A Matter of Life and Death: Iron Maiden’s religio-political critique

Abstract

Abstract Throughout its history, the musical and lyrical hallmarks of the heavy metal genre have been portrayed as stereotypically dark, despairing and demonic with the most public opposition to its presence in society coming from religious groups who have been all too quick to conflate the aesthetic inspiration of the occult with an actual invocation of it. Through analysing Iron Maiden’s 2006 studio album, A Matter of Life and Death, this religious criticism of heavy metal is turned upside down with the emergence of a dialectical critique of religion as it relates to the political sphere. Through both musical and lyrical analyses, Maiden are shown to address the topics of war and violence in alignment with religious belief and its political out-workings. Intertextuality and sonic indexicality are utilized in the album to issue religio-political statements that bespeak both sensitivity and subversion. Drawing upon Barthes’ ‘death of the author’ concept, readings that display sympathetic resonance with evangelical Christian beliefs are also articulated, challenging the dominant public discourses that tend to situate evangelical Christianity in polar opposition to heavy metal music. The contestable nature of these readings provides a site for questioning political (including religious) interpretations of music epistemologically: Is there a ‘correct’ reading? How do we know which it is? Finally, given present concerns in the public domain over religio-political extremism, some thoughts are offered as to how this heavy metal album provides a framework for engaging with the religio-political mythologies of our age and increasing political censorship.