinking, highlighting some of its shortcomings in the process.

Not to overstate the matter, but Peel is essentially breaking new ground here. He has set himself an unenviable task. Marrying two traditions widely regarded as entirely at odds with one another is difficult enough. Poking the hornet’s nest of baggage that comes with both black metal and leftist discourse is nothing short of masochism.

I am therefore being complimentary when I say that it may be beneficial to treat this as a rough draft, a leap into unknown theoretical space that requires new terminology to chart. It consciously avoids setting out a structured thesis. Instead it selects broad themes within black metal – distortion, decay, secrecy, coldness, and heresy – and aligns them with various historical and contemporary critiques of capitalism.

If we were to draw out a proto hypothesis, it would be that black metal’s transgression of musical, cultural, aesthetic, and political norms is potentially instructive for anyone interested in engaging in the final heresy, that of dismantling capitalism and the existential threat it poses to our planet. This approach is novel within leftie treatments of black metal because it starts with the theory before tentatively suggesting any practical implications, instead of barrelling out of the gate with urgent calls for us to form more Marxist bands.

For anyone invested in the success of this project, it is therefore essential to emphasise that drawing links between black metal and various academic critiques of capitalism requires us to indulge Peel as he slowly works his thoughts round to a place of relevance. Patience usually pays off, raising plenty of talking points for anyone versed in left-wing activism.

For instance, Peel uses decay to highlight black metal’s ability to constantly renew itself on the foundations of the old. A process of radical rejuvenation (we have to bear with him while he talks about matsutake mushrooms for a bit). He then uses this to call out the left’s “death fetishism” as outlined by Mark Fisher. Both socialism and black metal have a problem with requiring people to “do the reading”, constantly refighting debates and moments decades in the past as opposed to applying theory to contemporary political challenges.

The chapter on secrecy highlights how pseudonyms, anonymity, and black circles mirror historical examples of left-wing activism. Being a socialist was once a dangerous pursuit (and still is in many places). That lefties are constantly “making oneself known to power” through online engagement without fear of consequence demonstrates how unthreatened the established order feels by this brand of media centric activism. Equally, capitalism now thrives on the constant flow of personal information. Corporations harvest our data for profit, our location and activities can be constantly monitored. Our complicity in capitalism’s prerequisite for us to be visible, to be a marketable, targetable audience warrants a re-evaluation of the power of secrecy in political agitation.

The chapter on coldness characterises capitalism as overheating the workforce through the constant need to engage, improve, develop, stay active, whilst at the same time literally heating the planet through the burning of fossil fuels. Black metal’s obsession with frozen stasis is therefore recast as a call for us to make ourselves unproductive, thus obstructing the process of exploitation and planetary destruction. This poses another interesting question. Paradigmatic activist thinking is that we must be productive and “vitalistic”. But if this is not connected to wider political objectives, activism is nothing but hot air. This is perhaps one reason why leftist media (podcasts, YouTube channels, blogs) takes up more space than meaningful political agitation (trade union membership and labour strikes).

Despite my positive reception to this book, when it comes to the discussion of distortion, I do, in all good faith, wish to unpack one specific course correction.

Peel begins this chapter by positioning distortion in the context of Byng-Chul Han’s concept of “psychopolitics”. It is not oppression but permissiveness that makes capitalism such a porous opponent, by encouraging us to “actively pursue what we want free from external obstacles”. Spotify’s streaming model is so successful because it not only gives us exactly what we want but actively anticipates our desires. Black metal, by contrast, trades on the rare and uncommodifiable trait of distortion, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. It puts up barriers, makes itself unlikeable, unlistenable, difficult.

Having established this, Peel asserts that once black metal’s distortion became formalised, it risked stasis and commodification like any other genre: “Herein lies the downside to black metal’s oppositional attitude. The genre’s walls of distortion, in keeping out psychopolitics and the encroaching forces of commercialisation, also work to keep the genre rooted in place”. Distortion is the rope with which the revolutionary spirit of black metal hanged itself.

