Black metal is extreme music: fast tempos, heavy guitar, screeching vocals – it’s not usually thought of as everyday, easy listening, that’s for sure. Black metal came to global prominence with its “second wave” in 1990s Scandinavia and was associated with church burnings, Satanism, and acts of extreme violence. But those days are now largely (though not completely) over, and black metal musicians are increasingly singing in favor of environmental causes, social justice, and anti-racism, in the United States and across the world. Black metal is still noisy and aggressive and sometimes it is also pretty bleak. But black metal might just be for you. So come see what all the noise is about. Everyone (except the fascists) is welcome!
Funded by the IU Arts & Humanities Council. Organized by Michael S. Dodson.
Feb 28 – Heavy metal drawing with Amory Abbott @ Fine Arts Building (time TBC), 5:30 pm – Margaret Killjoy @ The Bishop Bar (Queer Methods Workshop, 21+)
Feb 29
1:15-2:45pm: Songs that Mean Something: Black Metal and Social Change. Roundtable discussion with guest commentator Shane Greene, IU Anthropology.
3:00-4:30pm: Black Metal Rainbows: Reimagining Heavy Metal as Anti-Racist, Anti-Fascist, and Queer-Friendly. Roundtable discussion with guest commentator Olga Rodriguez-Ulloa, IU American Studies.
4:30-5:30pm: Reception and artist meet-and-greet
5:30-7:30pm: Black Metal Marketplace
Above events (Feb 29) are open to the public and take place at the Cook Center, Maxwell Hall
Feb 29 evening
9:30pm – Black Metal Fest ‘24 @ The Bishop Bar (18+), with Fell Ruin and Eudaemon
Participants:
Amory Abbott, Emily Carr University
Larissa Glasser, author and musician
Joan Jocson-Singh, Lucas Museum
Rose Johnson, Falmouth University
Margaret Killjoy, author and activist
Daniel Lukes, co-editor of Black Metal Rainbows
Stanimir Panayotov, co-editor of Black Metal Rainbows
With:
Michael S. Dodson, IU History
Shane Greene, IU Anthropology
Olga Rodriguez-Ulloa, IU American Studies.
Rebekah Sheldon, IU English / Cultural Studies
Additional support provided by the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; the College Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; the College Arts and Humanities Institute; and the Media School.
For more info, please contact Michael S. Dodson
Black Metal Rainbows is a 400+ page, full-color anthology of radical, queer, and leftist writings and artworks that uncover black metal as a genre of openness and inclusivity, published by PM Press / Between the Lines Books. Check it out HERE.
