newagemetal - Tumblr blog

[newagemetal]

Conclusion

Contrary to books on the New Age, I believe Satanism has a far better claim to being part of the New Age Movement than Paganism. In its focus on improving the self it aligns directly with NAM, and in hoping to change morality, it is looking towards a new age of humanity. It is a relatively new religion, with a new approach, and the tendency towards atheism makes it easy to combine with other practices. LaVey loved the occult in general, exploring various magical practices, demonstrating the pick n mix approach found in the NAM.

Paganism follows a more traditional religious structure, and as such it seems unhelpful to group it under the New Age banner. There is community, there are gods, there are rituals, and rather than looking towards the future, the focus is on the past. I’ve shown Pagan metal to be one way of expressing these faiths, and as such, that isn’t New Age.

Black metal is often an expression of theistic-Satanism, which is less clearly defined as part of the NAM due to its tendency to promote violence. However, in generally promoting freedom and opposing flock mentality, it seems to at least allow for a variety in expression, and it’s overlap with the ideas of the Church of Satan means it should at least be considered when looking at the New Age. 

Overall, the NAM is part of one counterculture, and metal is part of another, so though their ideas may overlap, it can be difficult to see them as the same thing.

[newagemetal]

Aggression

CW: Rape, violence, racism, suicide, really gruesome details

My final topic is what I feel is the most obvious reason metal isn’t linked to the New Age Movement: it’s just so angry. Encyclopaedia Britannica describes the NAM as looking forward to a new age ‘of love and light’, and it’s hard to see that in Satanic Black Metal in Hell, to use a convenient example.

Urgehal is an idea in Norse mythology of an endless forest where all evil is found, and obviously the lyrics of the above song definitely link to Satan. However, for Urgehal, these Satanic and Heathen themes are all metaphors for how evil humanity is. With the opening lyric ‘dead way before death strikes you’, it’s clear that this is a bitter music, filled with disgust for the world. 

Varg Vikernes’s music as Burzum- labelled both black metal and Viking metal- is full of hate filled lyrics, such as:

War Between Races A Goal Is Reached Chaos, Hate

which is the angry, racist content one would expect from him. 

Gorgoroth’s Possessed (by Satan) features some truly horrible lyrics such as ‘kill the priest and burn the Jew’ along with ideas of a holy war, church burning, and the rape of nuns. 

So, lyrically, black metal, as well as some Pagan metal, is angry and hateful. Obviously musically the fast guitars and the unearthly screaming also gives off a general aggression, and stage shows that can feature animal heads on sticks certainly aren’t giving off peace and love vibes. Pagan metals attracts people who feel their culture has been stolen from them, so there is an anger there. The NAM also focuses on healing, and this seems to be absent from this aggressive approach.

And of course, I couldn’t write this blog without going into a bit more detail on some of the dreadful acts committed by some of the artists. Firstly, I shall look at Gorgoroth. Founding member Infernus raped someone with a friend, although he got off lightly because he was apparently too inebriated to remember it. Another member, Gaahl, tortured a man, threatening to sacrifice him, and even putting some of his blood in a cup to drink. 

Infamously in the early black metal scene, the band Mayhem were involved in a series of awful events. When the fittingly named singer Dead killed himself, guitarist Euronymous took a picture to use as an album cover, and made necklaces from his shattered skull. That part is possibly not relevant to the idea of anger and aggression, but it certainly doesn’t demonstrate any kind of love. The crucial part is the murder of Euronymous by Count Grishnackh, who had joined Mayhem as a session musician. Count Grishnackh is the stage name of Varg Vikernes, here he is smiling at the camera having been sentenced to 21 years in prison, also for the angry act of church burning: 

Creepy stuff. Euronymous had apparently been planning to kill the Count, and this seems plausible given another temporary band member, Occultis, had received a death threat supposedly by Euronymous, and in an interview a week before his death, Euronymous said that he had ‘no problem killing someone in cold blood’. Again, no sign of peace and love. Instead of trying to heal their relationship, or stay away, Varg stabbed Euronymous 23 times. Euronymous was a theistic Satanist, Vickernes is and was an Odinist: a Pagan. 

All in all, even if metal is a way to express beliefs which could at least link to the NAM, the music and its musicians feel very at odds with the movement and what it stands for.

Other sources:

https://metalinjection.net/lists/top-10-crimes-committed-black-metal-musicians

Dunkelheit- the Story of Varg Vikernes- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgYsPkWJmdY

[newagemetal]

The God Within

The New Age Movement is closely tied to self-help, as the focus is on the individual developing themselves, rather than worship, obedience or community. This is often linked to a pantheistic worldview in which God is in everyone, as improving oneself and becoming more spiritually in tune can be viewed as self-worship. Certainly, if there is a God within, to be more aware of oneself is to become closer to the divine.