Peel singles out Nargaroth’s joke/tribute album ‘Black Metal ist Krieg’ to chastise the genre for fixating on a single tragedian moment in 1990s Norway. He argues that the homogeneity exemplified by Nargaroth misunderstood the Oslo scene’s initial hostility to imitation, with “all fetters removed instrumentally speaking, bands were able to experiment with different sounds while maintaining their black metal credentials”. But instead, “when black metal cries out for more albums that sound like Under a Funeral Moon and Aske [not an album], to distort no longer means to make music dirtier, but to make music that evades and overcomes those strictures and demands”.

Peel predictably posits Alcest, Deafheaven, and Liturgy as the true inheritors of Euronymous’s vision for black metal because they subverted the mould by taking it in “unexpected” directions, and are thus more “distorted”. This is because distortion for Peel is not a guitar effect but a nomadic process, a way for us to make ourselves anathema to the convenience of consumerism.

He then outlines three contemporary examples of subgenres demonstrating “that distortion doesn’t hide behind walls of familiarity but is instead nomadic and divergent”, these are raw black metal, dissonant black metal, and hipster black metal.

It is here that Peel makes the common mistake of fashioning a rod for black metal’s back by reciting a selective and skewed reading of its history. The orthodoxy he parrots roughly traces black metal from its birth in Newcastle to a climax and slow death in Norway, before it was salvaged in Brooklyn and California. This is evidenced by him repeating the fallacy that the Norwegian scene had no defining style.

Whilst it’s certainly true that there was great divergence between the Norwegian bands, the commonalities of trebly guitars, tremolo strumming, blast-beats, and high-pitched vocals set them apart from the epic NWOBHM flavour of Greek black metal for example, or the dirty occultism of Italy, the lo-fi eccentricity of Czechia, Swedish melodicism, the blackened thrash of South America, or the dark grind of Finland. All scenes that emerged in tandem with (and some prior to) Norway. By omitting this and simply retracing the “common sense” Norwegian centric narrative, it’s easy to argue that black metal was regressive once this scene burnt itself out.

Peel is hardly unique in this regard. A series of well documented extracurricular activities leads academics and journalists to continue evaluating the merits of a diverse, international movement within extreme metal solely on the merits of a small set of Norwegian bands. In rehashing this narrative it allows him to needlessly wag a finger at black metal for failing to live up to its own revolutionary promises.

To unpack this further, it’s worth examining Peel’s choice to position Nargaroth as emblematic of the “traditionalist” wing and Deafheaven the forward thinking/revolutionary wing.

Nargaroth, according to Peel, “refuse to engage with the genre’s present”, as evinced by their album ‘Black Metal ist Krieg’. It’s worth noting that after this release, Nargaroth’s output includes a black metal reinterpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, a blackened electronica/ambient collaboration with Nychts on ‘Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare’, and a hybrid of flamenco, black metal, prog, and black ‘n’ roll on their latest album ‘Era of Threnody’. You may not like Nargaroth’s attempts at experimentation, but one could hardly accuse them of working to “keep the genre rooted in place”.

Deafheaven, by contrast, plot “lines of escape [for black metal] that connect it to something outside itself”. According to Peel, they do this by introducing it to “unexpected genres”. Essentially by applying a handful of hallmarks from a specific branch of second wave Norwegian black metal to a variant of indie-cum-post-rock rooted in highly conventional harmonic traditions present in the vast majority of Western pop and rock music since the 1950s. Peel is correct to say that this is certainly “unexpected”. I certainly did not expect that stripping black metal of its ambitious compositional architecture and assimilating some of its tropes into Western pop-rock orthodoxy would attract so many otherwise intelligent cheerleaders.

The common sense narrative parroted here allows Peel to position Nargaroth as misunderstanding “black metal’s original spirit” and Deafheaven as an example of the desire “to construct something different to it” because this view reduces black metal to a simple binary of traditionalists and forward thinkers. All the while the substance of these terms goes unexamined, because they serve a lazy fiction manufactured by journalists to generate tribalist brand loyalty.

