Indigenous metal music

Indigenous metal is heavy metal music played by indigenous peoples of various colonized regions. Bands may play music from across the metal spectrum, though most center indigenous themes, stories, or instruments. Groups with indigenous members are sometimes considered to play indigenous metal regardless of the thematic content of their music.[1][2]

Indigenous metal
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsEarly 1990s
Typical instruments
  • Electric guitar
  • bass guitar
  • drums
  • vocals
  • percussion
Fusion genres
Other topics

Indigenous metal entered American popular culture in the 1980s and early 1990s through the commercial success of songs like "Indians" by Anthrax.[3] Several Native-fronted bands, such as thrash metal group Testament, also began releasing music dealing with indigenous themes during this period.[4] Brazilian band Sepultura helped pioneer the style through the 1996 release of Roots, which was created in collaboration with members of a Xavante community and is noted for its distinct Brazilian percussion, ambient field noise, and chanting. A Karajá man features on the cover of the album.

"True" native metal (heavy metal created by Native American artists who use traditional instruments and language) gained popularity throughout the 2000s, especially in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Characteristics

Themes and lyrics

The term "indigenous metal" is sometimes conflated with "tribal metal," which is more broadly influenced by pan-indigenous stories and follows Viking metal bands' approach to capturing their culture. Indigenous metal is often explicitly defined as exploring themes of "experienced dispossession, liberation, and death" in addition to preserving linguistic and cultural heritage.[5] Native American metal bands in the Southwest United States sometimes refer to their musical style as "Rez metal," as it concerns political issues that make it popular among youth on reservations.[6]

Many bands focus on linguistic preservation by singing either partially or exclusively in their indigenous languages. Notably, New Zealand band Alien Weaponry have performed several songs in the Māori language on international stages.[7] Bands Aborigene and Araña, who write about Maya civilization and Pipil stories, are among the most popular metal acts from El Salvador.[8]

Musical style

Artists may make use of cultural imagery, fashion, melodies, and instrumentation. In general, the use of percussion and traditional wind instruments are a core compositional element to indigenous metal music. Mexican band Cemican, for example, incorporate pre-colonial Aztec wind instruments such as stone flutes in their songs.[9]

Joseph "Tecuhtli" Hermnant of band Cemican onstage at Wacken Open Air

Language revitalization

Metal that showcases indigenous languages plays an important role in revitalization efforts, especially when the languages used are endangered. In an interview, Alien Weaponry manager Niel de Jong voiced his belief that making the Māori language "...cool through music" may convince apprehensive Māori youth to learn the language.[10] Brazilian folk metal band Arandu Arakuaa regularly perform in Tupi Guarani, Xerénte, and Xavante; they include a children's song on every album to promote the languages to young audiences.[11][12] In 2013, Testament lead singer Chuck Billy, who is Pomo and spent much of his youth on the Hopland Band reservation, was recognized by both California State Assembly member Jim Frasier and the National Museum of the American Indian for his positive contributions to Native American image.[4]

Some bands have faced backlash within their communities for unconventional language use. For example, Igloolik-based Inuit band Northern Haze were initially discouraged from writing lyrics in their native Inuktitut when they began releasing music in the 1980s.[13]

Controversy

Indigenous metal is often criticized for not being "true" Indigenous music.[14] This trend is pervasive with respect to Indigenous knowledge production and Indigenous arts and has been criticized by Indigenous people as colonial in nature, one that solidifies the stereotype of Indigenous peoples as fundamentally "backward".[15][16] The idea of a complete loss of culture also fails to take into consideration the continuance of traditions changing in different mediums,[14] such as but not limited to the use of Blackmetal corpse paint which, while it originates in Blackmetal, is also similar to the look of the Navajo witches.[17][18]

Further research

Academic
  • Garcia, Marcelo Velloso; Gama, Vítor Castelões (1 March 2020). "Brazilian native metal and the experience of transculturation". Metal Music Studies. The International Society for Metal Music Studies. 7 (1). doi:10.1386/mms_00041_1. ISSN 2052-3998.

Press

Audiovisual media
  • Clarke Tolton (director) (December 2018). Metal From the Dirt: Inside the Navajo Reservation's DIY Heavy-Metal Scene. YouTube. Revolver Magazine.

General background

References
  1. 365 Days of Horror (October 12, 2015). "Here Are Some Indigenous/ Native Metal Bands To Help You Celebrate Columbus Day". Toilet ov Hell.
  2. "La Jackson Musicology 2101".
  3. Ramirez, Carlos (October 11, 2013). "10 Intriguing Facts About Anthrax Singer Joey Belladonna". Noise Creep.
  4. Hartmann, Graham (June 8, 2013). "Testament Chuck Billy Honored By California State For Positive Native American Influence". Loudwire.
  5. Montgomery, Tuyaa (March 5, 2018). "Fighting Colonialism With Crushing Riffs: A Profile of Worldwide Indigenous Metal". Astral Noize.
  6. Turkewitz, Julie. "Looking to Uplift, With Navajo 'Rez Metal'". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  7. O'regan, Sylvia Varnham. "Can a Thrash Metal Band Help Save the Maori Language?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 April 2018
  8. "Resonancia – Episodio 5 – Araña". August 10, 2017.
  9. Freeman, Philip (September 11, 2019). "Cemican Blend Indigenous Mexican Traditions with Metal Ferocity". Bandcamp.
  10. Varnham O'Regan, Sylvia. "Can a Thrash Metal Band Help Save the Maori Language?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  11. Souza, Caterine. "Arandu Arakuaa: leading the Brazilian indigenous culture to metal". Oroborus Blog. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. Ferreira, Luana. "This Heavy Metal Band Is Hell-Bent on Saving an Endangered Language". Narratively. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  13. Bliss, Karen. "Arctic Metal Veterans Northern Haze Unleash 'Siqinnaarut,' First Album In 33 Years: Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  14. Garcia, Marcelo Velloso; Gama, Vítor Castelões (1 March 2020). "Brazilian native metal and the experience of transculturation". Metal Music Studies. 7 (1). doi:10.1386/mms_00041_1. ISSN 2052-3998.
  15. Deloria, Philip J.; et al. (Spring 2018). "Unfolding Futures: Indigenous Ways of Knowing for the Twenty-First Century" (online). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Daedalus. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press. 147 (2). doi:10.1162/DAED_a_00485. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  16. Gardiner, Susannah (April 25, 2022). "Who Gets to Define Native American Art?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  17. Clarke Tolton (director) (December 2018). Metal From the Dirt: Inside the Navajo Reservation's DIY Heavy-Metal Scene. YouTube. Revolver.
  18. Revolver Staff (November 29, 2018). "Heavy Metal on the Navajo Reservation: See Stunning Photos of DIY Scene:Bands are cultivating new Diné customs around extreme metal". Revolver Magazine. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
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