The Church of Satan makes the self the focus, and even uses the wording that we are our own God. This is opposed by theistic Satanists, who see Satan as a real being, and generally he is their god. Infernus, founding member of Gorgoroth and source of their Satanism (supposedly he formed the band after he’d made a deal with the devil), is a theist, and generally isn’t a fan of the Church of Satan because of its atheism. However, he still frames Satanism as revolving around self-development. 

A Catholic booklet labels the NAM as worshipping the self, but also as worshipping Satan, and as a movement which rejects absolute morality. Peter Spink frames Christianity as self-denial, and the NAM as self-realisation. Based on this framing, Satanism belongs in the NAM. It questions traditional morality, and is about the self. King ov Hell, another Gorgoroth member, describes Satanism as expressing freedom, and argues that church burnings or even murder can be okay in the right situation, showing some form of moral relativism. He also points to Nietzsche, whose message is one of trying to become better and stronger, rather than celebrating the slave morality of being meek and mild. The same ideas can be found in an interview with Watain member Erik Danielsson.

However, many Pagans worship external gods, and even the common pantheistic tendencies just lead to a focus on nature and one’s experience with it. This worldview can be seen in this Arkona video, which is set in nature and features giving water to an idol at 3:15.

The song translates as Glory to you, Rus and it celebrates Mother Earth as well as Russia. It is about reviving pagan traditions to bring glory to Russia, thus promoting nationalism, pagan gods, and appreciating the natural world. The importance of the gods and of nature can be found in other Slavic metal, e.g. Mockosz by Netherfell. All of this is in contrast to a New Age focus on the self. The importance of community in Slavic religion has already been stressed, and given that the founding members of Arkona met as part of a Pagan community, it’s clear they also value it. This shows a series of values that go against revolving around the individual.

There are a variety of Paganisms and Satanisms, but a reasonable generalisation to make would be to say that Satanism focuses on self-development, whereas Paganism is much more like traditional religions in putting attention into worship and community instead. 

Other Sources:

https://www.voicesfromthedarkside.de/Interviews/GORGOROTH--6893.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20071012170952/http://gorgoroth.org/extras/interviews/newsweek.html

A Christian in the New Age- Peter Spink

Gods Within: A Critical Guide to the New Age- Michael Perry

A New Age of the Spirit? A Catholic Response to the New Age Phenomenon

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/slavsya-rus-славься-русь-glory-you-rus.html

[newagemetal]

A New Age? pt 2- Ragnorok

Although Heathenry looks to the past, Norse Mythology does warn of future events. Ragnorok was deemed worthy of a whole Thor film, so it’s a pretty big deal. According to The Binding of Fenrir, Loki’s son, a giant wolf, was chained up by the Aesir gods in the strongest metal of the dwarves. These chains cannot hold him forever, and at some future time Fenrir will escape, kill Odin, generally wreak havoc, before finally being killed. 

Moonsorrow wrote a song from the perspective of Fenrir, and the video depicts these events.

In looking towards a future time in which Fenrir will cause destruction, in some way it can be described as looking towards a new age. It is not the positive new age to look forward to of the New Age movement, but there is definitely a point of comparison. However, in this sense, Christianity, for example, could be described as looking to a new age, as the book of Revelation provides a detailed prophecy of the destruction of the world and a new age under the rule of Christ. The presence of such ideas in mainstream religions makes it hard to define the NAM based on the concept of a new age. Satanism, on the other hand, wishes to turn morality on its head, and this may be better seen as a potential new age: a new age of humanity. 

Other sources: 

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/fenrir/

Book of Revelation

[newagemetal]

A New Age? pt 1: opposition to Christianity

Paganism is often conflated with the New Age movement (NAM), and yet Pagans tend to resent being included. There has been a move away from the term New Age, as the idea of the dawning of a new age is less of a focus, making it even harder to determine if Satanism and Paganism are part of the same movement, but I shall start by looking at whether the idea of a new age is present in these religions.

Below is Hold the Heathen Hammer High, an unquestionably pro-Pagan song, with the titular lyric, and other lines like Heathen heart/ Pagan pride. Rather than singing about Norse mythology, this is about how great it is to be a Heathen. One line: “For the pagan past I live and one day will die”, makes clear that this is a faith based on an old age. However, a revival of the past could still be seen as a new age, and given that the accepted NAM included ideas of varying age such as reincarnation, the works of Jung, traditional Chinese medicine, and chakras.