I draw all this out because if we are to follow Peel’s lead in plotting a route between black metal and left-wing theory, we need to challenge the narratives thrust upon it by mainstream journalism. Black metal was a hugely diverse and experimental European and South American (and more recently Middle Eastern, Chinese, and Southeast Asian) reinterpretation of metal that carried the genre into all manner of experimental avenues throughout the 1990s and beyond.

To take another example, his use of raw black metal as a potential “line of escape” fails to take into account the fact that raw black metal has been a subgenre since at least 1995 with the release of Ildjarn’s self-titled debut, earlier if we account for Blasphemy and VON. Again, a trait outlined as new and novel in this book was baked within black metal’s DNA decades ago.

By fixing our gaze on a small set of Norwegian artists and those that followed immediately in their wake we mistakenly perceive black metal as being in need of “saving” by the latter-day saints of Brooklyn and California. Peel therefore misses the point when he feels the need to highlight to us that the members of Deafheaven actually love Burzum and Darkthrone, “defenders of ‘trve kvlt black metal’ are opposed to the new developments of the genre, and presume that fans of these new bands are opposed to traditional black metal”. This, frankly, is just not true. We “traditionalists” are acutely aware of the interest Deafheaven et al. have in “old-school” black metal, we simply await enlightenment on their ability to meaningfully translate this into an artistic statement worthy of the genre we are told they are the future of.

Seen from this angle, using the concept of distortion to mark black metal’s homework is utterly superfluous. Peel is right that distortion is nomadic, a metaphorical and literal means to transgress, subvert, and create friction. But these things only have meaning when working in tandem with other important facets of the music. Proper analysis of these facets requires us to treat black metal on its own terms, and not the terms of a retroactively applied history contrived by commercial interests to generate publicity for a select group of artists.

I would not usually fixate on one chapter in a book review for so long. I have laboured this point because I want this project to succeed. For all the critiques Peel aims at left wing orthodoxy, it would be beneficial to aim some barbs toward orthodox assumptions about black metal thrust upon it by a disinterested status quo, and dissect how these lazy narratives skew our understanding of the genre’s history and by extension our ability to plot its possible futures. Using black metal as a theoretical toolbox to subvert capitalist orthodoxy proves to be an effective method of critique, one that allows us to highlight the shortcomings of left-wing activism in the process. But it must be done whilst paying due respect to black metal as a global phenomenon, one that accommodates the nuances of its history, and avoids once again subjecting it to the enormous condescension of posterity.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

[Filip Predovan · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, positives;
For 3/4 of the book, I really expected to give 4/5 rating. Writing is nice, cohesive, ideas are well laid out. Basically, part of the book connecting black metal with leftist is on point; Decay and Coldness being my favorite chapters. Author's approach to decay as a concept in real life, in biological systems and as a metaphor resonated with me. There were several "Oh wow, I never thought about that" moments. Reading through Coldness it really revealed something new to me; "...coal has energie with no puissance". The capitalism-heat and black metal-coldness relations were quite interesting. (In)action against capitalism part was...idealistic at best.

But

Final chapter was a w f u l. And it is quite the understatement. Made me rethink the idea of free speech. Whole chapter regarding heresy can be shortened to:
Christianity- bad
Any non-far left policy - bad
Black metal musicians - transcedental geniuses (using Darkthrone as an example of musical heresy that fights traditional western music theory? Really? Yes, it is not conventional in any means of traditional music theory but I doubt that Fenriz was thinking about that. More likely it was "oh this sounds cool" type of songwriting. Which is perfectly fine, there is no need to divinize it.)

And finally, after whole chapter of criticising capitalism, christianity, criticising not taking action, what not, what is the answer? What should we do mr author? Communism is answer? Communism as end goal? Then what? Ok system is now called communism, what then?

It is like solving some complex matematical equation, which you can not solve, but you use ж instead of x and call it an answer. Like, look, this is ж is from another system of writing so it is an answer, trust me!

