Papers by David Burke
Midlands Music Research Network, 2021
I apply Zizek's concept of ideology to heavy metal culture. Heavy metal presents an "alternative ... more I apply Zizek's concept of ideology to heavy metal culture. Heavy metal presents an "alternative ideology" in that it replicates dominant ideology for the most part, but offers control to its participants.
Originally published here (website now taken down): https://www.midlandsmusicresearchnetwork.com/post/heavy-metal-and-ideology
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Astral Noize, 2020
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This undergraduate dissertation argues that doom metal's aesthetic can be viewed through its use ... more This undergraduate dissertation argues that doom metal's aesthetic can be viewed through its use of horror, occult and psychedelic imagery, and analyses artworks from various bands to illustrate this.
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This Master's dissertation aims to uncover the capacity for political expression within doom meta... more This Master's dissertation aims to uncover the capacity for political expression within doom metal and willingness to make such expression amongst its proponents, and to identify trends within the genre that support social critique across the political spectrum. The body of the work is comprised of readings of various bands' lyrics, artworks and interviews.
The main focus rests upon the pursuit of individual liberty, comparable to ‘negative’ liberty as described by Berlin in Two Concepts of Liberty, which has featured in doom metal throughout its history and arguably represents a strong tendency toward libertarianism amongst its musicians and fans alike. Critiques of economic and social inequality and exclusion form another theme. A third section focuses on environmental concern, which has manifested in both overt and subtle critiques from doom metal groups, often in utopian terms, contrasted by a nihilistic vision of apocalypse and environmental destruction imagined by some of doom's heaviest and darkest bands. The final section explores the role of women and female empowerment within the genre.
The study then turns to examining the surrounding contexts of doom metal musicians and question the extent to which these contexts have been acknowledged or critiqued by the musicians and their works. After contextualising doom metal and its varied political expressions, the study attempts to find common ideological ground between doom metal artists overall and investigates whether the genre acts as an arena for social comment, or whether the opposite is true; that the escapist aesthetic promulgated within doom metal acts as a safe haven for its listeners, wishing to avoid political discourses in music.
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Black Sabbath's eponymous debut has been identified as amongst the first heavy metal records, and... more Black Sabbath's eponymous debut has been identified as amongst the first heavy metal records, and was certainly the first to introduce much of the dark imagery and lyrical content now synonymous with the genre. Their home town of Aston, Birmingham was often cited by the band members as being seminal for their shift in musical tone from blues to metal, and indeed some works on this topic argue that "heavy metal could only have been born out of the industrial neighbourhoods of Birmingham." However, this study will complicate such assumptions, instead suggesting that a milieu of influences were responsible for this genesis of musical style. The study will diminish the importance of Birmingham and examine the wider-scale effects of British politics, American cultural exports, and world events. This will aim to place Black Sabbath within a transnational context, as opposed to previous studies which have considered the band primarily as a product of their city. The paper will also examine interviews and articles about the band dating back to their inception, which will show that the emphasis on band members discussing the role of Birmingham in their music emerged relatively late into their career, whilst initially the members often discussed their sound as sympathetic with a nationwide sentiment of dissatisfaction.
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Emergence, 2018
This paper examines the reception of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring across several media su... more This paper examines the reception of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring across several media such as performances and recorded editions. Taking influence from both Richard Taruskin and Peter Hill, it demonstrates that by delivering ‘perfect’ renditions, the primal and violent nature of the composition has been neutered and
recording such performances has added to this effect. However, the currents introduced by Stravinsky live on in heavy metal music both in the genre’s use of disorienting and abrasive musical elements, and in its fascination with controversial and fantastical themes.
The study draws particular comparisons with progressive death metal band Meshuggah, whose compositional techniques borrow from ideas laid out in the Rite whilst mirroring and developing its themes and imagery. Their utilisation of polyrhythms and dissonance within note-perfect performances sees the chaos of the Rite displaced into the band’s distorted tone, whilst their lyrics and aesthetic suggest fears of a dystopian future, as opposed to the Rite’s echoes of a brutal and uncivilised past.
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The use of grave dirt as a ritual material has been noted within Caribbean slave culture since th... more The use of grave dirt as a ritual material has been noted within Caribbean slave culture since the early 18th century, constituting a part of obeah charm-making and as part of a judiciary system amongst African communities. It played a role in Tacky's rebellion and extended through Afro-Caribbean societies to the continental United States, where it also found multiple applications within slave magic. This study establishes the transnational nature of grave dirt practice and explores the many differing interpretations of the custom, which often reflect the authors' presentist beliefs. It also examines the primary sources themselves, particularly focusing on the Works Progress Administration (WPA) narratives, and argues that there were multiple uses of grave dirt just as there have been multiple interpretations by secondary writers. This leads to the conclusion that the meaning of grave dirt varies depending upon the circumstances of its user, and on that of the observing academic, reflecting the flexibility of slave resilience.
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Conference Presentations by David Burke
London Conference of Critical Thought, 2022
Monsters are neither fully internal nor external; they are rather extimate, emanating simultaneou... more Monsters are neither fully internal nor external; they are rather extimate, emanating simultaneously from the world and the dark recesses of our (un)thought. Heavy metal reveals this extimacy in its elaboration of monstrosity; some artists reconfigure the whole of society and history into their most monstrous forms (Dee 2009; Moore 2009), while others focus thematically on personal monstrosity, criminality and abjection (Kahn-Harris 2007). Others still focus on the experience of becoming-monster, often in bodily terms (Norman 2019; Bogue 2004). For heavy metal, there are monsters within and without, showing that the Other is "something strange to me, although it is at the heart of me" (Lacan 1992). Building on Overell's (2021) discussion of "voicing the Real" in heavy metal, I will combine presentation with performance to map monstrosity onto the human body (my own). This will involve a partially screamed/sung delivery of the presentation alongside other heavy metal performance techniques.
I intend to show not that humanity needs to become-monstrous in order to survive itself, but rather that we always-already were monsters in (and to) ourselves. This monstrosity is continually recognised by heavy metal, despite the highly mundane lives of most of its lower-middle class fans (Brown 2016), which would indeed confirm the monstrosity of the current social order (Land 1994).
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BSU Creativity and Crisis Symposium, 2021
For over 50 years, the abrasive and confrontational genre of heavy metal has persisted as a serie... more For over 50 years, the abrasive and confrontational genre of heavy metal has persisted as a series of global crises have emerged and deepened. I claim that the culture has a deeply existentialist tendency, which has driven a scathing criticism of postmodernity and its inaction regarding economic, ecological and social crises. The culture offers a solution to these crises by means of re-centring mortality and finitude, contra to hegemonic biases toward unlimited economic growth and ever-extended human life. By reckoning with our own limitations, metal culture advocates a cautious approach and (ironically) more harmonious social and ecological relationships.
Available to watch here: https://youtu.be/lxPUmjP4x5s
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Black Sabbath's eponymous debut has been identified as amongst the first heavy metal records, and... more Black Sabbath's eponymous debut has been identified as amongst the first heavy metal records, and was certainly the first to introduce much of the dark imagery and lyrical content now synonymous with the genre. Their home town of Aston, Birmingham was often cited by the band members as being seminal for their shift in musical tone from blues to metal, and indeed some works on this topic argue that "heavy metal could only have been born out of the industrial neighbourhoods of Birmingham." However, this study will complicate such assumptions, instead suggesting that a milieu of influences were responsible for this genesis of musical style. The study will diminish the importance of Birmingham and examine the wider-scale effects of British politics, American cultural exports, and world events.
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Book Reviews by David Burke
Metal Music Studies, 2020
A book review of Dan Franklin's book, Heavy. I draw particular attention to the Nietzschean theme... more A book review of Dan Franklin's book, Heavy. I draw particular attention to the Nietzschean themes present in his account of the varying forms of heaviness.
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Talks by David Burke
In this presentation I categorise the forms of Difference that are registered by metal scholars, ... more In this presentation I categorise the forms of Difference that are registered by metal scholars, and argue that they form a continuum.
This was originally presented for members of University of Southampton's Rock and Metal Society in November 2020, and was revised for a Zoom presentation on 10th April 2021.
Available to watch here: https://youtu.be/5W_4efTUMuM
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Papers by David Burke
Originally published here (website now taken down): https://www.midlandsmusicresearchnetwork.com/post/heavy-metal-and-ideology
Copies available here: https://astralnoizeuk.com/product/astral-noize-issue-6/
The main focus rests upon the pursuit of individual liberty, comparable to ‘negative’ liberty as described by Berlin in Two Concepts of Liberty, which has featured in doom metal throughout its history and arguably represents a strong tendency toward libertarianism amongst its musicians and fans alike. Critiques of economic and social inequality and exclusion form another theme. A third section focuses on environmental concern, which has manifested in both overt and subtle critiques from doom metal groups, often in utopian terms, contrasted by a nihilistic vision of apocalypse and environmental destruction imagined by some of doom's heaviest and darkest bands. The final section explores the role of women and female empowerment within the genre.
The study then turns to examining the surrounding contexts of doom metal musicians and question the extent to which these contexts have been acknowledged or critiqued by the musicians and their works. After contextualising doom metal and its varied political expressions, the study attempts to find common ideological ground between doom metal artists overall and investigates whether the genre acts as an arena for social comment, or whether the opposite is true; that the escapist aesthetic promulgated within doom metal acts as a safe haven for its listeners, wishing to avoid political discourses in music.
recording such performances has added to this effect. However, the currents introduced by Stravinsky live on in heavy metal music both in the genre’s use of disorienting and abrasive musical elements, and in its fascination with controversial and fantastical themes.
The study draws particular comparisons with progressive death metal band Meshuggah, whose compositional techniques borrow from ideas laid out in the Rite whilst mirroring and developing its themes and imagery. Their utilisation of polyrhythms and dissonance within note-perfect performances sees the chaos of the Rite displaced into the band’s distorted tone, whilst their lyrics and aesthetic suggest fears of a dystopian future, as opposed to the Rite’s echoes of a brutal and uncivilised past.
Conference Presentations by David Burke
I intend to show not that humanity needs to become-monstrous in order to survive itself, but rather that we always-already were monsters in (and to) ourselves. This monstrosity is continually recognised by heavy metal, despite the highly mundane lives of most of its lower-middle class fans (Brown 2016), which would indeed confirm the monstrosity of the current social order (Land 1994).
Available to watch here: https://youtu.be/lxPUmjP4x5s
Book Reviews by David Burke
Talks by David Burke
This was originally presented for members of University of Southampton's Rock and Metal Society in November 2020, and was revised for a Zoom presentation on 10th April 2021.
Available to watch here: https://youtu.be/5W_4efTUMuM
Originally published here (website now taken down): https://www.midlandsmusicresearchnetwork.com/post/heavy-metal-and-ideology
Copies available here: https://astralnoizeuk.com/product/astral-noize-issue-6/
The main focus rests upon the pursuit of individual liberty, comparable to ‘negative’ liberty as described by Berlin in Two Concepts of Liberty, which has featured in doom metal throughout its history and arguably represents a strong tendency toward libertarianism amongst its musicians and fans alike. Critiques of economic and social inequality and exclusion form another theme. A third section focuses on environmental concern, which has manifested in both overt and subtle critiques from doom metal groups, often in utopian terms, contrasted by a nihilistic vision of apocalypse and environmental destruction imagined by some of doom's heaviest and darkest bands. The final section explores the role of women and female empowerment within the genre.
The study then turns to examining the surrounding contexts of doom metal musicians and question the extent to which these contexts have been acknowledged or critiqued by the musicians and their works. After contextualising doom metal and its varied political expressions, the study attempts to find common ideological ground between doom metal artists overall and investigates whether the genre acts as an arena for social comment, or whether the opposite is true; that the escapist aesthetic promulgated within doom metal acts as a safe haven for its listeners, wishing to avoid political discourses in music.
recording such performances has added to this effect. However, the currents introduced by Stravinsky live on in heavy metal music both in the genre’s use of disorienting and abrasive musical elements, and in its fascination with controversial and fantastical themes.
The study draws particular comparisons with progressive death metal band Meshuggah, whose compositional techniques borrow from ideas laid out in the Rite whilst mirroring and developing its themes and imagery. Their utilisation of polyrhythms and dissonance within note-perfect performances sees the chaos of the Rite displaced into the band’s distorted tone, whilst their lyrics and aesthetic suggest fears of a dystopian future, as opposed to the Rite’s echoes of a brutal and uncivilised past.
I intend to show not that humanity needs to become-monstrous in order to survive itself, but rather that we always-already were monsters in (and to) ourselves. This monstrosity is continually recognised by heavy metal, despite the highly mundane lives of most of its lower-middle class fans (Brown 2016), which would indeed confirm the monstrosity of the current social order (Land 1994).
Available to watch here: https://youtu.be/lxPUmjP4x5s
This was originally presented for members of University of Southampton's Rock and Metal Society in November 2020, and was revised for a Zoom presentation on 10th April 2021.
Available to watch here: https://youtu.be/5W_4efTUMuM