Myth and Magic in Heavy Metal Music

Myth and Magic in Heavy Metal Music

Myth pervades heavy metal. With visual elements drawn from medieval and horror cinema, the genre's themes of chaos, dissidence and alienation transmit an image of Promethean rebellion against the conventional. In dialogue with the modern world, heavy metal draws imaginatively on myth and folklore to construct an aesthetic and worldview embraced by a vast global audience. The author explores the music of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and many others from a mythological and literary perspective. "This book scores major kudos by having Cronos the mighty and highly influential Venom on the cover. It's a fine idea to explore the influences on the themes of heavy metal and Robert McParland does this with great aplomb. It's nice to read such a well-written work. It would have been nice if a well-known metal musician had written an intro for the book...The visuals are a very important part of heavy metal and it hurts the book to not have visuals to complement the fine text. But the text is very good." - Hellbound.ca For the Love of Metal Review Fix chats with Robert McParland who discusses his book Myth and Magic in Heavy Metal Music detailing the creative process and his goals for the future. Patrick Hickey, Review Fix Exclusive , August 27, 2018. This is a non-academic book for general readers that intends to provide an overview of heavy metal in relation to mythology. This book focuses upon archetypes, imagery, and creative expression. It provides a survey of how some bands have made use of ancient mythical forms. The heavy metal genre underscores our need to maintain a sense of wonder in contemporary society. Robert McParland is a professor of English and an associate dean of Arts and Sciences at Felician University in Rutherford, New Jersey. His popular music writings include publications on The Beatles, The Who, U2, Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty, Paul Simon, and American lyricists.