After 42 pages of trashing western world, trashing bands that stay apolitical, trashing Christianity as a religion (with 13 year old edgy online atheist level of understanding Christianity) we get a vague answer. But hey, I hope that communist utopia comes true and every single human being on earth live in peace since capitalism makes people evil I guess?

[Volbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually quite a different book than what I was expecting. I might just be terminally online, but I was convinced that Bill Peel would go through the various praxis of black metal and claim them as an expression of a socialist phenomenology. Say, releasing demo for everyone to copy and distribute as being a knock against the capitalist institution of intellectual property rights. But that’s far from the direction that the book takes us.
Instead, Peel takes us a on a structuralist tour through the imagery of black metal and makes an argument how this imagery can be used to further a socialist agenda. This is trying to inject politics into black metal, nor is it trying to argue that black metal was and is socialist all along. Granted, that would be an exercise in futility, but I’ve also read worse takes about black metal.
Rather, Peel is trying to inject black metal into politics.

Like a lot of structuralist authors, and especially authors that try to mix Marxist materialism with a structuralist analysis, Peel does go on lots of really weird tangents that are minimally relevant to the larger point of the book. You’ll often find yourself 10+ pages into an argument, just for Peel to reel himself back to a point that was made quite a bit earlier in the chapter. And if this was done with a sense of purpose, it could have worked to great effect, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead you’ll be going on a trip driven by Peel’s stream of thought, and unfortunately the stream often leads to irrelevant dead ends. As said, this isn’t really something that’s unique to Peel, but when the book is only 167 pages long, the tangents to nowhere do stand out more than they would in a longer book.

Last, and I think this is worth pointing out considering the history of literary coverage of black metal, it’s obvious that Peel has written Tonight It’s a World We Bury: Black Metal, Red Politics because he loves both socialism and black metal. It’s not a cynical tabloid write-up, which only serves to gawk at the corpse-painted monkey, nor is a disinterested in black metal apart from its cultural use. It’s obvious that Peel wanna create a synthesis between the symbolic language of black metal and the material politics of socialism.

[Alex Maskill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cohesive and inspiring framework for understanding the prevailing thematic preoccupations of black metal. Some of the conclusions are a little tenuous - I'm still unconvinced by the premise that black metal's "coldness" is particularly rooted in, or useful for, the resistance of productivity, as opposed to the more obvious grounding in the idea of inhospitality, for instance - but most provide a lucid and exciting connective framework for considering and conceiving black metal.

[Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's interesting and informative, but sensationalist and includes false claims easily disputed through a Google search. Even referencing some of the footnotes he provided proved his claims wrong.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tonight It's a World We Bury by Bill Peel is an interesting look at how death metal can be used in support of left wing causes as well as right wing.

This uses theory in making the connections, but is not, as some might think, just an intellectual exercise in connecting theory to practice. Those who "meditate" as a form of mental masturbation rather than societal change might think so, but they are wrong. Theory is used here to makes Peel's point and to establish ways in which to think about death metal outside of the way that has become popular.

I also think there is some misunderstanding about what he is doing here. He certainly isn't "re-affirming" death metal as left wing (a misleading line in the book description), since that would mean it has, at some point, been that. Peel discusses this idea with respect to other situations where groups might reappropriate ideas or movements. In the same vein, he isn't trying to make some definitive connection between leftist thought and death metal, he is showing how, because of the general dissatisfaction with the world that runs through the genre, it can be used by the left as a weapon or tool just as easily as by the right. His arguments are more demonstrations of where and how to do so, not some kind of "here are the connections" tract. So whether you find the arguments totally convincing in and of themselves is to miss a big part of the point of the book.

He does show that death metal can be used by the left. He does so by making good arguments linking leftist thought with the genre. Neither leftist thought nor death metal are monolithic so the big takeaway is that this can be another tool in your box to change the world, not that your understanding of either leftist thought or death metal aligns with his. Unless you just like twiddling your thumbs and pretend you're doing "deep thinking" when in fact you missed the point.