In the video, Týr (named after the deity famous for being the origin of the word Tuesday) are on a Viking ship, showing the importance of the past. By 3:11 they’ve got off the ship and are charging onto land, an image with connotations of pillaging and raping. What they’re actually running to is a cross, a symbol of Christianity that they proceed to chop down. This is something of a juxtaposition, as the band are presented as invaders, but it is Christianity that are the invaders whom they want removed. 

The new age is often presented in astrological terms as a move from the age of Pisces to the age of Aquarius, but given that it’s a mostly Western movement, it can also be seen as movement from Christianity, with Pisces conveniently meaning fish, allowing associations with the Christian Icthus. With the Age of Pisces as the Age of Christianity, to rally against Christian dominance can be seen as part of a move to the new age. 

Opposition to Christianity is large part of Satanism, the fact it’s named from the traditional enemy of that faith makes that pretty clear. Black masses and other blasphemous practices are rife in black metal performances. This Gorgoroth concert was deemed criminally blasphemous. The sheep heads represent flock mentality, including but not limited to Christianity. CW: Nudity, dead animals, mock crucifixion, lyrics about violent acts including rape, and band members who have committed horrific acts

Church burnings are one form of anti-Christian sentiment which are associated with black metal. Gaahl, Gorgoroth’s former frontman, has repeatedly spoken out in favour of burning churches, although he hasn’t been found guilty of setting fire to any himself. Varg Vikernes, former member of Mayhem and murderer of bandmate Euronymous, was found guilty of three church burnings. Recent church fires in Louisiana have been attributed to Holden Matthews, a black metal fan who is also a Pagan. 

Watain are a black metal band made up of theistic Satanists- in performing black masses and other rituals on stage, they are engaging in devil-worship. In the below video at 20:12 they throw the blood of a sacrifice to the devil into the crowd, a practice found in Biblical sacrifices. Watain’s Erik Danielsson claims ‘black metal is the enemy’ taking the word Satan’s meaning- adversary- as a general philosophy. Not only are they in opposition to Christianity, but to the world and society as a whole. This could be seen as pointing to a new age, indeed the message of freedom is something they want to promote, but the focus is on the opposition to what society stands for. 

So, it is clear that an opposition to the current Christian age is present in both religions, and both musical genres. However, the destructive attitude towards Christianity seems to go against the spirit of the NAM, which is about drawing from different sources to develop ourselves. Although an end to traditional Christian dominance is essential to a new age, to promote one set of beliefs as the truth, and another as something to destroyed undermines the pick n mix find your own truth approach found in the NAM. 

Other sources:

Gods Within: A Critical Guide to the New Age- Michael Perry

https://web.archive.org/web/20071012170952/http://gorgoroth.org/extras/interviews/newsweek.html

[newagemetal]

What is Paganism?

Before I get to the fun stuff, it seemed necessary to get an idea of what Paganism is. Obviously it’s important in Pagan metal, but there’s also an overlap with black metal, e.g. notorious black metal musician Varg Vikernes is a Pagan (He talks about his Paganism here, CW: other than being a murderer, Varg is racist, sexist and hateful http://www.burzum.org/eng/library/paganism01.shtml).

Paganism, or Neo-Paganism as it’s often called in America, is a modern version of a pagan religion. It makes more sense to talk of Paganisms, because it covers a wide variety of religions and spiritualities from around the world, including Slavic religion; Wicca and other forms of witchcraft; and even Hellenism- a revival of ancient Greek religion. The term paganism was a derogatory term used by Christians to describe other religions, and as such it generally describes native, pre-Christian religion in and around Europe. Eclectic Paganism is a non-denominational form that uses ideas of nature worship, eight seasonal festivals based off the wheel of the year, old gods, and a female aspect to the divine, and this helps sum up what most Paganism involve.

I could just leave it at that for today, the alternative of trying to cover all or even quite a few forms of Paganism would be far too great a task, but as I’m definitely going to be looking at Viking metal and Slavic folk metal, it makes sense to briefly outline the relevant forms of Paganism.

Viking metal draws on Norse mythology, a system accepted by Norse Pagans, who are also known as Heathens. Norse mythology is poetry about gods such as Odin, Thor, Frigg, Freya, and Loki, the first three of days of the week fame; it has recently been in the public eye through the Marvel Cinematic Universe (here is a short article claiming Pagans protested against the film Thor, with no evidence or detail about it: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/pagans_protest_treatment). Modern Heathens are therefore polytheists, and are reviving old local traditions. They also celebrate this world, rather than just an afterlife. The idea of a native religion does attract white nationalism, and Vikings in general have been found to be glorified by white supremacists. Viewing other religions as foreign invaders can also be linked to church burnings, although seemingly always within the context of black metal, a sadly relevant issue which I will look at some other day.

