Pagan Metal Gods: The Use of Mythology and White Supremacy National Socialist Black Metal

Abstract

Black metal’s relationship to National Socialist and other radical right ideologies makes up a complicated nexus of historical and musicological narratives. Scholars such as Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, Keith Kahn-Harris, and Jeffery Kaplan have traced some of the histories of radical right groups both within the black metal scene and as movements more broadly. However, the question of why black metal has been especially susceptible to appropriation by those with neo-fascist and radical right viewpoints has been less considered. In this article, I will argue that the black metal scene has been appealing to national socialist group members through a shared interest in paganism and mythology. Through an analysis of album art and lyrics of three national socialist black metal (NSBM) bands¾Burzum, Graveland, and Der Stürmer¾I will demonstrate how a shared interest in paganism and pre-Christian mythology allows NSBM artists to place themselves within a historical lineage of national socialist politics and the black metal genre simultaneously.