Medievalism, Popular Culture and Politics in Metal Music
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Product details
- ISBN 9781835952931
- Weight: 523g
- Dimensions: 170 x 244mm
- Publication Date: 15 May 2026
- Publisher: Intellect
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Medievalizing epicism - defined as a style or sensibility that evokes the medieval and the epic—has been a hallmark of metal music since its inception. In this regard, metal is not unique among forms of Western pop culture; its fascination with the medieval owes much to the influence of fantasy literature, cinema, and later, video games. Yet medievalizing epicism also plays a key role in shaping (ethno)nationalist ideologies, fascist narratives, and alt-right discourse, as well as official efforts to foster patriotic sentiment. As such, it is often entangled with sexism, racism, nationalism, and exclusivity - elements that frequently echo in metal’s lyrics, imagery, and album art.
This book examines how metal engages with these tensions through the specific lens of medieval Hispanic epic themes. It explores whether and how metal bands deal with the problematic associations that medievalizing epicism can carry, and what this means for the broader metal scene. By exploring these intersections, Amaranta Saguar García invites readers to reflect on the cultural and political dimensions of metal’s medieval epic imagination.
This Open Access publication is funded by the research project PoeMAS: POEsía para MÁS gente. La poesía en la música popular española contemporánea (PGC2018-099641-A-I00, Ministerio de Ciencia Innovación y Universidades de España).
Amaranta Saguar García graduated in Spanish Philology from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and holds an MSt and a DPhil in Medieval and Modern Languages from the University of Oxford. She has developed her career as a scholar of Hispanic medieval literature and metal music in Germany, France, and Spain.