Slavic religion, or Rodnovery, is another polytheistic system which can attract racists due to the native ethnic nature of it. There are two main gods- Pelun and Weles- and many more, and festivals revolving around the seasons are one form of worship. As you can see from the below image, it’s a chance to wear traditional dress and enjoy traditional music. Like the Druids, Slavic pagans had human sacrifice, but thankfully that’s one thing that hasn’t been revived. Communal banquets were a big part of the culture that survived into modern-day Russia, and the communal element of Rodnovery is clearly still important. 

Other sources:

https://www.meettheslavs.com/slavic-neo-paganism-rodnovery-today/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavic-religion

https://culture.pl/en/article/roots-revival-how-slavic-faith-returned-to-poland

https://norse-mythology.org/

Belief Beyond Boundaries: Wicca, Celtic Spirituality and the New Age

Paganism and the New Age- Melissa Harrington

[newagemetal]

Introduction to Satanism

Black metal is directly associated with Satanism, but there are a variety of beliefs involved- Satanism, Odinism, atheism. I thought to untangle everything, I’d start by looking into what Satanism involves.

The Christian Church (I know, it isn’t one thing) has accused a variety of groups of being Satanic, and though there has been a long-standing belief in devil-worship, this generally just meant not-Christianity. Accusations of witchcraft in the 16th and 17th centuries were “proven” to be false when the witch drowned, and given that the term ‘witch-hunt’ is now used to describe unfair persecution, it’s reasonable to say that there was very little actual Satanism going on.

Enter Anton LaVey! On April 30th 1966 he formed the Church of Satan. LaVey performed black masses, wrote The Satanic Bible, befriended celebrities, dressed dramatically, and generally put on a show.

LaVey’s Satanism was ritualistic, with the black mass- a parody of the Catholic mass that had been attributed to witches in the past- full of prayers to Satan. However, somewhat paradoxically, the religion was actually atheistic, and if there was any worship, it was of oneself. LaVey was involved in the occult, and the Church of Satan generally used demonic themes, but it seems this may have been to grab people’s attention with shock value. (Here’s a video of a black mass, full of ‘hail Satan’s if you fancy watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1zsIk6WcNM, and here’s an article by the very same High Priest about how they don’t actually worship the devil: https://www.churchofsatan.com/what-the-devil/)

Looking into the actual theology, you might as well be reading On the Genealogy of Morality. Nietzsche’s influence is everywhere: the somewhat repetitive Nine Satanic Statements can be summed up as rejecting Christian teaching for making us weak and going against our natures. The Seven Deadly Sins (that deeply unbiblical concept) are raised as things which should be celebrated- we should want to achieve more, enjoy more, and look good doing it, and those who harm us should be punished, not loved. 

Various different Satanic groups emerged after LaVey’s, including theistic Satanists who really believe in the Devil. Often they focus on similar ideas of self-development- a very New Age concept I’ll come back to on another day- but some embrace what can be more easily described as evil, such as the Order of Nine Angles who celebrate Nazi Germany. ONA promote human sacrifice, which they call ‘culling’: http://www.o9a.org/wp-content/uploads/o9a-culling-texts-v7a.pdf and generally associate themselves with the fictional, or what they term, ‘Traditional’ Satanism that past Christian society believed in.

Hugh Urban has claimed that the ‘greatest influence of modern Satanism’ has been on ‘heavy metal’, and just like the Church of Satan, metal bands like Black Sabbath used the Satan part mostly for shock value. It was black metal that took Satanism seriously, however, and it’s not always the more innocent, Nietzschean kind LaVey introduced.

Sources: Sympathy for the Devil- Lawrence Wright

Church of Satan Website 

The Satanic Bible- LaVey

ONA Website

On the Genealogy of Morality- Nietzsche

New age, neopagan, and new religious movements : alternative spirituality in contemporary America- Hugh Urban

[newagemetal]

Aims of this blog (also hi)

Welcome to my tumblr, this is a kind of research project based around heavy metal. I wish to investigate how the metal scene is associated with neopaganism, and I also want to use black metal as a base to explore Satanism. These two areas of metal are generally seen as aggressive, but they are also linked to alternative spiritualities, an area usually associated with peace n love. 

So, I want to determine whether pagan metal and black metal should be associated with new age and alternative spirituality, and to do so I shall be looking at lyrics, the atmosphere of live shows, interviews with band members, and a little bit of theory.

I study philosophy and religion, my prior experience of the genres is mostly limited to Amon Amarth and Opeth’s dabbling in black metal, so this will mostly be from the perspective of a religion student experiencing things for the first time. In other words, this is a journey, so do bear with me.