The Metal Scene and The Bible: Meaning, Accuracy, and Silence

This article examines the question “how should we understand the use of the Bible in the metal scene?” In the first part, we explore the example of Black Sabbath against the backdrop of the use of the Bible in the band's contemporary society. We argue that the Bible had a particular role in the...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and popular culture
Main Author: Watts, Peter (Author)
Contributors: Fisher, Andrew (Other)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: University of Saskatchewan [2017]
In: Journal of religion and popular culture
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Black Sabbath (Music group) / Heavy metal / Bible / Reception
RelBib Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
CB Christian life; spirituality
ZB Sociology
Further subjects:B Black Sabbath
B Bible
B biblical literacy
B Heavy metal
B speech-act theory
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This article examines the question “how should we understand the use of the Bible in the metal scene?” In the first part, we explore the example of Black Sabbath against the backdrop of the use of the Bible in the band's contemporary society. We argue that the Bible had a particular role in the genesis of Heavy Metal through an-admittedly hazy-understanding of biblical morality shared between metal bands and their audiences. In the second part, we make a more controversial claim. Given that the shared cultural biblical understanding has changed, the metal scene is self-consciously inauthentic, and the metal “scene” qua “metal scene” is authentically inauthentic, we argue that where the Bible is used in metal, its meaning is distorted and even silenced.
ISSN:1703-289X
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religion and popular culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3138/jrpc.29.1.3810