Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture

by Natalie J. Purcell

Death Metal is among the most despised forms of violently themed entertainment. Many politicians, conservative groups and typical Americans attribute youth violence and the destruction of social values to such entertainment. The usual assumptions about the Death Metal scene and its fans have rarely been challenged. This book investigates the demographic trends, attitudes, philosophical beliefs, ethical systems, and behavioral patterns within the scene, seeking to situate death metal in the larger social order. The Death Metal community proves to be a useful microcosm for much of American subculture and lends insight into the psychological and social functions of many forbidden or illicit entertainment forms. The author's analysis, rich in interviews with rock stars, radio hosts, and average adolescent fans, provides a key to comprehending deviant tendencies in modern American culture.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

242 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2003

Reviews

[Felix · Rating 2 out of 5]

"One of the standards of social science research states that researchers ought not to become emotionally involved in the topic of their studies. I can emphatically state that I failed miserably in adhering to this simple rule." (p. 187)

While I consider the ideal of objectivity to be an unattainable phantasm, I still have a problem with the way Natalie Purcell's partiality for the scene she investigates shows in her study. Right from the start she takes a very defensive and apologetic stance when she tries to refute the negative image of Death Metal and its fans in American politics and media. While the intention behind this and the effort itself is laudable and my issue may still be merely with a certain rhetoric or style, it gets really annoying when she joins the fans in glorifying Death Metal as 'better' and 'deeper' than 'superficial pop music', thereby reproducing the scene's self-fashioning without ever really questioning it.

Purcell's 'study' quickly degenerates into a fan's account which does not stop at reiterating standard tropes of the rock vs. pop debate, embracing dubious rock values of 'authenticity' and thus, while defending Metal, showing the same kind of musical prejudice towards pop that it set out to eradicate. Purcell even contradicts herself when in the second half she evokes the exact same stereotypes she argued to be false in the first half: trying to argue for the positive value of horror and gore she pictures "the typical Death Metal fan [...:] high-school boy, not very popular, probably suffering from acne" and having difficulties "handling his relationship with his parents" (p. 185).

Don't get me wrong, I do concur with Purcells thesis that Death Metal is grossly misrepresented and poorly understood. But I don't think that she really contributes to set the picture straight in an academic context. The problem is that stereotypes are reproduced here instead of questioning them and even worse they are passed off as results of scientific research. Even a cursory glance at theories of popular music would've helped in avoiding the pitfalls of musical stereotyping.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I liked: the author's enthusiasm and personal knowledge of the American death metal scene. It made me nostalgic for my time listening to Seton Hall's Pirate Radio back in the day and prompted me to see if I could find my old Celtic Frost and Sepultura tapes (no luck, alas).

Her detailed listing of different subgenres and prominent artists (for a more concise introduction, including music samples, you can visit All Music's death metal page: http://www.allmusic.com/style/death-m... )

What I didn't like: the research methodology was questionable, her literature review could have benefited from consultation with a research librarian, the author seems generally unfamiliar with music theory and history beyond the death metal scene, and her defensive portrayal of the subject seems to have made her blind to her own inconsistencies.

Overall, while it was sometimes fun to read, I would not present this book to someone unfamiliar with the genre as a good introduction.

This review is based on a review copy received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. (Although the copyright date on this is 2003, so the review isn't really all that early, I suppose.)

[Sami Al-Khalili · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is grossly underrated and heavily criticized for its perceived lack of academic integrity in research. Purcell not only achieved a solid representation of Death Metal music, but also portrayed the scene in contradiction to the assumptions made about it. I learned a lot from this book. I fell in love with Death Metal in the Middle East in the early 2000s, seeing bands from Iron Maiden to Arch Enemy to Machine Head in Dubai. This book would have been a game-changer if I had discovered it earlier in my youth.

I don’t understand how people can give such low reviews based on the opinion that her research wasn’t academic enough. She touched on many topics in a short amount of time. If the book were ten times thicker, people would still find something to complain about. This book is awesome. Literature like this should be discussed and criticized, but not dismantled as if it were low-hanging fruit, especially considering the way Metal Gods influence the minds of future death metalists. Oh Metal Gods save us from the works of this heathen. She wrote a book and now we complain to you. Ohhh Metal Gods.

Oh, how dare she contribute to a small niche of cool folk who offer an alternative lens to the perceptive black hole that is the mainstream? How could she give homage to a scene that needs more literature and academic recognition internationally? How about you write a damn book, you phlegm-dogs? This book is amazing, and we need more works like it.

[Felipe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I... Well, I just don't know.

I recognize that objectivity is really not as possible as one would like to think when dealing with the social sciences (hell, I'm an ethnographer, I know this first hand!), but the amount of time I spent eye-rolling at how defensive and downright hipster ("pop is such a sell-out man...") this book sounded was entirely too much for something that I was expecting to be a valuable reference.

I'm not sure if this was intended as an academic text, but it certainly doesn't read like one. It does serve as a good model for what not to do with your ethnographic work though, so there is that...?

Also, this may just be because of my personal background, but I was very, very dubious of the discussion of gender and race in this volume (minor as it was). On top of being generally too simplistic, it really reemphasized the author's defensive position, and left me wondering how much data might have been left on the cutting room floor because it didn't fit in with the overall narrative the author was trying to construct.

Oh, well.

[Alfonso Parada · Rating 2 out of 5]

listen to left hand path