I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for ways to bring more flexibility to how they can make change in the world. While this is clearly geared toward those who either like or might be open to death metal itself, it also serves as a template for how to use material that might not be designed for your use. If you just like to show people your pseudointellectualism, you might enjoy this so you can write a long-winded vapid piece that makes you feel better about your pathetic self.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book out of sheer curiosity. I enjoy a bit of black metal (the most utterly absurd of all metal styles) and know enough of its history to realise that anyone writing a book about black metal and socialism is, at the very least, asking some interesting, original questions.

Peel's short, readable book acts both as a rough history of the development of black metal and a forum for his own politics. He's well aware that black metal is awash with racists and out-and-out Nazis and discusses this in some detail and doesn't try and pretend black metal is in any way socialist (aside from a few isolated cases like the excellent Panopticon).

At times, Peel gets too bogged down in socialist theory but his book is never dull for long and he packs so many ideas into just over 200 pages that I found myself getting through it very quickly.

[Jordi Sellarès · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una curiosíssima mescla de llibre de música (black metal), política, filosofia i sociologia. El black metal s'ha associat sovint (gràcies a algunes bandes que així ho han facilitat) amb les idees més reaccionàries o fins filofeixistes (algunes bandes més obertament que altres), però l'autor australià teoritza sobre el potencial que té la música i l'escena black metal com a eina transformadora o com a banda sonora dels revolucionaris d'esquerres.

Alguns dels capítols i idees estan més ben lligats que altres, tot i que la quantitat d'informació que treballa l'autor és superlativa.

Un llibre per a gent que estigui molt interessada en aquest tema (relació de música i idees polítiques) i que estigui al corrent de l'escena del black metal. Molt molt entretingut.

[Chad Alexander Guarino da Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Peel’s passion for Black Metal and disdain for capitalism shine in Tonight It’s a World We Bury. Utilizing five of the genres most common tropes, Peel shows how the political slant applied to the genre can be subverted and used as a critique of the modern capitalist deity. While some of these are surely reaches, Peel’s love and knowledge for the genre and its endless permutations shine, as he references standard bearers like Darkthrone, Paysage d’Hiver, and Mayhem alongside new blood such as Afsky and Ethereal Shroud to drive his message home.

This is surely one of the most levelheaded, researched, and thoughtful books on Black Metal out there. Recommended to fans of the genre and those curious what all the tremolo is about.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Repeater Books and Netgalley*

[M.Dankiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is rich with interviews and anecdotes, providing a well rounded perspective on the genres complexity.What makes this book particularly compelling is its ability to challenge preconceived notions about black metal, highlighting the diversity of thought within the scene. It sheds light on the often overlooked political dimensions of black metal, demonstrating that the genre is as much about ideology as it is about sound.
Highly recommended ❤️

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this was an interesting enough read, and while the connections that Peel makes between the ideologies of black metal and red politics certainly hold some water, I feel like a lot of the analysis here is relatively superficial, on the sides of both music and politics. I’d love to see a revised version or sequel delve deeper into this comparison.

[Tom J · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting and well researched, but also slightly too insubstantial. the arguments are persuasive but don't feel like they're fully mapped onto specific actions, outcomes or approaches.

[Tucker Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a bit pearly in it’s outlook but I’m a fan of the method. I particularly enjoyed the final chapter on heresy. Worth a read for fans of either of its subjects.

[Kristen Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disagreed with nearly everything, but an engaging read nonetheless

[Jimmu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tricky one to review.

I enjoyed the book a lot but totally disagree with the argument put forward.

Anti-capitalism does not mean left-wing bruh

[Wilhelm Korpi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just awful.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for sheer audacity.

[Ken Mcintyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like a stream of consciousness kinda thing. I learned nothing but I didn't really expect to, tbh.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I expected more talk about politics of specifics bands, but as someone who knows more about NSBM than I would like, the focus on theory is really interesting.