„Where We Don’t Meet Each Other, the Melancholy Won’t Stuff Itself With Us”. Romantic Melancholic Anthropology in Polish Black Metal Cover Image

„Tam, gdzie nas nie spotkamy, melancholia się nami nie nażre”. Romantyczna antropologia melancholiczna w polskim black metalu
„Where We Don’t Meet Each Other, the Melancholy Won’t Stuff Itself With Us”. Romantic Melancholic Anthropology in Polish Black Metal

Author(s): Kamil Barski
Subject(s): Music, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Art
Published by: Komisja Nauk Filologicznych Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk we Wrocławiu
Keywords: melancholy; black metal; Romanticism; heavy meta;

Summary/Abstract: Among the many research fields, in terms of which heavy metal (counter)culture (more precisely, in this case, black metal) can be studied, the history of literature has a prominent place. The separation of the lyrics of the song from its musical layer makes it a poem which can be interpreted in various keys. As a result, it can also be established in various literary traditions. In my opinion – expressed also in other publications – black metal poetry has a romantic character for many reasons. In this article, literary studies are combined with anthropological considerations. There is a specific concept of man that emerges from the interpretation of the lyrics, which makes us consider black metal musicians as “late grandchildren” of Romanticism, and black metal itself – as another incarnation of this movement in the history of culture. It turns out that the most represented anthropological attitude which occurs in contemporary works of this genre is Romantic melancholy, the various manifestations of which are traced in each lyric.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 19
  • Page Range: 9-23
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish