Volume ! La revue des musiques populaires

9 : 2 | 2012 Contre-cultures n°2

Christopher PARTRIDGE (ed.), Anthems of Apocalypse: Popular Music and Apocalyptic Thought

Brad Klypchak

Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/volume/3350 DOI: 10.4000/volume.3350 ISSN: 1950-568X

Printed version Date of publication: 15 December 2012 Number of pages: 240-241 ISBN: 978-2-913169-33-3 ISSN: 1634-5495

Electronic reference Brad Klypchak, « Christopher PARTRIDGE (ed.), Anthems of Apocalypse: Popular Music and Apocalyptic Thought », Volume ! [Online], 9 : 2 | 2012, Online since 15 May 2015, connection on 10 December 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/volume/3350 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/volume.3350

L'auteur & les Éd. Mélanie Seteun 240 Dossier metal studies

Christopher Partridge (ed.), Anthems of Apocalypse: Popular Music and Apocalyptic Thought, Sheffield, Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2012, 150 p.

S!"##$"%& P!'"($) has established a small, yet suc- Johnny Cash, and Current 93 (and of no fault to those cessful, niche in the academic publishing market. As a chapters) seem less than enough to really account for portion of the Bible in the Modern World collection, the book’s targeted aim, to communicate how artists Anthems of Apocalypse marks the fourth of a series spe- across the whole of popular music disseminated occul- cializing in examining instances where popular culture turally signi-cant apocalyptic thought. Tellingly, editor engages end of the world constructs. *is edited col- Christopher Partridge seems to know this too as, in his lection of essays surveys various instances where pop- -nal comments, he distances himself from the project ular musicians have taken the occulture (encompass- by pointing out his late stage participation and being ing elements of the spiritual, esoteric, paranormal and limited to previous accepted commissions. While his conspiratorial) as their creative muse, be it across full confession ultimately comes across as (wrongfully) careers or for singularly-focused works. insulting the work put forth by the contributors, it When edited collections work their best, there is con- also underscores the project’s lack of conceptual vision gruence throughout the o+erings. Despite individual all the more. authors having their respective unique concentrations, Following Partridge’s introduction, wherein he estab- a unifying conceptual whole can fluidly bridge the lishes his prior work on the occulture as a foundational reader from chapter to chapter, or at least o+er a sense touchpoint for apocalyptic studies, the majority of of thematic or historical connectedness. Lacking such the chapters see speci-c artists and their work decon- larger scale framing, a sense of disjointedness comes structed in light of its occultural contents. In chapter to make the individual parts valued in isolation rather one, Roland Boer presents the apocalyptic through than as contributions to a whole. For Anthems of three modes (as genre, ideology, and movement) and Apocalypse, individual chapters o+er engaging insights situates his analysis across Nick Cave’s career through or provide useful chronologies of artists and their these lenses. Most effectively, Boer’s interpretative respective creations. Unfortunately, the conceptualiza- reads of Cave’s discography highlights connection tion of book as a cohesive entity falls a bit shy, never between the songs and Biblical parallels (for exam- quite tying together its contents in a ,uid and struc- ple, linking a thematic series of “Flood” songs to the tured way. Book of Genesis) and, thereby, offers a clear illus- As an example, of the eight chapters, five arguably tration of the application of eschatology to popular hold connection to hard rock/heavy metal. In itself, music. Similarly, Mark Sweetnam convincingly sit- this seems reasonable as metal has a well established uates Johnny Cash and his penchant for writing and ! n° 9-2 track record for crafting songs of war, the occult, Satan, recording gospel songs through both a resistance to and damnations. Yet, in comparison to breadth of speci-c denominational allegiances and congruence scope o+ered by Janssen and Whitelock in Apocalyptic to dispensationalism re,ective of Hal Lindsay in the

Volume Jukebox, the three remaining chapters on Nick Cave, early 1970s. Addtionally, artists less prone to receiv- 241 Controverses ing attention within academic purview are notably speci-c songs are contextualized and related through presented and the coverage of the straight edge Earth scriptural and situational origins, ranging from singer Crisis, Tom Morello’s post Rage Against the Machine ’s Christian convictions and history with Nightwatchman project, and the apocalyptic folk/ dispensationalist theology to prophetic interpretations industrial out-t Current 93 will likely serve as intro- of pre-millenial politics and the Gulf War. ductions for those less familiar with sounds beyond the Given the strength of this -nal chapter, the lasting mainstream. impression of the book invites one lingering point Two chapters, Michael Moberg’s review of Christian of potential criticism. *is -nal prevailing issue with metal artists and Rupert Till’s take on traditional heavy Anthems of Apocalypse lies less with what respective metal, divert from single artist analyses and present authors contribute to the text, but with what the whole more generalized overviews of the styles’ respective rela- encompasses in terms of its contemporary relevancy. As tionships to apocalyptic themes. Predictably, a theme illustrative examples, the portrayals of Extreme, Iron of evangelism prevails in Christian metal wherein Maiden, and Black Sabbath are perfectly viable. Yet, as Moberg notes a tendency toward paraphrasing speci-c Knowles notes in his chapter, eighteen years separate scripture as a means of repeatedly conveying aware- the release of III Sides to Every Story and his analysis, ness to Judgment and spiritual con,ict between good giving rise to questions of just how contemporary the and evil. To Moberg, this contrasts secular metal’s well examples put forth really are. Of the ninety-six items established proclivity toward emphasizing the darker, listed in the discography, only twenty-one have release more sinister elements of the occulture. Till’s chapter, dates 2005 or later (including a Jerry Lee Lewis anthol- after reviewing these same notions, covers additional ogy and three posthumous Johnny Cash releases), and familiar ground to those in metal studies via detailed solely four of these received speci-c attention within reads of early Black Sabbath recordings and Iron their respective core chapters (both Nightwatchman Maiden’s Number of the Beast. Where Till’s o+erings records, Current 93’s 2006 release, and a single song become most compelling stems from applying the from Saint’s 2006 record). Given the aims of the Bible Jungian concept of “the shadow” to both metal’s occul- in the Modern World series and music’s brisk turnover turic prominence and headbanging as a dance form. of new and emerging artists and releases, Anthems of Here, Till suggests the communal connection to the Apocalypse re,ects a more historical tenor than what is collective unconscious mediates the very appeal of con- likely ideal. fronting fears of death and destruction and that metal, as a means of shadow play, may well be constructive when not taken to obsessive extremes. Volume References Steven Knowles o+ers the strongest chapter. Utilizing J.(//"(, D. and W!$0"%'12, E. (2009). Apocalyptic both textual deconstruction and ethnographic method-

jukebox: !e end of the world in American popular ! n° 9-2 ologies, Knowles hones an apt intersection of interpret- music, Berkley, CA: Soft Skull Press. ing Extreme’s III Sides to Every Story release, account- ing for fan perceptions on the record, and assessing connections to evangelical themes. Close reads of Bradley K%341!.2