H. P. Lovecraft, Heavy Metal, and Cosmicism
2016; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 3; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/19401159.2015.1121644
ISSN1940-1167
Autores Tópico(s)Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism
ResumoH. P. Lovecraft, the author of tales such as “The Call of Cthulhu,” “The Shadow over Innsmouth,” and “The Colour Out of Space,” has never been so popular as he is now, in the early decades of the 21st Century. Adaptations and appropriations of his work may be found across various media, including television, movies, board games, internet memes, Youtube videos, toys, video games, fan fiction, graphic novels, and music. Though many people recognize, even champion, this influence, very few have discussed the way this influence has impacted heavy metal music, one of the most important genres for keeping his work and many of his ideas alive. Over the years, several people have come to understand something of Lovecraft’s importance to the genre from once-popular songs like Metallica’s “Call of Ktulu” or “The Thing that Should Not Be.” Iron Maiden’s classic album Live After Death also included a passage taken from Lovecraft on the cover art, thereby connecting both the band and the creature known as Eddie to Lovecraft’s larger mythos. Since those days, Lovecraftian components have multiplied rapidly, especially in more extreme kinds of metal, becoming not only part of the music and lyrics, but also part of the iconography of album art (and sometimes even tattoos). Even though Lovecraft’s influence is fairly easy to recognize, its significance has yet to be explained adequately, particularly for the way it shapes heavy metal’s own brand of cosmicism. In my paper, I discuss Lovecraft’s influence on the music, but, more importantly, I will also suggest ways in which Lovecraft’s work also connects to heavy metal’s own implied mythos. Put another way, I will suggest that certain strands of heavy metal music is—as Lovecraft called his own fiction—weird and that they share a common understanding of the tenuous nature of human existence, the mysterious qualities of the universe, and the simultaneous hope for—perhaps even a fear of—living forever.
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