Abstract
Viking, Mesopotamian and Hellenic metal; place-based metal labels full of mythology are commonplace in metal music. Focusing on ‘Teutonic’ metal, this article analyses such labels through a collaboration with one of the genre’s primary record producers: Karl Bauerfeind. Reflection on sixteen selected album productions with German, British, Swedish and Brazilian bands suggests that imagined communities with symbolic boundaries and shared invented traditions not only shape fan and media discourse but have tangible effects and sonic signatures in record productions, as demonstrated by discussions between bands, producers and record companies. The findings suggest that place- or mythology-based labels evoke vivid, partly fictional, historical inspiration for artists and record producers, which are further negotiated in journalistic media and fan discourse. It is suggested that these imagined communities with respective sonic signatures are both meaningful for fans in their ‘communicative leisure’ practices and used by the music industry as ‘instrumental leisure’ in their marketing efforts.
Highlights
Globalisation has led to tension between the global and the local, resulting in a perhaps surprising development in musical practice and research: Recourse to a ‘new traditionalism’ (Biddle & Knights, 2007: 5) that complements the global post-modern plurality with national, local or otherwise imagined communities (Anderson, 1994) to deal with the anonymity of globalisation
Most leisure domains take place in local or niche communities influenced by national forces, but they are global, relying on culture industries (Adorno, 1991) and functioning within international structures of capitalism
By definition, controlled by the instrumental logic of capitalism and the wider entertainment industry and influenced by nation-states, regulatory bodies, record companies and journalists (O’Flynn, 2007). Artists depend on their music being distributed and sold, and listeners need to consume it, both of which happen through the culture industry, which in turn shapes norms and expectations (Spracklen, 2019: 270)
Summary
Globalisation has led to tension between the global and the local, resulting in a perhaps surprising development in musical practice and research: Recourse to a ‘new traditionalism’ (Biddle & Knights, 2007: 5) that complements the global post-modern plurality with national, local or otherwise imagined communities (Anderson, 1994) to deal with the anonymity of globalisation. By bringing together Bauerfeind’s professional experience and Herbst’s expertise as a rock music scholar, this article aims to explore whether musical characteristics in the production of a metal record distinguish metal genres classified by place-based or mythological labels, taking ‘Teutonic metal’ as an example. It examines how subjective and symbolically-rich interpretations of such labels influence the producer’s conceptual approach during a record production and how they affect the interaction between producer and band in the production process. With insight into Bauerfeind’s concept of the ‘Teutonic metal’ label, sixteen album productions by German, Brazilian, Swedish and British bands are analysed, showing the role such labels play for those involved in metal music production
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